NE4Wi kicked off the 2001 season by running the 'Gutter this Saturday. We were expecting a whole lot of members to show up for the first run (as usually happens), so we decided to have two different start times to spread the traffic out a bit. The first shift was supposed to leave at 8:30 am led by our former and self-pardoned president Bill Barnes. We were expecting 10 rigs or so, but by the time we pulled out for the trail there were 17 vehicles in line.

The weather was warm but looked like rain - it's hard to tell what it will be like this time of year. Last year it was sunny and 70, the year before was cold and rainy. I packed everything from shorts to a snowmobile suit just in case (try that in a flatfender). Most of the first shift were old hands who knew how things can back up on the first step and wanted to beat the traffic. We drove over to the trail from the meet spot on a few washboard dirt roads, pulled in and aired down.

The first shift had the Plymouth crew - Willie, Chip, and Holy Cow! - Paul was driving his very own CJ5!! Say it ain't so! I personally suspect he had purchased it after last years Tellico run to avoid further razzing, but there are those who swear he's had it all along. Billy Barnes brought the Mrs., Jason Carter, John Foster, and Rob Costarelli were also in line. John and Kathleen Meinck came up from NY to bravely drive their open 31"AT shod TJ through the gutter on their first club run. Paul Maxwell, Carl, and a few others were also in line, apologies to anyone I forgot.

President Scott Hatch was hopping from Jeep to Jeep catching rides and videotaping the event (his Jeep is having reconstructive surgery). He taped most of us crossing the first stream, a raging torrent with all of the runoff from this year's snowmelt. It was to be a recurring theme throughout the day - there was water everywhere. I was all ready to pull up and go watch the antics on the step, but the line just kept moving. Rig after rig drove up the step, teetering on the off camber berm to the left. Paul Maxwell needed a tug when his AT's wouldn't bite into the rock, and the Meinck's wisely chose the bypass. So many drivers were coming right up the rock that we had to pull up and move on to the next obstacle. There were mutterings that the runoff had filled in the first step to make it easier than usual, and it looked like it had a little. Others figured that most of the crew had modified their rigs to the point where it was less of a challenge. It was probably a little of both, but we were moving right along.

Around the next bend were the split rocks that could be climbed or passed. Most of us went over them, a little to the right. Ben McCarthy rolled his 'Moving Violation' up to them for a bit of a show. His TJ now sports 38" Swampers (thanks to the 'Cerce Amendment') and Dana 60's front and rear. I was digging his 'flattie' fenders when he put his custom heim steering linkage into the rock, tweaking the huge tie rod. Ben played on the rocks until the few stragglers caught up to us, and then he too went up on the right. The drop into the rock garden was next. The bank wasn't undercut as in years past, but it was slick and gravity managed to slide almost every front wheel into a rock slab that ground on the front drivers side rim. Tires were lifted and pictures taken, but it wasn't as off-camber as last year. We all climbed through the garden and headed up to the trenches. Bill managed to miss the entrance and had to turn around, but we all managed to follow him in. It was twisty and tight, but once again not as bad as it used to be. Nobody lost a windshield frame, fender, or window this year. Suspensions got a workout flexing back and forth, but we made it out OK and took a break to make a few minor repairs. The Meinck's were having problems with their shifter linkage and Ben's front 60 was dribbling gear oil. Fifteen minutes later the Meinck's had a solid low range and Ben's big pumpkin was full again.

The first shift moved out, clanging and bouncing over the muddy rocks until we got to the lunch rock. It was only 11am but it was the halfway point, so we agreed to take 20 minutes for lunch. It was here that we had the day's worst casualty, when Denise's bag of animal crackers slid off of the rock into the mud. John Barnes radioed that his second shift was moving right along (all four of them) and would probably catch up to us. With lunch taken care of we pulled out and headed towards the road crossing and the drop into the valley. On the way we ran into John Barnes in his Willis who had bypassed all of the boring parts of the trail and came in from the other side to meet us. The group carefully crossed the road and made the steep descent into the valley. This section was new to me and looked like a lot of fun. Scotty was out there with his camcorder, watching us all make the off-camber turn down the slope. The stream at the bottom was raging, and there was still a snowcap on the trail where it climbed out of the stream. Bill was the first through and he managed to break through the snow. The drop into the stream was partially blocked by a big rock that had to be skirted. A few rigs managed to catch it before fording the stream. John Meinck ran a strap to my Jeep in case his open diffs got him stuck mid-stream, but he managed to make the crossing without any help from me.

From there we climbed out up the sandy hillclimb, parked and watched the rest of the crew make the crossing. It was like watching from a plane, the hill was so steep. From here we could see the two 'Zuks on the other side of the valley making repairs. Once we were all up the hill we moved on to the water crossing by the beaver pond. We knew it was going to be deep, but not this deep......Bill says to Nancy, "Look out and see if the water comes up over my hubs", as he drops into the water and it starts pouring in over his doorsill. Bill then says, "Never mind". It was deep - everyone was very careful to drop in slowly to keep from hydrolocking an engine. I pulled John Meinck across with his engine off to keep his motor and auto tranny dry. Bill must have taken just enough water out with him because I only had a few drops spill in. Jason Carter wasn't taking any chances with his XJ either and got a free ride across.

Eventually we got to the next road where some of our party decided to split and head back. The rest of us went the other way to another powerline section. It had a good hill climb and a twisty, off-camber descent on the other side that I didn't fully appreciate. The trail turned off the powerline into the woods, where I was smacked and hit by branches and trees for the next half-hour.

At the end of the trail we aired up, re-connected, and said our good-byes. The sun had come out (sort of) and it was getting really warm. Most of the group convoyed out to the main road and headed south past the 'Mighty Quabbin' to trailers and tow rigs. It was an excellent start to the season - good weather; no major carnage, and lots of fun. And I didn't roll.

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