Post by nwquadriders on Oct 28, 2007 11:36:23 GMT -5
I did the 10th Annual Flat Broke and 4-Wheelin' Poker Run this weekend out in Tillamook State Forest. Once again I ended up in the front of the pack, as nobody else knew where the heck to go. They ran us up Archer's Firebreak in the hard direction. This has multiple black diamond sections and one double black diamond section (I skipped the double). There were 2 groups of Toyota "die-hards" in front of me. One broke down (front axle) on the first EASY hill climb. They winched his sorry butt out of the way after about 45 minutes of scratching their heads (and butts). Then me on my measly little 33's walked on by him. Stopped in the middle of the hard spot he broke in, looked out the window and said, "That's not so bad"...and then eased on through to the top of the hill. Then we get to a flat section...very easy stroll through the woods and another Toyota breaks a u-joint on his driveline...not sure how that happened. I motored on past with a few other Jeeps now right behind me. These guys who broke down all had tools, parts, and buddies to help get them out, so we didn't leave them for dead...
Anyway...we get to the part I'd been dreading. A very rocky uphill section (which I've only ever gone thru once...and that was downhill) . I made within 30 yards of the top and then it got ugly. It was a good test of my skidplates. We stacked a few rocks to no avail, so then it was time to pull cable so that I wasn't blocking the trail. The checkpoint was at the top, and when I got up to it, they told me I was the 1st person to make that hill all day. Everyone else turned around. The guy behind me snapped an axle (too much throttle and bouncing)...the guy behind him broke a u-joint on his front axle. There was a lot of carnage. We had to get moving and out of the way, so we motored on thru the rest of the course with ease. We ended up on a few more trails getting easier as the day passed.
Then came the raffle!! They gave away 5 winches, a set of tires, tools, hi-lift jacks, recovery gear, and a lot more. I spent $20 on raffle tickets, and ended up winning a set of Bushwacker Fender Flares (any size/style). This is perfect as I've been thinking about buying them for a while now...especially now that the rain is here. So... that was huge for me... a $430 prize. I'll call Bushwacker tomorrow and let them know what I want, and they'll send them to me, or I may just drive to their warehouse as it's about a 5 minute detour on my way to or from work.
Good times!!! I'll be doing this run again next year
Anyway...we get to the part I'd been dreading. A very rocky uphill section (which I've only ever gone thru once...and that was downhill) . I made within 30 yards of the top and then it got ugly. It was a good test of my skidplates. We stacked a few rocks to no avail, so then it was time to pull cable so that I wasn't blocking the trail. The checkpoint was at the top, and when I got up to it, they told me I was the 1st person to make that hill all day. Everyone else turned around. The guy behind me snapped an axle (too much throttle and bouncing)...the guy behind him broke a u-joint on his front axle. There was a lot of carnage. We had to get moving and out of the way, so we motored on thru the rest of the course with ease. We ended up on a few more trails getting easier as the day passed.
Then came the raffle!! They gave away 5 winches, a set of tires, tools, hi-lift jacks, recovery gear, and a lot more. I spent $20 on raffle tickets, and ended up winning a set of Bushwacker Fender Flares (any size/style). This is perfect as I've been thinking about buying them for a while now...especially now that the rain is here. So... that was huge for me... a $430 prize. I'll call Bushwacker tomorrow and let them know what I want, and they'll send them to me, or I may just drive to their warehouse as it's about a 5 minute detour on my way to or from work.
Good times!!! I'll be doing this run again next year
