Last fall I was able to tag along and hit the trails for the first “Rock the Clock” event with Disconnected Offroad as a passenger.
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| Nick making his way over the rolling hills at the intersection of Trails #1 & #2 |
When they started planning this year’s event I was approached to be a trail guide. I also figured I’d make a weekend out of it and camp now that I had the trailer.
The original plan was to get an early start Friday morning and do some day-wheeling before the event. Sadly a late start, traffic, and a little sleep deprivation nixed that idea. After rendezvousing with my friends to get groceries, and getting up to Rausch to make camp, it was determined to be too late to head out. We opted to just wait at camp till the rest showed up.
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| Stocking up at the local grocery store |
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| “I can’t always take a dirt road… …but I can always take a backroad.” |
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| Camp is setup and ready for a weekend of camping Love having the trailer as a mobile basecamp! |
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| Friday night campfire. |
Saturday I was on guide duty for a Green Group with a half dozen Jeeps in total. Two were stock 2-door JK’s, one was a stock TJ, two were modified TJ’s on 33’s, and of course my LJ on 33’s. Seeing as we would be doing all green trails I wasn’t too worried.
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| Sunrise over Rausch Creek Saturday morning |
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| Staging for the Rock the Clock My group was “Group #1” slated for green trails |
We started off with Trail 1b which is a relatively easy green trail with some small rock sections. It’s a good litmus test to see how the group would handle the rest of the day. From there we headed over to my favorite trail which is #14. While still technically a green trial, it’s very technical and borders on the aqua or turquoise end. It also presents a good opportunity for some coaching and encouragement.
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| Snaking our way down Trail #14 |
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| New to off-roading, this driver needed a little coaching on how to get his TJ up a slipper washout. His Jeep having open differentials front and rear, as well as being a 5-speed, made it a little difficult. After he struggled and failed three times I offered him some pointers. At first he wanted me to show him and motioned for me to drive his Jeep. I told him I had already made it and now it was his turn. He backed up one more time, did what I told him to do, and popped his Jeep up the hill. The smile on his face was priceless. |
After finishing #14, we looped around Trail #11 which is one of the official Jeep Badge of Honor trails. In total there are three in the park; one green and two blue.
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| Alex flexing out his TJ on the washouts on Trail #11 |
After #11 we looped back to camp for a quick break and some lunch. After lunch we ran the S-loop around the South Property along with the lead-in trail #25. After that the afternoon was getting late and we were expected back at the pavilion for the raffle at 4:00.
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| Raffle prizes! Thanks sponsors. |
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| Everyone waiting with baited breath for their chance for a prize. |
After the raffle some of us headed over to the RTI ramp to flex out our rigs and check to see what improvements we could make. I’ll post some photos of that at a later date once I piece together a more detail article on suspension testing.
With the day done, it was time for dinner and another camp fire.
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| Sunset over Rausch Creek Saturday night. The beautiful skies made for a great way to bracket the day. |
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| Another night; another campfire Stories were told. Jiffy Pop was made. Beers were had. Great time with great friends. |
Sadly I didn’t get too many photos Saturday due to being in guide mode. Green trails are nice and easy, which isn’t a bad thing, but it means a lot more time in the seat and a lot less time out taking photos.
All in all this year’s “Rock the Clock” event was a success. Disconnected Offroad is a good group of laid back people who are out to have a good time. There were nine small groups of about a half dozen rigs ranging form all green trails (like my group), to green/blue, all blue, and even some black trail groups. The social atmosphere before, during, and after the trail rides makes for a great time.
“Rock the Clock” was officially only a Saturday event. This freed me up Sunday to hit some blues with my friends that came up for the weekend. Those photos will be posted in an album on the ECOA Facebook page.
