Taken
From The May
2004 Treasure Chest
story: Matt Hoey, photos: Rory Huber
The April club run found us gathering at Denny’s in Woodland
targeting an 8am departure for the Stonyford area of the Grindstone
Ranger District.
Amazingly enough it seems that only one vehicle made it their
early morning mission to check out all three Woodland Denny’s
and we got a decent start at about 8:20am. Our group included
13 vehicles carrying 14 club members and 10 guests.
Heading north on I-5 was the usual mix of battling eighteen wheelers
and a stiff north wind. Our first peek of trouble came shortly
before Williams with a radio call from the back of the pack asking
if we were going to stop soon, seems one of the Samurais was overheating.
Fortunately we had planned on stopping for a splash of fuel and
a last rest stop so the Zuki had a chance to cool down. After
everyone got their choice of fuel we continued up I-5 to Maxwell
then headed west toward Lodoga and Stonyford. The hills were green
and the hills steep. After waiting for what seemed an eternity
over the top of one hill, we finally saw Rory come tooling over
the rise with two Samurais drafting close behind.
Pretty scary when ya gotta count on a ‘yota to getcha up
a hill!
We passed through the bustling town of Stonyford and stopped for
a quick break at the Wolf Creek Staging area then cruised over
the hill and down into the Davis Flat area. A few radio calls
for Kevin Kidwell failed to raise him although we could see his
camp down below us, must have been out terrorizing four wheelers
on his bike. Shortly after that we turned off onto actual dirt
and headed up Potato Hill. The trail was pretty tame except for
a few steep hills and the inevitable ruts. I can still hear the
whining from Backdoor about the brush and his precious paint job
(hey, Kimber was in front and I didn’t hear her complainin’!).
Oh well, maybe a ‘5’ would have been a better choice
for the trail, oh yeah, no AC! As we continued up the hill we
encountered the occasional group of green sticker vehicles. Everyone
handled it quite well and was very courteous until just before
we stopped for lunch. A couple of impatient types had to squeeze
by in the middle of a hill and share their rocks with everyone.
Rumor has it that it was Kidwell but with all that gear, who could
tell?!
Our lunch stop had a nice bit of shade and a great view across
the Sacramento Valley, all the way to Mount Lassen. After we finished
debating whether Rubicons had ABS brakes or not, we headed out
toward a dead end Jeep trail, which of course turned out to be
the narrowest trail all day, and we had to work our way back to
a main trail. Our route took us down through the Mill Valley campground
and on through Lower Letts Valley. We continued
on a mixture of unimproved roads and main Forest Service roads
for many miles on down to the Pacific Ridge area. As the lead
vehicles pulled up to our turn off to the Lovelady Ridge Trail
those in back noticed a smoldering tree that they decided to try
and cool down a bit. Reportedly it looked like a recent lightning
strike that basically blew the tree apart. Once the group was
back together, some chose to return to Davis Flat to check in
on the
Kidwells while nine vehicles elected to continue on south. The
adventures of the smaller group, if any, will have to appear in
another story.
The main group turned off road M5 onto trail #1, also known as
Lovelady Ridge Trail. The trail starts out along Pacific Ridge,
reaching an elevation of about 3800 feet. We elected to continue
south along the ridge instead of turning east toward Lovelady
Ridge. The trail finally started to get interesting with lots
of rocks and panoramic views all around. Fortunately for me, Kimber
had deferred driving duties to me after I told her the road would
be tame. I did not intentionally prevaricate; I just conveniently
forgot what the trail was like in that area! As we reached the
far end of Pacific Ridge the view opened up to the south, revealing
the azure gem of Indian Valley Reservoir. Looking inviting far
down below us and surrounded by a sea of green trees it beckoned
us on down the hill. After we reached the main road we found a
spot to air up and soak our feet, for those so inclined.
Our road wound its way over a ridge and down into beautiful Bear
Valley. The long (and dusty, according to those behind us) gravel
road took us out to Highway 20. After waiting about twenty minutes
for the two Suzukis to show up and just before sending two of
the group back to look for them, we heard some broken chatter
on the CB. Minutes later a distant dust trail turned into two
lone Samurais! Seems that the pesky overheating problem had returned
and they stopped to cool down. Remember, when you are with a group,
watch your buddy and call out if you are having problems!
We headed east on Highway 20 toward Williams, blowing off the
dust of a long day of off highway travel. Many of the group elected
to continue on Highway 20 so the group broke up around the I-5
junction as we headed our separate ways. Many thanks to those
that attended and tolerated navigational missteps!
Members: |
Guests: |
Don Herget |
Desiree Turner |
Steve & Chris Medley |
Sharlene Hatch |
Sharon Hedges & Willie |
James Leighton |
Carrol Bryant |
Eric & Kim Deems |
Rick, Shannon, & Olivia Kerley |
Toni Wargin |
Troy Holmes & Daughter |
Stacey & Lindsey Callis |
Rory Huber |
Ray Steve DelaPaz |
|