Home | Message Board | Videos | Calendar | Gallery | Reports | 4x4Tech | Classifieds | Outdoor Recreation | Island4x4 Store |Links | About Us | Contact Us

Saturday, Jan 6 Run

Attendees:

Jon + Amanda - '85 Blazer
Cara + Regi - '93 Cherokee
Cory - '92 Cherokee
Alex - '85 Samurai

The sun was out most of the day, making for perfect trail weather. Our early morning start turned into a midmorning, and then noon start. We were waiting at the Sooke Shell for a long time for Cory, and then decided to just go after he hadn't shown up. Turns out he was pulled over on Sooke Rd near the flats with a blown rad hose. So that's as far as he made it, but I still wanted to give him an honorable mention.

We decided to head up to Crabapple, taking it easy cuz the Blazer is stock, but playing along the way. I hadn't been up to Crabapple since Canada Day, so it was good to be up there again. We took the easy way up, not even stopping to look at Waterfalls, although we did stop at 6 Ways for a while. Both the Suzuki and I couldn't get up the far left side and both of us agreed that lower gears were definitely the solution. I got some great hang-time with my front tire and then had to go from the top and hang the back tire too for pictures. What a poser!

Halfway up one of the last few climbs before the lake, Jon decided his trans was running too hot and so we stopped there while he cooled down. After a 15 min or so wait, he made it up, but the trans was still slipping, so he parked the truck and they climbed in with me. We stopped for a chat at the lake, then Jon climbed in the Suzuki and Amanda stayed with Regi + I. We commented on how rare it was that the girls actually outnumber the guys on off-road trips, but here we were 3-2. Go, Girls!! The Suzuki led us on a trail that looped behind the lake, opting not to take us to Tire Change and U-Joint, but showed us the trail to it. Jon and I had time constrictions, so we headed back to the Blazer and then started back down.

At the Shield's fork, we turned up to the lake, driving around back. The sun was still out and I couldn't go home before a quick trip to Lookout. We parked the Blazer again at the large campsite for expediency reasons and drove up. One rutted puddle was deep enough to actually wash over my hood a bit. And contrary to the guys' opinion, I was going slowly! The view was clear and it was definitely another one of those "that's why we come out here" moments. Then back into the trucks and down we went. Back at Sooke Shell at 4:45 pm to air up and on our way home. Jon called me a few hours later, to tell me the rear end of the Blazer was making noise, suspiciously like chewed spiders or some such. So that would be our damage for the day.

Written by Cara (sweetdiva@island4x4.com)