May MORG May 1st

[TaoOfDow]

Hi!  I'm new here.  I'm the one @enderwiggin187 refers to as "pops".  What radio frequencies do you use on these trips?  

 

KG6GOV

[RobertDingli]

Usually 146.460 and sometimes 146.550 as the alternative.

[renelozano]

I'm trying to see if I can make it. Be good to move the D2 around. Is it ok for Martin to join us in his Land Cruiser? We would also be just in and out.

[Elherbinator]

I'm trying to see if I can make it. Be good to move the D2 around. Is it ok for Martin to join us in his Land Cruiser? We would also be just in and out.

So the general rule is that guests are allowed to come on a one time only basis for the purpose of checking out the club to decide if they want to join. So it is obviously preferred that they be in a Land Rover, but in practice it shouldn’t be a problem for a non LR friend to join. Happens all the time. So that’s the rule, but it is really up to the discretion of the trip leader. I don’t want to speak for Don, but I am sure he is cool with it. Especially considering he will be bringing along a friend in a non LR himself.

 

 

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[DHappel]

I'm trying to see if I can make it. Be good to move the D2 around. Is it ok for Martin to join us in his Land Cruiser? We would also be just in and out.

 

I'm sorry, I draw the line at Toyotas.  

 

Well, OK, I guess a Toyota can come but only if they stay 100 yards behind the rest of the group.

 

Nah - kidding of course.  For a MORG I'm pretty lax.  He's welcome to come.  The idea of course is non-members are welcome to join a MORG with an eye toward joining.  Obviously we don't want to just let anybody come to all our events without being a member but it's hard to decide if you want to join without getting a feel for the group.  Hence the 'free sample'.  I'm sure Martin isn't really looking to join a Rover group, but on occasion I'm fine with somebody coming out on a MORG.

 

As for the Merc - She herself isn't actually looking at a Rover but her son is interested in one.  Unfortunately he's not able to make it himself this Saturday.   Further, she's the owner of Morris Motors here in Walnut Grove; a shop that started as more of a Merc specialty shop but now does work on everything from Toyotas to Ferraris.  Including Rovers.   They also host a number of club cruise-ins throughout the year and I've been thinking of seeing if they wanted to host us for a possible future cruise-in.  Not exactly off-road, but we've been known to do non-dirty things every once in a while.

[ROVRMAN2]

I may join you.

[DHappel]

I may join you.

Wow, a voice from the past!  I didn't even know you were still in the club!

[bandykins]

So the general rule is that guests are allowed to come on a one time only basis for the purpose of checking out the club to decide if they want to join. So it is obviously preferred that they be in a Land Rover, but in practice it shouldn’t be a problem for a non LR friend to join. Happens all the time. So that’s the rule, but it is really up to the discretion of the trip leader. I don’t want to speak for Don, but I am sure he is cool with it. Especially considering he will be bringing along a friend in a non LR himself.

 

 

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last time a Toyota joined to just check things out he bought two D2's...

 

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[Gustav Dow]

Okie Dokie Smokie...

Taoofdow (AKA OG Rover Pops) BMW X3, Katt FJ cruiser, and Myself Defender (today hurt but she is ready to go) will be heading up Friday afternoon we will be camping at or around Fir Tree OHV camp area (see map in previous post).  We will make camp around 4-6 pm tomorrow and I will post our coords to this thread. 

 

Anyone wanting to camp Friday, feel free to ping me @ 650-704-6914. I will text our coords via InReach if you provide a cell number, We will also have our radios tuned to the NCLR freq. 

 

Looking forward to seeing you all! 

[bandykins]

Newbie here! Not too sure if I will be able to attend but this might be my first MORG!

 

I won't be able to camp. How hard would the trail be for a LR3 with a lift with AT tires? I just want to make sure I can get myself out, alone.

we had an almost identical setup on our LR3 when we took it through this trail a couple years ago and it was no problem.

 

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[Gustav Dow]

We will camp here tonight

 

https://goo.gl/maps/Bt9ar6BbhLSYU67t8

 

 

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[Motz_the_lr3]

we had an almost identical setup on our LR3 when we took it through this trail a couple years ago and it was no problem.

 

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awesome! Are you going to be there tomorrow?

[Andrew Wood]

We might be running late for the meeting time but will catch up with you guys on the trail.

[Motz_the_lr3]

I will be joining, coming from Sacramento, in silver LR3. My first MORG! - Jake

 

 

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[Andrew Wood]

I will be joining, coming from Sacramento, in silver LR3. My first MORG! - Jake

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It was good to meet you Jake and welcome to the club!!

I hope to see you soon on the trail.

Andrew

[renelozano]

Had the Rover ready to go but slept in... How did it go? Was the lookout open? 

[DHappel]

So no lookout for us; at least the gate for the trail to it was closed.  I think Nick and Gustav were thinking of hiking up to it.

 

We got a late start as several people were running behind so we actually left about noon.  Of specific interest, we found the gas station in Downieville is closed so the nearest fuel is 30 minutes (about 17 miles) away.  There were a bunch of others including some bikes all looking for fuel as we were meeting up.  In the end we had about 4 jerry cans between us and topped up most of the crew then Gustav made a run up the hill to fill the now empty cans on the idea that he would be able to catch us on the trail since we'd be moving pretty slowly anyway.

 

All told we had-

Don - LR3

Gustav - D90

Mike - D110

Nick - 109

Andrew - D2

  Jamie - riding with Andrew

Jake - LR3

Rupert - LR3

 

Plus guests in a G500, FJ40, and X3.  The G did come along on the trail (she had a wonderful time) but the FJ and BMW (Gustov's girlfriend and father respectively) hung out at camp.  While the FJ could certainly have made the run, the BMW didn't stand a chance.  

 

The trail starts just outside of town and heads uphill.  It's basically a dirt road all the way up to the fire lookout with no challenges and could be driven in anything.  However as we started to climb we first saw a few traces and finally some large patches of snow ranging from just across the road to perhaps 100' long and up to about 2' deep.  Given the warm temps it was very soft and slushy for maximum sinking.  

 

We quickly ran into another group who had a Chevy Colorado beached in a longer section of snow.  He'd made it about 3/4 of the way through but got stuck.  One of their jeeps tired to winch him forward but couldn't so they then tried to winch him back with another one and again couldn't do it.  Mike and I were confused and asked why they didn't just use a snatch strap to pop him out forward?  They didn't have one was why.  I lent them mine and despite repeated assurances they had used one before and knew how to do it, the Jeep then proceeded to idle forward and fail to pull out the truck.  We then urged him to back up and take a proper run which he kinda-sorta did but did manage enough inertia to get the truck out.  Thinking we were then done, we retreated back to our rigs to get going only to find they had promptly gotten another Jeep stuck.  This time Mike and Nick in the Defender and Series went up around him and pulled him free.

 

We did have a few trucks struggle through the snow but nothing serious.  The G got beached as Gail was completely new to off-road and a bit uncomfortable with the way the truck would slew around in the ruts.  I got to drive it a bit and we learned the front locker didn't appear to be engaging though I'm not sure if there was actually a problem or if I just didn't speak German well enough to convince it to do what I wanted (though the center and rear were working).  We did have to snatch it at one point but it was just a small pull to get it out of the hole it had dug.  

 

Jake got a bit stuck and needed a small pull to get moving.  He hadn't aired down yet and was still at street pressure which certainly wasn't helping.  He decided to try a set of maxtrax which, as predicted, didn't work.  I should point out that these sort of traction boards were originally intended for sand and they work well for that but slick snow usually results in just spinning the tires and melting them.  They're better than nothing, but in snow I find a kinetic rope or strap the go-to device.  At that point Rupert tried to winch him back only to find his winch wasn't working.  Possibly the controller or a fuse.  Regardless, Jake only needed a small pull so we used the winch cable as a tow strap (yes, I know....) to pull him about 3' backward.  After that we aired him down and he was able to make it up the rest of the way under his own power as did the rest of our group.

 

Once to the top we found the gate blocking us from the fire lookout so we decided to have lunch here along with the other people we'd encountered on the trail.  We did hike down the other side (north side) of the ridge to look at conditions and found the drifts were much larger with some around 4' deep and no quick end in sight.  While the larger trucks in our group could have done it the less built rigs would have been struggling a lot so we decided this was as good a point as any to head back down.  Along the way we hooked up with Gustav & Co. who'd stopped and set up camp just above a mine in a really nice spot.  A couple of our group (Nick and ?) also stayed behind to spend the night there as well.

 

So while we didn't expect this to turn into a snow run it did.  I guess 6000' will do that for you.  We were able to get a few people in the dirt for the first time and had some recovery work to do so everybody got to have a little fun.  We didn't get to to the harder part of the trail with the river crossing but there's nothing keeping us from coming back once the snow melts.  Perhaps we'll make it a weekend event and hit both this and Sierra Buttes fire lookouts on the same trip.  

 

The only issue is now we have a Mercedes* owner who might want to join the club.  At least she used to own a D2 and her son is looking at either a RRC or P38 in the future, so they aren't beyond hope.  LOL

 

*of note, this was the first time I'd gotten a chance to study a G-class.  This was a 2002 G500 with a small lift and 35x12.50x20 tires that has updated plastics to make it look about 10 years newer.  It was really interesting to see how it was packaged.  Divorced transfer case.  The dual exhausts are run on the outside of the frame rails.  The front is radius arms similar to a Rover but the swaybar is connected on the arms instead of the axle.  Everything is tucked up tight - you could pretty much bolt on a flat plate as a center skid plate.  The axles didn't look particularly large and I don't know much about them, but always interesting to check out something new.

[renelozano]

So no lookout for us; at least the gate for the trail to it was closed.  I think Nick and Gustav were thinking of hiking up to it.

 

We got a late start as several people were running behind so we actually left about noon.  Of specific interest, we found the gas station in Downieville is closed so the nearest fuel is 30 minutes (about 17 miles) away.  There were a bunch of others including some bikes all looking for fuel as we were meeting up.  In the end we had about 4 jerry cans between us and topped up most of the crew then Gustav made a run up the hill to fill the now empty cans on the idea that he would be able to catch us on the trail since we'd be moving pretty slowly anyway.

 

All told we had-

Don - LR3

Gustav - D90

Mike - D110

Nick - 109

Andrew - D2

  Jamie - riding with Andrew

Jake - LR3

Rupert - LR3

 

Plus guests in a G500, FJ40, and X3.  The G did come along on the trail (she had a wonderful time) but the FJ and BMW (Gustov's girlfriend and father respectively) hung out at camp.  While the FJ could certainly have made the run, the BMW didn't stand a chance.  

 

The trail starts just outside of town and heads uphill.  It's basically a dirt road all the way up to the fire lookout with no challenges and could be driven in anything.  However as we started to climb we first saw a few traces and finally some large patches of snow ranging from just across the road to perhaps 100' long and up to about 2' deep.  Given the warm temps it was very soft and slushy for maximum sinking.  

 

We quickly ran into another group who had a Chevy Colorado beached in a longer section of snow.  He'd made it about 3/4 of the way through but got stuck.  One of their jeeps tired to winch him forward but couldn't so they then tried to winch him back with another one and again couldn't do it.  Mike and I were confused and asked why they didn't just use a snatch strap to pop him out forward?  They didn't have one was why.  I lent them mine and despite repeated assurances they had used one before and knew how to do it, the Jeep then proceeded to idle forward and fail to pull out the truck.  We then urged him to back up and take a proper run which he kinda-sorta did but did manage enough inertia to get the truck out.  Thinking we were then done, we retreated back to our rigs to get going only to find they had promptly gotten another Jeep stuck.  This time Mike and Nick in the Defender and Series went up around him and pulled him free.

 

We did have a few trucks struggle through the snow but nothing serious.  The G got beached as Gail was completely new to off-road and a bit uncomfortable with the way the truck would slew around in the ruts.  I got to drive it a bit and we learned the front locker didn't appear to be engaging though I'm not sure if there was actually a problem or if I just didn't speak German well enough to convince it to do what I wanted (though the center and rear were working).  We did have to snatch it at one point but it was just a small pull to get it out of the hole it had dug.  

 

Jake got a bit stuck and needed a small pull to get moving.  He hadn't aired down yet and was still at street pressure which certainly wasn't helping.  He decided to try a set of maxtrax which, as predicted, didn't work.  I should point out that these sort of traction boards were originally intended for sand and they work well for that but slick snow usually results in just spinning the tires and melting them.  They're better than nothing, but in snow I find a kinetic rope or strap the go-to device.  At that point Rupert tried to winch him back only to find his winch wasn't working.  Possibly the controller or a fuse.  Regardless, Jake only needed a small pull so we used the winch cable as a tow strap (yes, I know....) to pull him about 3' backward.  After that we aired him down and he was able to make it up the rest of the way under his own power as did the rest of our group.

 

Once to the top we found the gate blocking us from the fire lookout so we decided to have lunch here along with the other people we'd encountered on the trail.  We did hike down the other side (north side) of the ridge to look at conditions and found the drifts were much larger with some around 4' deep and no quick end in sight.  While the larger trucks in our group could have done it the less built rigs would have been struggling a lot so we decided this was as good a point as any to head back down.  Along the way we hooked up with Gustav & Co. who'd stopped and set up camp just above a mine in a really nice spot.  A couple of our group (Nick and ?) also stayed behind to spend the night there as well.

 

So while we didn't expect this to turn into a snow run it did.  I guess 6000' will do that for you.  We were able to get a few people in the dirt for the first time and had some recovery work to do so everybody got to have a little fun.  We didn't get to to the harder part of the trail with the river crossing but there's nothing keeping us from coming back once the snow melts.  Perhaps we'll make it a weekend event and hit both this and Sierra Buttes fire lookouts on the same trip.  

 

The only issue is now we have a Mercedes* owner who might want to join the club.  At least she used to own a D2 and her son is looking at either a RRC or P38 in the future, so they aren't beyond hope.  LOL

 

*of note, this was the first time I'd gotten a chance to study a G-class.  This was a 2002 G500 with a small lift and 35x12.50x20 tires that has updated plastics to make it look about 10 years newer.  It was really interesting to see how it was packaged.  Divorced transfer case.  The dual exhausts are run on the outside of the frame rails.  The front is radius arms similar to a Rover but the swaybar is connected on the arms instead of the axle.  Everything is tucked up tight - you could pretty much bolt on a flat plate as a center skid plate.  The axles didn't look particularly large and I don't know much about them, but always interesting to check out something new.

Sounds like a fun trip. Ever since this club introduced me to a kinetic rope many years ago I never leave home without my Bubba. Sounds like I missed out on another cool little gathering.

[NickK]

Mike, Leigh Ann, and I hiked up to the lookout. Found quite a bit of snow on the way, but well worth the trip up there.

[renelozano]

Mike, Leigh Ann, and I hiked up to the lookout. Found quite a bit of snow on the way, but well worth the trip up there.

What a view. I've been wanting to check that place out for some time now. So I get it's a lookout but does someone live up there during fire season or is it open for all to go inside?

[Motz_the_lr3]

Mike, Leigh Ann, and I hiked up to the lookout. Found quite a bit of snow on the way, but well worth the trip up there.

Nice view! I wanted to go up too but I wasn’t confident enough to go through the snow again lol

 

 

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[Motz_the_lr3]

It was good to meet you Jake and welcome to the club!!

I hope to see you soon on the trail.

Andrew

Was great meeting you as well! Hope to see you on the next one! (Hopefully I won’t get stuck this time)

 

 

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[bandykins]

great writeup Don! sounds like a fun trip, decibel interested if another run gets lined up post snow.

 

as far as the G wagon... I for one say we welcome the odd ones that don't have a good support home...

 

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[Elherbinator]

great writeup Don! sounds like a fun trip, decibel interested if another run gets lined up post snow.

 

as far as the G wagon... I for one say we welcome the odd ones that don't have a good support home...

 

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The vast majority of 4x4 clubs have no brand affiliation. Besides a ton of Jeeps and Toyota’s in the clubs, you always get the random Sammi’s, internationals, and even LR’s and Merc’s represented. Although I don’t think Ive ever run into a LR at a non LR event yet.

 

 

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[bandykins]

The vast majority of 4x4 clubs have no brand affiliation. Besides a ton of Jeeps and Toyota’s in the clubs, you always get the random Sammi’s, internationals, and even LR’s and Merc’s represented. Although I don’t think Ive ever run into a LR at a non LR event yet.

 

 

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wait... so I could just grab the new bronco... disguise it as a new defender and go on all the same trips as a full member?....

 

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