okay okay okay, just trying to have a little fun with you guys but nobody wants to come out and play, except a few of course. So, lets cut to the chase.
Trip Write-Up
We met in Gainesville just before 8 and made good time to The Gulches just after 10. Got my truck to a new top speed w/ the TWINKIE hot on my tail. Met up with several of the UC guys in the parking lot and met Spike (owner of the Gulches), he's a good guy with 1 warning, stay out of the mud or we won't find you till October! He was right. With only a partial crowd having shown a group of about 6 went to the Pipe Garden and Rubber's Revenge. We then hit Heartbreaker for about an hour before making it down toward the river on trail 1 to play in dry bottoms and hills for awhile. We then broke for lunch and found Trollholes's campsite for some good conversation.
The highlight of the trip had to the TWINKIE'S soiled pants event. Short version of the story is that when you hear "PUT A STRAP ON IT NOW!" you kinda get the gist of the situation. Normally this hill isn't supposed to be a big deal with the exception of a sharp right turn about half way up, then step up onto a rock that tends to throw the truck toward the passenger/downhill side. If you hit it right you walk up it, if you hit it wrong, well... the video speaks for itself. And by the way I was directly downhill and in the
WRONG spot so I don't want to hear any crap about the videographer (me) bailing out. When that truck started going over I wasn't sticking around just to get you guys the great video.
After all that excitement we definitely needed a little brake so we went down to watch a Bronco play in the mud for awhile, get stuck, pulled out, stuck again, pulled out again, stuck again, pulled out again and finally gave up.
James gets the the idea that he wants to run Trail 23, the "Rebel trail". Okay sounds good to me so we (3 of us) find the trail head. I'm in the lead and see the sign that indicates this as a "double Black" trail which means hold on to your a$$, well i mention this on the CB and James comes back "Just ignore that"
OKAY so off we go. Huh, 100 feet in my left front and right rear are a foot and half off the ground at the same time and teetering back and forth on 2 wheels, fun! cost me 2 back up lights and the rear bumper takes another good beating! Thank God for Lockers (thanks again Josh and John) . We get past that obstacle and weave our way down to "Skirts (left) and Studs (right)" well I miss the sign (not that I wear a skirt but I'm still a rookie at this) and go down Studs. There is a sharp downhill right and then a sharp downhill left which then finishes with a 30 foot steep downhill descent that also includes a 2-3 ft rock drop. At the bottom is a small dry creek bed which is off camber and is really the cherry on top. Really, it wasn't that bad except the part where i felt like I was going over in the off-camber bottom, I hate that feeling. I make it down fine on 3 wheels followed closely by James and Sylvain is pulling up the rear. Now as if Twinkie hasn't had enough fun already, the right turn is very sharp and also pushes your truck down the hill resulting in a plowing effect. This plowing makes you easily take the turn too wide which is what happened to Sylvain. He missed the line and ended up high centered on a stump under the driver's side door at top of the left turn before the steep downhill descent. An hour later, a number of hi-lift attempts and finally few different winch angles we finally unhang his truck where he then bails down the "Skirts" side.
From there it was kind of anticlimactic and we cut out of The Gulches about 7.
Thems the highlights, got home about 10PM but well worth the drive. NEXT TIME, YOU GUYS GET OFF THE COUCH!!!!!
Vids and pics
HERE
more pics in the UC forum:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/sc-upstate-cruisers/227890-gulches-sat-july-19th.html
Oh, the answer! I will only say that Angels were in that truck and I promise had there been a 1 lb. gopher in the passenger seat it would have turned out differently. As far as the "Strap it Now!" comment, Sylvain seemingly kept his cool but his eyes were as big as dinner plates! We had to strap the top of the truck to a tree and stand on one side so he could get out and assess the situation. whew!
.....or just in general
Good stuff!
TIVO
, keeps taking the wrong line:whoops:.
