Back
on September 28-30, 2001, the Tx4x4
CyberClub Arlington, Sulphur Springs, and Longview Chapters
hosted the Tx4x4 Fall Run at Barnwell
Mountain Recreation Area near Gilmer, Texas. I had learned
of the event and knowing the good the various Tx4x4 chapters
do for the sport of four-wheeling and for their communities,
I was excited about opportunity to cover the event for ROCKCRAWLER.com.
Saturday
morning rolled around, and as Murphy's Law would have it,
we did not get the early start on the road like I had anticipated.
It was 7:30am by the time we got on the road, and the trip
was fairly uneventful.
We
met up with Jim Brown at a truck stop and made the mistake
of eating breakfast there. It was truly awful. Anyway, after
making the trip to the bathrooms, we were on the road again.
By
the time we rolled onto the BMRA property (aka. Red Planet),
checked in with Clyde and unloaded the rigs, it was about
10:00a.m. We didn't see anyone around at first except for
a bunch of motorcycles and ATVs. We decided to go ahead and
go searching for some groups.
No
sooner did we round the corner, when we ran into Dick and
Ingrid Hollinger and their group gathered at the top of the
trail they had just completed. We did the typical howdys and
hellos and then did the final leg of Linda Gail. The
end of that trail used to be a little hairy where there is
a washout. Most did the go-around, but there were several
who decided the washout would be a good challenge.
Tony,
in his Maroon, locked CJ-7 went first. He made several attempts
and was about to give up when we discovered the area he kept
hanging his differential up on was hard-packed dirt. Tony
finally smoothed off that protrusion and was able to make
it up and over. Several followed and were able to make it
up with no problems. He ended up making what was originally
about a 3-rated obstacle into about a 1 1/2 or 2.
I
hooked up with Dave Kinsel's group next and the next trail
we hit was Twister. Now Twister is not a very difficult trail
but as the name implies, it can really get your suspension
in a bind with its very deep ruts and gullies. If you don't
disconnect your sway bars you stand the chance of tweaking
them into distortion. I was able to get several good twisty
shots.
Dave
then led us to L&B Turnpike for some more hill-climbing
fun. Now, L&B is not a very tough trail, either but there
is a pit at the bottom of the ravine which just about swallowed
a YJ whole. I'm sure it didn't help that the fella was running
stock-sized almost-worn-slick tires and open differential.
This guy buried his front end into the mud in the creek. The
only way out was backwards and with someone else's winch.
The winching took a while since the ascent was a steep one
and everyone behind this poor sap had to back out of the way.
The creek was deemed impassable after that and we decided
to go back the way we came. I don't think the YJ would have
been the only one to get stuck.
By
this time it was nearing evening and there was a raffle to
attend. Having all of those who attended the Fall Run in one
place really showed the spectacular attendance for the event.
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