First off, I'd like to thank Mark Murphy for the ride down and back, and Norm Wnuk for the shotgun seat.
I met Mark Murphy at his house in Boxford and we finished loading up his truck. After a short side trip for lunch, Mark and I hit the highway. Mark's tow rig was more than capable of hauling his CJ plus all of the associated camping gear with ease so the trip down was pretty uneventful. Till we got into Connecticut. For some still unknown reason the traffic would just STOP, and be backed up for a mile or so at a time. We saw Steve and Peg Nordby in another lane as we drove by.
Once we were out of CT, the traffic eased and speed returned to normal. Not having traveled very much, I had never crossed the Hudson River; the view driving across the bride was pretty neat. A short time after crossing the river, we stopped for fuel (8.1L V8 wohoo), and then continued on to meet up with Sue Simms and her friend John Lyons. John is a member of Hudson Valley and was towing his own custom built rig (S-10 cab on a Blazer frame, step side bed box no fender flares, 400ci small block with TBI, custom made 15" 6 lug bead lock rims, dual transfer cases, 7.17:1(!!!!) gears in the axles, etc, etc, etc). Driving behind it was like watching someone towing a mini Bigfoot.
We finally arrived at the campground around 7pm. Mark's friend Dave was already there and his other friend Doug Smith was on the way. Already there already were Norm Wnuk, John (skrvk9), Ed Boivin, John Barnes, Kurt Zimmerman, George Romand, Michael Sussman, Rick Moore, Steve Hyjek.. Steve Nordby and his wife Peg arrived later. After dinner in town and a quick run to WalMart, we returned to the campground to set up and get ready for the next morning.
Our guides from Blue Mountain Jeep Alliance arrived promptly at 8am. Mike Kutch (BMJA Pres), his wife Jen, Sam and Becky, and Scott and Colleen. After the usual pre-run lineup, we were told we would run Rattler I and II, what Paragon calls a "4" on the trail scale (we could have run other less challenging trails if we so decided). After about a 10-15 minute run from the campground to the park entrance, we stopped and aired down. There is quite a bit of dust on the access roads leading into and out of the park. You will definitely be blowing black dust from your nose for a little while. The trails themselves are not terribly dusty as the ones we rode were primarily large pieces of granite.
Since the trails we were on looped back on themselves, the guides parked their Jeeps at the trailhead and walked the run. Rattler 1 consisted of large rocks in the trail that lead up to the top of a ridge and back around to the starting point. The going is slow with tire placement being key. We were warned that if Mother Nature called to not stray far from the trail due to Rattlesnakes. We did not actually see any, but the terrain is well suited for them. As Norman and I came over the last obstacle, his Scrambler began to smoke. We pulled off the trail and discovered the pressure side power steering line was leaking. After attempting some quick trailside repairs, we had to pull the vehicle off to the side to allow others to pass. An early lunch was called while more repairs were attempted. After numerous failed attempts, Sam, one of the guides, suggested his girlfriend could go into town and buy another power steering hose. At this point it was decided that the rest of the group would move on and run Rattler II. I chose to stay with Norm and wait for the replacement hose. We did walk over and watch some of the other Jeeps run the second half, but unfortunately, I did not see that whole run, so I have no real info about it, other than it was as hard if not harder than the first half.
When the parts came, Norm again attempted a repair to no avail. After deciding to remove the belt to the power steering pump, Norm muscled the Scrambler out of the woods and he and I headed back to the campground while the others finished Rattler II. Norm then went into town to find a new power steering pump. As the rest of the run returned to the campground, we settled down for dinner, drinks and Jeep stories.
With some help from Kurt and George, Norm soon had the Scrambler repaired and ready for the next day.
Sunday found the group slow to arise but we got rolling just about when we had hoped for. We decided to run Voodoo, described as the next step up from Rattler. After the run to the park, we aired down and got rolling. Voodoo started out with large rocks and tire placement was again key (as it was on the 1st day). If you could keep the tires on the rocks you had less problems. There are several off camber areas that give the impression of some danger (pucker factor 3 maybe) but nothing too serious. Until you get to the optional obstacle. Several vehicles attempted this, all with winches for safety. The slope of the hill and the conditions at the top basically warrant the use of the cable to help prevent rollovers.
After two or three vehicles had made it, George Romand attempted it in his 53 Willy's. After making it almost all the way (probably to within two feet of the lip that defined top) a slight application of the brakes caused the jeep to pivot on it's right rear tire and do the slo-mo roll onto the passenger side. Everyone basically held their breath to see what would happen next (would it roll? Slide? Or stay where it was?) Unfortunately it rolled 3 ½ times down the hill coming to rest on the passenger side. Thankfully George was not injured, although the Willys suffered some body damage. After collecting the items that had been ejected from the jeep, and taking some time to recover, George elected to wheel for the rest of the day. Two other people (Norm and Mark Murphy) attempted the obstacle afterwards, both successful, both using winches for safety. Everyone else took the bypass (no piece of cake itself). Martin, from Hudson Valley blew a U Joint at the top of the hill (he was one of the first successful ones), repaired that, and then bent the tie rod another few feet down the trail.
Norm Wnuk discovered he had pretzeled his front drive shaft coming over the crest of the hill. Unbelievably, it held and allowed him to finish to the trail and make it back to the exit road with out failing. Mark Murphy also discovered some road rash on his front drive shaft, and then bent the tie rod shortly thereafter. Since Norm wanted to get an early start home, Mike led some of out, and even that was cause for some breakage. Steve Hyjek in his TJ had a tough weekend. Besides wheeling with a broken foot, he suffered two broken beads, a damaged top, a broken front metal brake line, and on the way out, the draglink rod end sheared from the tie rod. Luckily Norm had some TJ rod ends in the Scrambler, and after a quick repair, we continued out. I headed back to the campground with Norm and waited for the rest of the group to return. Mark Murphy arrived with Mike from BMJA to pick up his tow rig because he had pretzeled the draglink and basically could not steer the jeep. When Mark returned to camp, Sue Simms had a technical problem with her XJ (no keys!). We decided to break camp and head home Sunday night with Mark's friend Doug giving Sue a ride to her home.
This was great trip in my opinion. I would return to run there again without hesitation the guides were friendly, they new their stuff and were a great example of the camaraderie that Jeep enthusiasts are known for. I hope they decide to visit us up here so we can return the favor. The campground was also very nice. They are very Jeep friendly, even featuring Rosser Roundup ads on the bulletin board. The sites were clean the bathrooms were well kept, and the owners are extremely friendly.
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