99’s First “More Difficult” 4×4 Trail Run
By Clay Graham / CegPics.com
On Saturday June 23rd, 2007 my wife (99) wanted to take her sisters up to see the views of Divide Ridge. This was the first time 99 had drove her Tweety Jeep. It was also the first time for her to wheel a rig on a “More Difficult” trail.
We started off by taking Cowiche Mill road up toward Jumpoff Tower. At the top we ran the trail that over looked Louie Way Gap. After a look we headed over to Jumpoff Tower and had a BBQ.
After Lunch we headed on over to the Strobach Mountain Trail. We had to stop on the trail to put the fire out under the Jimmy’s hood. The battery box broke and the battery shorted out. We put the fire out and had to start the truck by holding the positive cable to the battery since the clamp melted off. We were back on the way to the Strobach Mountain vista.
After a look off Strobach Mountain we ran 4W613 toward Dome Peak. I blew a tire on the Jimmy in the Dome Peak Fire Area. I hit a dead root with the side of the front tire. I am use to running MT/Rs so wasn’t watching close enough.
We broke off a stud when taking the tire off. We put the spare on and broke another stud tightening the lug nuts. We added a little more air to the spare and turned around to run the trail back out.
About 8 miles from the North Fork Road (Nasty Creek) I blew the spare tire we just had put on. 99 headed to Tampico to find some of our club members to get another tire. I wasn’t for sure if she would find anyone so I kept driving slowly toward the North Fork Road. The steel wheel held up good. Hercules, Tiny and Test Dummy showed up with one of Hercules’s Chevy wheels with a bald 32. I was happy to see them. They put the 32 on and broke another stud. Three out of six studs were now broke off. They were all broke in a row so only one half of the wheel was bolted on. We drove the rig down to Tampico Park where Tiny had a hub. Hercules, Tiny and Test Dummy changed out the hub and we were on our way home. We got back home to Ceg Ranch around 2 AM.
This was a fun trip even with the added drama. 🙂
Here are some photos of 99’s First “More Difficult” 4×4 Trail Run:
