Below is the write up I did on this trip back in May of '98. Bear in mind I'd not taken the Bronco out much and I'm still new to a lot of the technique in 4 wheeling. I'm more than willing to admit to my inability to deal well with some adversity. Needless to say read on. You can click on the thumnails through the write up for a full image.
Trail Report from Evans Creek ORV, Mt. Rainier.
This report
mostly applies to those of us in the NW but I thought everyone
might be interested
so skip from here if you're not interested in this
WAY_TOO_LONG
explanation.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Well I got
my happy self but slightly unhappy EB home last night after
spending a
day and a half at the Evans Creek ORV campground at the northwest
foothills
of Mt. Rainier. For all of you not too familiar with the NW, it's
about 1.5
hours southeast of Seattle.
Here's the
quick rundown on results. In typical idiotic form, we went on
trails we
had no bidness bein' on. My friend Scott had his bright and shiny
new 3 month
old TJ and just got a couple little stratches from limbs. The
putz.
I on the other hand was driving my EB and came out with the
following:
a slightly dented front fender, a bent rear chrome bumper, a
rear flare
broke in half, and a cracked up passenger hinge that makes the
door close
tighter than Cindy Crawford's butt. But we did make it back with
drivable trucks
which is exactly what I hoped for.
 |
 |
 |
 |
So I'll attempt
to explain this mess and repair my self esteem. I'm a bit
of a bonehead
by nature and tend to not think about warning's like "Evans
Creek is really
not meant for trucks bigger than the wheelbase of a Jeep."
But OH NOOOOO,
I seem to think the EB's extra few inches of wheelbase and
width is a
good thing on hair pin corners with 100 ft drop-offs and 2 foot
ruts.
Here's the
quick specs on the two vehicles:
74 EB with
302/C4 and carburetion. Stock 3.50 gears. Stock LS in
front/rear
(a seriously worn out rear LS). 30" Wildcat tires. You name
it,
it's pretty
much stock except for the rear cutouts, nerf bars, and that's
about it.
98 Jeep TJ
with 4.0 I-6. Stock whatever gears (I think 3.73). Open front,
LS rear.
30" Wrangler GS-A tires. The rest, bone stock.
 |
 |
 |
 |
As is evidenced
by that laundry list of vehicle modifications, we were
morons going
into this but looking to have some fun. And when they say
short wheel
based trucks do well in this, they mean SHORT. It's the
switchbacks
that get ya. The only way I can explain them would be to set a
Cheerio on
a steep hill somewhere, then try to make a U-turn on it in your
EB.
Not real easy.
Anyhoops, we
wake up with a splitting headache in the morning after several
beers.
It's thick fog and the sound of trucks in the distance sounds fun.
We pack up
and head down a trail through some pretty easy stuff for quite a
while.
The trail splits off and we head down a diamond trail (most
difficult
- requiring modified vehicles with lockers if possible -- ummm
lockers?
umm, i've got 'em in my doors i tink). Some very tight and steep
downhill treks
and some very off-camber spots. Get to the bottom havin' a
blast.
 |
 |
 |
 |
If I didn't
mention it, the trail was littered with mud, broken rocks,
stumps, and
swamps up to 2 ft deep.
Most of the
day is going great and we decide to take one more run. It's
pretty easy
for a good mile or two and then makes a hairpin tun up into the
old growth
stuff. It's seriously rutted with steeps you couldn't see
anything but
the tree tops. About 1/4 mile up some very off-camber
obstacles
I'm down in a tough rut, get to the top and CCCCRRRAACCCCKKKKK!!!
LUURRCHHH!!!!
I've run the front pumpkin into a tree root right in the
middle of
the trail. Couldn't see it. We pull out the trusty Hi-Lift
and 5
minutes later
we're pushing further up this trail. My EB is running like
crap due to
carb angles. It keeps stalling and I'm getting PO'd. So i'm
headin' up
a rut 50 feet from where I get stuck and POOOOWWW!!!!!! I tag a
tree root/rock
sticking out on the passenger side and pushed in the hinge on
the passenger
door. What the heck is goin' on?
 |
 |
 |
 |
By now, my
mouth is starting to run with a few choice terms and I'm all tense.
I've totally
lost concentration on my lines. We head up the trail and I
punch the
front bumper on another tree root denting the front fender. I'm
basically
worthless now and stop the truck to head up the trail on foot.
It's getting
nothing but worse so we decide to turn around.
After a 50-point
turnabout, we head down and get too close on a hairpin and
SNAP, Crackle
POP!!!!! There goes the flare. The rest was just me trying
to recover
and figure out how NOT to mess up the rest of the truck.
Sooooo, all
things told, it was a great time. Scott was careful with his
Jeep and reaped
the benefits. I beat up the EB a bit but just cosmetic.
I'm happy
to say I'll be back in my daily driver come Monday morning.
May 1998