Rough and Ready Run
April 23. 2002
by
Bruce Wagner
I figured I needed to get up at 6am so I got up at 5:30 and after I got
everything loaded into the truck I was still about 15 minutes late.
Breakfast was at Denny's in Fortuna. Ashley gave me her last sausage... I
thought about Random as I munched the little morsel down.
The banter on the CB was great as six of us convoyed out to Dinsmore. Richard
said, "I'd just like to know who identified himself as “Not Me” on the radio.
"Not me.. Not me.. Not me.. Not me.. Not me... Did you get your answer Richard?
If I ever send into "Reader's Rides in Petersen's 4-Wheel I’m going to put down
as best modification my “CB”. I've grown very fond of that thing.
There was a big crowd waiting for us at the store. It looked like a convention.
There were about 15 rigs, which was impressive. The weather was beautiful.
Scott was the trail leader, with Jim Boyett directly behind. The plan was to
take Dashields Creek Road, which is just north of the Ruth store on Ruth Lake
road and go up to the Rough & Ready Trail. (I'd never seen the lake from there -
it was incredibly beautiful in the morning sun. As some were locking-up and
airing down Clyde Dalton Jr. said he'd been up that road recently and it was a
dead-end.
That gave Miss Piggy, Carl, and Toni (who had a new passenger and was a little
behind), time to catch up. The plan was then to head for Cedar Gap road, which
is south of the Ruth store and goes to the top of South Fork Mountain.
It was pretty easy going for quite a ways. Carl kept ribbing us about still
being in two-wheel drive. Then we hit snow and the rest of us decided to air
down. I used a Staun air valve. It was nice not having to kneel down. (I have
four - I think I'll color code then and set them for different pressures!
The Eskimos have 23 different names for snow depending on it's nature. This was
the !@#$%& kind, ideal for throwing, not driving. After Miss Piggy tore the
towing loop off a Jeep struggling through the first deep drift I pulled her over
to the extreme side of the road and let everyone who wanted to, pass. Miss Piggy
doesn't have pogo-tires.
The gathering point was only about thirty yards ahead. There were at least four
dogs and four kids, and a bunch of adult-type people eating their favorite junk
food. A picnic. Scott walked down to me and told me gravely that it would be
better if I didn't take "the Bronco up there". What an optimist! As if I could.
I didn't walk up to see it, but I knew that what lay ahead was carnage.
Jim Boyett: the foot of snow turned into 2-3 feet and "We began to have some
rigs getting stuck", (which I suspect is a understatement - ed.). Pretty soon
5th in line turned to 3rd. "By this time, I had passed a couple of rigs that
were having trouble and was behind Josh and Scott. Josh broke trail for awhile
until the snow became 2-3' deep and on a side hill. (That's where in !@#$%& snow
you go sideways 4ot - ed.)
"I took the lead, but near the top my lockers started slipping me down the hill.
(Scott knows that one - it's the !@#$%& snow.) After a lot of slipping, and
spinning, and sliding, I got back on the road and decided to wait for Clyde, who
was trying to get through the mess I had made of the sidehill. It was about this
time he started to ask for brake fluid. I couldn't find any in my rig, although
I found it after I got home. (shame on you), so I radioed back, and soon someone
(Ashley) came up with a big can (gallon) of it.
We had a short conference and Scott decided it would be better to turn around
and try Senteney Rock, instead of fighting (!@#$%&) snow the rest of the day.
Clyde winched the Toyota around, and then winched a Suzuki on up to where we
were and we started back. I had to winch myself up to a higher location in order
to traverse the side hill. I was now last in line, until we got down to where
Carl was. Carl pulled in behind me where he could be Tail Gunner. Bryan had been
spotting Carl through the trees and managed to get him so tight, that he had to
winch sideways 6 or so inches to get around a tree that he was against.
Bruce: We started back down South Fork Mountain and it wasn’t long until we were
well out of the snow and really beginning to roll. There was a live tree hanging
over the trail which I didn't think about on the way up. About fifteen feet away
I realized the CB antenna was now on the wrong side of the road and about to be
wiped away. I didn't even have time to take my foot off the accelerator. 1"
antennas don't work.
We went down at a pretty good clip. Then we slowed to a crawl as we went past
the houses at the bottom near the Ruth Lake Road. One woman stood on her front
porch to watch the parade, and gave us the "thumbs up". We stopped at the
intersection of the Cedar Gap Road and the Ruth Lake Road. There were 15-17
4x4’s. It looked like a gypsy funeral!
Richard: "We then headed to the Van Duzen River Road via Hettenshaw Valley
(which was in it's springtime splendor - ed). I think Clyde headed home as he
was losing a lot of [brake] fluid.
After accounting for everyone, (and eating more junk food - ed) we crossed the
Van Duzen River and headed up Crooks Ridge toward Senteney Rock."
Bruce: This was a place at the botton of the Crooks Ridge Road called "the
corral". I waited for Naomi to cross the river in her Suzuki before I went into
the river. I like to take water in 2nd with a little speed; see it fly. Having
some Irish I found the hole right next to where everyone else had crossed
safely, and the left headlight went into the water. I'm sure my eyes got as big
as 9" Ford diffs and I punched it hard. Water flew then. Yahoo!
There were seven of us in our group. Carl, Dave Wheeler, Dustin, and the
Oliver's in their Jeeps, Toni and Naomi in their Suzuki's, and myself in Miss
Piggy ("the barge"). I rode drag. Jim, Ashley, Kurt and others were somewhere
ahead of us.
We scrambled up a very steep embankment and then went up, charging through heavy
brush, and up a hard scrabble trail, getting smacked in the face with small
branches, at a fairly high rate of speed. I don't have a watch but it seemed
like a long time before it opened out into steep mountainside.
In the open area’s there were washouts 2-3' deep and 3-4' wide, that cut the
trail at sharp angles. There were a number of them. If the Jeep Wagoneer and
Naomi's Suzuki could cross, why not the Bronco! We continued up into an area
where the path was mostly surrounded in heavy brush and the trail was covered
with 3”-6" skree. It was so steep my leg got tired standing the brake, and the
only open spot was so narrow I had to run Miss Piggy up the left embankment to
keep her from sliding off the road and rolling down the hillside.
I was scared and excited; this was 4-wheeling! We sat and idled while some
activity went on up ahead. I don't know what; my CB was broken.
Then we were off again sometimes almost racing up the mountainside, although now
it was getting really steep. Then we stopped again in very heavy brush. I shut
off Miss Piggy and walked up to Naomi's Suzuki. She told me there was a big mud
chute ahead that we could either go through, or around. She said she was going
to go around. We listened to the coolant boiling in the Bronco's radiator. I
chose the mud, and somehow knew I was making a mistake.
My 31" tires weren't tall enough and both my diffs hit a huge rock in my line,
stopping my forward momentum. Then a sharp, pointed rock buried in the 12" mud
put a 1" hole in the left front tire sidewall. Stuff occurs
.
Toni, thanks for the air - we didn't find out how bad the tire was until the
following day.
We put on the balding spare. (If I had any sense I would have dumped the useless
$10 cigarette lighter air pump right there rather than bring it home. I think it
would have made an appropriate trailside artifact.) Then I got into a rubbing
contest with a 4" tree and jettisoned “Bronco” and the right fender trim in the
conflict (the tree won).
Dave and I hurried to catch up. This was the most challenging terrain yet, but
my confidence in the Bronco had risen and soon we were on top, past Senteney
Rock. The Black Lassic cinder cone was dusted with snow, and looked enchanted in
the waning light. But a large tree had fallen in the trail, and though we were
only 150 yards from the main road, we had to turn back. (I didn't want to go
that way anyhow.)
Note from Jim Boyett: The rest of us turned left at Senteney Rock off the
Swayback Road, instead of following the Swayback Road to the Black Lassic Forest
Service Road, which was what Bruce was attempting. What we had here was a
failure to communicate!
Bruce: I liked going under Senteney Rock much better. There was the most rugged
obstacle yet to ease your way through, and Carl's son got truly amazing shots of
his Jeep's articulation. We continued down the mountain, where we met up with
the rest of the crew.
Then it was time to go home. It was too late to get gas at Dinsmore so we
backtracked to the Mad River store. Carl had a five gallon can and I had 3/4 of
a large tank of gas and a siphon pump, so we were going to get everyone home if
the store was closed. It wasn't. A perfect end.
Life is too large to chew whole. Take big bites anyway.
Note: My thanks to Bruce for writing
this story-Jim Boyett
