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Had a great day today running Escalator and Eye In The Sky. Shannon, Bill, Matthew, Phil, (passengers), and I all met at Harbourview for the run this morning. We met Keith there, who was on his way up to Shields Lake with some newbies. Our group headed out to Boneyard Main, then past Leetchtown and off to Gragg Main.

We came to a bridge over Gragg Creek. At this point there was some confusion about where the trail was (well actually there was some confusion before too :). After going up and down a few spur roads we finally found the entrance to Escalator. Believe it or not I had yet to run this trail. I was very pleased to say the least, the trail has a lot of character.

The first 400 yards or so is tame 2wd stuff. Then you cross a little creek, and things start to get a little more interesting. This section is really nice. The road becomes part of the next creek for 75 yards or so and it is quite beautiful (I remember this section from Keith Daly's web site photos).

At this point we still weren't sure if it was really Escalator. Then as I approached a fairly gnarly obstacle (creek crossing), I heard some hooting and hollering coming from a pair of nefarious island rock monkey's behind me (otherwise known as Phil & Brent). Judging from their primal utterings, I assumed they meant, "this is it, this is Escalator".

This obstacle was interesting, but not terribly difficult. Until.........Shannon comes along......gets his diff hung up momentarily, and the poor lad decides to listen to my mumblings about this rock and that "huge" hole yada yada yada... Anyway, I stacked a couple rocks for him to clear his diff. He progresses forward, and then just as his rear tire looked as if it was going for a trip into the vast unknown, I yelled "whoa".

Good thing Shannon didn't listen to (or hear) me. You could actually see the neurons firing in my brain as I saw the tire approach the hole....like slow motion, the time it took my brain cell depleted head to make the connection between the "want" to have him stop and the actual act of yelling "whoa"......well needless to say it was a little late.

Anyway, Shannon's instincts told him to give 'er a little gas, and he was right. If he stopped he might have slipped in, but continuing with a little power got him past the potential "Doh!".

Next up was a series of little dips and ruts and the "usual suspects" (aka rocks of various sizes and dispositions). Then came a wicked little climb up the mountain towards the ranger station. There was a lot of nice little obstacles, one after the other. No real problem to climb, I had to stop, back-up a foot or two and take another line here and there. There was one section of a loose dirt wash out that got me crossed up a bit. I had to take a few runs at it before I got the right line.

I continued up the trail, relieved myself and waited for the others. After a minute or so and no "others", I decided to walk down and see what all the engine revving etc. was all about. By the time I got down there, most everyone had made it through. I could only guess that Phil had had as much fun getting through as I did.

I hopped in the rear of Bill's Jimmy and marveled at the Cadillac feel to the ride. I'm not much into big trucks myself, but Bill's is one of the nicest "built" ones I've seen, and apart from the cushy ride it sure must be nice to have low gears and a locker eh! We made it to the top of the mountain and the ranger tower. The tower or cabin itself has fallin' in on itself (I'm sure with a little help from the idiots who don't respect the trails or the other users of the trails).

We had lunch or what may resemble a lunch to some (me and my pepperoni and cheddar cheese sticks for example).

The next section is the famed "Steps" that I presume gave Escalator it's name. These are not a serious threat, but fun all the same. Certainly a photo-op situation, and we got lots of those (I really really need a digital camera).

After the steps we came out onto the side of the mountain where there were some spectacular views to be had. Clear cuts anyone? Well it is B.C., but it still bugs me to see so much forest and little or none of it left untouched by human greed. The rest of the trail was 2wd to the bottom of the mountain and back onto Cragg Main. Apart from the fact that we didn't really know which way to turn at each intersection, there wasn't any "events" on the way down and we managed to pick the right direction at each turn (Down!). :)

At this point we headed back to Sooke, and Phil and Matthew decided to head home. Shannon, Bill and I decided to do Eye In The Sky. This is one of the first "tough" trails I did in my Jeep CJ5. Wyatt Sabourin took my up the trail for the first time. Since then I had done the trail maybe a dozen times and it never ceases to amaze me how much it changes from year to year. Sometimes it is tough, sometimes it isn't so tough. This year it is just plain "ugly". We took the new cut-through at the power lines off Harbourview Rd. This is a cross up section that is kinda fun. Then we headed around the long way to the trail head.

The trail starts out fairly rough right off the bat, and I'm sure it's turned away it's fair share of novice drivers. The upcoming hill climbs that used to be "a not so technical boulder bounce", have become quite washed out, and "ugly". I had to take a few tries on some of the washouts, but made it through most of them.

By the time we made it to the last truly ugly spot, my clutch was crying and whimpering about the way I was treating it. I felt like bitch slapping it and "proving" I could make the last gnarly obstacle. Then common sense somehow eeked it's way through the limited amount of macho goop in my scull, and on into my now rockshocked mind.

I asked Shannon for a tug. He obliged with a shit eatin' grin on his face, and we were on our way again. At the top the view was magnificent as ever. We stopped for a while, Shannon noted his frame rust, and a new crack near a body mount. Then we headed down the other side of the hill.

This side used to be the easy way up. It still is, in light of the way the front is now, but it too has gotten a little ugly. I would like to see someone going "up" that section when it is wet. I tried once, but decided not to risk a roll down the hill (and it would be a long one), and turned around. Still, it would be fun when dry.

All in all, another wicked day doing what I love to do most.....go 4wheelin' with some good people on a good trail.........

jo-jo
(apologies for some of his foul language and choice of phrases, but damn it was just such a fun day ;)