November 23/2003 @ Chehalis FSR
& Harrison West
In Attendance:
Chris & Chris P. - Ford Bronco (blue)
Doug - Jeep MJ (red)
Ben & Dennis - Jeep YJ (black)
Inder - Ford Explorer (beige)
David - Ford Ranger (green)
After airing down the, we pulled out and headed down the snow covered Chehalis FSR. The road was very slick so I kept the
speed down to around 30-35km/h, but that was to fast. After about 5km or so I spun out on an almost level grade, and of course
Doug was right behind me. After seeing the whites of his eyes, Doug was able to avoid hitting me and put his truck into a small
ditch. I got on the CB to tell the group to slow down and try not to hit us. After laughing about the ordeal, Doug locked the hubs
in and drove out of the ditch with no problems so we continued on our way.
As we started climbing Margaret Creek Pass, it didn't take long before we couldn't go any further. The snow was only 6"-8" deep,
but very slick underneath. Doug tried to go around me and ended up sliding into me, running the edge of his bumper down my
rear rocker panel. After exchanging our info (just kidding) we decided to turn around and head over to Mystery Creek. This turned
out to be a time consuming task. The snow was about 10" deep and there were lots of fallen trees across the trail. Chris P. and Dennis
took turns falling the trees with my axe and saw. Once closer to Harrison, I got us a little lost. I must have made a wrong "fork" somewhere,
because we came out at 20 Mile Bay. David took over as he new their way around the area better than I did. Dave got us onto the Harrison
Main and we headed to Hale Creek for lunch.
After a few km I did another uncontrolled slide, this time putting the nose into a ditch. I radio'd to the front group, and they turned around. Ben
was behind me, so he got the best show. Took a few tries but I managed to get out under my own power. Again we laughed and continued on
our way. The trail down to Hale was slippery; there was no graceful way to enter the many creek crossings, just slide right in. We had lunch under
cover, and decided to try the hard way out. David led the way, but had lots of trouble due to having no lockers. We made it over half way before
he could go no further. The snow was so slick that he slid into Doug's truck (denting David's tailgate), then Doug's truck started to slide a bit.
Did you hear the gong?
Anyways, Doug managed to get around David and gave it his best effort. Not much better. He had to winch up the hill, which took almost 30 minutes.
It was at this point that a vote was taken. It was getting dark, and we were all pretty wet, so we turned around and headed back the way we came
in. The slide down the trail was different, to say the least. Nothing like no control at all in some spots.
After making it back to the main road, we stopped to chat for a bit. It was snowing so heavy that our tracks from 3 hours ago were almost
gone. We headed down the Harrison main where the snow was on the ground all the way to the Sasquatch Inn. We aired up at the Chehalis
Gas Station, then hit the pavement for the somewhat long drive home.
Once again, a fun trip with minimal damage.
Ben.
Me.
Doug.
Ready to hit the trail.
Doug's efforts not to plow into me
after I did a 180 on black ice.
Thanks Doug!
Turning around at the bottom of
Margaret Creek Pass.
A small wash-out north of Chehalis.
Mystery Creek traverse.
Waiting for Dennis and Chris P. to
get some fallen trees out of the way.
Patiently waiting.
Patiently waiting.
More fallen trees.
Hale Creek recreation site.
Video #1 - David
getting stuck.
Video #2 - Me
climbing the same section.
Video #3 - Ben trying
to keep up.
Turning around and heading down
the hard way to Hale Creek.
Turning around and heading down
the hard way to Hale Creek.
Turning around and heading down
the hard way to Hale Creek.
Here is the damage I received.
Nothing major, just some mising paint.
The hole was already there.
Maybe I will just cut it off.