trekkerr
New member
Windrock trip
As the title says I spent spring break at Windrock Off Road Park. A few friends and I decided to head up there and camp and hit the trails and I wanted to give a little report of the trip for those interested.
We set out at around 7 o clock in the morning with about a 7 hour drive ahead of us, filled up with gas then hit the road. It turned into about a 8-9 hour trip due to a detour that brought us to Sand Rock, AL as a friend curious about a place where one could climb on rock and rappel. We stopped there to make some sandwiches and then left in order to get camp set up before dark.
We got to the campground around 4:30 that afternoon and the rain came down as soon as we started to unpack. We got a couple of tents set up and enough cover to get some soup cooked for supper. The warm meal was greatly appreciated out in the cold and the rain. Thankfully we knew a guy down the road from our campsite that had rented out a little shack and he offered to let us take advantage of the shelter from the rain as a big storm system was coming in. So we got to hang out and chat at his place for the night until the worst of the rain had passed. We all then headed back to our site and crawled into bed which for me was the dry and warm back of my 4Runner.
The next morning we took our time getting up and we picked up our passes and a map and headed into the park. First, We drove all the way to the end up of a road that was mostly paved to look at some of the giant windmills they have on their land.
We then turned around and decided to just head down any trail we saw that didn't look terrible. A little down the road we came across G7 which looked pretty easy and we started down it. It was mostly a gravel road with mud puddles every 50 yards or so. There were a couple of mud bogs off to the side of the trail that were pretty deep which the Tacoma and four-wheeler went through. We turned around at a cross roads later down the road and headed back to the main gravel road. Upon exiting the trail we noticed a ridge across the valley with about a dozen SxS’s parked on it.
We then decided to figure out how to get there. Just down the road we came across a trail that seemed to lead right to it. The trail had some big rocks and a few off camber sections but we made it down the first half with no dramas. We approached the second half which looked very slippery and very steep. The four wheeler was chosen to go ahead and see how bad it was, my main concern was not being able to stop (especially with my street tires that have the least aggressive tread) as there was a rocky section that was just as steep at the end of the slipper mud. The four wheeler made it down and we followed, using our brakes generously. The rocky section had a couple rock steps that required a little guidance but we all made it down easily.
We proceeded to drive further down to get to the ridge, threw the trucks in park, and got out to take in the scenery. After a few minutes we hopped back in the trucks and started about the business of finding the best way off of this ridge. The first trail turned out to be just a turn-a-round. The second trail that we found on the map quickly turned into a steep slope with big rocks. We let the four wheeler go ahead and check it out and got down it without flipping but said it would probably be too much for the trucks to tackle. So we turned around and headed back to the ridge.
Once I got to the trail head I sat and waited while the others caught up, to the left I saw a guy in a SxS pull up and take out his phone to video something. A few seconds later we saw a man barreling down the trail that ran atop the ridge on a motorcycle. He hit a rocky patch and his throttle got stuck wide open, flinging the bike out from under him. He hit the ground hard and one of the guys with us who is a volunteer firefighter took off towards him. I followed after him in the truck and offered some first aid supplies. Luckily, he appeared to just have some gashes in his arms but he could have broken something and not felt it due to adrenaline. Soon, they got him patched up and loaded onto a SxS so they could get him to the hospital ASAP. We offered to load up his bike in the back of the Tacoma take it back to their campsite. We got it strapped down and headed out the way we came in.
We got back up the steep trail with no dramas and headed back to camp so we could drop off the man’s bike.
It was near time to eat when we got back to the campsite so some of us headed into town to grab some food to cook. Burgers were consumed and then we crawled into bed.
The next morning came and we decided to take what they call the ‘Beginners Loop’ which we would come to find was far from ‘beginner’. And so we set out in our near stock Toyotas (and Jeep) to take on the loop. It took us down a main gravel road and eventually to a dirt road that shot off of it. It was a little muddy but nothing serious. We followed this trail for a a few minutes then came to a clearing where several trails meet and the loop continued down one of them. We got out to double check the maps when a couple Jeeps on 35s came out of the trail we were about to go down, we conversed and they told us that the trail “wasn’t bad at all” so we hopped back in the trucks and went down the trail. We were met by an off camber decline followed by a trail with a few mud puddle but once again nothing serious. Eventually the trail began to descend and due to several days of rain these portions of the trail were extremely washed out and we crept down the trails as they were ridden with ditches carved by the rain.
We made it past the worst of it and to some gravel trails that went on for a few minutes. We got to a point in the trail where a tree had fallen, covering about 3/4 of the last trail on the left side. On the right side was a bit of a creek that had washed away a little. After breaking a strap on it we began to winch it out of the way and realized that if we pull the tree any further we could start a mudslide. Not wanting to cause a mudslide we stopped pulling it and decided to drive over it the best we could. All of the trucks made it over without any troubles.
Later on down the trail, we stopped to check out a shoot off trail, curious if it led to a waterfall. It didn’t, so we got back in the trucks. I let the other two trucks and atv pull out and go ahead and as I reversed back onto the gravel trail a loud pop came from the front of the car. We got out to inspect and found that it was the driver side outer tie rod. The ball joint become partly out of socket. It was still attached and drivable so we kept down the trail, although at a much slower pace.
We reach the bottom of the trail and came to a bridge over a creek with fairly high water. The far side was very washed out and we were concerned that if weight came off of the tie rod it would completely detach. So we headed up the trail in the ATV to see if it was worth it to keep going. We came upon a large water crossing that we weren’t sure we’d make it across so we made the call that we shouldn’t continue on the loop. We got back to the trucks and found some locals in a SxS trying to get around us. We explained our situation and asked about the quickest way onto a paved road. They told us that a trail shooting off of the one ahead would take us to a two lane road and get us out of the park. They were very kind and made sure to lead us down the trail to make sure we made it. We got past the first bridge with not issue and then came to another that was washed even worse. However it wasn’t too much for our trucks to handle and we bumped up onto it and got to the other side. The rest of the trail didn’t gives any more dramas and we were able to limp the 4Runner back to the campground. Picked up a replacement part at autozone and repaired it the next day.
After replacing the tie rod we headed back to the trails and took it easy and just went down a few easy trails and then headed back to camp to eat.
As the title says I spent spring break at Windrock Off Road Park. A few friends and I decided to head up there and camp and hit the trails and I wanted to give a little report of the trip for those interested.
We set out at around 7 o clock in the morning with about a 7 hour drive ahead of us, filled up with gas then hit the road. It turned into about a 8-9 hour trip due to a detour that brought us to Sand Rock, AL as a friend curious about a place where one could climb on rock and rappel. We stopped there to make some sandwiches and then left in order to get camp set up before dark.
We got to the campground around 4:30 that afternoon and the rain came down as soon as we started to unpack. We got a couple of tents set up and enough cover to get some soup cooked for supper. The warm meal was greatly appreciated out in the cold and the rain. Thankfully we knew a guy down the road from our campsite that had rented out a little shack and he offered to let us take advantage of the shelter from the rain as a big storm system was coming in. So we got to hang out and chat at his place for the night until the worst of the rain had passed. We all then headed back to our site and crawled into bed which for me was the dry and warm back of my 4Runner.
The next morning we took our time getting up and we picked up our passes and a map and headed into the park. First, We drove all the way to the end up of a road that was mostly paved to look at some of the giant windmills they have on their land.
We then turned around and decided to just head down any trail we saw that didn't look terrible. A little down the road we came across G7 which looked pretty easy and we started down it. It was mostly a gravel road with mud puddles every 50 yards or so. There were a couple of mud bogs off to the side of the trail that were pretty deep which the Tacoma and four-wheeler went through. We turned around at a cross roads later down the road and headed back to the main gravel road. Upon exiting the trail we noticed a ridge across the valley with about a dozen SxS’s parked on it.
We then decided to figure out how to get there. Just down the road we came across a trail that seemed to lead right to it. The trail had some big rocks and a few off camber sections but we made it down the first half with no dramas. We approached the second half which looked very slippery and very steep. The four wheeler was chosen to go ahead and see how bad it was, my main concern was not being able to stop (especially with my street tires that have the least aggressive tread) as there was a rocky section that was just as steep at the end of the slipper mud. The four wheeler made it down and we followed, using our brakes generously. The rocky section had a couple rock steps that required a little guidance but we all made it down easily.
We proceeded to drive further down to get to the ridge, threw the trucks in park, and got out to take in the scenery. After a few minutes we hopped back in the trucks and started about the business of finding the best way off of this ridge. The first trail turned out to be just a turn-a-round. The second trail that we found on the map quickly turned into a steep slope with big rocks. We let the four wheeler go ahead and check it out and got down it without flipping but said it would probably be too much for the trucks to tackle. So we turned around and headed back to the ridge.
Once I got to the trail head I sat and waited while the others caught up, to the left I saw a guy in a SxS pull up and take out his phone to video something. A few seconds later we saw a man barreling down the trail that ran atop the ridge on a motorcycle. He hit a rocky patch and his throttle got stuck wide open, flinging the bike out from under him. He hit the ground hard and one of the guys with us who is a volunteer firefighter took off towards him. I followed after him in the truck and offered some first aid supplies. Luckily, he appeared to just have some gashes in his arms but he could have broken something and not felt it due to adrenaline. Soon, they got him patched up and loaded onto a SxS so they could get him to the hospital ASAP. We offered to load up his bike in the back of the Tacoma take it back to their campsite. We got it strapped down and headed out the way we came in.
We got back up the steep trail with no dramas and headed back to camp so we could drop off the man’s bike.
It was near time to eat when we got back to the campsite so some of us headed into town to grab some food to cook. Burgers were consumed and then we crawled into bed.
The next morning came and we decided to take what they call the ‘Beginners Loop’ which we would come to find was far from ‘beginner’. And so we set out in our near stock Toyotas (and Jeep) to take on the loop. It took us down a main gravel road and eventually to a dirt road that shot off of it. It was a little muddy but nothing serious. We followed this trail for a a few minutes then came to a clearing where several trails meet and the loop continued down one of them. We got out to double check the maps when a couple Jeeps on 35s came out of the trail we were about to go down, we conversed and they told us that the trail “wasn’t bad at all” so we hopped back in the trucks and went down the trail. We were met by an off camber decline followed by a trail with a few mud puddle but once again nothing serious. Eventually the trail began to descend and due to several days of rain these portions of the trail were extremely washed out and we crept down the trails as they were ridden with ditches carved by the rain.
We made it past the worst of it and to some gravel trails that went on for a few minutes. We got to a point in the trail where a tree had fallen, covering about 3/4 of the last trail on the left side. On the right side was a bit of a creek that had washed away a little. After breaking a strap on it we began to winch it out of the way and realized that if we pull the tree any further we could start a mudslide. Not wanting to cause a mudslide we stopped pulling it and decided to drive over it the best we could. All of the trucks made it over without any troubles.
Later on down the trail, we stopped to check out a shoot off trail, curious if it led to a waterfall. It didn’t, so we got back in the trucks. I let the other two trucks and atv pull out and go ahead and as I reversed back onto the gravel trail a loud pop came from the front of the car. We got out to inspect and found that it was the driver side outer tie rod. The ball joint become partly out of socket. It was still attached and drivable so we kept down the trail, although at a much slower pace.
We reach the bottom of the trail and came to a bridge over a creek with fairly high water. The far side was very washed out and we were concerned that if weight came off of the tie rod it would completely detach. So we headed up the trail in the ATV to see if it was worth it to keep going. We came upon a large water crossing that we weren’t sure we’d make it across so we made the call that we shouldn’t continue on the loop. We got back to the trucks and found some locals in a SxS trying to get around us. We explained our situation and asked about the quickest way onto a paved road. They told us that a trail shooting off of the one ahead would take us to a two lane road and get us out of the park. They were very kind and made sure to lead us down the trail to make sure we made it. We got past the first bridge with not issue and then came to another that was washed even worse. However it wasn’t too much for our trucks to handle and we bumped up onto it and got to the other side. The rest of the trail didn’t gives any more dramas and we were able to limp the 4Runner back to the campground. Picked up a replacement part at autozone and repaired it the next day.
After replacing the tie rod we headed back to the trails and took it easy and just went down a few easy trails and then headed back to camp to eat.
