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Spring Isuzuwharrie 2008 Since I first purchased the Trooper, it has been my goal to take it to Uwharrie during one of the Isuzu events. This Spring, I felt that the Trooper was finally in good enough shape to make the 800 mile round trip. I was not disappointed. On Thursday April 17th, I headed South. Just South of DC, on I95, I spotted a lifted/SASed Rodeo on a trailer. Just ahead of it was a Trooper pulling a trailer loaded with mud tires. Since this could only be fellow members of PlantIsuzoo, I waved and then eased in between them. At the first stop I found out the they were Tad and Mike. We established the radio channel and ended up and caravanning all of the way to the Arrowhead Camp Ground. Once at Arrowhead, we set up camp and Mike went about the work of finishing his rig. He didn't have a front drive shaft, had to install the rear brakes and fix a leak on the rear axle. Tad just had to swap his tires.
After setting up camp, I took a quick run with Lorenzo down Slap Pile. This was my introduction to Uwharrie dust, which gets into everything when it is dry. Lorenzo had to return home, so I went back to the camp ground for a feast prepared by Anubis (Brian).
Then some us us went on a night run. At one point, when I was leading the group down Falls Dam, it stuck me why it is a good thing to avoid mud at night if you do not have off-road lights mounted on your roof. I could hardly see a thing. When the Trooper did not start Friday morning, I thought about another reason to avoid the Uwharrie mud. It is tough on alternators. But with Jerry's help, I managed to determine that the problem was only a loose connection to the fuel pump.
After I got the Trooper running again, a large group decided to run Dickey Bell. Dickey Bell is rated as a B trail, but with the dry conditions it is passable by stock rigs.
At one point, when AmigoDelAmigo (Dave) had some trouble getting his Amigo (no lift and open difs) over the rocks, his slightly panicked wife pulled his children out of the rig. It took a visit from JackD to calm her down. Here is the video.
After the run, we returned to the camp ground for lunch. One of the things I really like about Uwharrie is that the camp ground is so close to the trails; that and the fact that Janet keeps a very nice camp ground (except when it is overwhelmed by Jeeps). After lunch a few of us tried some of the level C trails. We started off on Rocky Mountain Loop which didn't seem too bad until we got to the top.
When I saw Kodiak Rock, I wondered just how in the h$ll was I going to get up that thing. Here is a shot to JoeD, going right up. But my Trooper has no where near the clearance that his has.
I also didn't like the line that Anubis took with his SASed Passport.
Thankfully, Anubis pointed out the easy way up.
The only tricky spot with his line was Trooper Tree. Like all Troopers, mine leaned when I went over a big rock, and tapped the Tree. The only damage, was a dent on my rain gutter, so all is well. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of the event, but this photo of JoeD's Trooper -- taken on Sunday -- should give you some idea.
When I got to the top, I realized that we were in the middle of a group from Zuwharrie. I have to say, that they were some of the most unfriendly people that I have ever met on the trail. It was like we were intruding on their private party. So we didn't stay around very long. Having warmed up on the Rocky Mountain Loop, we headed over to Daniel. Unfortunately, no one took any photos on this run. On the way up, I kept thinking that this wasn't too bad, given its reputation. However, these thoughts changed after we reached the rock field. JoeD and Anubis went right up the big boulders in the middle. With my little 31s, I took the easy line up the left. Even taking the easy line, I had to use a lot of clutch to keep the Trooper in it's preferred torque band. When I finally made it to the top, the Trooper just died! Apparently, Daniel was a bit more that it was built for! Since I was blocking the trail, Anubis, towed me to a good spot. The engine problem turned out to be the same connector issue. However, we could all smell clutch. At my suggestion/insistence we took the easy way down, rather than going back through the rocks as we originally planned. So the trip back was uneventful. Friday evening, we feasted on franks, brats and burgers. Sue's cucumber salad was wonderful as were the burgers that she brought from Krogers. After dinner, several went on a night run, but I thought that it was best to give the Trooper a well deserved rest.
Saturday morning, Jimmy showed up in his vintage Willy.
Jimmy tried to lead us back
around Rocky Mountain Loop, but kept making the wrong turns. Somehow these
SANFUs seemed appropriate for someone in an old military Jeep.
When we got to the top, we saw a very interesting sight. A Rubi had gotten high-centered on a big rock. Here are some photos of the recovery that took two two winches.
The recovery blocked most of the trail, although everyone was too interested in seeing the show to move, even if we could.
After the trail cleared, my Trooper kissed Trooper Tree once again resulting in another dent in the rain gutter, about 6 inches from the previous one. This time, however, everyone was a lot more friendly at the top. I guess that Jeeps really do have their use as ice breakers.
Joe then took a run at Budweiser Rock, When he almost rolled his rig in the process, several bystanders jumped on his bumper. Only Aussie stayed calm.
On the way down, my clutch really began to give me trouble. So that was it for wheeling the Trooper. When I tried to take it to Zeno's for Saturday night dinner, the clutch completely gave out and JoeD had to tow me back to camp. It is just as well, because it rained all night and it would have been no fun dealing with the breakdown in the rain. Here is my attempt to dry out Sunday morning.
Here are some shots of the dead Trooper and some of the other rigs back at the camp grounds.
I ended up catching a ride back to MD with Tad and his friend Debran. Some of the others went wheeling again on Sunday, but the Saturday night downpour really changed things as this photo shows. For more evidence, view this video of JoeD on Kodiak Rock. Be sure to check out his tires!
As for the Trooper, JoeD towed it to his home. He is putting in a new clutch. Partially due to his recommendation, I am also getting a clutch protector . . . a set of Revolution Gears. So it all turned out quite well in the end! Link to information on Uwharrie National Forest.
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