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Archived Newsletter |
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February 2002
For more trip information, see TRIPS. |
CONTENTS |
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RED ROCK Due to time constraints, we decided to complete the Red Rock Canyon pre-run on the Friday before the scheduled run. This turned out to be a great opportunity for some of our members to participate, as they had to work on Saturday. Donald Clevenger, Tom Morey and son Christopher, James Sullivan and daughter Devyn, and Jon and Dale Rice, along with Andy and Elaine Vique accompanied me on this cold January morning. Our six Wranglers were to travel out of Red Rock Canyon State Park, into Nightmare Gulch, up the canyon wall, northeast to the talc mine, then east to Cuddahy’s camp for lunch. As we neared the turning point to climb out of Nightmare, we found the trail completely impassable. Weather had taken it’s toll as the side of the mountain had collapsed onto the trail. Huge boulders made the trail seemingly unusable. After considerable discussion, we decided to rebuild the pass out of the canyon and not let Mother Nature close yet another great trail. It took the entire group nearly two hours to complete a very difficult task, and rebuild the climb. We now had a trail for the club to use, albeit now a 3 ½ to 4 rating and no longer a 3 as stated in the January newsletter. The rest of the pre-run was uneventful but had to be shortened somewhat due to the excessive time necessary for trail rebuilding. Saturday morning arrived and it seemed for a while we might get this run off to an early start. Ten vehicles were in place and ready to go when Sherman’s old CJ-5 came limping in with Rich Wallace at the wheel, and fortunately, as it would turn out, Ken Durand riding shot-gun. It seems the "5" was having fuel delivery problems (nothing new) and Ken is an auto mechanic. Participating on this run were Andy and Elaine Vique, Jon and Dale Rice, Mike and Carol Kelly, Rick and Suzy Schaffer, Bob and Pat Matula, Jay and Ellen Jimenez, Sherman Wallace, and myself. Our guests were James and Devyn Sullivan, Tom Chin, Mick Gadenberg, and Jay and son (riding with Sherm), and James Wallace, who rode with me. At about 9:45 am we left the Red Rock Visitor’s Center with 10 vehicles, 8 Wranglers and 2 Toyotas. Rich and Ken would stay behind and try and fix the CJ-5, then catch up with us. They reassembled the "carb" and were able to catch up as we entered Nightmare Gulch. Traveling through Nightmare and up the canyon wall proved to be no easy matter, as four vehicles suffered some minor body damage. The climb out slowed our travel and took just over an hour, but really added to the enjoyment of the trip by contributing just the right amount of difficulty. Our travel from the canyon ridge to the turn off at Cuddahy’s was somewhat uneventful, except for the fact that a group on horseback that had been in the canyon at the same time as we were, seemed to be waiting for us. They had most likely taken a shorter route, but missed the beautiful scenery of Last Chance canyon to the east. At Cuddahy’s camp we took a well deserved break, ate lunch and visited. After lunch we proceeded down Last Chance Canyon .9 miles, then east up the canyon towards Burro Schmidt’s tunnel. As the climb progressed the CJ-5 continued to have fuel problems. Ken again changed the fuel pump but to no avail. With a tow to the top of the ridge, Rich and Ken decided to drop the gas tank. They finally found a pinched/rotten fuel line up under the gas tank. The fuel delivery problem that has plagued this CJ-5 for years was finally solved. Except for some very cold mornings (21 degrees) and a very interesting change to the trail, this run turned out to be a lot of fun. Saturday evening, the remaining campers combined their culinary talents for a great potluck dinner. I’d like to thank everyone for their participation and send along a special thanks to the pre-run group.
Steve and Michelle Frank have announced that they are expecting in June. IT’S A BOY!
Jim and Betty Bays celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary on January 25th.
JEEP® PULLS ADS AFTER OUTCRY Columbus, OH. - The people at Jeep have responded to the calls of sportsmen and stopped an advertisement that "took a shot" at deer hunters. The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance sent a call to action for sportsmen across the country about a commercial being run nationally by Jeep that glorified anti-hunters and vilified sportsmen. Sportsmen immediately took action, flooding the company with telephone calls and faxes expressing their displeasure with the ad. "We did not anticipate this story line would evoke such negative emot ion among some viewers," stated Jeff Bell, vice president of marketing communications for DaimlerChrisler. "Obviously we underestimated the sensitivity of this issue. Because this is so emotionally charged, we will no longer continue this campaign." In the "Deer Hunter" commercial, a man drives a Jeep through a wooded site with two deer tied on top of the vehicle. As the Jeep drives by, hunters were shown in the woods, in close proximity to each other and the road, admiring the man’s deer. The driver of the Jeep then drives to a location that show a "No Hunting" sign. The Jeep stops, the man gets out and releases the deer that appeared to be dead. The driver tells the deer they are safe and the deer bound away. In the background, other Jeep owners are shown doing the same thing. "This is concrete proof that the sportsman’s voice should not be taken lightly." said Rick Story, vice president of the U.S. Sportsman’s Alliance. "When the voices of the millions of sportsmen in this country all speak as one, a great deal can be accomplished." (Ed.) Now if we could just do the same for the closed trails!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS The Divide Fourwheeler’s annual Rubicon trip this year is August 16 through the 18th. If you would like to do the Rubicon, this is a SUPER group to do it with. Call Jon and Dale Rice for more details.
Radio Shack one again has their little CB radio on sale. Regularly $59 on sale for $39. If you are looking for a small inexpensive CB, I would highly recommend it. The sale is on through March.
GOOD NEWS? Tim Salt, the BLM manager for the California Desert District has been reassigned to an unnamed position. "There is a definite patter by this administration to reassign administrators who have an environmental ethic, it’s distressing." said Karen Schambach, California coordinator for Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. Jerry Seaver, president of the American Sand Ass. Jerry stated "Everybody is hopeful there will be a change at BLM under a new district manager, I’m hopeful we can get someone who will look at the facts a little better. Tim was nice and patient, but he absolutely would not accept our data." In December Kate Cannon, manager of the Grand Staircase Escalante N.M., was reassigned after ranchers and a Republican congressman complained about lack of grazing access for cattle in the monument.
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