S-10 Roundup 2001

S-Trucks Visit George in George Washington National Forest
or
S-10 Roundup in Rawley Springs, VA

Date: September 21-23, 2001
Yep, we did it again!

Keith and Mike played host as we ushered in the first colors of fall in Rawley Springs, VA and Brandywine, WV.

The S-10 Roundup in Rawley Springs is for S-10s, S-15s, Sonomas, S-10 Blazers, S-15 Jimmys, ZR2s, BlaZeRs, and Highriders.
The Rawley Springs Area is in the George Washington National Forest Dry River District. The terrain allows for water crossings, mountain climbs, mud, and a bit of off camber crawling for all. Click on any picture for a larger view.

Participants and their Vehicles:

Mike (Ratboy), Chris and Joseph in 92 S-10 Blazer 4 door with a 3 inch body lift on top of 31 inch BFG AT-KOs
Alan in 99 BlaZeR2 on top of 31 inch BFG AT-KOs
John, Hunter and William in 94 S-10 Shortbed on top of 3 inch body lift, with torsion bar and shackles lift 31 inch BFG ATs and one sweet sounding dual exhaust
Adam in 99 BlaZeR2 on top of 31 inch Goodyear ATs (MY HMMWV)
Jamus and Chad in 94 4 door with a 3 inch body lift 30 inch Dunlop Rover ATs and fresh custom front bumper and a "custom" front axle engaging device
Volpster in 88 GMC S-15 shortbed on top of a 3 inch body lift riding 31 inch BFG MTs
Tim and Patty in 96 S-10 Blazer 4 door with a 5 inch Trailmaster suspension lift on top of 31 inch BFG AT-KOs
Keith in 91 S-10 Blazer 4 door with a shackle and t-bar crank on top of 30 inch Michelins on TransAm wheels

Friday was devoted to getting folks in and settled for the night at their chosen accommodations.

Saturday:

The day started with Breakfast from the campstoves. Chris got that much-needed cup of hot java imported from the Superette in Brandywine. :) After getting the campers rousted, all headed over Shenadoah Mountain to meet the day-trippers at McDorman's Grocery and Gas, a Rawley Springs landmark, where John, Hunter and William and the Volpster joined us for the day.

There was a group forming there that had also met on the internet. They were driving Jeeps of some sort, though, so we didn't even ask if they wanted to try following us.

The seven vehicles took off towards the first trail of the day, Kephart Run, with Mike leading. You could see some traces of mud but there was very little water to be found along the way. As we cruised along over the stream crossing, we barely got the tires wet.

Our first pause didn't come until the little crossup ridge where Mary had been required to strap one of our group on a previous trip when his front axle decided to take a hiatus from the locomotion duties. A slightly different line got all the group over this time though, sans straps.

As we got to the waterfall, we found NO water. Although the rock face still looked daunting. Mike was first of the group to go up and over. This was a momentous occasion as he had always opted out of this obstacle in the past in his previous "low-rider" state. The recently added lift and bigger treads paid off. That grin was almost as wide as the grille! Of course, Chris and Joseph, new to this experience, decided to get out and watch and run the video camera. I've previewed their efforts and they are definitely worth seeing.

The combination of multiple generations and bodies on the S-10s and S-15 required or allowed each of the drivers to choose a slightly different line to best conquer this obstacle. A complicating factor was the sharp and unmoving rocks sticking up and endangering different sections of the underbelly depending on the line one took. With varying degrees of finesse, all made it safely up. Volpster's video camera also captured the event for later viewing.

On Kephart Run, after you've climbed the waterfall, the only thing to do is turn around and come back down. The trail actually goes on a little bit further but then dwindles down to nothing with no room to turn around. While working our way up around and down, a group of 3 Landcruisers came up behind us. We offered to hurry back down so that they could play but they elected to take off for other trails rather than wait for all seven of us to make our way down.

Benefitting from the experience of having climbed up, there were differences in the approach for the trip down the face.

As we had gotten turned around while at the top, Keith takes the lead as we head back to take the other fork with the two stream crossings. Keith, Tim, and John make it across the first crossing with variations of the "momentum is my friend" style. Jamus attempts next and his 4wd quits. Later turns out that the vacuum actuator bellows for the front had worn through because of an adjacent cable. All stop for lunch. Volpster and Alan decide to call it a day as they head for other commitments with family. Mike's turn comes next and HIS 4wd quits. We all decide to call it and head out towards camp for possible troubleshooting and repair.

Back to camp where Jamus 4wd is diagnosed and the trusty vise-grips effect a temporary repair. Mike's remains undiagnosed, as he and his passengers have had enough for now and besides, they're on the hook for a cookout! John and Co. decide to head back to Harrisonburg, where they've been staying with promises to re-join us on Sunday morning.

Disappointed at the lack of mud, Tim and Patty, Jamus and Chad and Keith go try to find some mud at Dry River. Successful, though not overwhelmingly so. But we got a good run at a deep section. Tim wowed us all by climbing out the hard way. The light had sufficiently faded under the trees that pictures tend to lose his black Blazer in the muddy background.

Time to head back to camp now for burgers, dogs, beans, chili and slaw and some great camaraderie. The conversation went on in to the night.

Sunday:

Sunday morning, all slept a little bit later. Combo of the fresh cool air, up late the night before and perhaps th substitution of a brew for a Dew or two.

Mike decides to stay and leisurely break down camp. Tim off to go climbing on foot. Jamus (with vise grips) and Keith leave the campground to meet John and Adam at McDorman's, just a little bit late.

Trail options are discussed. Decide to go to OLR and try for the mudhole on top of Second Mountain. Took the side hill. Just cruised on along. Stopped at the powerline clearing for a break and some pictures of scenery.

As we made our way down Second Mountain, it appeared there had been some rain in the not-too-distant past, so there was hope for the mudhole. The "keep an eye on the guy behind you" system worked great as we all stopped for Jamus unannounced pitstop. It also appeared there had been some Forest Service of the roadway as the runoff diversions seemed freshly regraded.

Imagine our disappointment when we get to the mudhole to discover a shallow puddle of dirty water, thanks to a revamped drainage cut! It was possible to get a visually satisfying splash, but there was no mud. Adam had mentioned an alternate route out that he had taken before. But our communications weren't 100% effective as I understood him to mean Dictum Ridge and he meant Long Run, the gravel road that comes out at 612 by the church. Since the gates were locked at the lower end of the Second Mountain Trail, we turned around and retraced our path back to Cline's Hacking.

Since Adam had gone this way before and I knew from a previous trip that S-10s could do this, I led the group along Dictum Ridge. This leg of our journey also showed more evidence of drainage reworking as the first puddle was very low thanks to a new side drainage cut and the road had been moved to avoid the second mudpit! New berms blocked the old way.

Somewhere along the way, I became aware that my front axle was no longer providing motive power, either. Hmmm! Of the three box body 4 doors, three had had the four wheel drive malfunction this weekend. This particular malady luckily did not seem interested in other body style vehicles. It's all downhill from here to pavement anyway, all the vacuum hoses and switches seem to be connected, I'll save further diagnostics until we get to the pavement.Diagnositics wait until Tuesday, when a broken vacuum line on top of the manifold proves to be the culprit.

As we neared the lower end of Dictum Ridge, we stopped the vehicles and walked down to see the rocks that make this a tough trail. Keith, as trail guide, spoke confidently of the past adventures going down the hill and of aborted plans to try it coming the other direction. Knowing that Adam had been here before helped! It was at this point that our miscommunication got cleared up. Adam had never been this way before! Minor(?) miscalculation.

We walked through the possible lines. One way comes down the hill to the far left, results in some offcamber maneuvers with possible wheel lift. The second has less off camber but has each step down a bit steeper. And, of course, the third option was to turnaround and go down Long Run Road.

I get to go first and decide on the previously tried line of the far left next to the tree. Although the proximity of the tree was a cause for concern, I viewed it as a safety check, i.e., it would stop excess movement in that direction! This is where I felt the right rear tire come up just as I saw my spotter started putting distance between him and me and muttering some unprintable things. Really inspied confidence, NOT! I could feel a man-sized weight being applied to the rear bumper about this time (thanks, Chad!). But gravity was on my side and I managed to come down on the rubber side in a controlled manner with no damage.

Okay, so who's next? We once again discussed the three options available to us. I pointed out that I would not be coming back up the rocks although I could walk back up and ride around with someone and collect my truck from the highway side since we were now fairly close to pavement.

John decided he'd give it a try as well but wanted to come down the center if we stacked a few rocks. Finding rocks to stack is not difficult as there are many to choose from. This particular obstacle has had rocks stacked many times before, they just needed a little rearrangement.

John's descent was done with his passengers assisting from the sidelines. There were some excellent pictures taken here. Too bad the video cameras didn't make it out this day!

John came right down the center slowly with only the slightest bit of frame to rock contact. In the same sense that walking is a series of falls where you catch you yourself each time on the alternating foot, it is best said that he fell down the hill. Following this route created one spot where one needed to give it some (controlled) throttle to come over one lip just inches from where one needed to use as little forward motion as possible to ease down the rock's face. Excellent brake/throttle coordination under pressure, John!

Adam, in his "High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle" (BlaZeR2), questioned the lower ground clearance vs. John's lifted pickup and concerns that the rear overhang would drag. But his shorter wheelbase and shorter overhang proved to balance those things out. Adam chose the same line as John with similar results. His only contact was on the point of the rock as his center skidplate did exactly what it was designed to do.

Jamus was now up to tackle the obstacle. Chad was stationed on camera duty and to reprise his role as human ballast. We replaced some the stacked rocks that had been kicked out on John's and Adam's routes and the moment of truth arrived. Although it may seem anti-climatic to the reader, you must remember that this path had been taken only by the folks with the larger tires and with a little higher suspension. As Jamus worked his way down, he left a few scrapings from a recently installed center skidplate on the high pont of the center rock (see pictures) but his excellent hand/eye/throttle/brake coordination made him look like it was piece of cake.

After all had descended safely, Adam compared the experience to his first parachute jump! Guess which one he said was harder?!

Having all safely arrived at the end of the Dictum Ridge trail, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. It should be noted that the Dictum Ridge Trail exits onto private property. Please respect the landowner's rights and practice unusually courteous behavior.

It was a great weekend. There were great people. Someone had mentioned Saturday that you're can't help but be a bit apprehensive about these gatherings where you're going to be with people you've never seen and to top it off, they're taking you off the beaten path where there are no witnesses. It's terrific when they turn out to be genuine folks sharing common interests. Part of that interest is those neat little trucks that have been called the Monster Turds of the Four Wheelin' World and part is an interest in responsible and safe fun in the great outdoors! Met some new folks and got to see some I hadn't seen in too long. As best I can tell, everyone had a good time. No damage, human or vehicular, to report!

For your info, there are other S-10 events scheduled already. Click here for some of them.