- Joined
- Apr 18, 2005
- Location
- Greensboro, NC
Fall Crawl 2008
OH YEAH, now I remember why I don't go to the big events like Dixie Run, Zuwharrie and Fall Crawl; the crowds
I headed up early Thursday to meet up with the Barnes 4WD crowd from western NC and get in some pre Fall Crawl wheelin'. Good thing too as the trails got more and more crowded as the weekend progressed, despite a rainy Friday afternoon.
We, jlshermanjr, Barnes4WD, RedMan 30 06 and myself, hit the trails shortly after noon on Thursday. We headed straight to Cream Puff then to Lil Jager, Lower Damnation, Big Perm, Grapevine, Middle Rock Garden and Upper Rock Garden. The Black Mountain trails continue to change, mostly for the better as Jager has gotten a tad easier and Lower Damnation has gotten a tad harder. We met up with 4x4Fever and Mountain Ram when we got to Middle Rock Garden and I was able to snap a pic of the elusive 4x4Fever and his rig in action The work done during the January/Feburary workdays was very evident at the Upper Rock Garden as there were several new lines and the entire length of the rock garden is now passable and it is much more spectator friendly with all the underbrush cleared away. As we headed back to camp we ran into cumminsdzl and 5keepers coming up the Lower Rock Garden and stopped to watch them and snap a few pics.
Friday morning our same group headed straight to Your Turn to begin the day. There we ran into Vanguard in The Rock Walker and several large TN rigs. This was a new trail to me and it's a good one. It is basically a lower continuation of Crawford's Cry and the exit is a tough one which comes out right at the entrance to Crawford's Cry. After I made a quick run up Crawford's Cry we headed over to Pony Hill where RedMan 30 06 was the only one to attempt it and then to Lower Damnation an then up to Lion's Den. Somewhere along the way to Lion's Den it began to rain and by the time we got there it was a down pour and limited visibility due to the fog. There was quite a crowd waiting at the entrance but they turned away shortly after we arrived, possibly due to the weather, so Brad (Barnes4WD) made a quick run through the Den, making a very clean pass with only one back up!
Saturday morning the rain had stopped but the real crowds had started! By the time we got to Lower Rock Garden there were traffic jams everywhere and it was stop and go for the rest of the day. There were spectators galore, rigs heading both ways on the access trails and lots of broken rigs awaiting parts or trailers. Fridays rain had changed the complexion of the trails and some of the obstacles like Lil Jager and Big Perm that had been doable Thursday and early Friday were in full deny mode. Even some of the easier trails like Lower Rock Garden were producing their share of breakages and roll overs. I saw lots of faces from other events, clubs and boards including SPOA87YJ, StretchASU and farmboy from this board and the turnout was tremendous!
I owe a big thanks to Johnny (jlshermanjr) and the Barnes 4WD crew (Brad and Matt) for a great weekend of wheelin and food. They are really a great group of guys to hang out with!
OH YEAH, now I remember why I don't go to the big events like Dixie Run, Zuwharrie and Fall Crawl; the crowds
I headed up early Thursday to meet up with the Barnes 4WD crowd from western NC and get in some pre Fall Crawl wheelin'. Good thing too as the trails got more and more crowded as the weekend progressed, despite a rainy Friday afternoon.
We, jlshermanjr, Barnes4WD, RedMan 30 06 and myself, hit the trails shortly after noon on Thursday. We headed straight to Cream Puff then to Lil Jager, Lower Damnation, Big Perm, Grapevine, Middle Rock Garden and Upper Rock Garden. The Black Mountain trails continue to change, mostly for the better as Jager has gotten a tad easier and Lower Damnation has gotten a tad harder. We met up with 4x4Fever and Mountain Ram when we got to Middle Rock Garden and I was able to snap a pic of the elusive 4x4Fever and his rig in action
The work done during the January/Feburary workdays was very evident at the Upper Rock Garden as there were several new lines and the entire length of the rock garden is now passable and it is much more spectator friendly with all the underbrush cleared away. As we headed back to camp we ran into cumminsdzl and 5keepers coming up the Lower Rock Garden and stopped to watch them and snap a few pics.Friday morning our same group headed straight to Your Turn to begin the day. There we ran into Vanguard in The Rock Walker and several large TN rigs. This was a new trail to me and it's a good one. It is basically a lower continuation of Crawford's Cry and the exit is a tough one which comes out right at the entrance to Crawford's Cry. After I made a quick run up Crawford's Cry we headed over to Pony Hill where RedMan 30 06 was the only one to attempt it and then to Lower Damnation an then up to Lion's Den. Somewhere along the way to Lion's Den it began to rain and by the time we got there it was a down pour and limited visibility due to the fog. There was quite a crowd waiting at the entrance but they turned away shortly after we arrived, possibly due to the weather, so Brad (Barnes4WD) made a quick run through the Den, making a very clean pass with only one back up!
Saturday morning the rain had stopped but the real crowds had started! By the time we got to Lower Rock Garden there were traffic jams everywhere and it was stop and go for the rest of the day. There were spectators galore, rigs heading both ways on the access trails and lots of broken rigs awaiting parts or trailers. Fridays rain had changed the complexion of the trails and some of the obstacles like Lil Jager and Big Perm that had been doable Thursday and early Friday were in full deny mode. Even some of the easier trails like Lower Rock Garden were producing their share of breakages and roll overs. I saw lots of faces from other events, clubs and boards including SPOA87YJ, StretchASU and farmboy from this board and the turnout was tremendous!
I owe a big thanks to Johnny (jlshermanjr) and the Barnes 4WD crew (Brad and Matt) for a great weekend of wheelin and food. They are really a great group of guys to hang out with!
). I still had a great time and look forward to coming back next year!