erinw.rrc Posted November 29, 2014 Report Share Posted November 29, 2014 Jared and I are thinking of going to Frank Raines today with my friend David just to play. Probably will meet there some time around noon or a little after since I have to go into the office for a little while at 9. Anyone want to come out and play? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHappel Posted November 29, 2014 Report Share Posted November 29, 2014 I'd love to but not back in town yet. Plus I still need to clean the mud off my truck from the last 3 trips! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erinw.rrc Posted November 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2014 Oh well Don! I think Hawaii tops Frank Raines anyway. It's an informal thing and if anyone wants to go they are welcome. We are bringing the LR4 and the RedRover (in case I get stuck). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHappel Posted November 29, 2014 Report Share Posted November 29, 2014 Street tires + mud = slip-slidin' away! That's fun until you get on a slide-slope Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraemeWare Posted November 29, 2014 Report Share Posted November 29, 2014 Jared and I are thinking of going to Frank Raines today with my friend David just to play. Probably will meet there some time around noon or a little after since I have to go into the office for a little while at 9. Anyone want to come out and play? Only just saw this, otherwise Lucas and I would have headed over there. Metcalf was closed (due to the rain) so the planned dirt bike trip was cancelled. We might go to Frank Raines or Hollister tomorrow, but on the bikes. Regards, Graeme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Awww just saw this or I woulda been there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erinw.rrc Posted November 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Just got home... Awesome! It was so muddy and slippery. Had a great time. Don't worry guys, we have a MORG next weekend so no loss. Hopefully Hollister will be muddy and wet too. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidW Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Did you take the LR4??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erinw.rrc Posted November 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Don, how's this for slippy-slope... https://vimeo.com/113186245http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/11/29/3fcb8a35669fa1b42900983b9ee7fcc2.jpghttps://vimeo.com/113186259 As you can see by the last video, I was freaked out by my HDC. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erinw.rrc Posted November 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 And... I got my first set of pin stripes today. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erinw.rrc Posted November 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 And... I got my first set of pin stripes today. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Key word is "stripes". Note that it is plural. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFuller Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Looks like you had fun in the dirt. Some friends and I attempted signal peak Yesterday. It was a last minute thing. We got most of the way up before a Cherokee broke a u-joint in the rear drive shaft along with the pinion yoke and then the bronco broke an axle u-joint pulling the Cherokee out of the tricky spot where it broke. We fixed the bronco on the trail but the Cherokee went out in two wheel drive. It was slippery and snowy and plenty of fun but with the Cherokee down to two wheels we decided instead of attempting the summit we'd better turn around and head for the cabin. The rover ran great and only struggled because of the driver. Too bad too because I have been foiled attempting to make it to the top of signal peak my last three attempts never because of something that happened to me. And any more snow on this trail and it would be impassable. Until next year signal peak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRover Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Frank Raines was calling again and Erin couldn't wait to get her LR4's tires on some dirt... or mud perhaps? http://www.1070maryann.com/images/IMG_1412.jpgRed Rover, heavy on fuel (+dirt from Lost Coast) and ready to go With me in the Red Rover for recovery support and Erin driving her Ipanema Sand LR4 (with Checkers in tow), we collected Jeep David (boo, get a rover ::blink1:: ) and decided to try the 'non-Bay Area' way into Frank Raines (680 / 580 / I-5 / Del Puerto Cyn Rd W). That turned out to take longer than going the very slow & curvy ascent from Alum Rock Ave up Mt. Hamilton going East (which I prefer) but now we can say we've tried both ways. (Also, there are actually signs directing you to Frank Raines if you come from the West side (which stands to reason since it's a Stanislaus County Park.) On the drive out, we saw broken patches of light rain on the windshield but nothing that signaled trouble upon arrival. We paid our entry fee (+ dog, they cost $1 more) and aired down a small amount. I expected conditions to be slightly more 'muddy' than we experienced at the last MORG and I would be proven correct. Many large puddles warned that heavy rain had recently come through. To get a feel of what the terrain was going to be like, I attempted the small climb to the LH side just before the turn to the fire road. What was no difficulty during the MORG had become far more slippery today. I made it about 3/4 of the way up until my front tires hit the rock ledge and could proceed no further. Sliding back was partially-controlled -- about half-way down the Rover jumped the rut and began running up the embankment; momentum slowed and prevented damage. I slowly corrected back into the groove and made another attempt but wasn't successful. We then drove back west and did some smaller hills to practice; on one, I ran the Red Rover up to find a clear line; Erin then made the attempt but lost momentum part of the way up. She reset and now had a crowd of trucks around to provide encouragement -- many were surprised that a modern SUV could actually 'do stuff' off road. Sure enough, the next try was a success -- this gave Erin a good sense of what the trucks' limitations would be for the rest of the day. We then watched David scale some very steep hills with all lockers on; there were a couple of occasions where his truck slid nearly sideways, but he was able to correct for it. Scouting out further, I took Red Rover back into some thicker brush, but decided that the trail had become mainly a motorbike path and backed out. We turned back toward the entrance and found a hill that went up toward the crest that I could not reach from the first hill. Placing the truck in 2 Lo, I gave her a lot of momentum and scaled the hill without difficulty. There was one small 'landing' before another ascent, which the Classic had very little issue with (perhaps minor loss of traction from loose mud.) Conditions seemed to be improving or we were just finding paths that hadn't been torn up by the motorbikes. I called down to Erin and suggested she could make the hill. We walked through the controls settings for rock crawl and then she went for it -- as she was climbing, I slowly heard the RPMs dropping; I told her to give it more and the LR4 lept to life; watching the electronics work every tire separately is something else. ::bigsmile:: We then ran the trail run out toward the big hill climb that our MORG group did after some of the folks had left. Erin, on the trail over to the big hill climb Once at the hill, I took Red Rover up without issue and back down the same way; we also had a chance to watch a guy on an 85cc bike try very hard to get up the hill -- I think he was using his feet to push it up more than the engine itself... It was nearly lunch time, so we trekked back to the front. After a quick bite, we loaded back up and crossed the bridge, now turning right up the fire road. We were surprised to find the slickest mud we'd experienced our entire day at the park. Because Fire Road is the major path to many of the East trails, the motorbikes had turned it into a sloppy mess. We maintained momentum and were able to keep good control until about 3/4 of the way up; around one of the final corners, the mud was passable, but barely so. We essentially slid into the groove that met the berm and then used it as a rut to finish the climb. http://www.1070maryann.com/images/IMG_1417.jpgErin, you've got a speck of mud on your truck Once at the top, conditions were vastly improved. We played around the mud hole and attempted various hills -- the LR4 did admirably well and really didn't encounter much that it couldn't handle. Red Rover got stuck trying to cross a high-center rutted and mud-water filled set of tracks. Clearly more 'oomph' was needed. I put it in reverse, got my speed up and had enough the 2nd time to power through. We finished the day by taking the trucks over to what was the first larger climb of the MORG. Red Rover had been up the hill before so I went to tackle it, and while it was probably not as forgiving as the first time I ran it, it certainly wasn't much more difficult. Erin began the ascent and apparently heard or felt something in the rear as she was coming up but nothing seemed to be out of order. We then called it a day as the sun was setting and the overcast conditions were making it dark quickly. Erin, inching back down slippery fire road as sun sets We said goodbye to David, who was going to take I-5 back out -- we took the Land Rovers through Del Puerto Canyon Rd and Mt. Hamilton Rd. at night. We encountered a lot of low clouds and wet, rainy driving but finally through the fog we saw and passed the Lick Observatory. Glad to be coming back down the mountain (which has recently been repaved, btw) we hurried home and parked the muddy toys, which are currently being rain-washed as we speak. (Also took them both to the pressure-wash earlier today and got all the mud off.) All-in-all, I think Erin & I are finding Frank Raines to be a pretty enjoyable OHV park and look forward to the next time we're out there! -Jared Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlysonH Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 That looks so awesome!! Erin and Jared, please call me if you plan to run off and do this again since I'm just down the road!! I don't log into the website as often as I should. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pedram Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 Yeah..... I'm with Ali. Not to be mistaken for Alah. But I do need to repair my truck first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomOwen Posted December 3, 2014 Report Share Posted December 3, 2014 Great write-up and looks like a great time. Congrats Erin on taking the new LR4 out to play. Way to go JErin and Checkers!! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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