Ozark Mtns, Nov 2010: "100 Meters at a Time"
- Thread starter Wes Craiglow
- Start date
Still sounds awesome Mr. Leary. I'm not so worried about body damage (truck used to be a wheeler until I realized I didnt care much for the worry/expense of rock crawling) but you definitely nailed the answer for the engine worries.
I'll definitely be keeping my eyes on things
I'll definitely be keeping my eyes on things
frgtwn
Adventurer
Not that I am one to critic one's driving style.......:smiley_drive::snorkel::Wow1:
But Ryan... you need to slow down in these water crossings. Think of how much force you are putting into your radiator.
Water has a funny way of doing things... like...
See my license plate?
Not to mention the other, real, problems I encountered on the trip. Lesson learned. Easy does it through water crossings from here on out.
Well, I thought that folks were driving too fast through the water, too, but man, you nailed ME with that license plate detail. I just could not figure out how I bent it Up!
Jelwell1982
Observer
So is this trip booked up?
Anyone taking names or have a list?
Friends or club only kinda thing?
I'd be interested if someone thought I could squeeze a FullSize Bronco through some tight spots...
Anyone taking names or have a list?
Friends or club only kinda thing?
I'd be interested if someone thought I could squeeze a FullSize Bronco through some tight spots...
Mr. Leary
Glamping Excursionaire
There will be another big group trip in the spring, but there is no way the truck would fit down that 5 mile section. Everything else we drove that weekend would be no problem. Perhaps when I get the slideshow put together it will be easier to see how tight it was.
I don't really want to cut down half the forest to fit a few full sized trucks through that trail, especially when there are so many other good trails in the vicinity that will.
This trip was purposefully small because it was a scouting trip and we expected long hours and some very rough terrain. Clearing paths through the rockslide and mudslide was quite a bit of work and very slow going, cuz everything was off camber with tight turns... not the kind of trail you want much more than 3 trucks going down at a time.
You are welcome to join us for the trip in the spring. Keep an eye out for a thread in the Central States section in the spring. I will update the first post as people commit, in the same fashion as this thread:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=49313
Jelwell1982
Observer
Thanks I will keep an eye out...
RSB
Adventurer
shoot! I didn't realize a thread had already started! :Wow1: ...sorry, y'all.
boy, what a trip! We certainly went through quite a bit this last weekend. Our preparation, experience and knowledge was truly put to the test. There wasn't much we didn't encounter along the way. We used just about everything in our recovery arsenal to keep moving. Ultimately, the landslide was the only obstacle we couldn't conqueror. A crew of 10-20, or better yet, a bulldozer would have been needed. And with all the work, we retired each night w/some fantastic food served by a master chef!
despite that I was still recovering from an upper-respiratory infection and losing my voice half the time, I still managed to continue on. I'm not sure if I would've made it if Neal hadn't offered some of his meds! Consequently, I didn't work as hard as I wanted at times. However, this gave me more opportunity behind the camera and a means of showing the rest of you what we went through in more detail.
overall, the recon was successful. We scouted a good portion of the route originally planned. And to think we still only covered a small fraction of what the Ozarks has to offer! Amazing. I look forward to sharing a big part of our experiences with you all next year. It's definitely going to be one you won't want to miss!
the first day started out great. My first stop for fuel and who do I run into? One of my friends heading to Hot Springs! As you can see, he has one very nice Land Cruiser. He was going to Superlift for this trip (and his son was riding in the back seat!). He might be joining us in the spring...
we started the first day on a trail (blue) alongside the route we took in October (red).
We came across a steep hill heading-up to the power lines we just had to tackle. We had some time to kill before Mike showed-up, so why not?! It proved to be rather technical.
on the way down, we noticed the trail continued-on across a small crossing. We decided to check it out.
the trail wrapped-around and we hopped back on the main route after making this crossing...
boy, what a trip! We certainly went through quite a bit this last weekend. Our preparation, experience and knowledge was truly put to the test. There wasn't much we didn't encounter along the way. We used just about everything in our recovery arsenal to keep moving. Ultimately, the landslide was the only obstacle we couldn't conqueror. A crew of 10-20, or better yet, a bulldozer would have been needed. And with all the work, we retired each night w/some fantastic food served by a master chef!
despite that I was still recovering from an upper-respiratory infection and losing my voice half the time
, I still managed to continue on. I'm not sure if I would've made it if Neal hadn't offered some of his meds! Consequently, I didn't work as hard as I wanted at times. However, this gave me more opportunity behind the camera and a means of showing the rest of you what we went through in more detail. overall, the recon was successful. We scouted a good portion of the route originally planned. And to think we still only covered a small fraction of what the Ozarks has to offer! Amazing. I look forward to sharing a big part of our experiences with you all next year. It's definitely going to be one you won't want to miss!
the first day started out great. My first stop for fuel and who do I run into? One of my friends heading to Hot Springs! As you can see, he has one very nice Land Cruiser. He was going to Superlift for this trip (and his son was riding in the back seat!). He might be joining us in the spring...
we started the first day on a trail (blue) alongside the route we took in October (red).
We came across a steep hill heading-up to the power lines we just had to tackle. We had some time to kill before Mike showed-up, so why not?! It proved to be rather technical.
on the way down, we noticed the trail continued-on across a small crossing. We decided to check it out.
the trail wrapped-around and we hopped back on the main route after making this crossing...
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RSB
Adventurer
from there we met up w/Mike and proceeded to camp. Sorry, no photos here! It got cold quick. :REOutCampFire03:
the next morning, we headed-up to Buzzard Roost. And the fun began! Things got pretty tight...
oops! kinda hard to tell in the photo, but a tree managed to hit the left rear quarter of the truck.
no problem. Nothing a little trail repair can't fix!
moving on...
I couldn't help but post these great shots of Mike and his rig right at this moment...
about this time we had to make our own route to get through...
which necessitated the use of a chainsaw. :coffeedrink:
the next morning, we headed-up to Buzzard Roost. And the fun began! Things got pretty tight...
oops! kinda hard to tell in the photo, but a tree managed to hit the left rear quarter of the truck.
no problem. Nothing a little trail repair can't fix!
moving on...
I couldn't help but post these great shots of Mike and his rig right at this moment...
about this time we had to make our own route to get through...
which necessitated the use of a chainsaw. :coffeedrink:
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RSB
Adventurer
clear! another 100 meters and we made it to the top.
we went for a hike to check-out the view!
kinda reminded me of the Black Hills in South Dakota. I'm glad we did this, even though we weren't expecting to spend the rest of the day here!
we jumped back in the trucks and started to make our way back towards the route. Little did we know what we were in for...
THE HILL
this was the spot where Wes was tippin' over pretty good. Here's what the approach looked like from behind as he made his first attempt.
getting into position, you can see the potential to easily go off-camber. The slick sidewalls of the ruts and wet foliage made it even more difficult. A good spotter was paramount in this situation.
with Mike's guidance, Wes slowly made his way up the hill.
unfortunately, the shift in weight on top caused the passenger side to dig too much into the sidewalls of the ruts. There wasn't much that could be done to prevent this from happening, unless we opted to rebuild the road.
time to break-out the recovery gear. We decided to run a snatch block to a tree passenger-side that ran back to my truck in the rear. This would allow for a lateral pull and hopefully bring back some of the camber. We also ran a snatch block back to a tree in front to bring him forward a bit.
success! then it was my turn. This time, both Mike & I went up and actually came out unscathed.
we went for a hike to check-out the view!
kinda reminded me of the Black Hills in South Dakota. I'm glad we did this, even though we weren't expecting to spend the rest of the day here!
we jumped back in the trucks and started to make our way back towards the route. Little did we know what we were in for...
THE HILL
this was the spot where Wes was tippin' over pretty good. Here's what the approach looked like from behind as he made his first attempt.
getting into position, you can see the potential to easily go off-camber. The slick sidewalls of the ruts and wet foliage made it even more difficult. A good spotter was paramount in this situation.
with Mike's guidance, Wes slowly made his way up the hill.
unfortunately, the shift in weight on top caused the passenger side to dig too much into the sidewalls of the ruts. There wasn't much that could be done to prevent this from happening, unless we opted to rebuild the road.
time to break-out the recovery gear.
We decided to run a snatch block to a tree passenger-side that ran back to my truck in the rear. This would allow for a lateral pull and hopefully bring back some of the camber. We also ran a snatch block back to a tree in front to bring him forward a bit.
success! then it was my turn. This time, both Mike & I went up and actually came out unscathed.
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RSB
Adventurer
100 meters later (haha!) and we come across this...
we decided there'd be too much risk involved if we attempted this. So, we looked for another way around. Mike got some high ground until he couldn't go any further. Like Wes said, we realized any forward movement would've shattered glass and dented the left rear quarter at that point. Backing-up wasn't an option either.
here's some pics of the recovery in action, as Wes described. I think this first photo best shows the predicament...
Wes securing his winch to snatch him back uphill onto his line...
snatch block assembled...
w/the truck pulled back, we ultimately decided the tree had to go. We don't like to do this, but sometimes this is what needs to happen. Understand we only consider this as a last option.
ready to go, we've now only started. As Wes said, it would still be another 3 hours before we all got through!
the ground was very unstable. To maintain control, Wes secured his rig to one of the trees ahead.
Mike built a ladder to ensure his tires stayed put. Very clever!
Wes began traversing the rock garden. Here's a shot of one of the boulders moved in the process...
we decided there'd be too much risk involved if we attempted this. So, we looked for another way around. Mike got some high ground until he couldn't go any further. Like Wes said, we realized any forward movement would've shattered glass and dented the left rear quarter at that point. Backing-up wasn't an option either.
here's some pics of the recovery in action, as Wes described. I think this first photo best shows the predicament...
Wes securing his winch to snatch him back uphill onto his line...
snatch block assembled...
w/the truck pulled back, we ultimately decided the tree had to go. We don't like to do this, but sometimes this is what needs to happen. Understand we only consider this as a last option.
ready to go, we've now only started. As Wes said, it would still be another 3 hours before we all got through!
the ground was very unstable. To maintain control, Wes secured his rig to one of the trees ahead.
Mike built a ladder to ensure his tires stayed put. Very clever!
Wes began traversing the rock garden. Here's a shot of one of the boulders moved in the process...
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RSB
Adventurer
Wes Craiglow
Member
Just to clarify about the cutting of trees...
This particular trail was the tightest I've ever been on to begin with, and demanded that we do some "maintenance pruning" of branches and small saplings along the way to prevent passing vehicles from being damaged and bypasses from being constructed. However, what you see above was different: the trail had been eliminated by the landslide at this location. No trucks had been able to pass this spot since the slide; we were literally rebuilding the trail throughout this 100 meter stretch. But for this one fact, we would never have cut such a large tree. I am not a logger, do not take pride in killing trees, and generally prefer chainsaws be used only for removing fallen trees.
And I know it's hard to relay in pictures, compounded by the fallen leaves hiding the loose boulders, but this area was sketchy. Very loose soil and rocks on moderate- to steep-cambers, which continuously attempted to send our trucks sliding into the adjacent ravine. It took all of our tools and ingenuity to get through here.
(And I can't wait to go back! )
This particular trail was the tightest I've ever been on to begin with, and demanded that we do some "maintenance pruning" of branches and small saplings along the way to prevent passing vehicles from being damaged and bypasses from being constructed. However, what you see above was different: the trail had been eliminated by the landslide at this location. No trucks had been able to pass this spot since the slide; we were literally rebuilding the trail throughout this 100 meter stretch. But for this one fact, we would never have cut such a large tree. I am not a logger, do not take pride in killing trees, and generally prefer chainsaws be used only for removing fallen trees.
And I know it's hard to relay in pictures, compounded by the fallen leaves hiding the loose boulders, but this area was sketchy. Very loose soil and rocks on moderate- to steep-cambers, which continuously attempted to send our trucks sliding into the adjacent ravine. It took all of our tools and ingenuity to get through here.
(And I can't wait to go back!
)