Post by davidscj7 on Jul 6, 2008 21:05:31 GMT -5
Pat, Louis, and I (along with Jimmy and Debbie) headed out for Clayton Thursday morning.
We arrived in Clayton about 4:00. We Immediately unloaded and headed for the trails. We started out very mild so Louis could get the feel for his new buggy. We ran Wet & Wild then proceeded to Jeffs Ledges.
About mid way through JL, Louis was working this ledge climb and I noticed tranny fluid pouring out.
We got Louis turned around and towed back to town.
Friday morning we met up with Mike and Lenda Green for a little breakfast at the Bulldog. We then headed to the trails. My main goal for this trip was to run the newly cleared Gobblers Knob trail. Nolen and the Blacksheep crew, along with a few friends walked in and cut this trail a couple of months ago. There are three sections of this trail. The lower section is called Ate My Lunch, the middle is Plucked and the upper is Redneck Millionaire Blvd. As of the time we got there, the only section that had been run is RMB. We headed straight for Ate My Lunch. I was the first one in and let me tell you, I was second guessing my decision once I got into the trail. Pat followed me in and the challenge began. This is the most extreme trail that I have ever even seen. It is full of 6+ foot waterfalls, huge holes, and car sized boulders.
We finally made it through Ate My Lunch. Mike met up with us at Plucked (after guiding some other rigs to a different trail). Plucked is basically a twin of AML. The three of us forged on to the top of Plucked.
Total time to run these two trails was 6.5 hours. Some of the time was spent cleaning debris (trees and branches)out of the trail, eating lunch, and taking some hydration brakes. When we got to the top of Plucked we were completely spent. We decided to call it a day. It was an honor to be the first ones up these trails. I would like to see more traffic on them to help brake them in but I dont think very many people will attempt the two lower sections.
To sum it up, these trails are not for the faint of heart, or anyone that doesn't have an overload of patience. If you break something on these trails, it will have to be fixed on the spot. It would take an enormous recovery effort to get a dead rig out of there.
Our rigs worked great! Mike's buggy is also pretty incredible. His is a CJ based buggy with hydraulic rams on all four corners. He is also running 42" Iroc stickies.
Saturday morning we were back on the trails early. We ran KT's Climb, then headed to finish the upper section of Gobblers Knob, (aka, Redneck Millionaire Blvd). This trail is also a pretty difficult trail but mild in comparison to its two lower sections. The bad part about this section of trail is that it is on a fairly mild incline with very little banking on either side. This allows the the lesser built rigs to get on the trail and make bypasses around all of the really difficult lines.
We made it up to the very top of the trail and Mike broke a stub shaft. Pat and Mike went on a parts run back to the truck. We got Mike going again then headed to do some milder wheelin on Greem Momba. We got just over the big waterfall and Mike's fuel pump went out. Pat and Mike went on another parts run while I relaxed laying on a big rock listening to the waterfall in the background. We got Mike going again then finished out Green Momba. It was getting dark so we decided to call it a day.
After a good meal at Simple Simons Pizza, we called it a night.
Mike and Lenda are two of the nicest people . They are an absolute joy to be around.
This pic gives you some idea of how steep Plucked is. Notice Debbie in the background and Mike standing on the rock in the front of the pick.
I suck at organizing pictures so I will just post a few and link the rest. I have very few pics. Only about 50, and very few of Gobblers Knob. But Pat and Mike took a ton of pics. Pat will post his as soon as he can and I will post Mike's when I get them.
Going up the waterfall on Green Momba
Going down the waterfall on GM
Mikes buggy
Pat
The rest of my pics:
s20.photobucket.com/albums/b240/DavidsCJ7/Clayton%20July%2008/?start=all&mediafilter=images&special_track=album_paginate_top_view_all
even more pics
s177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/87yjtoy/Clayton%20July%2008/?start=all&special_track=album_paginate_top_view_all
We arrived in Clayton about 4:00. We Immediately unloaded and headed for the trails. We started out very mild so Louis could get the feel for his new buggy. We ran Wet & Wild then proceeded to Jeffs Ledges.
About mid way through JL, Louis was working this ledge climb and I noticed tranny fluid pouring out.
We got Louis turned around and towed back to town.
Friday morning we met up with Mike and Lenda Green for a little breakfast at the Bulldog. We then headed to the trails. My main goal for this trip was to run the newly cleared Gobblers Knob trail. Nolen and the Blacksheep crew, along with a few friends walked in and cut this trail a couple of months ago. There are three sections of this trail. The lower section is called Ate My Lunch, the middle is Plucked and the upper is Redneck Millionaire Blvd. As of the time we got there, the only section that had been run is RMB. We headed straight for Ate My Lunch. I was the first one in and let me tell you, I was second guessing my decision once I got into the trail. Pat followed me in and the challenge began. This is the most extreme trail that I have ever even seen. It is full of 6+ foot waterfalls, huge holes, and car sized boulders.
We finally made it through Ate My Lunch. Mike met up with us at Plucked (after guiding some other rigs to a different trail). Plucked is basically a twin of AML. The three of us forged on to the top of Plucked.
Total time to run these two trails was 6.5 hours. Some of the time was spent cleaning debris (trees and branches)out of the trail, eating lunch, and taking some hydration brakes. When we got to the top of Plucked we were completely spent. We decided to call it a day. It was an honor to be the first ones up these trails. I would like to see more traffic on them to help brake them in but I dont think very many people will attempt the two lower sections.
To sum it up, these trails are not for the faint of heart, or anyone that doesn't have an overload of patience. If you break something on these trails, it will have to be fixed on the spot. It would take an enormous recovery effort to get a dead rig out of there.
Our rigs worked great! Mike's buggy is also pretty incredible. His is a CJ based buggy with hydraulic rams on all four corners. He is also running 42" Iroc stickies.
Saturday morning we were back on the trails early. We ran KT's Climb, then headed to finish the upper section of Gobblers Knob, (aka, Redneck Millionaire Blvd). This trail is also a pretty difficult trail but mild in comparison to its two lower sections. The bad part about this section of trail is that it is on a fairly mild incline with very little banking on either side. This allows the the lesser built rigs to get on the trail and make bypasses around all of the really difficult lines.
We made it up to the very top of the trail and Mike broke a stub shaft. Pat and Mike went on a parts run back to the truck. We got Mike going again then headed to do some milder wheelin on Greem Momba. We got just over the big waterfall and Mike's fuel pump went out. Pat and Mike went on another parts run while I relaxed laying on a big rock listening to the waterfall in the background. We got Mike going again then finished out Green Momba. It was getting dark so we decided to call it a day.
After a good meal at Simple Simons Pizza, we called it a night.
Mike and Lenda are two of the nicest people . They are an absolute joy to be around.
This pic gives you some idea of how steep Plucked is. Notice Debbie in the background and Mike standing on the rock in the front of the pick.
I suck at organizing pictures so I will just post a few and link the rest. I have very few pics. Only about 50, and very few of Gobblers Knob. But Pat and Mike took a ton of pics. Pat will post his as soon as he can and I will post Mike's when I get them.
Going up the waterfall on Green Momba
Going down the waterfall on GM
Mikes buggy
Pat
The rest of my pics:
s20.photobucket.com/albums/b240/DavidsCJ7/Clayton%20July%2008/?start=all&mediafilter=images&special_track=album_paginate_top_view_all
even more pics
s177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/87yjtoy/Clayton%20July%2008/?start=all&special_track=album_paginate_top_view_all
