Trip date(s): May 15st to: May 16th Trip Name: 4×4 Safety Clinic
Trip Location: Hollister
Weather Conditions: Sunny and Hot most of the day. Slight wind in the afternoon. On sunday, more of the same, but lotGÇÖs more wind in the end!
Trail Conditions: Dry and sandy. Kind of cold in the morning Saturday but warm in the afternoon. Sunday was hotter, but a little more windy over all.
Who was there with you? LotGÇÖs of people GÇô all great!
My wife Claudia and I went to Hollister hills working the clinic on Saturday. We did Tire Placement. It was a fun, if not hot time. The students were just great, and the staff was very professional. Claudia had never been to anything like this and really enjoyed this group. She loved the training. Years of informal training made this a real experience for her. And then the afternoon came.
A rock demo got us started by two great guys and their wild rides. Wow! IT was something. Each bang of the transfer case skid plate or Diff sent chills through the crowd. It was a real treat! The staff was always on hand with helpful and excited input to anyone who was there, and one of the students even pulled out a drum with the phrase, GÇ£I just canGÇÖt take the sound of metal banging anymoreGÇ¥. This brings the phrase to mind, donGÇÖt dry this at home, or anywhere else for that matter, these are trained professionals!
And then came the dinner GÇô wow was that great. Ole and Amy and Jason GÇô what a setup. Not to mention all the others that seemed to be on the trail all day and then have this killer spread ready to go when we all came in! That was just great. After dinner, AND BEFORE THE BEER, and dedicated group asked if my wife and I would like to go on a trail. It would be quick and fun. Kathy got us over the edge and we fired up for the GÇ£Jungle RunGÇ¥.
We exited a trail in to what looked like a simple ravineGǪ3rd in line, and 3 behind when over the radio we hear, GÇ£Lock em upGÇ¥ and if you have a lift, thatGÇÖs better! Claudia asked if that was serious and I told her is was just chatter and you should do that anyway if you want to make it a little better on the trailGǪlittle did I know!!!!!!!
Our little trip in to the jungle was a jeep wide deer trail! This was a scenic tour of a spacious ravine and sheer little walls to climb. And then it got interesting. I tried to scoot right of a tree and slipped the angle. Jason, my wifeGÇÖs new hero jumped right out when I GÇ£calmlyGÇ¥ asked for help and he just told me what to do and I drive right onto a good line. It was after that we started to have some real fun!
In this section we found out some interesting things about a Jeep Rubicon. One is that it can go places that I would not think of. Two, it can jump on two wheels, pick them, and still go go go! Three, that if you do it right, you can get pick a line, then do a valley, pin apposing wheels and get the front so far up in the air you think it will slid back. Now, when you are just there and you can only see sky, gently GÇô very gently GÇô gas it so the front lowers ever so slowly. You can then pivot over the front until you can see the next valley. Now, that does not mean you should put it down on the line, you can throttle off and let it tilt back until you are sure you want to move and then you throttle up and go all the way over until you sure the from approach angle is clear and power up until you get the next level balance.
Darrell showed us how a Bronco can get stuck and almost tip but still hold it balance. A calm Kathy and he sat by while the expert, Michael, Keith, Ira, and a host of other got him unstuck. That is while tow of us held the handle of his open drivers door down in outrigger fashion!
At this point my wife kindly offered to get my lift, long arm, or anything else I wanted! IT was a great run!
She is hooked and will be doing the clinic next time! She is looking at parts as I type!
Now GÇô for the cow bellGǪ. All of us who followed on the Jungle run!