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Saturday

Some of us didn't get to bed 'til late so in the morning Brian, Remy, Randy, Sheena and Daniel got impatient waiting for us to get up. They went for a drive to Shields in the Sami and the Mazda. Daniel rode with Brian, just to have some legroom. At the first campsite they encountered the need for a big cleanup job. The last campers were not very tidy, to say the least. They managed to get a garbage bag full of empties and to fill a large, old, trashed cooler with garbage. If only the land was managed, so we'd be allowed to regulate people like that!

By the time they got back to our camp everyone was up, and almost everyone was conscious. Neil and Russ did a quick fix with the vacuum lock, leaving it engaged at all times. Scott had scooted down into town for the day. Alpo and T stayed behind to go "silver-fishing" (looking for Daniel's beer). Sarah, Tanya, Neil and Russ piled in the YJ. Remy, Randy and Sheena pried themselves into the Sami and Daniel, Jen, Brian and myself climbed into the Cherokee.

Back down the Waterfall again, and onward to the backside of Eye in the Sky. Remy had never been up there, so I thought I'd be nice and take him up the backside. If he had wanted to, we could have turned around and done the run from the front once he knew what he was getting into. At the same spot Matt had to pull the stock TJ on April Fools Day, I had to give Remy a little help in the way of a tug. He was so close, nothing a little better tread couldn't have helped (See Randy, we need bigger tires!!). At the top we stopped to take in the view and a little lunch. Russ & Co. went down to the gas station so they could meet up with Kelly. We met them there after an almost uneventful trip down. Except that I got a little cocky and tried to drive up the bank where Chet, jo-jo and Keith had all gotten tippy and crossed up, and I came way closer than they did to rolling over. Quick accelerator and steering wheel work and then we all rearranged our clothing after that pucker factor of 9! You'll have to ask Remy whether he'd go up the front side or not. :)

Remy took his carfull home from there. I had to drive Jen home into Langford and Kelly hadn't shown up yet so after much communication via pager and cell phone, Russ + Co headed back up to the camp. Brian and I met Kelly at the gas station after we had dropped Jen off. After the Lada made it all the way up to camp, taking the 2wd Ford Ranger, loaded with 2 dirt bikes and gear, didn't seem all that hard to do. In fact it only got tugged once at 6-ways. Kelly did hi-center it in the washout above 6-ways, but after he put me in the driver's seat so he could push the truck off, there were no problems. Of course I drove the Ranger from there on, and Brian was my passenger so that might have something to do with it. What fun!!

Along the Crabapple bypasses we ran into Dave G in his Bronco. He was just driving along, hoping he got the right trails. When we got back to the camp he pulled out dinner - a huge Atlantic salmon. Brian dug out his tinfoil. Tanya dug out the lemon and butter and she cut it into 2 large fillets (Editor's note: What...no Miricle-Whip?....Sheesh!). Kelly and Jenny took my Cherokee down to the bottom to pick up friends (who didn't show - that got to be our pattern for the weekend), and Scott followed them down on the dirt bike. Brian, Dave G and I took the emptied Ranger up the road and filled it with wood. When we came back the grill was set up over the fire and dinner was on. Neil, Alpo and T were out on the canoe again searching for the last elusive can of beer floating in the lake. Russ and the girls went for a drive so when the salmon was ready the Wood-gathers and Canoe boys got to devour the first fillet. Dave G is hired to provide the food for our next camping trip!! Was it ever good!

Scott came riding up saying Kelly was slowly coming back up. That's when I found out my front passenger wheel bearing had blown. So the 'Rokee got parked as the portable tent for the rest of the weekend. So it was an evening to drown my sorrows - and everyone showed such moral support by drinking with me.

Sunday

Another lazy start to the day. Isn't that what camping's all about? Brian was the provider, having brought pancake mix so we all had pancakes for breakfast. We spent a lot of time sitting on the dock or out in the canoe. After 3 days in the bush I was feeling the need to wet my hair down, but it turned out to be only the beginning. It was just too refreshing - so Kelly and I dared each other to jump in! It's a camping tradition. Yeah, it was cold, but it felt good! So we went in a second time! Woo Hoo!

Scott had a date - picking Debra up from the bottom - so Kelly and Jenny piled in the Wagoneer with him and headed off to the bottom. Brian was determined to get some pictures of his truck in some obviously off-road positions so the 3 of us set out in the Mazda and Bronco up to Cell Phone Hill (Editor's note: I still still prefer "Hubba Bubba Hill" ;). I must commend both Brian and Dave G for admitting they needed help - guidance and what not - and then for actually listening to what was being said. Too many drivers claim to know what they're doing and are bound to hurt themselves and their trucks with over-confidence.

The Mazda nosed up to the rock face. A few tries, a little lost rubber, and lots of determination to get up and it made it all the way. The Bronco had a little more trouble, being tread-challenged. Dave G decided to take the bypass, which is gnarly and harder to pass for smaller and lower clearance vehicles. There's 3 "steps" to it. The first step is getting past a few rocker panel-hungry roots and a mean stump or two. The Bronco made it up like it was a cakewalk. The next two steps are rock faces. On the first rock face the line we chose didn't quite cut it, and Dave G stalled out a few times. The clutch wouldn't engage to allow him to change gears so I climbed in to hold the brake while he played mechanic under the truck.

Dave's clutch linkage was too long so he pushed on the clutch until it popped out of gear, then I backed the truck down, took a new line, and got it up the rest of the way. He brought the truck around and up the back of the hill, having no problems there, while Brian and I hiked back up to the Mazda and took some pics. Then we all went down the back way and headed up the trail towards the top of the Nightmare Run hill. We didn't get too far cuz Dave's truck had problems with traction, and the clutch again. It definitely was a run to show the advantages and disadvantages of both trucks. The problem was the whole damn assembly/linkage was binding for ?? reason.

Dave pushing on the clutch fork while I pushed on the pedal until it popped out of gear became something of a ritual as time wore on, with the clutch not fully disengaging later on. After all the exasperation of trying to get up a washout, it was time to figure this out. Dave ended up shortening the adjusting rod (Ford mechanical linkage) considerably just so it would work to get back to camp. And here he was worrying about the worn driveshaft.

We decided to turn around and head back down. We didn't really want to take Brian down over the panel hungry roots so he tried to drive up the backside of Cell Phone. After a valiant effort on his part, he backed up and headed down after Dave. We took it slowly, talking him through it the whole time, and stacking a few rocks in two places to come out with no damage (Except the grip marks on Brian's steering wheel from the intense adrenaline rush he was having).

Back at camp we waited for Kelly and Scott to come back from a bike ride so they could check out Dave's truck and make sure he'd make it back to Duncan that night. Dave and Brian worked on the truck while Debra, Jenny and I went for a canoe ride. Did you know there's another campsite on the other side of the lake? Really private, set up with an outhouse and everything. When we got back Deb and Scott took the bikes out, I went for a nap, and Kelly inspected, then cleared the Bronco for departure. He ended up shortening the adjusting rod even further and it has worked fine since.

On the way down Dave G creased his passenger fender and door on a tree. He thought his truck was skinny enough to pass by. Maybe he is, but his truck wasn't. He wasn't the only one to suffer damage. After all the use the dirt bikes had, by the time Deb and Scott came back one was missing back brakes, and had a touchy throttle and clutch. The other was missing its exhaust and its entire throttle handle. Scott had been pulling the throttle cable with his fingers!

After all the excitement of the last few days, we were all content to have a quiet campfire and an early night.

Monday

I think I was delaying getting out of bed as long as possible so I didn't have to pack up to leave. Brian opened the tail gate for me, and I laid there until I was forced to get up. By the time I DID get up, my grand scheme to make oatmeal for everyone turned into oatmeal for me and Scott (who never says no to food). Scott and Kelly worked on the bikes using baling wire to make a thumb loop to use the throttle. They were gone for a while so the rest of us packed up what was left, and then I took Brian over to the other campsite in the canoe. When the boys got back we packed up the bikes and the canoe and headed VERY SLOWLY down.

The Ranger only needed 2 tugs on the way back. Both were on the backside of Crabapple Lake. The Wagoneer was nominated for this task and did an admirable job if it.

My wheel bearing wasn't just going, it was gone! Every few feet I had to apply the brakes just to straighten up the wheel. Once I had babied it down to the gas station I didn't want to drive it any further so Kelly took over, and I followed him in the Ranger. What a sight! The wheel looked like it was going to wobble right off the truck at any minute. But it didn't, and it made it all the way back downtown to the shop. I left it there for a few days until the parts came in. And now, I'm raring to go!!

This weekend in Sooke was brought to you by the following sponsors:

Island4x4.com
Land of the Nefarious Island Rock Monkey

and

COMA Off-Road Racing
A division of COMA Motorized Sports
If it has an engine, we'll race it!!

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