Conway/Oak Ridge/Crozet Wheeling Aug 26-28, 2005

  What a great trip!! It was a testament to our love of wheeling when one realizes just how much we did. Damage was done to many people’s rigs, but everyone handled it admirably.
  Friday, after setting up camp, we went to Conway to take on "the hill climb". Only a couple of Jeeps stayed at the bottom because they were open/open, but everyone else made it up without a winch. Good job!! The waterfall was a beautiful reward for taking on the hill.
  Saturday, in the rain, we went to Oak Ridge to clear the trails for the annual trail ride at the end of September. There wasn't too much trail clearing to be done. The couple of obstacles we tackled were handled with little effort and no permanent damage. CJ-5 Hill was intimidating in the rain, but turned out to be not so bad. I got a little grumpy at the end of the day, but that's because I was wet, tired, and had not had a hot meal for two days.
  Sunday was Crozet day. I recovered from my grumpiness, had a hot meal, and was ready to tackle the challenges ahead. It was wet and the blue trails were even bluer. Mud and slick rocks were abundant. Most people scraped the underside of their Jeeps ruthlessly and I was no exception. Thank goodness for rock sliders and skid plates! Fran lead our group of thirteen rigs in the morning and then again lead for four Rubicons in the afternoon. Many people pitched in with spotting and kept everyone else on top of the rocks.

  Overall, I came out okay. I did manage to dent my fender after slipping off a rock and into a tree stump, I damaged my winch cord, my front diff is leaking and I bent my track bar. Oh well, it's a small price to pay for the new friends I made, the current friends I got to know better, and the joy of spending the weekend doing what I enjoy most.

See you on the trails!

To see the photo album of this trip click here or use the "General Photos of Stuff" link to the right.