FR532
Cleanup~ 10/10/2004 Gallery
Well, we did our part in cleaning FR532 and got some great wheeling in too. GBizzle and I met Spooky on
Bartlett Dam rd. and drove on to the Indian Springs Wash entrance. We drove along FR532 pretty much straight through to the back
and arrived at the river crossings. I headed across and noted although only running slightly higher, the current was somehow stronger
it seemed. I tooled my way over and pulled a nice wheel stand up out of the river Than Spooky drove across leaving GBizzle, a 2nd
lever challenged driver. Almost 3/4th the way across he lost momentum and started taking on water. His lights (and intake) were well
out of harms way so our concern was now in keeping him dry. Spooky Started changing into his swim shorts for some reason at this time,
and I frantically jiggled the hitch loose on Spooks tire carrier to raise the hatch and get a strap for Gabe still stuck in the river
screaming, "Take your time F*&kers!". Well I got the strap and headed into the river and felt around under the water for the tow hook,
wrapped it up and gave Spooky the thumbs up to pull him out. Safely on shore, we proceeded to the next crossing. I went in and under,
emerging on the other side with my V6 3.3 Nissan submarine powerplant chugging along just fine. I went up the shore turned around and
returned to the other side where the others had stayed. Spooky strapped Gabe back across and we proceeded to look for a campsite. We
arrived at one river entrance I'd never entered and after much consternation, Spooky headed out across with two straps joined by a
d-ring attached securely from his receiver hitch to my front end, waiting in the waters edge. I could easily see as his X headed into
the swift moving current he was headed downstream faster than across it . About the time he was FRS'n me to "Reverse! Pull me out!",
I was. As I was reversing up the hill we'd descended to the rivers edge, Gabe had begun gathering the straps so as to keep them taught
and out of the way. I rounded a hillside turn and straightened the wheel giving the skinny pedal a tap. I looked forward and at that
very instant saw Gabe flying backwards into a small shoreline stand of cottonwoods. The strap had grown taught and propelled him like
the slug from a .45 backwards where he met the trees and violently fell to the ground. He used to play a little football and said he'd
never been taken off his feet like that. I want to take this opportunity to apologize for laughing so hard while all that was happening.
We decided for the safety of the clubs members, the camp would stay on this side of the river.
We set up camp around a great Tamarack tree in the middle of a turnaround at a riverside cliffs edge. On the
upland side there is a rock wall empty at the bottom perfect for building a great campfire and relaxing on the surrounding boulders and
soft sand. The kind of natural fire pit/cave thing you know has been used for hundreds of years for just such a purpose. Around 3pm I
went out to meet Yellow Gecko and the late a rivers on the trail head, found them and led the monkey train back to camp. After a brief
"hey, how ya' doin'?" we got back to the river for some more wheeling. It had now grown to dusk and there was a strange silence as we
approached the glassy, but swiftly moving water. The silence was soon broken by the delirious laughter of people riding on the X bumpers
as the trucks forded the water again and again. Accasabel was there with the mighty LandCrusher, and made short work of the trip from
one shore to the other. We romped and got some great videos of all this and eventually began back to the camp. At some point around then,
a Noob (JasonAZX) and his dad Steve both showed up. We hung out around camp preparing the fire pit and cook station. We kind of gathered
the chairs in a circle around the tree and shot the breeze for a while, when Stone rolled up. Dinner was on and everyone was having a
great time. We finished dinner and cleaned up the camp good, we were after all in a riparian area teaming with wildlife; raccoons, ring
tailed cats, mountain lions, and assorted creepy crawlies. Yellow Geckos dog had been molested by a big cat only last year at a spot
only 200 yards from here, but that's a different story.
Well, after a good nights sleep, the weather was freakin' great at night, we all milled around camp and enjoyed
fresh Kona Coffee as the sun rose behind the mountains. Stone was the last to get up but must have been saving his strength for the
kick ass breakfast he was about to make. Props to Travis' wife Misty also, for that jar of the best salsa ever. Everyone had some chow
and broke down camp while some began to gather garbage around the site. We began our cleanup in earnest around 9:30 and had made great
progress amassing a lot of garbage ignorant folks had left behind. By the days end we'd stuffed the back of the GMC truck and emptied
it at the Rangers station. That doesn't even include what the group who'd arrived Sunday morning had gathered before we met them halfway
up/down the trail as we headed out. That group consisted of Yzerman, PHXX, TremorX, Major (w/ pickers) and Jayhawk. We didn't have much
time to spend there as it was getting hot and there was still much getting tippy to do. We arrived at a hill I dislike, yet respect very
much. It's covered in loose, crushed granite and goes up a good 200 feet. The path I despise the most can only be described as cratered.
It has holes big enough to swallow an X and lay it on its side or send it into a wheel stand you'd swear was going to throw you over
backwards. It prolly would send you crashing down the slope too, if you weren't paying attention. Long story short, I made it up after a
long frustrating attempt and continue to dislike that pile of dirt and rocks this very moment.
The highlight's for the non-campers came from TremorX. He got stuck just off the trial, his tire got into some very
loose sand/gravel. It took PHXX/JayHawk and JayHawk's friend to push him out. Then on the way out, he gave the big hill a shot. He had
once before tried it with the Crappers and almost made it. He made it up this time with the BFG's (after a few attempts).
