I think I might have taken a couple but haven’t checked the camera. So I’ll tell ya a story;
I ran this event last Saturday with Ernie (Bass4Runner), Suresh (DirtySocks), Kyle (punkrockdrummerx), Misha (mixxali4) Slon (mailman) and Justin (BKxterra718); 1 Toy, 3 Jeeps and 3 Xterras, 7 trucks. Andy (whitexterra2000) rode shotgun with me, Dave (bandit4x4) rode with Kyle and an “Eastern Bloc” contingent of fellas rode with the remaining Brooklyn Crew. I ran this trail last year with almost the same crew.
As Ernie said, this was not an open run; it was an invitation only NEXTerra event. If you did not get an invite it was because 7 or 8 trucks are the max you want to go with. 4 or 5 would be best. You need you need min 32s, a winch, full armor, front/rear tow points and a locker or two (Jus went open and Misha’s wasn’t working but they’re crazy). Guys that went last year got asked first and it filled up quick. Sorry.
As I said last year; there is a beginning, an end, one obstacle after another with no legal by-passes or bail outs, two large ledges to circumvent (had to winch up both this time), sharp rocks jutting out all over and a deep (not as deep as last year) water crossing at the end. It has changed since last year and even though there are many spots that were familiar it seemed much harder than I had remembered.
It could have been the F’n rain…it rained on and off all day.
Traffic getting out of NY was brutal. I met Kyle for lunch in Fishkill, NY, just off I-84 and the Taconic State Parkway around 1400 on Friday. The Taconic State Parkway is beautiful.
We all stayed at the
Whitcomb Summit Retreat and arriveid around 1800 (6pm). Dave and Andy arrived soon after and after checking in we went down the road 5 minutes to the
Golden Eagle Restaurant for something to eat.
Misha and Jus got to the campground across the street from the hotel and we hung out with them for a bit after dinner. Slon arrived later in the night.
Saturday after a trip to AutoZone to get a battery for Jus and a stop for Misha for gas we hit the trail. Ernie leading and I tail gunning.
We all needed to winch up the 1st ledge. Slon almost made it but got sideways at the top and needed to winch.
I think all the Jeeps made the 2nd ledge but the rest of us had to winch.
I slammed my front passenger fender into a tree at the top of a slick, off camber table top. It ended up cutting the sidewall of that GY Kevlar MTR…an expensive mistake.
Misha lost another front brake line (steel one) and then the passenger side torsion bar anchor, not an easy trail fix especially in the rain.
Justin lost both his rear shocks, I had one spare to help smooth out his ride home.
As I said, the water crossing at the end was not as deep as last year and we all made it through without incident..it was almost anticlimactic. The short water trough after seemed deeper.
We all made it through the entire trail legally.
My old BFG spare was not holding air around the rim well so Justin lent me his GY MTR spare for the drive home. Thanks Jus.
Some of us went directly from the trails end to
The Freight Yard Pub for dinner, beer and Piña Coladas. Food and drink was great and we met the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Democratic candidate for Governor, Martha Coakley. I told her we were there enjoying her beautiful state for which she was grateful…
After dinner I was informed that some “hot” girls were “shooting a porno” at the hotel. We headed back to the hotel without delay but were not able to witness any of the “production”.
Had a few drinks, hit the shower and then racked out.
The next morning during complimentary coffee and bagels in the hotels office two young ladies joined us. I thought they were very nice to look at but was told by one of our group that they wore “too much foundation”…
A bunch of us went down into North Adams for a late breakfast. Very good but took forever.
Misha, Slon, me and Justin headed back to Brooklyn. My truck took a crap on the Taconic and would not start. With no shoulder to pull off to I was stuck blocking the right lane of the two lane parkway. Not good. Justin was behind me with his 4 ways, emergency LEDs and rear LED lights blazing. We hooked my junk up to Slon’s Jeep and Misha found a spot to pull into. Misha diagnosed the problem right away; air intake broke off the air box so the MAF sensor was getting a bad reading and shutting the truck down. We duct taped it up and went home.
Thank you Misha, thank you Igor and thank you Justin.
I know I say this all the time but I must say it again; all of these guys are the best. They will never leave you stranded and are always willing to do whatever it takes to leave no man behind.
Thank you my friends.
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this was an invite only run for a few modified Rigs.
