NEW OFFICERS, NEW BIG PLANS
Welcome to a whole new year and a whole new slate of officers! You elected 'em, now here they are! Congratulations!
January 2, 1997
37 club members, including five kids, attended this really important meeting where new officers were elected (See abovee for results.)
Respectfully submitted,
Kathleen P.
Secretary
Players Pizza, 8845 El Camino Real, Atascadero
7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Good eats, good company, good video, good fun
HUNTER LIGGETT CLUB RUN TURNS MUDDY . . . EATS JEEP!
By
Trailboss Randy P.
At the January SLO 4-Wheelers general meeting, the club decided that this month's day run would be to Hunter Liggett (HL) on Jan. 4-6. I (Randy P.) volunteered to be the trail boss because I had already been promoting the run through the slo4wheelers e-mail list for a couple of weeks.
We also discussed staying the night in one of the rooms at the HL Hacienda (Hearst's Milpitas Ranch House) or camping at the fish & game shack campground or in the Los Padres National Forest (LPNF) campgrounds to the west of HL. No firm commitments were made by anyone attending the meeting for the overnight adventure except for Randy & Kathy P who had reserved rooms.
Saturday Morning at about 8:45, Kathy, Jenni B & I parked in the Carrow's Lot in Atascadero. Mark & Shelly, Allison & Danny M. walked right up to us and introduced themselves as friends of Tom C, who had decided to join us. They inquired as to the difficulty of the run, and I assured them it was a scenic cruise that they could enjoy in their Suburban.
Soon Brian E arrived jut in time to go get Gas (editor's note: and fill up his master cylinder after Jenni realized it was wide open. Last month, in that same lot, Ray realized JB was missing her power steering cap…hmmm). He mentioned that Ray suggested he get a fishing license.
As Tom C. blasted by on his way to the gas station, I began feeling guilty about not having a fishing license. So as Brian E. headed over to the parts store for brake fluid, I went over to Grisanti's hardware to get a fishing license. After all, this might be a fishing trip.
When I returned, Ray & Darleen and Whitney M had arrived, Tom was back with gas and all were busy visiting and speculating about the day ahead of us. Unfortunately it was 9:30, so we left in a big hurry to get to Paso ASAP where we met Mike & Annie A and Mike & Kathy and their 3 boys at the Chevron Station near Margie's diner. They were in pretty good cheer, considering that we were 15 minutes late and decided to top off the gas tanks in Paso.
By 10 am we were on the road to HL. At about 10:30 we arrived at the main Gate to HL. Of the 8 vehicles trying to enter the military reservation, three were without current vehicle registration. Fortunately the guard at the gate allowed all to pass, saying he didn't want to ruin our fun.
We moved on the game shack, checked out the facility (restrooms) there and made a plan. Most people agreed that we should proceed on through HL (abandoning the fishing trip) and explore the LPNF to the west of HL. Kathy & I, Jenni & Tom stopped at building 205, the federal police station and picked up keys for rooms at the Hacienda. We all gathered up again at Ponderosa Campground for lunch.
After lunch, we proceeded west along the Hunter Liggett-Nacimiento Ferguson Road to the crest of the coast range. The sun was out, no rain, blue skies and great scenery. We turned north off the pavement onto the Pacific Coast Jeep Trail. That's the dirt road that runs along the top of the coast range toward Hearst Castle.
At Pruitt/Alms ridge we turned west and explored Pruitt ridge, including a circuitous route around the reservoir below the campground and up the hill. Almost lost Tom & his Blazer in the pond. But Mike A hooked onto the front with his winch and Ray M hooked up to the rear, saving Tom's Blazer from a watery grave.
Thereafter we explored Alms ridge where certain used contraband was observed at LENGTH by Annie A & Darlene M. The two ridge areas are both potential camping spots for an Easter wildflower run later this spring.
The sun was still pretty high in the sky when we left Alms ridge and header for a ridge trial to the east. Two weeks before Christmas Kathy & I explored the same road and enjoyed it thoroughly. Since then there has been some rain, but it was clear that day.
We stopped when we came upon a guy in a Wrangler from Morgan Hill parked next to the dirt road. He noted that he was waiting for his buddy in a Chevy Z71 4-wheeler (his buddy had the food). His buddy never showed up while we were there.
After some sight seeing & discussion, we decided to proceed down the trail toward the river at the bottom. Mike & Mike decided to wait for us to return.
The trip down seemed quite easy there were a few tight corners and muddy spots with ruts, etc. Once at the bottom it became apparent that we were not going to cross the river, or even any of its tributary creeks, as had been speculated before we descended.
Now it was time to go back up the road the way we had come down. But the up part wasn't like the down hill run. On the first incline it was necessary to winch all Ray M., my Jeep, and Tom. up the hill. It all went well, a little time consuming and a lot of mud, but was quite a bit of fun as the sun set in the west.
On up the road Jenni lead Brian E and Ray M in the Jeeps followed by Tom in the Blazer and I in a Jeep & Mark M in his Suburban (Long, Heavy Blazer). Around the next corner lurked the unthinkable.
The light Jeeps in the front of the group had very little trouble traversing the road, but when the Blazer began to sink Tom exclaimed over the CB that something was really wrong with the road. He nailed it and made it through with his 35" tires and front & rear Detroit Lockers. But he left a quagmire of a rut behind where the Blazer had found its way down through the road surface to a spring below.
Noting his commentary and apparent difficulty with that section of the road, I charged on with momentum, front & rear ARB's locked, pedal to the metal and found the hole he left for me. It got deeper.
The left side of the Jeep burrowed itself into the mire until the tiltometer tilted. The Jeep lost all forward momentum. I was stuck. Could only open the drivers door about 1 foot, so we hooked the winch cable up o the Blazer. No good, that big Blazer was being pulled toward the Jeep! A tree strap was applied to a nice Big Oak tree just beyond the Blazer and the winching exercise began.
As the Jeep moved forward ever so slowly, the left front tire just plowed its way through the surface of the road. The jeep would not climb up out of the hole and the hole just kept getting longer as the jeep moved forward.
Finally I remembered pulling out fence posts with a tractor & chain and a 4x4 timber. You wrap the chain around the base of the fence post, run it up over the 4x4 to the tractor (leaning the 4x4 toward the fence post being extracted). The tractor pulls on the chain that is lifted up by the 4x4 and the fence post comes out of the ground...
We didn't have a tractor, a chain or a 4x4. But the winch cable acted as the chain, a downed oak limb became the 4x4 and the winch became the tractor. After the oak limb drove its way down into the ground about 3', it began pushing the winch cable up and lifted the jeep just enough for the front left wheel to get out of the mud and up on top of the roadway bed...it worked. But the Suburban was behind me.
I honestly believe that to this point everyone, including Mark & Shelly M were having good time. But the thought of getting that Suburban through the roadway that was quickly becoming a spring laid heavily on everyone's mind.
We came up with a plan there was just about enough room to get the Suburban by the deep ruts by traversing the right shoulder of the road with one wheel.
At this time Mike & Mike called on the CB offering their winching services. We invited them to join us for the fun, their wives and the boys went home in the CJ-5 while they stayed in the TJ.
So Mark M gave it a try at a very low speed to keep control of the Suburban and keep it out of the holes in the road. He slipped a little and came to rest with the left side of the Suburban just starting to sink into the muck & mire...Couldn't move forward or backward. Fortunately there was an abandoned roadbed about 20 yards from the one we were using.
My Jeep found its way back down the abandoned Road bed to the back of the Suburban and we winched him out down hill. The only way out was back up hill, so the Jeep made its way back up toward the top on the abandoned roadway. There was a reason for it having been abandoned. It was rutted and nearly washed out in one spot. But with enough momentum even a six-cylinder Jeep can do the nearly impossible, nearly.
Apparently the front of the Jeep only jumped about 4' in the air when it hit the rock at full tilt. There was a loud bang, sparks and metal scraping noise that could even be heard above the engine noise.
The Jeep came to rest near the road above the Suburban. The left front axle u-joint had become UN-jointed, allowing the axle yokes to push against one another & against the axle tube (sparks).
Tom's trusty Blazer pulled the now 2-wheel-drive jeep to the center of the road were it could once again be hooked up the Suburban, this time on the uphill side. The rear bumper of the jeep was trapped to the trusty oak tree and the slow winching affair started. With all 125' of the Warn 8274 laid out in the mud attached to a 6" nylon strap on the front of the suburban, the vehicle slowly and methodically made its way up the road past the mud holes.
At one point, Tom measured the width of the track of the Suburban and determined that it would not make it in the space between the hole in the road and the shoulder, but somehow it did make it.
Ray M hooked up to the front of my Jeep, Tom hooked up to the Suburban and we drove up the road to find Mike & Mike waiting at the first wide spot. They extracted a tree from the road and helped us get back up to the Coast Jeep trail and over to the Nacimiento Ferguson road where we aired up one of the Suburban tires and headed for home.
It was about 9:15 PM. Shelly M ask me to give them a call next time we go on a "easy" day run cruise...I hope Mark & Shelly join us as club members in the near future.
Kathy & I, Jenni, and Tom stayed the night at the Hacienda. Mike & Mike lead the way back to Paso with Ray & Darlene M and Mark & Shelly M.
Jenni, Tom Kathy & I found our way to King City by Sunday for Lunch. Jenni & Tom headed for home Sunday and Kathy & I stayed one more night at the Hacienda. A very quiet, clean and relaxing place to spend a three day weekend.
On Monday after arriving at home I disassembled the broken front axle and discovered the top ball joint that suffered a fatal blow. So the new Spicer ball joints are headed this way from Scottie Ross's and will be in place as soon as they arrive. I have a spare axle and u-joint ready to go back in the Jeep.
Now that's My day run story, and I'm sticking to it...see you
at the next campfire for more gruesome details of the January
HL day run!
Randy P.
Ted Miles Jeep
7380 El Camino Real
Atascadero 466-2411
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