What Was That Explosion?

A cool breeze became steady out of the East as I loaded up my rig for the haul on Friday afternoon. The air was heavy with anticipation. I finished just in time for the rain. Not exactly great conditions for a Friday night trek through New York City but the traffic was surprisingly light. Met up with Bob Two Jeeps and his passenger Eric for the ride. Bob ran over some road kill with his tow rig and splattered some of the carcass on his fenders. Gross!

We got to the Comfort Inn about 10PM and bumped into some fellow wheelers from Long Island. It happened to be Karaoke night and we enjoyed some grog and listened to some people who should not quit their day job. All in fun I guess.

Saturday morning was a sheet of ice. I now recognize the value of a four-wheel drive tow rig, as it was a chore to vacate the Comfort Inn parking lot. Upon arriving at the entrance to the park, I slid past it so I decided to go up the road a stretch to find some place to turn around safely. The first turn I made into a parking lot in an industrial complex, my rig immediately jackknifed. I was stuck until Mike YJ arrived. Mike pulled my rig straight and followed me to the entrance of Paragon Park where my rig jackknifed again. Mike saved the day again and towed my rig up the hill into the park. Uncoupling at the top of the hill was a great idea. Thanks Mike. Maybe I should ask Santa for a beefy four-wheel drive tow rig this year.

Well it must have been after 10am when we entered the trail. The wind was calm and the trails were nice. I led a group of 6 fine trucks, myself in Spare Parts, new member Bryan K. in his CJ, what’s his name in his YJ, Chris M. in his YJ, Ironman Karl in his beautifully restored CJ-8 and Eric in his newly painted and repaired red XJ taking up the rear.

We started out on Chicken Run which seems to have been changed since I last ran it. Bryan needed a tug to get over the first obstacle, which is where we noticed his sway bar was still connected. Out came the wrenches and we quickly put an end to the sway bar links.

Some of Chicken Run was very new and took Eagle Scout skills to find the trail. Eventually we came upon some familiar looking worn rocks. But not before Karl decided to investigate an ATV trail. A very tight squeeze indeed! We had some pulling and tugging to do but most went smoothly. Except Karl who unfortunately broke an axle u-joint and left us shortly after that to try to get repairs started. Karl’s truck was fine though complete with carpet. I remember carpeting! I think Bryan bent his drag link also.

Next we entered Drumstick. I must have read the map wrong when choosing the trail. I hopped out into the squishy mud to take a look at some intimidating rocks. The snow was just about gone by now. A brief look revealed that it was not a blue 2.

So we turned around and headed down a 2wd access road to Cherokee Ridge. We took a detour between Hummer Hill and Sleepy Hollow for a short distance. I have seen 'Lost' before and that trail was just what it looks like. I guess some of the trails are not marked well and definitely not on the map. Our convoy turned around and we corrected our course. Next we stumbled upon Rabbit Run and crossed a small brook. The last bunch of rocks had a familiar looking tree with no bark (not a dog) on it. I think I recall this tree in one of the videos chewing on some truck paint. Some nicely placed rocks on this trail made for fun obstacles.

What was that explosion noise coming from the other group near by? I had to wait and ask the other trail guide, Bob Two Jeeps, when we got back to the parking lot.

Bryan’s wheeling skills were excellent by this point in time and with some spotting and a jack, he quickly cleared the obstacles. The rest of us followed suit, except Eric.

I think it was about 3:45PM when Eric decided to drive up an almost vertical pile of slippery looking coal-like gravel. This proved to be the 2 winch hill. Eric’s winch cable was making noise reminiscent of guitar strings breaking. So we hooked up another winch for safety and he cleared the last hill.

Back at the parking lot, the Park officials were anxious to get us out so I could not get all the names of the passengers who participated. We had some folks taking digital pictures, which I hope we will all see. Over all the run was a success that can be owed to its participants. There was good spirit on the trail and the seasoned wheelers got their hands dirty helping out. No one got hurt, we all made it out, and carnage was not too bad. I look forward to wheeling with them again. Good job guys!