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NWF Trip Report

TORX

NAXJA Forum User
NAXJA Member
Location
NWC
I gotta say this year I was pretty bummed to have to pack up, and put an end to this year Northwest Fest. It was a very memorable trip in many different aspects.


Monday night I spent a good two hours loading everything into the Jeep. I not only had all my usual wheeling gear, but also six days of camping gear, food, raffle prizes, event supplies, an extra cooler, and some firewood to fit in as well. The stress was definitely present, but I managed to get everything in with a bit of room to spare.

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Tuesday morning came quicker than expected, but I was set to roll out and meet the others in Cascade Locks. Surprisingly the Jeep didn't feel all that loaded, and felt fairly normal. I stopped at the Bridge of the Gods to get my annual morning poser shot.

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I then met Rod, Karl, and Ken in Cascade Locks, and we set out for Naches. The drive up seemed to go by fairly quick.

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Karl, Ken, Jed (Ken's son), and I decided to head out for a quick shake down after getting camp set up. We decided to check out Kaner Flats since it's close to camp.

About 20ft into the trail we discovered the conditions weren't the same as last year, and all the rain we've been having definitely took it's toll on the trail. The small tires and tired four squirrels of Jed's Sami just weren't enough for Kaner Flats.
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We got Jed turned around and the rest of us pressed on. Ken strattling the ruts at the first major mud hole.
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Aardvark Hill was a complete mess. Thick peanut butter mud, and slipperly tree roots proved to be a tough challenge. Karl and I both made it up with some heavy throttle, but Ken chose to pull cable and play it safe on the first day.
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Wheel spin seemed to be a key component in making it up some of the climbs. I was starting to wonder what the conditions on the other trails were like.
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It was good to be back.
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The plan for Wednesday was to check out the conditions of the upper trails on Manastash Ridge. We started by taking Lilly Pond over to Kaner Flats where we left off the day before.

Rod wondering what his height limit is with the new additions.
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Karl leading.
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The ground was still drying out, and proved to be a good challenge on some of the hill climbs.
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After Lilly Pond we continued up the ridge.
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This short section of trail on Kaner has got to be my favorite part of Naches.
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more to come...
 
Continuing up the ridge.
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Rod getting some cage love from some trees.
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Eventually we got up on top of Manastash ridge and took in the view.
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We headed down Shoestring, found some mud...
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Found some puddles...
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We took Tripod Flats out to Summit trail, and then headed over to the rocks to play around for a bit.

Fig Newtons kicking in?
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Being up on the rocks during a thunder storm was a new one for me.
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Ken gave the crack a try.
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We had the whole place to our selves.
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After Funny Rocks, we checked out Moon Rocks for a bit, and ran a few lines before heading back for dinner.
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more to come...
 
The plan for Thursday was prerun the Moderate Run for Saturday, or at least check out the trail conditions on the south side of 410. Karl, Ken, Steve, and I headed out in the morning.

Steve making his way up the 1600rd to Bald Mt.
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These views never get old.
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We then made our way up the 1600rd hoping to reach Mud Springs trail. We hit snow pretty quick.
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Karl broke trail through the spring snow for awhile, but Ken's snow machine took over when the going got tough.
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I found a pinion shim in the snow, and figured it was Karl's since had to swap in a new center pin the day before.

I was right...
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The snow started getting deeper, but we made our way to Mud Springs trail head. After seeing the trail conditions (off camber drifts through the trees) we decided to head back down and catch Clover Springs instead.
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I believe Kens words were, "Karl are you planning on planting a garden, cause all your doing is digging holes?" :D
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Water levels were up.
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Starting up Clover Springs trail.
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Eventually we hit snow again. More off camber drifts through the trees that weren't worth the effort to try and bust through.
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We headed back down Clover Springs, and hopped onto Sweet Home trail.
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Third times a charm, and we finally had a clear pass up to the ridge where we could make our way back down.

more to come...
 
Friday morning I was up at 6:00 and the campground was surprisingly very peaceful.

Pennsylvania Ave.
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Ertle compound.
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The Epic Run was set to take off at 8:00 with high hopes of making all of the planned route. Knowing the conditions of the trails a few days before, I knew we were in for a challenge.

Kaner Flats became the first obstacle.
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Several people pulled cable to get through this section, and it ate up a bunch of our time. We continued on though, and reached Aardvark Hill. It had dried out a bunch, and let us all pass under our own power.

Matt West
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Muddy Beast
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My day turned sour pretty quick when I shattered a rear window. That was a disappointment, but oh well could be worse. Well apparently the carnage gods weren't done yet. I ran over a tree branch and heard it clunking underneath the floor boards. When it hit the rear axle the Jeep suddenly died. I hopped out and took a look, and found that it had pulled the fuel pump connector apart, and was lodged against a fuel hose. It was a strange situation, but it could be worse. It then got worse... while the engine was off pressure in the coolant system built up and burst out the coolant bottle cap. So we sawed the branch in half, plugged in the fuel pump, and slapped a hose clamp on the coolant bottle. I was back in business and the temps seemed to be holding steady.

The group then continued up the ridge even more behind schedule.
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Sporting some cool new duct tape.
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Later on down on Shoestring Scott's jeep started having idling issues. We tried adjusting a few sensors, but couldn't seem to find the cause. We got it running and tried to press on, but it was apparent that we needed to either find the problem or find a temporary solution. After doing mass trouble shooting for a few hours a vacuum hose was pulled to cause a high idle, and hopefully provide enough power to limp it out. By that time it was nearing 5:00, and we still had a lot of trail left in front of us. With a group decision we decided to not risk any more issue and modify the route to get us back to camp. The Epic Run this year was definitely epic, but not in the way it was intended. Better luck next year...

After four days of running trails I was ready tot take it easy, and head up to the rocks. On Saturday I lead the Easy Run up the 1708 to the rocks.

John making his way down the wash out on the 1708.
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Rory had a slight case of cabin fever, and decided to bring his stocker out.
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Moon Rocks were first.
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Maxed out, and one proud Jeep owner.
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After playing around Moon Rocks for a bit we headed over to the Funny Rocks amphitheater to watch the show over there for a bit. Brandon in the CRAWL buggy, and Alex getting ready for take off.
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After watching the excitement at Funny Rocks, we headed back and started getting ready for the dinner and raffle. We completely sold out of raffle tickets, and were able to give away some cool items I know will be put to good use. Thank you all for the support you showed at Northwest Fest, and I hope to catch up with a lot of you on the trail soon.

Dustin
 
Outstanding trip report with pics, Dustin. Very nice, thanks for putting in the time. Makes some of us not able to attend this year feel almost like we were there.
 
Dustin,

Excellent trip report!!

Thanks,
Michael
 
Couple videos...

Ken on Aardvark Hill. You definitely weren't crawling that section.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6cHQstQ_7E

Karl one upping the Mad Dogs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VsoK66ip-Q

Rod on a rooty hill climb on Lilly Pond trail.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNw_CMVJKpw

Ken breaking trail on Thursday up on the 1600rd.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZUp3MZmk9g

CRAWL buggy at Funny Rocks. Fail on my part for running out of memory and not getting him making it up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVFmqEuD4XA
 
Great job. And I actually dented my drivers side rocker on the way out, man I was wheelin huh? :laugh: Seriously, I had cabin fever cuz I didn't want to slow anyone down or get stuck in some kind of simple spot. Next year I'll be set up a little better in the suspension and tire dept.

Rory had a slight case of cabin fever, and decided to bring his stocker out.
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It was great to meet you. I look forward to seeing your rig a little more pimped out next year.
 
Did you get it coming out of the washout on Milk Creek? I tagged my rocker there and I'm pretty sure Darren get his there too

Got the drivers side on the way up. Got a nice dent on the passenger side from funny rocks.
 
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