2003-03

Solihull Society Land Rover Club of Colorado - Volume 3, 2003

Importing a Land Rover - Part 1 Adventure Team Challenge Results Hole in the Rock Battlement Mesa Lockhart Basin - Elephant Hill The Rubicon

Bill Burke’s 4-Wheeling

America

970-858-3468 bb4wa@bb4wa.comwww.bb4wa.com ____________________________________________________________ ”If you are looking for a trail guide and/or four-wheeling instructor, you can do no better than 4-Wheeling America.”

(John Lee, Expedition Exchange, CA)

On The Road…Moab September 9 & 10 On The Road…Florida Coming in November!Sign up for our email list to be notified!

www.bb4wa.com/training/group.htm

Hole-in-the-Rock TripSeptember 25-19 Trail Leader Training Learn responsible trail leading skills. www.bb4wa.com/trips03.htm

www.bb4wa.com/training/trailleader.htm

Private Instruction Industrial,

Government& Military Training

www.bb4wa.com/training/privatetraining.htm

Modifications We can build-up and customize your Rover with trail-ready accessories!

Premier Training and Guided Back Country Trips “The training that you provided the [Solihull Society Land Rover] Club is invaluable …. Thanks again for the experience and allowing me to gain the confidence necessary to tackle the more interesting challenges.”

(Mark Stolte, CO. 3/03)

We sell ARB, OME, Pull-Pal, Power Tank Onboard Air, RUD Chains, and D-90 Rock Sliders…custom-made by Bill. www.bb4wa.com/products/products.htm

We hold BLM & USFS permits to operate on public lands.

Bill Burke’s 4-Wheeling America www.bb4wa.com … 970-858-3469

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Solihull Society News THE EDITORS REPORT FROM THE FRONT SEAT OF AN ’88 RANGIE 1.

NATIONAL RALLY – As previously advised The National Rally will be again be held in Moab this year. It will be run in a similar format to last year. Fees for NonMember driver and vehicle is $150.00; fees for Member driver and vehicle is $125.00, passengers will pay $75.00 each. The club website now holds a preliminary schedule of events for the Rally, a copy of which appears on the next page. Please check it out and commit early to the event.

Deadline for registration is mid August so get your forms in quickly.

Club consolidation. Representatives form both the Rover Rider club and our own have been chosen to meet to thrash out the details for a possible merger prior to it being placed before the membership for ratification.

Members are becoming more literary with many more submissions of trip reports being submitted for the magazine.

You will note that this months edition is larger than usual. It could have easily been almost twice the size due to the volumes of contributions. Hanz Shultze and Lurlie Bickford note special mention this month for their generous contributions. Please keep those submissions coming in, there have been plenty of trips run with no trip reports submitted..

A video is going to be prepared for this years National Rally. Contact Terry Mitchell for details.

James Shackleford and his wife Naomi are now proud parents of a very healthy new baby boy Please join me in congratulating them. By the time you get this David and Heidi Nowakowski have probably already had their baby as well. Please also congratulate them.

PO Box 480864 Denver, CO 80248–0864 The Solihull Society is a Land Rover club (Land Rover, Range Rover, Defender, Discovery) serving Colorado and the USA. Membership is open to all Rover enthusiasts.

Annual Dues are $60 and include 4 issues of the newsletter

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Solihull Society Magazine Copyright 2003 by Solihull Society President – Pat Bickford pbickford@ai–colorado.com Vice President – Mark Stolte marks@alliancecp.com Vice President – Larry Grubbs lwgrubbs@us.ibm.com Events Coordinator I – Ali Vali avali@mho.com Events Coordinator II – Jim Hall jimfoo@purplemountain.net Events Coordinator III – Ralph Brandt rnbrandt@earthlink.net

Treasurer – Pam Haigh chaigh@boulder.net Secretary – John Alden JAlden@SpaceImaging.com Membership – Tim & Colleen Clair tclair@gowebway.com Newsletter Editor – Norman Hall norman_p_hall@hotmail.com Webmaster – David Nowakowski david@davidandheidi.com

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I look forward to seeing everyone on the trails both easy and hard.

Good Wheeling Norman Hall NB You will note a picture of me on page 8 of this issue. Call it editor’s perogative to get his ugly mug shot up in lights.

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2003 National Land Rover Rally Preliminary Schedule:Wednesday, September 10th - Drivers Registration and Welcoming Party Thursday, September 11th - Day: Trails; Evening: Navigation Trials Event See page 11 for more details Friday, September 12th - Day: Trails; Evening: Vendor Display Night Saturday, September 13th - Day: Trails; Evening: Awards Banquet For those planning to attend: 4-Wheeling America will hold a 2-day driver training event, On the Road...Moab, September 9 and 10 for those who will be attending the Rally and want to take driver training with Bill Burke before the Rally. For details, go to http:// www.bb4wa.com/training/group.htm

Colorado’s Premier Land Rover Club PO Box 480864, Denver Co 80248-0864 Application For Membership Names: _______________________________________________________ Address: ______________________________________________________ City,, State, Zip Code: ___________________________________________ Phone Number: _________________________________________________ Email Address: _________________________________________________ Land Rovers owned: _____________________________________________ Occupation: ____________________________________________________ What can you do for the club?: _____________________________________ ________________________________ Signature Date

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Please photocopy and then completely fill out the above information and mail the form along with membership dues [$60 per year] to the above mentioned address.

Accepted by:

Importing a Land Rover.

by Todd Vess. Part 1 of 4 parts

member of the Series II Club. He pointed me toward a couple of potential Landies on Difflock.com.

[Editors note. Todd did such a great job that I had to include ‘ANNIE’ THE PICKUP this. His whole sorty takes 20 pages so unfortuantely I have to split it up int 4 parts, a veritable Land Rover “War and Though my search for a good 5-door wasn’t looking good, I Peace”.] did find a 1969 SIIA 1-ton pickup that piqued my interest. It had just completed a 2-1/2 year restoration, complete with After taking a chance and purchasing a 1990 Range Rover to new chassis, and the owner was selling it because he’d replace our VW Golf, and then a few months later buying a purchased a Discovery. The photo on the website looked 1971 Mini from a friend, my wife, Lisa, and I realized we were promising, so I emailed him. The next day I had shots of every stricken. Forget Mad Cow Disease, we had Old British Car angle. It was like I was looking at something on the factory Disease. I’m not sure how it all came about, but the topic of an floor. The vehicle was immaculate. You could eat off the floors. owning a Series Land Rover surfaced. It was likely partially It had a new galvanized chassis and practically all the due to the fact Lisa saw I could repair the cars myself. After mechanical bits had been replaced with genuine parts. The paying VW’s prices for repair on the EuroVan, I think Lisa was owner, Glenn, emailed me a three-page description of the ready to stop throwing money at vehicle labor and parts. vehicle. It was obvious he had poured his heart and soul into this truck and he wanted it to go to a good home. Sometimes Thus began my quest for a Series Land Rover. you can just feel something is right, and this was one of those times. Lisa felt the same way, and we decided to put a deposit I began by posting a query on various Land Rover forums. I on the truck. It wasn’t what we were looking for, but for some found several leads, and quickly discovered that Series Rovers reason we felt as though we had to have it. It was too good to in keen shape command a premium price here in the US. It pass up. We even purchased the set of five brand new was especially hard to find a 5-door wagon that we could use Defender tyres and wheels Glenn’s neighbor had for sale. as a daily driver for under $15,000. As I was flipping through Land Rover Owner International one afternoon, I showed Lisa a couple of examples of what I had in mind from the classifieds.

Seeing the prices and a much better selection than we could find here, Lisa suggested what I’d been thinking. “Why don’t we just import one from England?”

Indeed.

I began to search the internet for vehicles and as things with the internet go, one site built on another and pretty soon I was spending several hours a day scouring the net for vehicles.

When I wasn’t hunting through virtual classified ads, I was checking out US Customs regulations and trying to figure out shipping.

To my dismay, the number of good vintage Landies in the UK was not as plentiful as I’d first thought. Of the vehicles I found that would work for us, most were younger than 25 years, which meant I couldn’t import them due to US regulations.

Most of the rest suffered from rotted frames or bulkheads; projects I didn’t want to undertake.

However, after a few weeks, things began to fall into place. I received an email from someone named Peter Coello, the secretary of the Forward Control Club in England and a

The next day Lisa went to our little hometown bank and asked them to wire the money to Glenn.

That night I booked my plane tickets to London. I was to leave Denver on British Airways direct to London on the evening of Feb. 8. I’d land at Heathrow a little after noon on the 9th .

My original plan was to take a train to Glenn’s house, which is in a little village just outside Stratford Upon Avon. He offered

the summer cottage to me for the night, and the next day I’d drive the truck to Southampton for shipping.

‘EFFIE’ THE CSW Though I was excited about the pick-up, I still didn’t have a wagon, which is what we really wanted. I was ready to live with this, until I looked on Difflock one morning after work. A new posting was on the website under the Series III section.

The description sounded promising: A 5-door, which had just returned from a trip to Spain; new tires, 59,000 original miles. I emailed the owner with my usual inquiry, which asked about such things as the condition of the chassis, mechanicals, interior etc.

I then got out my map and began to figure out how I was going to get two vintage Land Rovers, one three hours northwest and one three hours northeast of London, to Southampton in less than five days. And, I was going to have to remove an LPG system from the wagon, as the shipping company wouldn’t ship it with the LPG tank.

By now Peter and I were emailing each other on a daily basis and when I informed him of my latest find, he emailed back a full-blown plan on how he would pick me up at the airport with one of his 11 Land Rovers, we’d drive to Glenn’s house and put Annie on the trailer for the journey back to his place just outside Heathrow. The next morning we’d get up, unload Annie and take the trailer to Attleborough to pick up the wagon that we’d now named “Effie.” I, of course, was to stay The next night I checked my email and found a reply from the at his house, as he would not hear of me paying for a hotel. owner, Bob, who included several photos. It was love at first After getting the LPG system out, we’d trailer the vehicles to sight. The frame had been Waxoiled from new and had no rust. the Southampton shipping yards.

The bulkhead was in perfect order and the 6-pot engine had essentially had the entire top end rebuilt when Bob had an LPG Mind you, Peter and I had never met, but as I’ve found with conversion put on it. Now we were in a dilemma. We’d put the most Land Rover owners, there is a special trust that seems to deposit on the pickup, which we’d now named “Annie” due to be among us. I’d not asked for his help with the Rovers, he’d her number plates, yet here in front of us was exactly what we just offered. My friends, co-workers and family members were looking for. (Never name a vehicle, as you’ll never be wondered what he wanted, and when I explained “nothing, able to part with it – even if it’s not yours yet.) he’s just a Landie nut,” they didn’t get it.

For his help, I offered Peter the LPG system, which he could use on one of his Landies.

TAKEOFF In the next few weeks, Peter and I finalized our plans for getting the Rovers to Southampton and the next thing I knew I was sitting on a 747-400, flying over the Atlantic Ocean.

Ten hours later, we landed at Heathrow and I walked outside and spotted Peter’s 110 Defender immediately. Hopping in, he greeted me with a big smile and a pleasant British accent. After formally introducing ourselves, we were off. We drove the 10 minutes or so to Peter’s house and I dropped off my bags. He gave me a quick intro to three of his 11 Landies that were parked on the street (or should I say the sidewalk) outside his After a long conversation Lisa and I decided that if I could sell house. one or two of our current cars to help pay for this, the wagon would be mine. And, with that, I emailed Bob asking how he’d We immediately hopped back into the Defender and went to like his deposit sent. get the trailer, which was on a friends’ horse property about 15 minutes away. We got there, and his friend was working on the At this point I contracted with Phoenix-International Cargo to stalls. They were talking English, but I didn’t understand a haul Annie and Effie. The company came highly recommended by several people on the Minimania forum, and shipping agent word they said.

Emma Pittaway was as fellow Mini owner, so my trust factor was high.

Though it was in the 40s, I was freezing due to the high humidity and no sun. We rolled Peter’s prize possession, the very first Land Rover Forward Control manufactured, (appropriately known as #1) off the trailer and were off, kind of.

The tail lights on the trailer wouldn’t work, so we had to stop at a “parts shop” which was kind of a mixture of a 7-Eleven, bike ship, Soundtrack and NAPA all rolled into one tiny store.

There we purchased a light bar, which we hung on the back of the trailer. After nearly two hours of getting the trailer ready, we were on the M5 heading north. Though the scenery was beautiful, I found myself in awe of the different types of vehicles on the road.

Our maximum speed with the trailer was 40 mph, so we were in for a long drive. After about an hour-and-a-half we pulled into a “Break Station” where we got some coffee, a Danish and diesel which cost over six dollars a gallon.

At this point I’d been awake for about 36 hours and it was quite refreshing to be able to stop. I’d been nodding off as we drove along. I felt bad, as Peter was kind enough to pick me up and drive me all over the country and here I was falling asleep!

About two hours later, we turned off the M25 and headed for Gaydon, home of the British Heritage Motor Trust. Our plan was to go through the museum before continuing to Glenn’s but we were about 15 minutes too late for the last entry, which was rather disappointing.

So, onward toward Glenn’s we pressed. It was getting dark now and we were winding up and down the tiny country roads and countless roundabouts toward Glenn’s house. At this point I was really glad that I had Peter along, as I’d come to the conclusion that I’d have been hopelessly lost hours ago. I think there is a law against any road being straight for more than an eighth of a mile in the UK. And, every half mile or so there has to be a roundabout.

Finally, following the detailed directions Glenn had emailed me, we pulled up to his house. Peter decided to turn the rig around whilst I went inside. As I was walking into the garden (yard), I had to walk past Annie, and my heart skipped. There she was, my first Series Land Rover, sitting there in the English Garden for the last time. The spotlight from Glenn’s house shone in on her and even in the incredible darkness (there are no streetlights near Glenn’s House, just the lights from the pub across the street), she looked every bit as nice as I’d imagined.

End of Part 1 Norman Hall with Lion Cub in Caney Oklahoma

Each year Land Rover Clubs in the United States and Canada are invited to compete in the 5 day long, Adventure Team Challenge, the winning team becoming the North American Land Rover Club Rally Champions.

This year saw a team from Colorado enter the event.

Norman Hall teamed up Larry Grubbs to enter this event in a 1990 Range Rover as Team Colorado. They were representing the Solihull Society, our local Denver Land Rover Club and the State of Colorado. The week-long competition rally is designed to give Land Rover clubs the opportunity to have a representative team test their driving, navigation, and endurance skills against other Land Rover Clubs in North America. Participants were initially only told the start point for the event, this year being Medicine Lodge Kansas; from there they were at the mercy of event

organizer, James Merriam, a former USA team alternate for the Camel trophy.

The teams were scored in Special Task events that fell into a number of different categories. Individual tasks included the following disciplines: • Driving skills • Driving Maneuverability (gymkhana courses, trials courses, maneuverability exercises, etc.)

• Navigation/route finding (locating or following Waypoint locations using GPS coordinates, to reach the task finish line) • Orienteering (map and compass work) • Use of vehicle equipment (winches, snatch blocks, tools, etc.)

• Physical Challenges (this is where fast, sometimes creative thinking came into play for building such things as rafts from barrels and rowing down the river and similar such activities).

In usual fashion organizers decided to start the competition off at 1 minute past midnight on Sunday night by waking all teams and sending then out on an orienteering task. This was compounded by the fact that teams were supplied with Map Grid points, and no maps, being forced to rely solely on GPS guidance. Team’s finally got back to sleep around 2.30 am to start a mere 3 ½ hours sleep.

Team Colorado All teams were then given GPS co-ordinates to navigate to the day’s base camp of operations. This was to be the first of many such exercises whereby tasks and information was to be sort by teams as they found their way to the next designated location. The first driving event of the competition, a Gymkhana Course, was then attempted by all teams. This event required each team to navigate 2 laps

around a gated course as quickly as possible. Team Colorado got off to a good start by winning this event. To then confuse teams the second driving event required teams to navigate the course in reverse direction with the aim of matching the average time taken driving in the initial direction. Again Team Colorado was able to win this event and get off to a great start.

The next event was to see teams follow a gated course through a muddy wooded area basically following a creek bed. Unfortunately Team Colorado was up first. Despite running 35 inch Simex Extreme Trekkers that had been bought over with the assistance of Chris Hummer specifically for the event, the Range Rover started to dig into the bottomless mud down to the axles in less than one car length. Disaster then struck as the front Ring and Pinion Gears decided to explode. Despite an extremely successful extended winching period with the new Husky 10 winch supplied by Superwinch, organisers decided to remove the Range Rover from the course and allow the next entry to start. Team 4 from Ottawa Canada in their 1972 Series III SWB Land Rover was up. Unfortunately their winch failed less than 1/3 rd the distance that Team Colorado had gone and organizers promptly cancelled the stage to attempt recovery of the two vehicles [a task that took some 4 hours].

Team 4 from Canada being recovered - Photo by Scott Monico Whilst the recovery took place other teams were sent out on a special navigation and water hunt task. This was to be the first stage Team Colorado could not attempt due to their break down. Following the recovery Larry and Norman set about removing the front driveline, including axles, C/V’s and drive shaft to allow the range Rover to

continue in rear wheel drive only. Then off to start navigate a GPS co-ordinate course to the Little Sahara Off Road Park in Waynoka, Oklahoma.

This Little Sahara sand dune off road park is frequently visited by ATV’s and Dune Buggies, Four Wheel Drives normally being banned from the Park. Fortunately organizers had gained special permission from Park authorities to allow access for the first time ever to Land Rover vehicles. Driving a heavy Range Rover in Rear Wheel Drive only across very soft sand dunes is not a recipe for success. As a result Team Colorado placed last in the first navigation exercise across the Dunes and requiring their withdrawal from the day’s events following the failure of their Bilstein 7100 series front racing shock.

Oklahoma. Unfortunately Team Minnesota broke down in a small town called Nowata Oklahoma due to fuel and electrical problems. Team Colorado elected to remain with them and try to keep them in the competition. By 2.30 am the problems had still not been found and both teams camped where they were only to find the next morning that they had camped in a used car lot in the middle of town.

The next exercise was to involve teams winching their vehicles up a 15 meter high Sand Dune using only their winch, shovel and spare tyre. Team Colorado was not able to get their vehicle out to the start point and hence was placed last with a “Did Not Start” result. Team Minnesota excelled at this event in their 1994 Defender 90.

A strange event was then conducted. All were in the middle of sand dune country, strange in itself given that we were in Oklahoma. Teams were required to construct rafts from rope, barrels and planks and paddle their craft across a pond, located at an oasis in the middle of the sand dunes, to retrieve a token. This was an exhausting and very time consuming task.

It was then off to Kaw City, Oklahoma. Most teams arrived in camp between 5.30 am the next morning and about 7.00 am. All were awake by 9.00 am to finish vehicle repairs and prepare for the next day of events.

Unfortunately the group had suffered some mechanical problems including broken shocks, electrical failures, winch failures and the like. When it was discovered that our film crew’s Range Rover was also undriveable we all packed up and headed for Wichita Kansas to get things back on track.

Most vehicles were repaired, however Team Colorado were not able to secure a replacement front diff as 4.10 geared differentials are not overly common in the Mid West USA. They therefore remained in 2WD. Following a solid 3 ½ hours sleep teams awoke to then navigate via GPS Waypoints to Caney Bend, Kansas. Where more physical and mental tasks awaited.

Prior to again navigating to our final destination of Disney

The Canadians Get some air – Photo by Terry King Success arrived after only a little more work on the Defender and both teams raced off to Disney to attempt the last day’s events. Luckily both teams arrived just prior to any tasks starting.

Event 1 for the day was called the V-wire challenge. A winch cable was strung between three trees to make the shape of an elongated triangle. The teams started from a gate 40 feet away, Navigator and Driver then ran to one end of the wire and stepped on a barrel top. With the driver and navigator each standing on separate barrel tops they climbed on the cable and were to traverse the everexpanding cable using a provided long pole. (The wire got wider than arms length in the middle so they need to use the pole to steady each other) If a member of the team touched the ground after stepping on the barrel tops or if the provided pole touched the ground or the cable wire, the team had to run through the start/finish gate and begin again. Larry and Norman of Team Colorado are both large blokes and the wire was not friendly to their combined weights. As a result they straddled the ropes hands one side, feet the other and prompting cleared the obstacle.

Most other teams seeing this success followed their example although Team Colorado won the event.

Day 5, Event 2, the last for the competition, encompassed orienteering, driving and navigation skills. The teams left a start/finish gate and drove up a trail in a narrow ravine.

Along the way there were four compass bearings left for them on trees. At those locations they got out of their vehicles, took the compass bearing and ran to locate a tree with one piece of a four-part picture. Once the picture was complete, the teams drove back to the start/finish as quickly as possible. Team Colorado suffered a major injury after starting when Norman Hall tore his right leg calf tendon. Fearing a possible major injury the team returned to the start point for paramedic assistance. Given the circumstances organizers allowed them to restart the stage.

This time Norman was driving with an ice pack strapped to his leg whilst Larry had now become Navigator. Despite this handicap [is that leg cap] Team Colorado blitzed the event and won the stage.

The event saw all competitors stretched to their limits through mental and physical fatigue. Vehicles were pushed and sometimes broken but through it all a level of camaraderie developed between those who participated.

In the end team Minnesota won the event [team Colorado helping keep them on the road], Team Colorado with our adventurous Australian came second and Team Ottawa from Canada came in third.

Our sincere thanks go to all of our sponsors who include the following whom we recommend you support: Motorcars Ltd, Superwinch, 4 – Wheeling America, High Country Performance 4x4, Lightforce, Start Accounting Solutions, Simex Tyres and Land Rover Flatirons

National Rally - Night Navigation Competition This year we are proposing to hold a friendly night navigation competition. All those coming to the Rally will need the following items: - An understanding of navigation using UTM coordinates - GPS. Computers will not be allowed.

- USGS 1:100,000 scale metric topographic maps of La Sal and Moab. Other area maps may be helpful but are not mandatory - Compass - Pens Pencils, markers, ruler, clip board etc - Spot light and / or flashlights This will be a fun event but will test you ability to navigate using a map and co-ordinates and see how you can cope in the dark. The event will be designed for stock standard vehicles however some optional challenges may be thrown in to satisfy the masicistic tendacies of some of our participants. There will also be general knowledge questions about Four Wheel Driving and Four Wheel Driving destinations. These questions will help determine the winners. Just a hint, remember one of the organizers is not an American so possibly questions from overseas may be thrown in to satisfy his sadistic nature.

Hole-in-the-Rock: A Backcountry Adventure

By Lurlie Bickford April 2003 “There is simply no way of describing the country or understanding the nature of the obstacles to be overcome…it would be foolhardy indeed for anyone not well acquainted with that wild country to try to drive a jeep [sic] into the region.

Without the help of experienced guides we would never have reached our destination, but would have become hopelessly lost in the maze of canyons, gulches, and buttes with which that country is so generously blessed.”

2003 National Rally Videos Terry Mitchell of Cross roads Media productions will be compiling a video to record the 2003 National Rally. Orders for the video can be placed with terry by emailing him at tmitchell@aol.com The price will be $25

Sales pitch by Bill Burke? No. It’s actually a quote from David E. Miller, author of Hole in the Rock, a history of the San Juan Expedition of Mormon pioneers who were “called” to settle the southeast corner of Utah and who built the Holein-the-Rock trail to carry out their mission. Mr. Miller’s comment was made after completing a research trip during which he drove from Blanding to the base of Grey Mesa and hiked to Cheese Camp in 1954. The book, published by The

University of Utah Press 1959 (5th printing 1998), is available at the Moab Visitors’ Center. The San Juan Mission started on or about Oct 22, 1879, gathering pioneers from various communities in Utah, crossed the Kaiparowitz plateau through Escalante, built a road through the “Hole-in-the-Rock” in a cliff above the Colorado, crossed the Colorado Jan 26, 1880, and finished at Bluff on April 6, 1880. Once completed, the Holein-the-Rock trail served as a 2-way wagon road for almost a year.

Our Hole-in-the-Rock experience was one of Bill Burke’s backcountry adventures. Pat went along on the trip last year and had so much fun that he wanted to do it again. And, even though I do not camp, I was intrigued enough by Pat’s enthusiasm and the history of the trail to try something new.

Hearing us get ready for this trip piqued the interest of Norman Hall (esteemed editor of the Solihull Society Newsletter) who then more or less blackmailed/extorted me into writing an article. I planned to take notes along the way, but soon found that reading my books, looking out the windows at all the wonderful scenery, and bouncing merrily along trails consisting almost entirely of one degree of obstacle or another made it virtually impossible to note where one obstacle ends and another begins, or to record times or odometer readings.

Therefore, my account of this adventure incorporates some of the history I learned from Miller’s book with my account of the trip, making it more of a color commentary than a Charles Wells play-by-play. And the writing part wasn’t as easy as I had thought it would be, either, so I must thank Rachel Burke, my family, and Brian Lofurno (fellow traveler, photographer and new Solihull member) for their comments and suggestions.

With the preface out of the way, let’s start the story: A map of Utah shows “Hole-in-the-Rock” roads marked on both east and west sides of the Colorado River. Our trip was on the east side, and officially began Monday morning at Calvin Black Airport on Hwy 276. We, however, chose to start Sunday night at Fry Canyon Lodge, where we enjoyed a gourmet dinner before facing the week of camping. We arose Monday morning, drove to the airport, and met up with our group. Where the Mormon pioneers carried approximately 250 people in about 83 wagons (with 3 births along the way), our trip was a little less grandiose (Bill limits the number of vehicles) with 11 people in 6 vehicles: Bill’s Classic, a stock Disco, a Rubicon, and 3 Defenders. We spent the better part of the first day getting in position for the “cherry stem” trail out to the Hole-in-the- Rock overlook. We drove along county roads and parts of the old trail, onto slick rock, through canyons, and set up camp by some slick rock and cliffs on the east side of Grey Mesa. This was a very scenic area with secluded camping spots, and a great selection of pea- to golf ball-sized Moqui marbles.

Tuesday was spent following the trail out to the Cottonwood Hill viewpoint and back to camp. From Cottonwood Hill you can see the actual Hole-in-the-Rock on the other side of the Colorado River, as well as distant views of Lake Powell, which was noticeably low due to the drought conditions in the west. This point is as far as motorized vehicles can go, but there is a trail if you want to hike to the river.

Wednesday morning, after breaking camp, we returned past the airport and went over to Hall’s Crossing Marina for reprovisioning and lunch on the floating dock. From Halls’ Crossing, our trip took a different route than Bill’s previous trips due to snow in the Abajo Mountains. Instead of going up to Bears Ears, then into Needles through Beef Basin and Ruin Park, our route was over to Comb Wash off Hwy 95, where we set up our next camp.

Thursday found us exploring the canyon/wash, its creek with many water crossings, Cliff Dwelling ruins, and arches. It abuts the Ute Indian Reservation and a Ute woman arrived by pick-up truck one evening trying to sell us her jewelry.

Friday was busy. After breaking camp, we headed out to the Needles District, stopped to see Newspaper Rock and the Visitor Center, went up and over Elephant Hill, out to Confluence Overlook and back over Elephant Hill into Moab.

The “Elephant Hill” trip alone, with its variety of terrain and views, is worth more than casual mention but is beyond the scope of this article. It is doable as a one-day turn-around from Moab and definitely worth the effort.

The Mormon experience along this trail was decidedly different. Following Cliff Dweller or animal trails and using reports from various scouting parties, the Mormons had problems divining which route to take, and even questioned the feasibility of crossing this part of the country at all. In fact at one point, they saw a mountain sheep, thought it was a “llama,” and followed it because they figured it must know more than they did. We, on the other hand, had the benefit of cairns, tire tracks, GPS — and Bill Burke when all that failed. The Mormons were saved from being lost in a snowstorm by sighting a landmark from a place henceforth called Salvation Knoll. Navajo Mountain, another splendid landmark of the area, which sometimes has “smoke signals” rising from its slopes, to us signaled viable cell phone service. Our modern day tracking systems did not solve all problems, however, as one of our group had an issue with right vs. left, and as a result had a harrowing experience bouncing over a 10-foot slick rock section (your OTHER left).

Unlike the San Juan Mission pioneers, we did not need to dynamite the road as we went along, but were able to take advantage of the fruits of their labor. The trail still features the “dugways” blasted by the pioneers, experienced with explosives from their time working in Welsh coal mines. Not having to dynamite was a real time saver: It took the Mormons about 2 months one way (8 days on the return, without the trailblazing), where we did a 9 hour round trip, including stops for sightseeing, viewpoints, spotting over obstacles, and munching.

through.” These fills saved “several additional weeks of back-breaking labor to cut a road over or through this most difficult rock formation.” The pioneers liked this part of the trail because the wagons were in “no danger of tipping or rolling,” but there is no guarantee of this today as the “fills” at the bottom have worn or washed away, leaving a couple of holes that require careful spotting and careful driving.

The area has a lot of Anasazi ruins that are great for exploring because they lack the rangers and masses of tourists one finds at Mesa Verde. In addition to those in Comb Wash are the “It’s the roughest country your or anybody else ever seen; it’s Castle Ruins, right off Highway 276 in Castle Wash, where one nothing in the world but rocks and holes, hills and hollows. can climb into and around the ruins. George B. Hobbs of the The mountains are just one solid rock as smooth as an apple,” Mormon scouting party reported seeing one ruin here, “in pioneer Elizabeth Morris Decker wrote in a letter home. The which there were 7 rooms, the bake oven being in such a Mormon pioneers expected the trip to take 6 weeks, but perfect state of preservation that by cleaning out the dust it because the country is so harsh, it instead took 6 months, would be ready to bake bread in at this late day.” The which caused many problems, not the least of which was scouting party also reported spending a night in some ruins shortages in food and water supplies. Several pioneers between Salvation Knoll and Comb Wash, possibly referring reported grinding their seed corn in coffee mills to make bread to a site called Mule Canyon along Highway 95. Only at and one scout reported being without food for a week.

Butler Wash is access more restricted; you must view the ruins “Cheese Camp” was so named when receiving a shipment of from a distance. cheese became cause for a celebration. Our group was fortunate to have coolers, ice and a couple of ARB ‘fridges.

Returning from his scouting party, Lyman recounted, “The Also, where the pioneers had to find grazing for the several country here is almost entirely solid sand rock, high hills and hundred horses and 1,000 head of cattle intended to help their mountains cut all to pieces by deep gulches which are in many settlement, today even family pets are not allowed on the trail. places altogether impassable. It is certainly the worst county I ever saw…” From my viewpoint, the trail is a peer to all but Another difference between our two trips was evidenced the deadliest of Moab trails and a whole lot of fun. Whereas around our campfires. The Mormons would be renewing their the Mormons reported “seven span of horses were used” to determination at prayer meetings, whereas amid tales of the pull the wagons up parts of the trail,” we were fine with low day’s adventures we were shaking Jiffy-Pop and roasting gear, and no obstacle really required lockers. bunny-shaped marshmallow Peeps (where would you “skewer” a Peep?)

Had we continued to follow the Mormon road, we would have seen the San Juan Hill trail, built to cross up and over Comb I took particular interest in the changes in the landscape since Ridge, described by Mr. Miller as “one of the most fantastic of the pioneers made their journey in early 1880. Platte D. all sections constructed…it angles up the face of that cliff.”

Lyman, a member of the San Juan Expedition, recorded in his After the pioneers cut this road, they couldn’t make the last 20 Journal, “On a point of rock jutting into the lake is the remains miles to their goal, which had been Montezuma, and most of of an old stone fortification, built probably several hundred them settled in the area on the other side of Comb Ridge, years ago.” The natural earthen dam that held this lake, today’s Bluff. One woman said, “I was so tired and sore that I Pagahrit, was washed away in 1915, so when we saw these had no desire to be any place except where I was.” And this is building remnants we were overlooking a tree-filled canyon. how some of us felt at Fat City BBQ on Friday night in The trail off Grey Mesa shown to the scouts by their “llama,” Moab!! All in all, a great trip, a great adventure, and enriched while not part of today’s trail, is plainly and awesomely visible. by the story of the Mormons’ expedition.

The members of the San Juan Mission planned their trail from Cheese Camp to meet up with the Chute – a “natural Ushaped notch that extends about a quarter of a mile up from the floor of Wilson Canyon to some relatively flat slick rock country 50 feet above…a few fills had to be made in the bottom of the U to make it wide enough for wagons to scrape

and grab lunch. After several tries, one headed down hill for the bypass.

Battlement Mesa June 28-29, 2003

When it was our turn, Craig headed up the bypass so that he could get some good pictures. By the time he got to the top of the Rock Garden, Hans was up, and Ali was in the process of climbing the rocks. Since his protection was sparse, Ali wanted to make sure that every inch of the crawl was clear of obstruction.

Participants: 1. Ali Vali in his 1993 Rangie, recently upgraded with 4.10 gears and a locker in the front to complement his rear locker.

2. Craig Davis in his 1996 Disco, upgraded with his homemade, combination, bolt on, rock slider, frame slider and trailing arm connection protector. Really neat.

3. Hans Schulze in his 1995 D-90.

4. Shadow the only female on the trip, in Craig’s Disco.

We met at the Morrison exit of I70 on time and hit the highway just a little after 8am. With hardly a cloud in the sky, it was a day of convertibles, motorcycles, bicyclists, rafters, kayakers, joggers, and hikers. Also good for blaring the CD player so The rest of the trip was uneventful except for the scenery which you can’t hear the other’s CB. included a ½ mile of the trail bordered by a mysterious rock field.

We arrived at the Battlement Mesa/Parachute exit at approximately 11am for gas and ice. Following the directions to the trail head, four cattle crossings and then the parking lot, we arrived at 11:45 for the air down.

The other possible obstacle is a loose, rocky, steep hill that the j**pers weren’t sure we could climb on the way out.

From the parking lot, the Rock Garden is only 0.7 miles up the The mud holes were dry enough to take established bypasses. trail where several j**ps were playing. We decided to watch But it didn’t’ take much to imagine the trail after, or during a

rain. Mud caked vehicles would be normal and some of the hills, up and down, would be an adventure.

We reached the lake at 2pm and hunted for a camping site. All three sites inspected were inundated with swarming May flies and the last camp site had a pile of sickly food on a tree stump, a tempting feast for a beast. The site furthest down the trail was our choice and then we discovered the true nature of the swarming creatures, not May flies but mosquitoes. Two of the sites had stagnant ponds behind them, a perfect home. The decision was made to stay, spray and smoke. [Campfire] Activities included a hike to the upper lake, which is surrounded on one side by rocks.

The menu was meat for Ali and Hans, brats and sausages. Of course the opinion of Ali’s “brats” was that of a glorified hot dog. That was good for 30 minutes of critique. Hans was accused of eating raw Italian sausage. Ali and Craig waited for Hans to throw up or …you know, the other end. That was good for another 30 minutes of jibes. Craig had tuna salad and some other yuppie food.

Shadow seemed hyper, diving into the lakes, fetching anything Craig threw in, and playing at the campsite with any one willing.

A decision was made that we would leave early Sunday morning before the mosquitoes woke up. At 7am Sunday, with a few mosquitoes flying about, we hit the trail and arrived at the trail head at 8:30, even with Hans heading down the Rock Garden.

Craig renamed the trail Mosquitoville or Mosquito Mesa.

Don’t air up at the Conoco. It cost Hans $3 to air two tires to 30lbs and two at 28lbs. He refused to put in another 75 cents.

This report is submitted by the Three Mosquitoes

Lockhart Basin and Elephant Hill April 25th – 26th, 2003

By Heidi Nowakowski We started out around 9:30 Friday morning from City Market with the following 9 participants in 8 vehicles: And then there was watching Ali’s theory of stoking a fire.

Charlie Haigh – 1986 110 Military Tim Clair – 2002 Discovery II Ralph Bradt – 1970 Series IIA Ali Vali – 1993 Range Rover Classic Jim Hall – 1966 Series IIA Craig Davis – 1996 Discovery I Jacquelyne Davis – 1996 Discovery I David and Heidi Nowakowski – 1997 Discovery I

After lunch, we started right in on the most challenging couple of miles of the trail. Mostly some steep, narrow climbing, but nothing too difficult. Nevertheless, we managed to come out with some body damage. David and I managed to put a very nasty gouge on the rear passenger door. Hmmm, I thought that It’s about 21 miles to the beginning of the Lockhart Basin trail, was the sound of the tires rubbing in the wheel well. I guess and we soon discovered that most of this was washboard dirt not! Jim decided to beat up on some innocent rock with his road. We, therefore, decided to air down before we went very bumper and turn signal. The Elephant Chaser won, but not far. While we were airing down, Craig decided to take a look without leaving some glass behind. Don’t worry, we tread at a problem he had been having with an oxygen sensor. The lightly and Jacquelyne very generously did clean up duty. decision was made to disconnect it and see what happened.

Speaking of Jacquelyne, she came through this section with Luckily, like all good Rovers, his truck decided to heal itself flying colors thanks to some nice spotting by Ali. I think the after we drove a while longer. We encountered lots of hikers, highlight of the trip, for me, was the look on her face when she bikers, and motorcycles along the way to Hoorah Pass. One realized that she made it through without any problems. She particularly pesky group of motorcycles decided they couldn’t was all smiles. That’s what it’s all about! wait to get around us, so they passed us on the left splitting up a group of cyclists that were coming at us head on. Very rude! After we got through the difficult section, we took a look at the To make matters worse, as they went by their bikes kicked up maps to see how far we had come and how far we had to go, rocks and took out one of Charlie’s headlights. Not a great and realized that we were a little farther behind than we start. anticipated. Time to pick up the pace since this trail is about 37 As we approached Hoorah Pass, we caught up with Hans who was out sightseeing. He helped keep us on the right path to the Lockhart Basin trail. As we started to get into the slightly more challenging section of the trail, we came over a hill and found a motorcyclist who had injured his ankle. Imagine that, riding around in shorts, tank top and tennis shoes. To his credit he did have a helmet. Being the generous souls that we are, we came up with an ace bandage for his foot, a bag of ice for the swelling, and some ibuprofen. We offered to have someone ride his bike back to his campsite, while someone else gave him a ride, but he seemed uncomfortable with that idea. So, we had lunch there to give him time to see if he could ride out.

After lunch, he felt like he could ride, so Hans volunteered to follow him back to his campsite and make sure he got there ok. Thanks, Hans.

miles long and we had only gone a few miles. As the trail got much easier (think dirt road), we made good time. While the trail was not very difficult, the scenery was just stunning. We even had time for a short side trip into Canyonlands to let the dogs play in the river. Jacquelyne and Craig brought their dogs Shadow and Mo with them, and they appreciated the opportunity to go for a swim.

After that it was out of the park to find a camping spot.

Luckily, Charlie had spotted the ideal location on our way in. It was a nice meadow that backed up to some cliffs. There was plenty of room for everyone and the ground was nice and level for our tents. We all relaxed in the shade and shared food.

While we were sitting around the campfire, Charlie came up with a great idea for a gourmet camping trip. Everyone brings

something different to cook in a Dutch oven and then we all share. I hope to be able to participate in that camping trip. Jim, Ralph, and I were the first to cave in to sleep, so I don’t know when everyone else finally called it a night. We had a leisurely start to the next day. Bacon and eggs for breakfast, then we broke camp and continued our adventure.

DAY TWO – Elephant Hill Day two would prove to be an exercise in field repair. About ½ an hour into the drive, Jim noticed that he had an antifreeze leak. In less than 30 minutes, Jim, Charlie, David, and Craig pulled the radiator and fan and plugged the leak in the radiator with Quick Steel. Jim decided to replace his fan while he was in there, since the fan was what caused the hole in the radiator to begin with. They were all very patient with my 101 questions and requests to take pictures. I was just amazed that they could fix the whole thing and have us back underway so quickly. Such teamwork! Bill Burke would be so proud.

top, Charlie came on the CB and announced that he was pretty sure he had broken something, but that he was still moving as long as he kept it locked. When everyone got to the top, we had lunch and decided to leave Charlie’s truck and come back for it on our way out, since you have to go out the way you came in.

Going down the other side of Elephant Hill proved to be too much for my nerves, so I volunteered to get out and take pictures and hike down. This turned out to be a wise decision, as it turned out that there are sections of this hill where you have to back down. I am not fond of backing down any trail.

I’m all for going forward, but get extremely uncomfortable backing up. I was quite happy to be on the outside where I could see all the angles.

Once we got to the bottom of the hill, the trail meandered through some narrow canyons with lots of vegetation. It was nice and cool in the shadows. This would prove to be a benefit as we were about to continue our field repairs seminar. Jim’s vehicle seemed to be having some sort of fuel system problems. There was mention of the tank lining clogging the We finished the remainder of the Lockhart Basin trail in short fuel system, but it turned out that he had a bad rotor in his order and everyone was still in the mood for more wheeling, so distributor. It just so happened that Jim had an extra rotor. You we took off for Elephant Hill. Jacquelyne and Craig had to get gotta love those Series guys. Unfortunately, the rotor wasn’t an back, so we parted ways. Then there were 6 vehicles. exact fit, but never fear MacGyver was there. Jim just filed it down and made it work. No problem for this group. Problem Elephant Hill is within the Canyonlands boundaries, so it is solved. Onward! necessary to stop at the gate and pay the National Park fee of $10/vehicle. What I didn’t know at the time was that it was Did I mention that Elephant Hill trail is one of my new favorites. going to be worth every penny. This is my new favorite trail. It It has some fun challenges and absolutely beautiful scenery. has a little bit of everything; scenery, challenging climbs, steep Our group was having so much fun that we decided to get the descents, etc. What a great trail! most bang for our buck and took the optional trip out to the Confluence Overlook. When you get to the end, there is a ½ Elephant Hill starts right out of a picnic area in the park. You mile hike to the overlook, but it’s well worth the small trek begin by climbing a fairly steep, rocky hill with steps. At the (that’s saying a lot coming from a 6 month pregnant woman). first turn, there is an area for making a three-point turn, before The overlook is where the Colorado River and the Green continuing on up to the right. It’s definitely one vehicle at a time River come together. Great photo opportunity. through this section. After a couple of us had made it to the

get on CB 19 and ask the truckers where the nearest gas station was. It was determined that Monticello (which is 14 miles in the opposite direction of Moab) would be closest.

David and I took Jim’s gas can and made a gas run.

After that it was back out to pick up Charlie’s truck and see what we could do for it. Yippee, more field repair. I learned a lot on this trip. After much speculation and some side betting, it turned out that he had broken the short axle in the front. No worries, he just pulled it, put everything back together minus the axle, and off we went.

Eventually, we all made it to the Moab Brewery, around 10:00 pm on Saturday night. We were all half asleep and it was a Now we’re heading back to Moab when Ralph realizes that he quiet dinner. After dinner, Ali, Tim, and Charlie headed off to is very low on fuel. We decide to stop at Newspaper Rock Pat’s Palace to spend the night. Jim, Ralph, David and I and siphon gas from Tim and Ali for Ralph, but alas the 4decided to get a jump on the next day’s drive by camping out Wheeling Gods are not smiling upon us. We manage to get the at the Dewey Bridge area. Finding a camp site was easier said siphon stuck in Tim’s gas tank without getting any gas from it. than done, but we finally settled on a great spot and slept like Eventually, they got it unstuck and tried without luck to get the dead. some gas from Ali. We’ll just have to see how far Ralph can go before he runs out of gas. Not very far down the road we all All-in-all it was a fantastic trip that I will not soon forget. What pull over. David and I threw him a line and we towed him to a great group of people to spend a couple of days with on the the intersection of Hwy. 191. Ali had the presence of mind to trail. Thanks everyone for making what will probably be my

last 4-wheeling trip (for a while anyway), so wonderful. That was just what the doctor ordered.

The Rubicon has enjoyed the status of being a public highway from 1887 with its status being reconfirmed, albeit as an unmaintained county right of way, in 1991. Unfortunately due to over use and the environmental exclusionist efforts of many preservations groups the Rubicon remains under threat of closure. Efforts need to continue to preserve access.

The Rubicon 2003

By Norman Hall Most Australians have heard of only two Four Wheel Driving Adventures in the USA, Moab and The Rubicon. Both have infamous reputations ranking up with the Canning Stock Route, Simpson Desert and Cape York. I had crossed off Moab from Roy Mills 1995 Discovery on one of the flatter sections my list of things to do and only had the Rubicon to go. The Solihull Society had been trying to get a club trip going for the Trip Participants. last few years with some barriers always seeming to appear at o Jeff Solomon [Reno Nevada] & Jim Molter the last moment. I was determined that nothing would stop this [Breckenridge Colorado] - 1996 Discovery trip and through pure power of will it happened. o John Brown & Pat Dougherty [Los Angeles California] – 1994 Defender 90 A brief History. o Roy Mills [San Antonio California] - 1995 Discovery o Norman Hall [Castle Rock Colorado] – 1988 Range The Rubicon is located on the mid eastern border of California Rover as part of the Eldorado National Forest just west of Lake Tahoe in Nevada. The area has been used by Native Americans for thousands of years being part of an East / West All of the participants are members of the Solihull Society trade route for the Maidu Tribe which inhabited the Northern based out of Denver Colorado. It may seem funny to have only Sierras and the Washo tribe to their east on the Nevada side. two people from Colorado attending and representing a Colorado based Club; however it has to be remembered that the Rubicon is over 1,000 miles west of Denver and here it is Europeans did not venture into the area until the mid 1840’s not easy to get large numbers of Four Wheel Drives to take with a virtual invasion occurring following the discovery of Gold in 1848. The Western start of the Rubicon, Georgetown, such a long journey. was established in 1849, having expanded to a population of The route from Georgetown in the west to the Wentworth nearly 5,000 within only one year.

Springs turnoff is now all sealed road. As a result of this most As the Rubicon has one of the lowest passes in the Sierra’s at off roader’s only follow the last 18 miles of the Rubicon. We also chose this abridged route and our group met at the Forest approximately 7,100 feet and due to it’s relatively gradual Service Office located on Ice House Road within the park topography, the Rubicon was chosen to become a major boundaries on the morning of Wednesday 9th July. We had trading route for the non indigenous populous. By the 1870’s Loon Lake dam had been established by the California Water given ourselves 3 days to run the trail and had chosen a mid Company. The Rubicon then became a major Stock Route for week timetable to minimize traffic delays with other groups. We moving all types of livestock, a practice that continued up until were thankful of this given our experiences to come. the 1940’s.

There are now basically 3 western entrances into the off road part of the Rubicon; the southern being the Loon Lake option; the northern being a seldom used Forestry Road and the option we took being the Wentworth Springs entrance. The turnoff to Wentworth Springs from the bitumen is rather innocuous and can easily be missed [N0 39 00.730 W 1200 24.424 at 5,856 feet]. Luckily we had Roy’s Mills along who is a member of the “Friends of The Rubicon” [http:// www.delalbright.com/rubicon.htm] he had run the trail in excess of 15 times previously.

Our group near to Lookout towards Loon Lake

Ruins near Wentworth Springs

After Loon Lake, the trail option joins back with the Rubicon the next obstacle is “Walkers Hill” [N0 39 01.379 W 1200 18.341 at 6,529 feet] and “Walker’s Rock” [N 0 39 01.265 W 1200 17.331]. This area starts after Ellis Creek, initially being a very rocky climb followed by about 30 meters of Very Hard Core rock climbing. This section of sandstone strewn trail is known as a “frame bender” and required careful spotting of our Land Rovers to minimize potential damage.

During our drive in we saw evidence of the past occupation of the area with many derelict wood shingle buildings being prevalent, in particular around Wentworth Springs. The Wentworth Springs area was used by Native Americans for thousands of years due to the mineral springs which are located close by. This also attracted tourists to the area between 1880 and 1940. The drive started off rather easily as we wove our way parallel with Gerle Creek. This was to be the calm before the storm. The first well know driving obstacle we came across is known as the “Post Pile” [N0 39 00.850 W 1200 18.906 at 6,300 feet]. This area is named after the basalt rock outcropping on the southern side of the trail. As suggested in most guide books, we missed the outcropping as we had other things on our minds, just getting through. Whilst some of our John Brown’s Defender 90 coming back down past Walker group took the bypass, the lure was too enticing for my Range Rock Rover so we took the hard option straight up and over this challenge, just to get our feet wet mind you.

After this challenge we moved onto the Mud Lakes area. This is not one lake but a number of very small lakes of which Spider Lake is the largest.

The first major obstacle in this area is know as “Little Sluice” [N 0 39 01.232 W 1200 16.244 at 6,665 feet]. This obstacle is a short cut through granite rock like the bed of a dry creek. It is strewn with large and small boulders alike causing significant clearance and traction difficulties. There is also a bypass to the northern side which rides over slab rock to a less rigorous

path. Our group was split in two; the two Discoveries took the easier bypass whilst the Defender 90 and I took on Little Sluice. Whilst we came out unscathed we did bypass some of the hardest obstacles to preserve our rigs for the unknown that lay ahead.

approximately 8 different winching direction changes as this section of the trail was particularly windy around some very large obstacles including a large tree, large boulders and an off camper climb. Also during the recovery the Discovery’s winch decided to also give up making things just a little more interesting for us all. After 5 hours we have returned to our previous night’s camp site ready for a well deserved break and some lunch.

My 1988 Range Rover attempting Little Sluice Our campsite was just after here once we negotiated a rather tricky descent. We later found out that the descent is known as one of the steepest sections on the whole trail yet the Land Rovers over-came it with ease. 8 miles in 8 hours, not a bad effort for our first day.

Jeff Solomon’s Discovery just before it broke During our lunch time discussions we pondered the options before us, do we continue or do we return the way we had come. After considering the alternatives we chose to return back the way we had come as the thought of towing a near dead vehicle through and up Big Sluice and Cadillac Hill was not appealing, particularly as I was to be the designated tow vehicle.

John Brown’s Defender 90 going back up the infamous steep rock Unfortunately the next morning we took the wrong path and headed down the mountain from Mud Lake. This was when things started to get interesting! Unfortunately just after turning around, Jeff Solomon proceeded to destroy his rear differential and turn a perfectly capable Discovery into a Front Wheel Drive only vehicle. When we eventually got the vehicle back to civilization we discovered that the center retaining pin had broken causing the spider gears to become useless pieces of scrap metal. To recover the Discovery we required

My 1988 Range Rover having some fun on one small obstacle So we started off, Discovery in Tow and others following. Due to the nature of the trail we took our time to insure that the Discovery was not destroyed by our efforts. We also chose to have John Brown’s Defender winch the Discovery up many of the climbs instead of towing to further reduce the potential for damage to the wounded vehicle. By about 5.30 pm we had

Solihull Society 2003 Events Please visit www.4x4trails.net or Charles Wells Trail Books for info on trails and ratings.

Please contact the trail leader before the trail ride dates to let them know you are going.

If you are interested in leading trails that are TBD, contact Ali Vali at avali@mho.com Date 08-02-03 08-10-03 08-08-03 to 08-10-03

08-12-03 08-16-03

08-30-03

09-10-03- 09-14-03 10-14-03 12-07-03

Description Club BBQ and Swap Meet More information TBA Trail Run, Jenny Creek near Rollinsville Trail is rated Moderate and short.

Crested Butte to Aspen via Taylor Pass Camping Friday and Saturday night near Reno Divide. Moderate 4-wheeling, scenic Club Meeting - 7:30 PM Zangs Brewery, Denver I-25 and 23RD Ave. Summit County-Georgia Pass, Middle Fork of Swan, St. Johns Trails are rated as easy to moderate Iron Chest Trail near Buena Vista Trail is rated difficult. Rock sliders and clearance is recommended.

National Rally Moab, UT More information will be posted.

Club Meeting - 7:30 PM Zangs Brewery, Denver I-25 and 23RD Ave.

Holiday Party

Contact Info. / Trail Leader Tim Clair tclair@gowebway.com

Doug Davis 96discovery@eazy.net

Ali Vali avali@mho.com

Ali Vali avali@mho.com

Larry Grubbs lwgrubbs@us.ibm.com

Pat Bickford pbickford@ai-colorado.com

Mt. Vernon Country club

22

covered 2 ½ miles when another problem arose. As we were getting the Discovery up a particularly nasty stretch one of the tyres gave way requiring another on the trail repair. Since this occurred on an upward slope and the trail was blocked we also had to act as traffic police directing vehicles coming the opposite direction around a nasty bypass. People seemed amazed that we had four Land Rovers on the Rubicon. We saw Suzuki’s with dual wheels at each corner, Jeeps so tall you needed a step ladder to get in and some very radical Jeep modifications. After changing the tyre and winching the Discovery up the hill we chose to stop for the night [N0 39 01.284 W 1200 16.796 at 6,724 feet] near an obstacle known as the “Soup Can”, a mere 3 miles from our previous nights stop after a grueling 10 hours of work. Luckily one of the mud lakes was only a ¼ mile walk so we all headed off for a well deserved swim in some pristinely clear waters.

didn’t know he was writing one, but the descriptors - hinting at contemporary mountain town vs. environmental terrorists – screamed, “read me.”

The title could as easily have been, “Hawk’s Camp For Wayward Boys” as you’re taken along on an action adventure in an “exotic British truck” while the characters fish, visit a mine, camp, hit brew pubs, and in general wheel through mountain scenery so well described you’ll be trying to figure out if you’ve been there. In addition, Steve offers glimpses into small town life, the people, personalities and philosophies, and how they interact. Steve’s town is named Gold Hill, but I will never look at Breckinridge in quite the same way. Check it out at www.smhbooks.com Lurlie Bickford

Our last day, Friday 11th July, was to see the most amount of traffic on the trail so far. Whilst the last few miles out of the trail we not without difficulty, they did go with little further trouble.

Well assuming you exclude the fact that my Range Rover bent a front steering arm whilst towing the Discovery through a difficult section! We passed many vehicles that day including a highly modified purpose built Bronco that was front and rear wheel steering and running 44 inch tyres. By that time Jeff was feeling a little depressed due to all the work involved in recovery his vehicle, that was until we started coming across broken down Jeeps, and lots of them. We came across a number of jeeps who seemed to have every tool imaginable out fixing various breakages, these included welders, angle grinders and other heavy equipment. We took some solace in noticing that many far more highly modified vehicles had failed to get even half as far as our land Rover group had done.

Despite the trouble our group had a great time and were challenged at every turn. We have already started planning our James and Naomi Shackleford with their newest family addireturn next year to finally conquer the trail. The Rubicon is truly tion -A Land Rover fan if ever I saw one! an adventure that people need to experience to understand.

For those wishing to read more about the trail I can highly recommend “4 Wheeler’s Guide to the Rubicon Trail” by William C. Tate.

Fear Makes A Traitor, by Solihull member Stephen M. Heredia. 2003 When we met up with Steve for the first time this season at Carnage Canyon, he told Pat he had just published his book. I

THE END

The Solihull Society PO Box 480864 Denver, CO 80248–0864 www.SolihullSociety.org