As it turned out only three vehicles joined the
tail-gunner. Our group of 4 included our leader Todd Hoffmaster in
his gun metal gray Tacoma, Rick Neil in his stretched red CJ,
George Padilla in his white S-10 Blazer, and myself (Lance Morin)
in my black Tacoma. One of the first things you notice in Uvalde
are the smooth, white riverbed rocks ranging from golf ball to
softball size. These rocks were very much like quick sand and
dubbed "quick rock" by most whom attended. The rivers
were very low this year, and much of the water was not a factor
Friday. Most of the challenges were obstacles of rock formations,
ledges, dirt hill climbs, and "quick rock" whoopties.
Anybody with at least one locker could enjoy most everything
offered in Uvalde, while open trucks had that much more fun
trying. Much of the action was scattered around the obstacle
sections of the river, while the riverbed rocks guided us from
section to section. Our Friday group of four finally intersected
with the main group. We picked up several more vehicles as we went
to explore the rest of the trail. Included in our now expanded
group were Jeff Harris (Trooper) and Marc Haught (Samurai). The
next section of rock was more of a challenge than they appeared.
In fact, our fearless president was gracious enough to plop his
big ol' Jeep right on top of large boulder. There he stayed until
Marc and his Sammy were kind enough to pull him off. The following
rock section was very scenic and challenging as well. The larger
formation offered a variety of options for just about any type of
vehicle. This time Rick got to play the hero as he used some good
old fashioned horsepower to help free a Scambler that was wedged
in the rocks.
It was now about 5:00pm and time to head back to
town. Some people chose to take the short route back to the
highway, while the rest of us followed our trail leader down the
scenic path through the riverbed. This part of the trail was
supposed to be about an hour back to town, but the "quick
rock" delayed that a bit. We came to a annoying little
section of riverbed rock whoopties. I (Lance Morin) forced those
behind me to stop dead in their tracks as I misjudged a climb. I
had to drive back down the hill to gain momentum for another try.
About this time Jeff Harris' Trooper sunk down on a crest and was
unable to gain any traction. I figured I would just back up and
strap them out. The back up and strap part went just fine. It was
the "out" part that didn't work so well. I immediately
sank up to the frame as my front end was on the next peak. Now
there were two of us stuck in the "quick rock". For some
reason we thought the open differentials of the S-10 Blazer could
set us free. He immediately sunk in as well. Our trail leader made
his way back down to us and strapped onto the other side of my
Tacoma. I was now free and on solid ground to help the Trooper
along. The trail leader then pulled the S-10 out to higher and
more stable ground. As I proceeded to help guide Jeff and his
Trooper to solid ground we both managed to sink in again as he was
very mighty close to a little pond. Rick immediately backed into
place and pulled us both out. The rest of the way the two open
trucks used desert racing tactics to avoid sinking into the hilly
riverbed rock. At each hill, they would get a running start,
flying over the top like Ivan "Iron Man" Stewart or
something.
Mike
Klinke in his YJ
|
George
Padilla in his Blazer
Marc
Haught in his Sammy
Rick
Neil in his CJ-5 (yes,
CJ-5)
Moving
right along... |