Well, this is my first trip report, and it may be a little on the short side as I am at work. This was my first proper off-roading weekend, and it was a blast. It was also my first chance to wheel a cruiser and put my truck through its paces.
Anyway, the home base for the weekend was the Chewed Bridge Ranch, about 25 miles west of Sundre, Alberta. Gorgeous country. Andre and his family were kind enough to host everyone at their property in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. I arrived at about 9:30 Friday night, finding a fire burning but no one around. Figuring that everyone had already turned in for the night, I warmed a can of spaghetti on my still-hot turbo, tossed back a pilsner and got ready to settle in. I was about to hit the hay when I heard a rumbling through the trees, and a whole bunch of cruisers pulled into the yard. Turns out that a spontaneous evening run had resulted in a real good stuck that took a long time to extricate. Little did we know that would set the tone for the next day's wheeling!
The morning run on Saturday was announced after a great pancake breakfast with Wayne Smith (crushers) as head chef. The plan was to leave at 10:00 for a quick run - an hour, hour and a half, then come back for lunch. I took a minute to swap my street tires for a set of worn 31s with chains on the rear...Anyway, at around 10, a total of 14 cruisers headed out to the trailhead. Along for the ride were (sorry if I've forgotten some of the names, etc):
3 SBC 40 series, each nicely done up.
Andre's 1984 BJ42
Chris' BJ40 on 33 Swampers
Wayne's Turbo PZJ70 on 36" Tractor tires
Berni's LJ78 on 31s
John in his BJ42
Jamie and Laura (?) in their FJ45
Pascal's BJ70
Roy and Lindsay in his Turbo BJ60 on 35s
Todd's BJ74
Kevin and Adele in a BJ74.
My stock LJ78, running chains.
We were soon on the trail - a nice, winding double-track through mixed forest. It wasn't long before the excitement started, though. A mud-ditch stopped Andre and Daniel in their BJ42, and, as the leaders for the day, they had to winch out of there. This ditch also stopped a few others...a sign of things to come!
The trail continued through the forest, with mud holes here and there for interest. The next big obstacle was a drop-off into a creek, with a steep, rooty exit on the other side. I sustained my first body damage - a bent rear bumper - going into the creek. I'm sure the SWB cruisers had no problems here. The chains got me out and on my way without difficulty, though I understand that there were a couple of trucks that had troubles with the creek. While one group was still wrestling with the creek crossing, a steep twisty hill was proving a challenge for those near the front. Once again, the chains came in handy as the little 2L-TE powered my LJ78 to the top. Definitely "traction" was the operative word of the day.
Andre and Daniel get ready to winch out - the first stuck of the day.
Wayne (crushers) in his turbo PZJ70 offers a helping hand to a stuck BJ74.
Anyway, the home base for the weekend was the Chewed Bridge Ranch, about 25 miles west of Sundre, Alberta. Gorgeous country. Andre and his family were kind enough to host everyone at their property in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. I arrived at about 9:30 Friday night, finding a fire burning but no one around. Figuring that everyone had already turned in for the night, I warmed a can of spaghetti on my still-hot turbo, tossed back a pilsner and got ready to settle in. I was about to hit the hay when I heard a rumbling through the trees, and a whole bunch of cruisers pulled into the yard. Turns out that a spontaneous evening run had resulted in a real good stuck that took a long time to extricate. Little did we know that would set the tone for the next day's wheeling!
The morning run on Saturday was announced after a great pancake breakfast with Wayne Smith (crushers) as head chef. The plan was to leave at 10:00 for a quick run - an hour, hour and a half, then come back for lunch. I took a minute to swap my street tires for a set of worn 31s with chains on the rear...Anyway, at around 10, a total of 14 cruisers headed out to the trailhead. Along for the ride were (sorry if I've forgotten some of the names, etc):
3 SBC 40 series, each nicely done up.
Andre's 1984 BJ42
Chris' BJ40 on 33 Swampers
Wayne's Turbo PZJ70 on 36" Tractor tires
Berni's LJ78 on 31s
John in his BJ42
Jamie and Laura (?) in their FJ45
Pascal's BJ70
Roy and Lindsay in his Turbo BJ60 on 35s
Todd's BJ74
Kevin and Adele in a BJ74.
My stock LJ78, running chains.
We were soon on the trail - a nice, winding double-track through mixed forest. It wasn't long before the excitement started, though. A mud-ditch stopped Andre and Daniel in their BJ42, and, as the leaders for the day, they had to winch out of there. This ditch also stopped a few others...a sign of things to come!
The trail continued through the forest, with mud holes here and there for interest. The next big obstacle was a drop-off into a creek, with a steep, rooty exit on the other side. I sustained my first body damage - a bent rear bumper - going into the creek. I'm sure the SWB cruisers had no problems here. The chains got me out and on my way without difficulty, though I understand that there were a couple of trucks that had troubles with the creek. While one group was still wrestling with the creek crossing, a steep twisty hill was proving a challenge for those near the front. Once again, the chains came in handy as the little 2L-TE powered my LJ78 to the top. Definitely "traction" was the operative word of the day.
Andre and Daniel get ready to winch out - the first stuck of the day.
Wayne (crushers) in his turbo PZJ70 offers a helping hand to a stuck BJ74.
