Elbe was an excellent trip! We ended up with John in his JK, Josh and Steve in the Samurai, Jared and Lindsey in their LJ, Jeff in his Geo Tracker, Malachi and family in the XJ, Chris in Stomper and Jeremy and I in the CJ7.
As we waited, we witnessed a set of Rivians show up, air down, head into Sunrise and promptly back right out! A little entertainment as we waited.
Just after 10:00am we headed out. First up Sunrise, then on to a tougher section off Alder loop. As we came through, Malachi’s wife Melissa mentioned it was quite loud, only to discover they had pulled the exhaust apart. Malachi made short work of it with a little help from others and we were back on the trail in no time.
A few more trails and then as we were hitting the first little play area, we discovered Malachi had broken the ears on his axle. Time for an upgrade. And time for lunch! Kids thoroughly enjoyed the break and playing in the mud.
Malachi was locked, so he pulled the axle and then we all continued on, which then he promptly started losing power steering and transmission fluid. Quick repair and fluids we were back on our way again. Three times the charm?
A few rock piles on our way up for those who wanted to play. Mt. Rainier was out showing off how much sunshine we had. At some point, Jeremy and I were behind Jeff and got to fully enjoy the gas pedal to the floor, two wheeling all the way technique. Unfortunately, no video or photo proof.
The last trail, Malachai went around and met us at the play area. Josh and John ran the new rock pile just before the play area. Josh ended up having to pull cable, but John made it all the way through.
Lots of fun at the play area testing different lines and we watched the drunk guy destroy his rig, to see him being pulled out later.
As we head down to do the rock pile that is just outside the new camping area off Alder Loop, Malachai and family said good bye not wanting to risk anymore trails. Jeff also decided not to push his luck on the tougher bypass and headed to the parking lot.
At the rock pile, Josh and Jared worked their lines with Steve and Chris spotting. At the top, we decided it was time to call it a day as darkness was setting in. We headed back down to the parking lot. Chris, Jeremy and I said our goodbyes and headed back to the campsite.
At camp, we ate and took naps. Then we decided to head back out on a night run. We had noticed some lights up on the rock pile behind camp for quite some time so we decided to do the right thing and go check and make sure everyone was ok. Lo and behold a very large Toyota, dead on rocks. No power to use the winch. He nor his buddy had recovery gear beyond the winches. We hooked Jer’s winch up for a test… no way. Doubled the line back to the CJ and added Chris with his winch. We got some movement but soon after he’s stuck hard on his axle. They decide to have the Ford of equal size push from the back with his rig. The Toyota frees up. A few more pulls and a few more pushes and he’s finally out.
We said goodbyes and let them figure out the towing out plan. We headed over to the Boat Ramp, hoping for some Saturday night action, but we appeared to be the only ones left. Chris decided to try the trail next to the ramp. Way too much for the CJ so we opted to hang out and look at the stars and meet him on the other side. Not long after, Chris called out, I’m stuck!! He managed to winch himself out and then a few seconds later, Chris’s coil spring popped out and rips off a brake line. But he managed to slow roll his way out to us. Time to call it a night! We headed back to camp with Stomper nicknamed Ilene.
All in all a very good trip and a few dollars were made for the club!
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