Once again, had a great time - almost didn't make it, broke down on the way up with a coolant loss issue, trip back was uneventful. 345 mile round trip.
The trucks had a few minor issues on the trails, one CUCV with a fuel filter issue, 215dave's truck lost all brake air pressure on a gnarly hill climb and a tree almost broke the roll backwards, some of us had issues getting out of the pit at Lake Christy, and a few 5-tons got stuck in soft ground and mud along the way, and one CUCV got stuck in the mud pit, but the good news is no major issues and noone got hurt. One truck got a safety warning from the park staff about people riding in the back of trucks standing up, but it was just a warning.
I was surprised at the number of early comers this time around - I counted 13 military trucks parked in the parking lot on Friday night, not including trailers some were camping in. A few more showed up on Saturday morning. One thing I think we should do next time is break up into smaller groups. A large convoy through the park is great, but this time around saw the group falling apart by late afternoon for various reasons. I think next time we should do groups of 3-4 trucks each, and take different routes according to the desires and capabilities of the offroaders.
Rode with 215Dave on the trip around the park - I think he was surprised at the capability of his truck and his driving ability this trip, he went a couple difficult routes and made it look easy, including climbing the rock scramble out of the Lake Christy pit. Thanks for the ride, Dave! And thanks for putting up with my cigars.
Looking forward to the one in October!
