Although at times it was about as comfortable as ice fishing in a muddy pond, the 4wheeling was great this weekend.
Yes, that is why I didn’t get a post out on Friday, and even though this is dated for Saturday, it is happening on Sunday (I need to keep room on Sunday for videos).
So, Friday evening I jumped in the truck with Pat and we headed north toward TN. We were hoping for snow for our annual Winter Madness run. Behind us we dragged Pat’s 85 CJ-7. It is lightly
modified (ok, we call it lightly modified…) with 33″ tires, 4″ suspension lift, shackle reversal, Dana 44 front axle. It is locked front and rear, and is powered by a 4.0L fuel injected engine mated to a NV4500 heavy duty transmission. Of course there are a lot of other little tidbits… Pat is the National Sales Manager for Omix-Ada, owners of the Rugged Ridge line of Jeep accessories.
Pat’s Crew Cab El Camino (Chevy Avalanche 2500) is a lot more comfortable than driving up in a Jeep… We’re old, we like comfort..
So, while there was snow in Atlanta… there was no snow in TN. But it was cold. Increasingly cold. By Sunday morning, when we headed back to Atlanta, it was very cold.
But, on the trail it stayed mostly above freezing. At least just above freezing.
The trail system we were on is a really cool place. While a lot of our club members had been there previously, it was my first trip. I can’t wait to visit during the summer. Aside from the cool waterfall at the end of one of the trails, there is also a cave at the end of another spur. There are also a lot of ro
ck gardens, which though the rocks are smaller than economy cars, they do require picking a good line.
There is mud, too. I’m not really a mud fan. This particular mud hole claimed a few casualties. A couple of our folks lost tire beads in the hole. A mud-filled tire is pretty heavy, and not the most fun to change… but it’s better than watching basketball.
This was the main reward. At the end of this spur, there is a really cool waterfall. The cool thing about it is that there is no stream at the top with the water flowing to the falls. And, at the bottom, the water disappears back into the rock again. There is no stream flowing away on the ground.
While driving to the waterfall, the river drops underground regularly. It will be there flowing strongly, and then disappear completely… only to reappear after a few hundred yards.
Anyway, that is why I wasn’t keeping my regular posting schedule.
I love my hobby…