TRAIL STORIES

There was one obstacle in particular, which Rocky said reminded him a little of Tellico. The trail dropped away, down a series of rock ledges. As you came over the edge you had to stay a little to the right or your left wheels would drop over the edge for a sure tumble down to the inverted position in an unplanned manner. I was leading at this point and waited for Bulldog to trot ahead of me for a spot down. Was a little puckery, and was puckery to watch people come over the

It was hard to tell what the weather was going to be, this has been an interesting winter, weather-wise. I know I got my payback for...

The white stuff cranked up the difficulty factor quite a few notches. Bobby was leading the way up with me right behind him when he got hung up. Trying to back out of the way so I could go around him he got sort of crooked and it took a few minutes to free him up there. I scooted around without too much difficulty. You all have to remember Bob was driving “Lil’ Red”, with open diffs; all things considered, Bob actually did quite a job driving that day!

The D-ring went through the rear window, glanced off Mike’s noggin and out, right through the roof, right above the windshield. Luckily, the worst damage was to Mike’s soft-top. It also was a good lesson about safety standards. It is not “pussy” to follow safety standards. If that d-ring had flown 3 inches to the left, we’d have had to carry Mike out of there. Or bury the body. Those stories about metal hooks going through the backs of seats is true, I’ve seen it happen now.

It seems that we are going to be making more and more use of Paragon Adventure Park, as it has become one of the places we can be sure is...

Best ride through the hole was Two-Jeeps’ pal Joe in Two-Jeeps’ YJ with open diffs. Being a novice at ‘wheeling he was open to everyone’s advice, and listened to us when we told him to hammer it pretty good coming through the waterhole. Someone said, 'Should we tell him to close his windows?' and the answer came back 'No, he’ll figure it out . . .' Which he did as we all screamed in laughter at his surprised face peering out, splattered with the icy water.

Of course, when you drive up to the trailhead at Ma Bell it is mandatory to get out and to take a look at Monster Rock to see how it’s changed since your last visit. Monster Rock is the opening obstacle to Ma Bell; it is right at the trailhead and in plain sight of the paved road that runs by. It seemed steeper than before, with more of the dirt around its base eroded away, making an even sharper angle of approach. No one even tried the center line up the rock.