Ernie's Stroll Down Sesame Street
- 8 hours ago
- 3 min read
This is my first Trail Story, though I have read every one. And dang do I have some big shoes to fill!
This was the second run for my new control arms and driveshaft. First run for new member, Jay and his wife Rachel, in their new Toyota 4Runner—or as I now call it; "No-More-4-(step)-Runner". The rest of the crew was comprised of Sal and a few of his nephews, Ted the Fed, Sean, and Ernie. Ernie did everyone a solid over both days, volunteering to lead the group through a mix of greens and blues, with some offshoots of blacks for the more adventurous.
On Sunday, it was a smaller group, Just Ernie, Jay, and me. And Ernie led us through another lightish day with plenty to see, like Jotters Revenge.
Once we all figured out the new, crazy, pricing structure of Rausch Creek on Saturday, Ernie took the group on a scenic route in the Northeast Property.
The trails up there are much wider than some of those tighter trails on the main property—which I personally appreciated. Jay and his 4Runner did really well, and Ernie did a fantastic job spotting Jay through some of the stickier situations for an IFS vehicle that is relatively stock. Jay's tires each caught at least some air throughout the day, but it was the 4 steps hanging from his rock guards that went the way of the DoDo. What Jay didn't realize when he purchased his Rausch Creek membership was that it came with complimentary Rausch Creek Step Relocation and Removal Service.
The steps would hang on the most minor of rocks, as we expected and warned of. But as we also expected, the rocks made fast work of removing those steps, leading to a much more capable 4Runner with improved ground clearance by late morning.
Along with the scenic views of Jurassic Park, one of the highlights of the day was a pond that the group came across. Nobody knew just how deep the pond was, but there was a brave soul who decided to give it a shot. That brave soul's name? Sean.
Sean drove through the pond without issue, the water was only a couple feet deep. So most everyone else took a few runs at it. Splishing and splashing like a bunch of pigs in mud.
The day continued, no breaks or damage to report. Just nice views and light trails. A great way to ease Jay, Rachel, and the 4Runner into things. The most challenging event of the day was when several of us fought with Jay's toilet tent to get it to fold back up into it's carrying bag.
Ernie did another great job leading and spotting on Sunday. A part 2 of the Stroll Down Sesame Street for Jay and I as Ted the Fed, Sean, and Sal all went home on Saturday. Sean lost his Jeep's keys only to realize it once he got home. Luckily, a guy from PA Jeepers found his keys in Rausch Creek's parking lot and gave them to Jay, who then gave them to me to bring them home. I gave the guy a club challenge coin to thank him. We found a sweet hole that both Ernie and I want to try next time we're at Rausch and have a few more modified+ rigs with us. It was called "Impossible Hole" and it is the first trail marker that I've seen at Rausch that has "Winch Required" on it along with the trail name and color. it is only a blue, but from the ridge you can tell that, especially after some wet weather, it would be difficult to climb out of. The hole is several stories deep and the egress is slick clay, almost no rock. It looks like a "skinny pedal obstacle". And damn does it look like it could be a ton of fun!
Huge thank you to Ernie for leading both days. I know blues and greens are overly chill for him—dude was watching youtube videos while leading LOL. But his experience and guidance made the trip fun for all and it was a great welcoming to Jay, Rachel, and No-More-4-(step)-Runner.
Until next time, this is MaiTaiJay signing off.
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