No one took any serious damage on the first
day. Just some scratched bumpers and I think Dave pulled
the end off his front bumper. We did some winching for the
open diff D90 and 4Runner. Dave's 4Runner was stymied by
articulation-intensive obstacles such as the loose, dug-out
hill climb on the way to Crabapple Lake. The D90 had a
similar problem although to a lesser degree. John's RR had
better articulation than the D90 and did quite well for an
open-diff vehicle. In one obstacle in particular, we had to
drive through a V-shaped trail with a rock on one side and a
sloping side hill on the other. I think the Range Rover's
better articulation was key to making it through here more
easily than the D90. Of course, John also had more
offroading experience than Gord which probably also had
something to do with it.
U-joint hill proved to be difficult for Gord when he took
the wrong line and got stuck between a rock and a tree. Dave
did a great job of getting his 4Runner up. Jo spotted me
through the Crack at the end of U-joint with less than an inch
to spare. It was a very, very close fit. Phil tried to do
the same but the narrow tires on his 90 wouldn't allow him
to safely straddle the Crack.
Tire Change was quite entertaining. Vehicles with limited
articulation provide the best photo ops on this obstacle
when the front end drops off the ledge and the rear end
comes teetering up like the sinking Titanic. I've got to
remember to start taking pictures of the drivers' faces
instead of the vehicles.
Back on Harvourview Rd, Jo & Dave headed home while I lead
the 'Rovers to Shields Lake to setup camp.
The next morning, we did Mossy Hill. Cleavage Rock was
deeper than last year but someone had piled rocks at the
top end so it wasn't as bad as it could be. It had rained
overnight which had soaked the ground in front of the rock.
This was bad because it meant that the tires would be wet
and would slip when trying to climb onto Cleavage. My
first attempt nearly ended in disaster. It stayed too far
right and my left side started slipping into the crack.
The front tire only had contact on its sidewall. The back
then started slipping as I tried to back out. I got them
to put some rocks under my rear tire so it would stabilize
as I continued to back out. It worked and I was able to
retreat. On my next attempt, I went more to the left and
was able to make it through unscathed. Phil decided to try
it next. I spotted him through without any difficulty. I
made him stop in the middle so he could get out and take
some pictures. John & Gordon wisely chose the bypass route
(I wouldn't do Cleavage when it's wet in an open diff
vehicle). Carl spent a lot of time pondering and decided
to try Cleavage. He had a lot of difficulty setting up for
the right line. His lack of power steering and bad brakes
made it almost impossible to stay on course. A front
locker would have helped a lot, too. After four attempts
to setup for the entrance, his clutch was smelling pretty
bad and he decided to retreat -- right into a rock. That
caved in his rear passenger side quarter panel. Gord,
myself and Phil removed all the rocks that had been
previously piled in the crack while Carl took the bypass.
The rest of the climb up and over Mossy was uneventful.
Great scenery and fun obstacles, as usual.
I had a great time. The Land Rover guys were very nice and
displayed great teamwork in dealing with the various
obstacles. I enjoyed my first opportunity to watch Land
Rovers on the trail. I wish North American vehicles came
from the factory equipped like the Landies were.
...lars
Gord almost made it up the first optional rock face
but got into a bad sideways situation and winched his way up.
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Phil scrapes the rock while trying to sneak past it.
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Dave shows some concern about the rock that is trying to nibble
at his running boards.
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Carl begins his descent down Tire Change Rock.
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Dave shows why it's called Tire Change Rock.
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Jo-jo's CJ5 shows some good articulation as he comes down Tire change.
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Phil waits his turn as Dave starts up U-Joint Hill.
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Gord got wedged between a rock and a tree, requiring a winch to free his D90.
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With some careful spotting from Jo-jo, I crept over the Crack just above U-Joint Hill
without falling in.
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Dave did a bit of damage to his 4Runner.
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The scenic side of Mossy Hill.
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Phil gingerly makes his way through Cleavage.
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Phil & Jim de-pile some rocks which others had dumped into Cleavage, preserving
the trail's character.
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The mud hole near the Mossy Hill trail summit.
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