Heading to gulches

marty79

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2013
Location
Newton, NC
Heading to the gulches in few hours till Sunday if anyone wants to come. Wife said "I'm feeling great today, let's pack and go"...that means stop working and pack and go. I dont get chances like this lol. So if anyone is going or interested you know what my rig looks like. Happy weekend to all, safe traveling
 
I wish I could join you but I have a chicken coup to finish first, then finish a floor. Working FD Saturday. If you end up staying for a while Sunday i may ride down to hang out with you.

Oh yea, your ass better be at the bash at Uwharrie. I'll have a spot reserved for you beside us.
 
Heading to the gulches in few hours till Sunday if anyone wants to come. Wife said "I'm feeling great today, let's pack and go"...that means stop working and pack and go. I dont get chances like this lol. So if anyone is going or interested you know what my rig looks like. Happy weekend to all, safe traveling
Let me see what the wife has planned for this weekend. I might shoot over Saturday if I can.
 
Currently sitting with my front axle torn apart, might could get it thrown together tonight after work.

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Wow this place is crazy, just accomplished hard route of Apple Pie holy cow that was amazing! Videos will come but after I get through whole weekend
 
I am still broken, nephews second birthday took priority. Maybe next time

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Lol I'm working on getting videos figured out, and waiting on Florida group guys to send me the best one of me lol.
My trip got cut short 2days though so it was a good test run, got to see my rigs potential but Saturday and Sunday didn't get chance to go be stupid
 
What's the story with missing Saturday and Sunday?
well it's kinda stupid: Thursday and Friday rode around, had fun did a lot of stuff, did some of the hard stuff and few trails even gave it little hell.
Friday night we're out night riding and on the way to "shipwreck" there's a hairpin turn that during the day was fine, at night couldn't see as good and my long wheel base and width didn't like it to begin with so got pinned up against the tree on that turn and when I forced it forward ....well my intermediate front driveshaft with carrier bearing twisted all to hell...I was like really?? Are you serious? I did all what wheeling today, even beat on it a good bit for the first day and now you wanna break LOL.
So Saturday and Sunday no wheeling, rode around with buddy on Saturday till 3 then packed up. It was a fun trip nonetheless, I got to do plenty of stuff (I guess) but I was going to be really ballsy towards Saturday afternoon into Sunday.

The reason it's "Stupid" is many months ago I broke that same one at Horsepower park trying one of those crazy hill climbs and bouncing real good split it in half. We fixed it while there with a piece of 3/8" wall tubing we found (yeah got lucky lol) that slid over the original front tubing BUT it was about 1.5" short of going all the way to the end...i have forgotten to fix that the "right way" and well, you probably can figure out where it broke Friday night...yep right at that last 1.5" of factory tubing. So yeah, it's stupid....and I'm stupid for forgetting about it but oh well.

If some of you guys haven't been in a while, you might wanna go back. I think that place has changed A LOT....like A LOT lol, from what many others were saying too compared to a year or more ago.
 
I see maybe 2 I might have a challenge or tuff time. I've watched that park for months now and not bragging but my rig would crawl all over that park except for maybe 2 spots..not my kinda challenge I'm looking for. Plus I've spoken to several who've been and after describing my rig, was told it's not going to be that challenging.
But every video I've seen of Harlan is freaking awesome and that's been on my bucket list for many years now and I have a rig I believe is very capable for it.
 
lol, fair enough but not sure what you're implying. Breaking a driveshaft on a "turn" hardly counts for carnage. I completed every trail the park has to offer, only the real "crazy" steep rock obstacles I didn't get to try. Overall I love the place, it's a lot of fun. I will say it was actually "WAY TOO DRY" lol. It really was, everything was just so hard dry ground hard to tack up any kind of descent traction...All terrain tires would've done better (as I witnessed in person).
If there's ONE major lesson/point I learned from this trip is the famous phrase the owner who was our guide Friday kept saying, "you can't build a rig for every trail" and dam if that doesn't hold more truth than I ever realized. Since he knows the park, he could guide TJs/Jks/LJs locked front and rear on 35s up Apple Pie every time knowing the right line and yet for me that was a "descent accomplished trail" given I did take a harder route that most don't but nonetheless, my wide stance and wheelbase wouldn't allow the normal line he was taking everyone else up. So yeah I will say some trails, one of those jeeps on 35s showed me up as far as ease but other trails the opposite so I'm not in that comparison game by no means, even more after wheeling with so many different size rigs and styles.
I'm waiting on this video of my exit on "Heartbreaker"...an exit that some pretty sick built rigs couldn't handle but I got it withing few tries without beating on it. That didn't mean I had a better rig, just that my setup was better for that trail on that line. The other steep rockface exit of "heartbreaker" I couldn't do, neither did those same heavy built rigs, but this guy in YJ on 40s all terrains comes and practically walks up it lol, we all said WTH LOL.
So I learned a lot about rigs in general and where each rig performs it's best and worst and try to make the best of the "between"
 
Yup. You can’t build the perfect rig for every trail. And the more you wheel, the more you’ll see someone come along and walk what usually just hurt several peoples feelings. It’s usually a clapped out Toyota with leaf springs and 37s

I watched @cufor98 come up some wet trails in Harlan with some crazy bald tires, that we all had just struggled on.
 
Man I was so nervous watching you in Papa Gulch with your arm out. Please break that habit before it breaks you arm.

Edit: or removes your arm...
yeah I've gotten a lot better, but that trail I knew it wouldn't go sideways on that section. That was one of my favorite trails.
My favorite part of "papa Gulch" is when I slammed down and put a dent in my oil pan, one of the rods was hitting it (you can hear it) and I just smiled and kept on lol. That cracked me up when I watched it.
 
Apple Pie, last one for now till I get the others.
 
Apple pie was the first trail to get a feel for the jeep, I wanted to keep trying the far right ledge but it was way too early in the game lol
 
Coolest part about the trip was wifey rode through a lot more than she ever has, after seeing how well it mostly did, she became confident to ride. It also helped having some beefy doors on it too I'm sure (she didn't like no doors, hard to feel secure lol)
 
Man I was so nervous watching you in Papa Gulch with your arm out. Please break that habit before it breaks you arm.

X2 on this! Keep your hands and feet inside the ride until the ride is over.

Also, keep your seat belt on!

@Jody Treadway would be proud. White socks with Crocs!

Rock on!:rockon:
 
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