Trail Run Review
Black Friday II
MUD! FUN! CARNAGE! WINCHING!
By Jim DeFord
Photos by: Rich, Mary, Paul & Zach
BROWNS CAMP,
TSF, Oregon (Nov. 28, 2008)
— We pre-
staged
at the Glencoe Road McDonalds as we normally do. This year was much
cooler than Black Friday I and quite foggy. But, foggy and cool means
less quads and bikes that run on the 4x4 trails. For Black Friday II we
had eleven FJ’s and three Jeeps.
It had rained on and off all week, so we knew we’d be in for some mud
and yes, we had mud!
We staged and aired down at Rogers Camp. The plan was to hit Powerline,
and then over to Hood Raiser to install our trail sponsor signs.
The Northwest FJ Cruiser Club took a huge step as a club and signed the
trail sponsorship papers two Saturdays prior to the BFII run. We now
have the responsibility of maintaining the Hood Raiser trails. There is
an easy section and a “more difficult” section and we plan on adding a
Black Diamond loop sometime in the near future.
With the Brown’s Camp ORV Park as our home area for 4-wheeling it made
perfect sense for us to take part in the Adopt-a-Trail program that the
Oregon Department of Forestry created for the park.
It saves the ODF tons of money and their park is still maintained. In
addition, all the time we put into maintaining the trail, the ODF is
paid by the Federal government. So, it’s a total win-win situation and
we, as a club, can contribute to one of the coolest ORV parks in the US.
The
trip through Powerline was slick and snotty, but everyone held their
ground and there were no issues, so we headed to Hood Raiser, planted
our signs, scoped out possible
areas for a Black Diamond loop and picked up trash.
Once
we hit the top of Hood Raiser and finished installing our signs, it was
time for lunch. After munchin’ Mark Hawley pulled out his Russian-made
automatic bb-gun, so we played around with that a bit and headed off to
Firebreak 5.
The
middle of the lower, rocky area has been thrashed the past month since a
few of us had last been there and the ruts around the big rocks are
pretty deep. We got through with not too much issue, but not today.
Getting through (or not in some cases) took over 2 hours with try after
try and winching.
There was some minor carnage. Many scuffed wheels. A trashed pseudo
bead-long ring, a smashed OEM rack-rail (Oooo. Big surprise there), many
a scarred skid plate, but nothing major.
Moving further up FB5 to the sharp left through the roots, stump
and tree, there were more challenges. A few drove right
on through, while several others took several attempts with scarred
bumpers and at least one smashed, stock, front bumper-wing. Again,
nothing major.
We decided to skip the tight, upper portion of FB5 because it was
starting to get pretty late, and decided to finish off with Cedar Tree,
which the favorite trail of many with its tight twisties through the
trees.
Add the wet and the slippery mud and the challenge of Cedar Tree
increases a bit. Everyone made it through without issue.
We de-staged at Roger’s Camp. Aired back up, shared stories of the day’s
run and viewed some of the days carnage.
Hungry, a few of headed out to the Helvetia Tavern for burgers, fries
and onion rings. That was yummy and our first time there. We need to
make that a regular stop on the way home for a dinner run!
So, again, the Black Friday run was a huge success. We had FJs and Jeeps
and new and old members. Many familiar faces and many new.
It’s always a great time to get together, run some trails and share
stories of mods to your vehicle, your kid’s latest accomplishment(s).
Thank you all who participated and we’ll look forward to seeing you on
the next club sanctioned run.
Trail Run Report
St. Patrick's Day run at the beach
12 trucks attract attention on beach run
By Tim Keithly
PACIFIC OCEAN, Oregon (March 17, 2007)
— The run to
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the
beach started out great. First thing in the morning we met up in the
Target parking lot in Aloha. It was a beautiful sunny day which from the
looks of the sky promised 70+ degrees. As the group rolled in we saw
lots of new faces and new FJs to go with them. The variety of people who
showed up was only outshined by their creativity in modifying their
rugged looking little trucks. The assortment of mods and gadgets was
dizzying and the tales of how each piece was installed was rather like
listening to fishermen boasting about the one that got away. It was
really amazing to see how these 12 trucks which were all produced within
a few months of each other were all different from one another. One
member when asked what mods had been done on their FJ replied sheepishly
that it was still stock. As if that was anything to be ashamed of.
Around 08:45 the group headed west towards the Pacific and adventure.
Corny I know but that was the feeling in the air. Everyone was excited
to have a nice day and enjoy the scenery.
Speaking of scenery we stopped off at a view point for some pictures and
to terrify a lone Hummer H3 with our half mile long caravan of FJ
Cruisers. Across the way we spied a muddy hill climb which looked
inviting to a couple of the members. For the record there was no posting
nor indication that the road (see cat trail) was off limits to motor
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vehicles.
After a few attempts on the muddy slope and only making it up 2/3rds of
the way with a semi ungraceful decent and a moment of pucker. A state
worker in a yellow truck pulled up to bully us into leaving. This wasn’t
really much of a sell seeing as the hill was too muddy for more than a
couple of trucks to get up there even with the assistance of lockers and
various electronic traction programs.
Leaving the viewpoint we forged on towards the sand and surf of the
Pacific. After a few miles the radio call went out that our convoy was
being passed, which comes as no surprise since 12 FJs stretches way out
on the highway. The surprise was that we were being passed by another
FJ, a silver one with a kayak on the roof and a rather grouchy driver
who simply refused to return any of the 12 waves our members gave him as
he sped past.
When we came into the first little Oceanside community we spotted
another FJ at an antique shop. The first vehicle in the convoy honked
and the driver who was just leaning over the front seat looking for
something in the back. Later we heard that by the time the last FJ was
passing her she was talking on her cell phone with a bewildered
expression on her face. We saw that same expression repeated throughout
the day from what seemed like nearly every driver who was paying
attention.
Finally we found the road leading us to the beach and away
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from
the oppression of asphalt. The group then turned north and continued for
about two miles. At this point we circled the wagons and by the time the
last vehicle had stopped moving there were already a half dozen smiling
faces partially obscured by clicking cameras. Some ran up the dunes,
some shot from the front seat of the truck and one member even took a
really amazing 360 degree panoramic from the center of the circle.
Now, folks were ready for the business of relaxing. Within moments there
were chairs, ice chests, soda, water, food,
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tables
and a the little barbeque that could. Several of the members used their
trucks, some rope, and a tarp to create a wind block for the chef.
Flames went up, burgers and dogs went on the grill and we were in
business.
The kids and dogs (not the ones on the grill) made their rounds and did
what kids do best in the outdoors, find dead things (They did this in
Stevenson too…)to wave at adults. Before long there was a pile of dead
creatures ready for inspection, at least until the kites went up in the
sky. During our break the original members got to know the new ones and
by the time we finished eating there was no longer any perceived
division among the ranks.
As the spring tide rolled ever higher up the beach we decided to roll on
to the north and our ultimate photo op of the jetty. Around halfway
there we stopped at a National
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Guard
hummer and asked if we could pass through their live fire range
exercises. They were very kind and let us pass through without much
hassle at all other than to say to cover the 2 miles of beach “real
fast, cause you don’t want to get your trucks shot up.” Whew!
As we neared the next beach access road we spotted a little blue Toyota
van and a young couple in distress. The van was buried up to its body in
soft, fluffy, damp sand and the couple was admirably trying to dig it
out with their bare hands. Normally this beach has lots of traffic but
today in over 2 hours on the beach our group had only seen this van and
a couple of other vehicles. This young couple must have looked up from
their labors and first thought it was some kind of Technicolor Japanese
invasion. Then some of the lead members pulled up and posed the
obligatory “Ma’am you look like you could use some help thar.” The young
couple of course eagerly agreed all the while eyeing this odd looking
group of invaders.
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A few moments of planning and a tow strap and the fun began. To say this
sand was soft is a bit of an understatement. Even with the wide tired
and relatively light weight of the FJ Cruiser the truck doing the
pulling was easily sinking into the dark, damp, depth of beach.
Amazingly (even to the driver) the little yellow truck popped right back
out when thrown in reverse. After a couple more attempts and some more
strategy the rear locker was engaged and the FJ tugged, and tugged this
time hard enough to rattle the teeth of the van driver. Momentarily and
with some help from several FJ owners bouncing on the vans bumper the FJ
made it to hard traction and dragged the van up the hill to where it
could be detached and the now elated young couple could be on their way
home. The FJs were all elated as well because they finally got to rescue
someone, and take the pictures to prove it.
The gaggle of blue, yellow, silver and a lone black FJs returned to the
beach to run all the way up to the jetty and then back to the access
road where they drive on the pavement to the topside of the Jetty.
Unfortunately the jetty access was closed due to some pretty heavy duty
construction. There were rocks there ready to move that were the size of
an FJ and weighing more than all the trucks in the group combined.
After a few pictures at the Jetty parking lot the travelers detoured
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back
to the Hwy and around to the Astoria Column. The Column is really just a
converted lighthouse which stands on the mountain above the town of
Astoria. Tourists and FJ owners alike braved the 8 million spiraling
stairs to the top of the tower and were rewarded with a view rivaled in
few places, even on a misty, cloudy day like this one. Even the amazing
pictures of our group members can’t do it justice, much less my meager
words. To see the coast range mountains in the east the ocean to the
west and the stunning four mile long Astoria Bridge to the north
complete with giant cargo ships passing silently beneath
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was
breath taking at the least. One person threw a balsa airplane off of the
tower and I looked as if it flew all the way down to the river.
After a few moments reviewing plans and admiring fellow members work it
was time for the adventurers to split up and head back to the places
they came from. Once again to say the group was diverse is an
understatement. Members returned to Troutdale, Portland, and parts far
north in Washington. Every person in the group made a contribution to
the success of the run. It is not often that people can come together
and have only a few basic things in common and work so well together.
Congratulations, and many thanks to everyone for making that personal
investment. I am sure everyone came with the intention of having a good
time and ended up sharing more of themselves than they had thought
likely. Creating community is what these runs are actually about.
Stevenson run a muddy adventure!
Great weather and 10 trucks
By Jim DeFord
STEVENSON, Wash. (February 17, 2007) —
The second run of the year for
the
newly formed Northwest FJ Cruiser club was once again greeted with
perfect weather. Our first run was in January at Brown's Camp.
The morning started off warm and foggy,
but soon parted for beautiful, crystal blue skies as we adventured
through the Gifford Pinchot National Forest north of Stevenson,
Washington.
We ran with 10 FJs. As always, our runs
are a family-friendly adventure so we had wives, kids, friends and dogs
along for the ride.
The kids had a blast and seemed to have an
odd
propensity for gathering dead animal parts this day. From jaw bones, to
leg bones and hoofs. Gotta love kids!!! See the galleries for for more
bones.
Our goal for mud was answered early with a
slushy mud puddle just minutes into the run. As you can see we were all
pretty excited to get our trucks a little dirty.
The scenery was breathtaking as we trekked
along on the various forest roads. Paper maps and two GPS equipped
trucks kept us on the trails.
The trail of the day was a short, gnarly
jaunt up a gooey, wet, clay packed road up to the power line. It was a
slippery, sliding, and moderately challenging road. And it got more
challenging as more trucks went through.
A few brave souls made another, more
difficult climb up another section of this road, but they ran into a
dead end of fallen trees. Tim ran up with a chain saw to see if it was
worth clearing, but the road conditions had deteriorated so badly that
it was decided to not send up any more trucks. The trip down was pretty
wild as they slid a lot of the way down.
As
we left this area, we just had to make a splash! Nearly every truck was
completely mud covered from nose to tail and most of the white roofs had
turned a mellow color of beige. Engine compartments were also not
spared.
We then ventured further into the forest,
but ran into several icy, snow packed roads that were non-navigable by
rubber-tired vehicles.
The
scenery was absolutely incredible and we plan to adventure back this way
again in the summer when we won't be stopped by snow-crusted roads.
One the way down we stopped by this wooden
bridge on Morgan Creek. Water was moving fast and the clear. In the
summer this is definitely a popular gathering spot as there was a swing
rope there. We also discovered a bunch of trash, soda and beer cans, a
tennis shoe and a dress shoe,
among
other crap left by people before us. So, as we enjoyed the scenery we
also cleaned up the place. It's so disappointing to see people abuse our
forests like that.
10 trucks full of friendly FJ owners,
family and friends, and perfect weather made for a super fun run and a
full day of great 4x4'ing and scenery you can only find in the Great
Northwest.
For next month were are looking forward to
a run being setup by Tim and a chance to dyno our FJs over at PDXTuning.
Stay tuned here and at the FJ Cruiser Forums for more information.
Who Ran (Forum screen names): 1 Bored
Clerk (Blue), Bernd (Silver), BDFJ (Black), Couver (Black), PDXTuning (TRD-SE)
Mick the Ginge (TRD-SE), Bennutt (Blue), Terahex (Blue), Son of a Son
(Yellow), Stumptown FJ (Silver).
Thank you all for joining us. It was a
wonderful time and we look forward to seeing you next month and our
future runs. Remember, the absolute only thing you need to do to join
our FJ Cruiser Club is to come out on a run with us. The more the
merrier!
Feel free to contact me for more
information at:
jim@nwfjcc.com.
See the photo galleries at:
Photo Library
Trail Run Report
Tahuya Father's Day Folly Run
great fun!
13 FJ's and a Jeep make the run
By Cassidy Steed
TAHUYA ORV PARK, Wash. (June 20, 2007)
—
There were
13 FJ's and one Jeeper with us.
A good
portion of us met up at the Federal Way Truck Scales on I-5.
We started
the FJ convoy from there for the 1 hour drive on SR-16 across the Tacoma
Narrows Bridge. Seen in the back ground in the pic below. We just
happened to run into SteveFJ on Hwy 3 and he joined the convoy.
From there
we met everyone else at the Belfair Safeway.
We all
drove out to the air down area passing the camp ground area and getting
a lot of attention from the campers.
We split
the group in two. OlyWaFJ with Bernd led the South
Loop
while SteveFJ led the north group and I. At one point SteveFJ went
through a mud puddle and forgot to roll up his window!
Claus was
the only one with trail damage on the North loop. He was hung up on a
log by his stock skid plate. He ended up crushing it and folding it up
like a piece of tin foil. See pic. Amazingly his stock running boards
made it through.
Eljugador
sheared off one of his shocks on the South Loop.
I'm not
sure how Billybong did not damage his FJ when he rock crawled on
boulders! We found some mud to play in on the North Loop at Mud
Lake.
We all met
back up at the camp ground area and BBQ'd. Marlene BBQ'd delicious
shrimp and pork marinade which was enjoyed by most. Chewey shared some
awesome bratwursts. Thanks to Mark at Metal Tech for the give-aways. We
drew numbers for the pick order. I think Bernd and someone else were the
lucky ones who received the FJ Tool Bags.
After the
BBQ Todd Bernd and I attempted to find the south loop but ended up doing
the north loop again. SteveFJ was going to go but got called out on a
search and rescue at Mt. Rainier. We had a blast and the kids (My three
and Bernd's son) did great. They played a bit at/in mud lake and it
shows in my back seat.
Marlene
drove my rig a bit on the second north loop run and had no problems
navigating the tight trails.
Overall it
was a great run and I can't wait for the next one. Thank you for all the
help setting this run up.
Trail Run Report
Record turnout for Tim's sendoff
Tim at Timothy Lake
By Jim DeFord
TIMOTHY LAKE, Oregon (May 13, 2007) —
It seemed most fitting Ollalie Lake was snowed in. This NWFJCC event was
planned as Tim's Farewell Run right from the start and we ended
up at Timothy Lake.
The NWFJC
C
is not about one member, but Tim has stood out as a leader within our
little FJ Community. Always willing to lend a helping hand, take the
nasty trail first to see if it's okay for the rest of us, spot for us
and always putting safety and trail etiquette first and foremost. It's
this philosophy that the NWFJCC is built upon and it will be carried
forward while Tim is apart from our group in Quantico, for US Marine
Officer Training School. Godspeed my friend. Never lose touch. I know I
speak for the entire membership of the NWFJ
CC.
Our run started out at KFC in Clackamas with FJs overflowing their
parking lot out into the street! We had 16 FJs, a Jeep Wagoneer and an
FJ60. Our trail of vehicles stretched down the road in a 1/2 mile-long
convoy! Quite the site to se
e.
We turned the heads of fishermen on the Clackamas River, various
campers, the entire town of Estacada, every driver on the road and a
bicyclist who nearly broke his neck and fell looking at FJ heaven as it
passed by.
Once we left Estacada, we headed down the river and stopped for our
first Geocache. It was quite an interesting activity and we signed their
log and left an NWFJCC business card.
The scenery was beautiful and there were many rafters on the river.
Every time we go out it just solidifies why the Pacific Northwest
carries the nickname: God’s Country. We are truly blessed.
A few more miles up the road and we trekked for geocache #2, which was
found by your’s truly. A Tupperware container with mostly kid’s trinkets
and a logbook. I signed their logbook and we left another NWFJCC biz
card. Fun stuff
Now it was time to go 4-wheelin’! We headed up to Silver Fox and found a
couple of pretty gnarly, and very muddy trails. Yeah baby! The deepest
water didn’t require snorkels, but this was the deepest water I had ever
trekked. Like everything else, the FJ just cruised right on through.
The over-growth was pretty tight so the entire group was awarded
pinstripes of varying degrees. Ahhhh, but that’s what the FJ is for. NOT
for only getting groceries or going to Little League or soccer matches,
but for real 4-wheeling like it was meant to be. To get that adrenaline
rush as you make it through a really tough stages and wind up with no
damage other than a few, buffable stripes in your clear coat.
There was one very, VERY tight trail that only Bernd, Perry and Tim were
willing to go through. It was an obvious ATV trail and the top
over-growth was VERY tight and some of the top growth was also tight.
Even walking down the trail you had to duck.
Bernd, the Stripe-King, blasted through without a whimper. Perry was
next and his roof-rack mounted hi-lift jack removed half the forest as
he ripped through cracking and snapping branches left and right! Wish I
had a
video of that run. Bernd and Perry shared some interesting stripes.
Tim ran up next and when we asked where
his stripes were he told us how he waxed most of his FJ before this
trip. Barely a nick on Tim’s truck. Heck, even the mud slid off his FJ
like raindrops on RainX treated windshield! I know what I am doing
before our next run! Griot’s Garage, here I come!
So, we headed down the hiway and a then a super-dusty gravel road to
Timothy Lake where we settled down for an awesome
lunch! We had upwards of 35 people and probably enough food for twice
that. What a great time to socialize.
Tim was then presented with a slightly wounded farewell cake that I just
barely saved when it flew out the back of the FJ as I opened the rear
door. Yeow!
Tim spoke about the club’s “sense of
community” and that we should always carry that with us, not only in the
club but our daily lives. Yes Tim, that will become the club’s Mission
Statement as we move forward.
Half the group parted for various reasons as lunch split at 3pm.
However, there were 9 FJ’s left that just simply had not had enough.
We’d only run a couple of trails—though the day was very complete, we
were all muddy and had a great time—it was now time to get down to some
serious 4-wheelin’.
Bernd’s navigator, Shane, suggested that we head to Wildcat Mountain,
southeast of Sandy. Alrighty then! Off we go!
BTW: Shane has become an adopted member of the NWFJCC
.
He’s a longtime 4-wheeler, a great spotter and has helped on several
lift installs. Now, we just to get him an FJ!
The weather was turning from an average, partly cloudy, Northwest day
into what was looking to be rain. Go figure. Someone had mentioned
earlier in the day that we were going to get “dumped-on” Saturday night,
and that would come true, after we were done wheeling. In the meantime
it was only a bit of harmless fog and drizzle.
Shane had been up at Wildcat just a few weeks prior and some of the
trails he had run were blocked off. But, we did find a couple that kept
this run going until 7:30 pm in a heavy drizzle and darkness.
We ran into one dead-end where the entire group had to
turn
around. That was interesting! The next trail was a muddy-mess with
several 20 foot long mud puddles and a huge 50 foot long mess that, yet
again, the FJ’s just road right on through.
The trail became tighter and eventually everyone had to head back out.
Due to some miscommunication about space available to turn around, I
only made it ½ the way down, but coming back up there were two trail
choices: The muddy one or the dry one. Oh boy!
The muddy trail was very slippery-slidey going down, but was a real
pucker-factor-challenge coming back out. Thoughts of winching danced
through my head as the FJ would not crawl through this uphill climb and
a very, very tight S-turn, with trees and vegetation on either side.
Eventually, it was A-TRAC on, and the FJ
powered and bounced right through it. Bernd also took the muddy route,
noticing that it was thrashed it pretty hard, and then suggested the
others take the dry bypass.
Gabby
and Christy, in their 100% stock FJ, were brave enough to hit Wildcat
with us and they made it through with flying colors and stripes that any
FJ’er would be proud to own. The smile on their faces was a beautiful
sight as they pushed their FJ to its very limit and then some and made
it through with zero damage. A day 4-wheelin’ cannot get more perfect
than that!!!
Had we been in Alaska and had more hours of light I am sure we all would
have gone further, but finally, it was time to pack it in and head home.
With high-fives all around, zero-damage, about 700 stripes and rain now
coming down hard, we took our traditional end-of-the-day group photo and
headed out.
Thank you everyone who participated. Thanks to Harold for organizing,
making two pre-runs and making this event a true success. Good job!
Thanks to Tim for your friendship, leadership and sharing your knowledge
with us. We all look forward to your post-Quantico run.
Thanks to Bernd, Shane and Tim for your 4-wheelin’ expertise, spotting
and willingness just to go first and see what’s out there. Thanks also
to Bob for the FJ Magazines.
Special thanks to our out-of-town members who got up at umpteen-thirty
to make this event. We will come your way soon.
If anyone has a suggestion for a June or July run, let’s chat! Seeya on
the trail!!!
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