D
Thoughts on MAR 2004
- Thread starter cptyarderho
- Start date
N
NorCalDiscoII
Guest
R
rtiqulatendisco
Guest
For the record, I was the D1 that blew out the driver's side quarter window. I was going up goat hill. I had almost no control the entire way up, but I did make it without winching. From the trail, it looked like maybe a dozen made it to the top. Note...Don't follow D. Chapman.
Stock trucks had no business on any trail at MAR. Just too much mud and too many people that didn't even know how to use their winch. Still a good time though!
p.s. God Damn was the food good over at the Philly Rovers site!!! Screw wheeling, I'm going next year just for the food.
Stock trucks had no business on any trail at MAR. Just too much mud and too many people that didn't even know how to use their winch. Still a good time though!
p.s. God Damn was the food good over at the Philly Rovers site!!! Screw wheeling, I'm going next year just for the food.
rtiqulatendisco said:
I was out on goat hill with a couple other rovers on Sunday, we found pieces of your window. lol
D
D Chapman
Guest
I knew I bumped a tree on my passenger side rear on Goat Hill, but I did not think it did anything. I thought the bumper took the grunt of the hit. After I washed my truck the entire quarter panel just below the window is caved in. Now, it matches the rest of that side of the truck. I'm betting without that bumper I too would be looking for a window.
Boy that was an awesome trail, especially at night.
Boy that was an awesome trail, especially at night.
"On the real short trail that led from the farmhouse up around the pond to the field where I was camping, there was something odd in the woods at the end of the trail."
That was Josh's camp. He brought parachutes to use as a tent.
It was actually set up quite well.
Ron
That was Josh's camp. He brought parachutes to use as a tent.
It was actually set up quite well.
Ron
P
Puppy
Guest
First time MAR experience
This was my first MAR with my Disco that I've had for about 8 months, and my third time off-roading with it. With the exception of BFG A/T's, it's basically a stock '99 D2. I took my two kids and we had a pretty good time for the most part.
I didn't go with group so I was driving the trails by myself mostly, though I would have preferred to drive them with some backup. On Friday I was able to do the beginner trails with no problems and I tried River Loop but decided to turn around before the more difficult sections since I was alone.
On Saturday I got brave and headed down River Loop again. This time we got down the switchback okay and I came upon a group of guys that were headed back out since there were several trucks stuck up ahead of them. It started to rain lightly and they took a look at my truck and said, "Unless you want to spend the night out here, you'd better come with us". I certainly didn't argue and we started back up the switch back. I got up to the switchback but got stuck trying to make it around the switchback and up the rest of the muddy slope past it and they had to winch me up the rest of the way. Actually, it turned out that everyone else in the group also got stuck at the same spot and required winching, so I didn't feel too bad about it.
These guys were actually very good-natured about helping me out (thanks Brandon and Waseem), considering the fact that I was slowing them down, and I was glad I ran into them. Afteward, they ran off to do Power Line, and even invited me to join them, but I figured one recovery per day was enough for me at this point.
So I decided to go try upper Lake Loop again (the trail that leads down from the entrance area across the small spillway/dam), since I had done it the day before with no problems. Unfortunately, the rain that day had changed things a lot. I crossed the dam and started climbing the hill on the other side, and got stuck after the slight left-hand bend in the climb. I decided to try and back up a couple feet and try it again, so I put it in reverse and backed up a few feet... and kept on going backwards, brakes useless. I realized that stopping was no longer an option and just tried to keep the truck in the ruts and headed back down the hill to the dam, but the truck kept going straight at the left-hand bend and it left the ruts headed toward the right of the path, left wheels in the right-hand rut, right wheels in the scrub brush and saplings to the right of the trail. I guess I was able to keep the tail going downhill, or else the truck just did it by itself, but I finally came to the bottom of the hill at the dam and stopped, left rear wheel up on the dam and the right rear wheel off the right side of it, truck tilted over toward the pond.
I was, of course, alone so the kids and I sat there for about 10 minutes before a couple of guys from Rockville in a D1 and RRC were able to recover me with a winch and a snatch block (thanks James). After those two experiences I called it a weekend and we turned it around and headed back to camp in one piece. I wish I would have thought to take pictures of my truck stuck half off the dam, but I was just too relieved/embarrassed at the time to think of it. I think somebody else got pics of it so maybe they'll be posted eventually. Not quite as impressive as the rolled Freebie but close enough for me.
Next year I'd suggest possibly marking the signs at the beginning of each trail with a ski-slope type rating system (green circle, blue square, black diamond, etc. or whatever). That way the signs can be changed during the event as the conditions change. Additionally, there could possibly be a Marshall at registration to give newbies like myself better advice on which trails we can handle and which ones we should stay off of.
Oh, and the showers idea is pure gold. Next year I'm hoping to hook up with a small group to camp and drive the trails with to make it a little safer/more fun. Anyone in the Northern Va area interested in having a newbie along with their group?
Joe H.
'99 Disco II
This was my first MAR with my Disco that I've had for about 8 months, and my third time off-roading with it. With the exception of BFG A/T's, it's basically a stock '99 D2. I took my two kids and we had a pretty good time for the most part.
I didn't go with group so I was driving the trails by myself mostly, though I would have preferred to drive them with some backup. On Friday I was able to do the beginner trails with no problems and I tried River Loop but decided to turn around before the more difficult sections since I was alone.
On Saturday I got brave and headed down River Loop again. This time we got down the switchback okay and I came upon a group of guys that were headed back out since there were several trucks stuck up ahead of them. It started to rain lightly and they took a look at my truck and said, "Unless you want to spend the night out here, you'd better come with us". I certainly didn't argue and we started back up the switch back. I got up to the switchback but got stuck trying to make it around the switchback and up the rest of the muddy slope past it and they had to winch me up the rest of the way. Actually, it turned out that everyone else in the group also got stuck at the same spot and required winching, so I didn't feel too bad about it.
These guys were actually very good-natured about helping me out (thanks Brandon and Waseem), considering the fact that I was slowing them down, and I was glad I ran into them. Afteward, they ran off to do Power Line, and even invited me to join them, but I figured one recovery per day was enough for me at this point.
So I decided to go try upper Lake Loop again (the trail that leads down from the entrance area across the small spillway/dam), since I had done it the day before with no problems. Unfortunately, the rain that day had changed things a lot. I crossed the dam and started climbing the hill on the other side, and got stuck after the slight left-hand bend in the climb. I decided to try and back up a couple feet and try it again, so I put it in reverse and backed up a few feet... and kept on going backwards, brakes useless. I realized that stopping was no longer an option and just tried to keep the truck in the ruts and headed back down the hill to the dam, but the truck kept going straight at the left-hand bend and it left the ruts headed toward the right of the path, left wheels in the right-hand rut, right wheels in the scrub brush and saplings to the right of the trail. I guess I was able to keep the tail going downhill, or else the truck just did it by itself, but I finally came to the bottom of the hill at the dam and stopped, left rear wheel up on the dam and the right rear wheel off the right side of it, truck tilted over toward the pond.
I was, of course, alone so the kids and I sat there for about 10 minutes before a couple of guys from Rockville in a D1 and RRC were able to recover me with a winch and a snatch block (thanks James). After those two experiences I called it a weekend and we turned it around and headed back to camp in one piece. I wish I would have thought to take pictures of my truck stuck half off the dam, but I was just too relieved/embarrassed at the time to think of it. I think somebody else got pics of it so maybe they'll be posted eventually. Not quite as impressive as the rolled Freebie but close enough for me.
Next year I'd suggest possibly marking the signs at the beginning of each trail with a ski-slope type rating system (green circle, blue square, black diamond, etc. or whatever). That way the signs can be changed during the event as the conditions change. Additionally, there could possibly be a Marshall at registration to give newbies like myself better advice on which trails we can handle and which ones we should stay off of.
Oh, and the showers idea is pure gold. Next year I'm hoping to hook up with a small group to camp and drive the trails with to make it a little safer/more fun. Anyone in the Northern Va area interested in having a newbie along with their group?
Joe H.
'99 Disco II
Puppy said:
Ah ha!! That was you!! I was at the top of the hill (in my red Rangie - see avatar), just about to hop on that trail, when I saw the traffic was stopped. I asked some people what was going on, and someone said 'they need a snatch block down there.' I grabbed my son (my passenger), my video camera
, and a snatch block and walked down the hill. I got your 'recovery' on tape. I'll grab some stills from the video when I get some time.. maybe even make you an MPG. You were stuck pretty good there.Glad you had an overall good time, though. Nice truck, btw.
-Tommy
S
syoung
Guest
Joe- Next time around, just ask at Rally Control and we can get someone to head out with you. There were a lot of people in the same boat, so it was easy to group them up. Next time, just ask and we'll take care of ya. Several people who asked about getting some help ended up with Bill Burke in their truck... not a bad way to go.
Joe,
It's easy to hook up with people at MAR. At one point I was by myself, and saw this lone red rangie. So I just asked the dude if he wanted to wheel with me, and he said sure. Oh yeah, and then later he proceeded to winch my ass out of the mud several times 'cause my winch died.
Man, Tommy (Skydiver) is all over the place!
It's easy to hook up with people at MAR. At one point I was by myself, and saw this lone red rangie. So I just asked the dude if he wanted to wheel with me, and he said sure. Oh yeah, and then later he proceeded to winch my ass out of the mud several times 'cause my winch died.
Man, Tommy (Skydiver) is all over the place!
Jaime said:
Hey Jamie,
I had a good time. After awhile, everytime my son, Anthony, saw a truck just sitting still, he said 'I think we need to help them out'.
Good luck with getting your winch fixed!!!
-Tommy
P
Puppy
Guest
Tommy,
Yeah, that was me alright. Glad you showed up with the snatch block. Before we had it, someone suggested winching me backwards to pull me up onto the spillway, but I'm pretty sure that would have resulted in my truck sitting on its side in the pond I don't think that I would have been as good-natured about it as Steve was.
Glad you got the recovery on tape though. Please let me know by e-mail (willows_puppy@yahoo.com) if you get a chance to digitize any of it. Sorry about holding up traffic.
Yeah, that was me alright. Glad you showed up with the snatch block. Before we had it, someone suggested winching me backwards to pull me up onto the spillway, but I'm pretty sure that would have resulted in my truck sitting on its side in the pond
I don't think that I would have been as good-natured about it as Steve was. Glad you got the recovery on tape though. Please let me know by e-mail (willows_puppy@yahoo.com) if you get a chance to digitize any of it. Sorry about holding up traffic.
Last edited:
Joe,
YOU"RE the one who was falling off the Lake Loop! J/K we were heading over there and someone told us there was a Disco stuck, so we went around the other way....FYI...I made it up in a stock DI with A/Ts about 5 minutes after that....so maybe it was just the loss of your momentum that caused the problem? The trail did get a bit muddier as the days went on...
Hope you'll come to MAR again next year and we will defintely make sure you have some trail buddies!
YOU"RE the one who was falling off the Lake Loop!
J/K we were heading over there and someone told us there was a Disco stuck, so we went around the other way....FYI...I made it up in a stock DI with A/Ts about 5 minutes after that....so maybe it was just the loss of your momentum that caused the problem? The trail did get a bit muddier as the days went on...Hope you'll come to MAR again next year and we will defintely make sure you have some trail buddies!
skydiver said:
Small world... That was us at the top of the hill... and me who said 'they need a snatch block down there'.
I wondered how you ended up stuck there... Now it makes sense! Glad you came out on all 4 wheels and dry!
P
Puppy
Guest
-> SSV
Hi Sus, (or Susannah, if you prefer)
I saw you driving around the campsites once or twice but never ran into you or Ivan. I have no doubt that it was "driver error" that caused my situation. I was too comfortable with the climb since we'd done it the day before and I took it a little too slow and lost momentum after the bend. Live and learn. I'm sure that if I'd given it another shot I would have probably made it, but the kids and I had had enough adventure for the day.
I'm certainly looking forward to next year of course, and definitely hoping to make the Spring Rally too. Hopefully with a usable CDL.
-> BigRed
Bigred,
Yeah I saw all the trucks gathering at the top of the hill waiting for me to get the hell out of the way. Hope you didn't have to wait too long. Did you get any pics?
Hi Sus, (or Susannah, if you prefer)
I saw you driving around the campsites once or twice but never ran into you or Ivan. I have no doubt that it was "driver error" that caused my situation. I was too comfortable with the climb since we'd done it the day before and I took it a little too slow and lost momentum after the bend. Live and learn. I'm sure that if I'd given it another shot I would have probably made it, but the kids and I had had enough adventure for the day.
I'm certainly looking forward to next year of course, and definitely hoping to make the Spring Rally too. Hopefully with a usable CDL.
-> BigRed
Bigred,
Yeah I saw all the trucks gathering at the top of the hill waiting for me to get the hell out of the way. Hope you didn't have to wait too long. Did you get any pics?
Last edited:
Joe.. no worries.. We just ended up going back to camp to work on the grill and beer. I don't think that I got any pictures though.. Sorry!
Puppy said:
Don't worry about holding up traffic. Everyone's been stuck!
I was looking at my tape.. I've got about 2.5mins worth of you getting winched. I'll drop you a note when I digitize it.
-Tommy
N
NorCalDiscoII
Guest
skydiver said:
Why don't you post it on here for all to see. I've got some space on my servers to host it if DWeb prohibs this...
bigred said:
Nice meeting you, even for just a brief moment.
It was funny 'cause the guy in the white rangie, who was helping with the recovery, was someone I pulled out of the mud a few times the prior day. (Same place where Jaime got stuck.) When he saw me come down with the snatch block he said something to the effect of '..you're everywhere..'.
-Tommy
NorCalDiscoII said:
I've got tons of server space, so I can host it. I'll post the link here.
Immediately after the recovery, there's a nice clip of me (my POV) driving up that same hill.
Here is a small (20 sec, 1meg) clip I ripped of me driving back through the 'stream' which crosses the road to the causeway, near the West Powerline Trail. This was taken on Thursday afternoon, when the water was still very high. My windows and my sunroof were both open, and lets just say that my carpets are STILL drying.
The vignetting is due to my wide angle lens, and I was holding the camera at the time. All clips after this one were taken from my 'tripod mount.'
-Tommy