We arrived at the Red Ridge Lake Campground around 4:30 pm on Thursday, and checked in with Joyce. We decided to take a private site, and she assigned us one on the other side of the stream. Well, it was a little too rocky for my liking, and the 2" deep pond on Bud's site looked like mosquito heaven, so we went back to the group camping. It was actually quite nice, lots of trees to provide some privacy and good soft ground coverage for those of us not blessed with sleeping pads. Three double-batches of chili gradually disappeared over the course of the evening, and all was well. Nick arrived at around 7:30 I think, and Bud shortly thereafter. Several people gathered to gawk at Bud's 35" Boggers stacked in his "Budbuilt"(tm) (patent pending) wooden bed, and eventually he had plenty of help to get them swapped on. You couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a Cruiser, but Bud, Andy Zook, and I were the lone mini-trucks. Bill Miranda eventually showed up with his '90 4Runner, and there were a few more 2nd gen 4Runners in the stock "shine" group the next day. There were a few Jeeps, and even one misguided full-size Chevy pickup. Oh yeah, one of the coolest rigs in the crowd was the '46 CJ-2 flatty that was carefully restored very close to original including the military canvas top, the thing even had a rear PTO out drive that I never did figure out what it's purpose was.

The next morning dawned, and we were blessed with perfect wheeling weather. We lined up and were assessed by Ken of Up N Over Innotavations, I was assigned to the Intermediate group despite my lack of locking diffs (gotta fix that soon). We had several FJ80's, 60's, and even a couple of 40's in our group, and Bud decided to stick with me, and soon we were heading out to the park. We had our first breakage before we even got to the entrance, John the group leader blew his clutch and had to hop a ride. We aired down at the trailhead and headed in, or at least started the approx 2 mile ride on park property (yeah, this place is HUGE) to get to the beginning of the trail. Our first challenge was an incredibly steep downhill into a small bowled area, then a steep climb back out. You could really tell the locked vs. unlocked rigs on this hillclimb, especially the big '80s. It was also interesting to see the wagons that did need a winch, some were really straining the 12,000# Warn winches (lesson: don't buy short on your winch). Despite 2 valiant attempts, Taz needed a short tug from a strap to clear the top, but of course Bud with his rear Detroit walked right up like he was at the mall.

The rest of the trail was actually a nice challenge, very rocky, good off-camber stuff. One particularly scenic length went up a good hill and thru a deep notch in the rock that made you watch your mirrors, then there was a 2' high step, with a deep crack shortly after. Lots of cool stuff all compacted into one obstacle. Some of the wagons needed some help and John provided great spotting guidance. I walked right up, but the 2000 TJ right behind me got horribly hung on his center skidplate (we later learned that he never aired down his 33" BFG ATs). We tugged it back a little with one of the 80s, then I strapped him up the step and we continued on.

There was some more of this, then we ended the day at a large pond that was like a little play area for big kids with trucks. Two steep canyon crawls, a few VERY steep hillclimbs, sand for doing donuts, some dune action, lots of fun. Except for the usual paint scratches and minor dings here and there, we emerged relatively unscathed with no trail failures.

Saturday was also shaping up to be a great day, except maybe a little too warm. There were quite a few more rigs this time, so they made 4 groups of increasing capability, Bud and I somehow ended up in the 3rd group (how he talked me into this, I'll never know). We were to run the "Rattler" trail, which was the same trail that the Hard Core group ran the day before. Gulp! The good part was that our group was only 5 trucks: Bud, myself, Ken from Up N Over with his beastly-looking Franken-Cruiser, a fellow named Chuck in a heavily modified CJ, and another very new 2000 TJ (also very recently modified), driven by a heck of a nice guy that just happened to be deaf (his name escapes me right now). His girlfriend provided the sign-language translation, which made trail spotting very interesting! The Cruiser and CJ were trailered rigs, so we followed them to the park entrance.

By the time we got to the actual trailhead it was noon, so we had some lunch then started in. This trail was VERY challenging, it took all of your concentration and there was no break between obstacles. Fortunately Ken proved to be a master at spotting, plus he knew the trail very well. I stupidly did try to do one nasty part on my own, slid off and got hung on my gas tank with my left rear quarter against a tree. Rather then try to grind out and sacrifice a taillight, Ken pulled a winch cable and a very short tug and I was out. Bud drove right thru, which I think really surprised Ken. At one point he *swears* Bud was balanced on one tire (we have this in video). Bud did his best to try to roll, but the Boggers wouldn't let him.

The TJ was doing great too, until he pinched a sidewall on one of his BFG MT's and tore it. No problem, we got him to a level spot and started to change it. Suddenly we had a problem. He forgot his key for the wheel locks. We tried all sorts of sockets with the BFH, Vice-Grips, Channel-Locks, nothing would budge it. A 21mm impact socket was too tight, the 22mm was too loose. Then I tried a 21mm 12-pt socket - perfect! It worked so well we pulled them off the other 3 wheels and he put the stock lugnuts back on.

And then we were on our way again. Bud's truck got a little too friendly with a tree (oops), but that was the extent of our damage. We came out, then stopped to chat with the Hard Core group. I checked Taz over for under-carraige damage, and discovered, to my dismay, 2 new cracks in my frame at the bumpstops for the rear axle. Not terminal, but definitely life-threatening. So, it appears my wheeling is over for this summer. Oh well. Am I disappointed? Yeah. Was it worth it? ABSOLUTELY, no regrets whatsoever. This is the first time I've ever rubbed my rear tires on my framerails, and they were REALLY rubbing, so we went out with a bang.

We made it back to camp in time for the big cookout, then the raffle started around 8:00 pm. Trying to remember all the loot we left with (help me out here guys), Nick got a 4WPW t-shirt, Chris Pals got a cool coffee table photo book (too bad he doesn't have a coffee table), Bud got a nifty cap for his son Chip and a free pass to next year's CMCC, El Presidente Dave got an Optima Red-Top and a goody bag, and I got a first-aid kit and a pair of FJ40 taillights (which I gave to Nick).

Most folks left on Sunday morning, but there were a few stragglers for another run that morning. Maybe Bud or Nick can fill us in. Overall a great time, hope to make it to next year's event.

-KLF