Vengeance on Elbe 11/29/14
With snow in the forecast, we knew our trip down to Elbe was destined to be eventful. I have been wanting vengeance on the Busy wild, since last year’s Tamers run: Moose’s door jammed in a mud wall, Moose’s front shackle mount being ripped of the frame, me ripping off three tires at one time, and Moose flopping, following some sheet metal massage. Unknowingly, we would be on a tamer run before getting to the trail. Kurtis and I met up with Dave and his buddy Tom, in Dave’s red YJ. Casey and Gary were ready for some fun in Elbe with the infamous Green Toyota and Gary’s Zuk. With snow on the roads our pace heading south was pretty slow. Gary’s 2wd Dodge was giving him a little white knuckle towing.
As road conditions dwindled, our caravan came up to an ice and snow covered hill, littered with spun out cars and trucks. Kurtis and I were not in the mood to try to stop in the middle of this hill and get tangled into the mess. We spooled up the turbo, sailing past the stopped cars. We pulled over at the next pull out to wait for Casey and Gary, who didn’t make it up the hill. Dave and Tom headed back down the hill to help Gary get his chains on the Dodge. Our caravan made it to Elbe about 45min late with Curt and his buddy Brandon waiting for us. I re-spooled my winch cable, knowing it was going to get a work out today. Ron was schedule to meet us but understandably headed out with some fellow wheelers in his JK.
We were ready to conquer arguably the most difficult trail in WA, the “Busy Wild”. Our group consisted of Dave, Tom, Casey, Gary, Curt, Brandon, Kurtis and I. The typical tamer turnaround was in abundant, as the trail map did not seem to match up. After some foundering, Gary pulled through with his GPS, getting us on the start of the trail. For those who don’t know Dave he has been on just about as many Tamer runs as I and has never joined the club, driving a very similar set up jeep to Rudi’s red yj. Curt and I always have to give Dave a hard time because he never seems to get stuck or have any of our trail issues due to his great driving skills and a K.I.S.S themed jeep.
Entering the Busy
Dave’s YJ got scared and decided not to start with a loose ground. Not 100yrds down the road Dave’s Jeep was once again trying to send us a message, running the “busy” with snow was not a great idea. He snapped the sway bar link off the spring plate. Now most of us wheelers ask, “sway bars are over rated, leave it off.” Well, Dave’s stock brake lines would surely snap at the first obstacle. Curt fashioned a shackle, chain and bolt to act as a sway bar link getting Dave back on the trail.
Gary led us to our first obstacle just past the mud pit. This obstacle was an off camber/ uphill mess of slick mud with two ruts one 2’ and the other 4’ the perfect depth to catch your diffs, leaving your tires spinning in the goo. Gary’s Zuk hit the ruts immediately! Being declined, backing down for the rest of us to give it a try. Curt, with the biggest grin on his face, dropped the clutch in 3rd gear letting his TJ’s 4.0L’s and 38’s” sing to the rev limiter, before launching his rig into the ruts. Lifting his front end 4feet into the air, crashing down half way up the hill high centered. Curt, not one to give up, hit reverse backed way up and gave it all she had to no avail again. Curt tried a few more times, slinging mud accompanied by the smell of clutch in the air. After Curt was finished playing, I figured why not let’s see if these pitbulls can pull me up this snot covered hill. I pinned it in 2nd and eventually found myself getting hung up on my skid plate and front diff. I gave it a few more goes before calling it quits and saving the rig for the rest of the day. Casey did the same thing, making it almost to the top of the hill until the 4ft rut swallowed up her Toyos.
For those who have never ran the, “busy”, imagine three foot ruts with one to two feet of slime/ice that may be called “mud,” or as Kurtis proposed “dog crap”. To make the trail even more fun there is maze of undercut ruts and logs, inconveniently placed leaving you with one and only option! To use the, “Moab bump” (Thanks Moose) to bounce/ throttle over it.
As we pushed down the Busy we encountered obstacle after obstacle. Kurtis and I jumped out to help the rest of the crew get through. Dave’s Jeep was high centered on more than a couple occasions, pulling cable to free himself. Casey Toyota decided it did not need any tail lights. Curt’s soft top fell victim to the walls of mud and roots protruding into the trail ripping his window and folding in his top. As the day went on the temperature slowly dropped into the teens, freezing the puddles of mud and slime. The group got into a nice grove of squirming our way through the obstacles, for the next few hours of trail winding our way through the now dark woods. The trail finally ended, with a quick stop for a photo-op on a wintery sunset back ground. We decided to call it a day, knowing the roads may be icy on the way out. Getting back to the tow rigs, we found them covered in ice, making strapping down the rigs a chore of chipping away the ice. We stopped at the train diner in Elbe for dinner and stories of the day. We surely conquered the “busy wild,” with not one of the Tamer members pulling cable or having any serious breakage, luck or skill… who cares!
Great trip by all looking forward to the next Tamer run!
Anthony Arreola
TT243
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