MickG
21st April 2008, 07:59 AM
Well another successful trip with the GCLRO! A couple of members (Dranged & The 109) travelled up to the Glasshouse Mountains Camp site on Friday afternoon however I’ll start this report from Saturday morning…….which was nearly Saturday afternoon thanks to Bolts’ wife Jeannie!
Arranged to meet Bolts and Jeannie at the service station on Gooding Drive at 7.15 to grab coffees and hit the road……….departed from Worongary Shopping centre on the other side of the high way at 7.45:mad: Reasonably good run up to the BP Morayfield with a couple of other 4x4’s calling us up on the radio. One jacked up D1 called up to ask where I got my rear bar and a Pajero to ask if I was heading to Fraser….quick chats with both of them saw me only just making the turning for the BP but unfortunately saw Bolts sailing straight past the off ramp, sorry Bolts……bad leading on my part. With Stikman and Guy G met and Jeannie fed more coffee and breakfast, we were off again towards the camp site to meet the others.
Arrived at the camp site around 9.40 and once our cabin was sorted and bags deposited, we set off in a 5 car convoy to hit the trails.
Not long before we ended up in another town centre that shouldn’t have been there:eek: A quick U turn (now standard practice on any trip I lead, but we can U turn with the best of them I can tell you:D) saw us back tracking for about 5 k’s to the correct turn off. Finally we were on the right road and it wasn’t long before we had left the hard top and were airing down ready for the imminent action. The great thing about Beerwah State Forest is that it changes so much every time you go there and for the more fool hardy drivers of the club, this makes for some exciting driving!!
From where we air down, the tracks drops relatively steeply onto the main power line track and with a tight right hand turn drops even more steeply into the basin of the rainforest. There are some daunting mud shoots which you simply have to pick your gear, stick your wheels in the ruts and let the car drive down. About 3 mud drops in and we came across our first “puddle”. A quick assessment by all and it was decided the left hand side was the best option. So with the winch controller in hand and a winch point rigged on the other side, I was first in. Thankfully, with the excellent overhang design of the ARB winch bar and with the 45 degree entrance angle, I managed to plough the first couple of feet off the bottom of the muddy puddle:(……on purpose of course to make sure the following cars would have an easier run through the puddle:cool: All good though and the trusty D2 sailed through and out the other side albeit carrying a couple of kilos of clay in the winch bracket! Guy G next and again no trouble getting through. The 109 next and as both Guy and I had managed to successfully navigate through the left hand side; Eric decided the right hand side was the best option:twisted: It was a tad deeper, but thankfully he also sailed through without any trouble as did Dranged and Stikman.
Onto the next section which is easily one of my most favourite tracks around just now. It’s a relatively steep off camber clay uphill section which all up goes for about ½ a k. With all the rain and with other people driving it, the only option is to put your wheel into the ruts and drive, so with both lockers in, I was first head up. The first section is literally a 45 degree side angle, which then switches across a rutted cross axle section over to another 45 degree angle on the driver’s side. This continues for a while with a couple of wheel stands here and there and eventually pops you out onto the flat before the 2nd part of this track which is even more extreme. Guy did his very best to claw his way up this track, but being unlocked puts a lot of strain on the cars drive line so it was decided to attach a snatch to Justin and have him pull Guy up the first section……..this was achieved effortlessly without the izuzu wincing once. So onto the final section of this track and again I was first up. More of the same slippery clay so wheels I ruts was the go and the near the top is a series of rock steps which are very greasy due the clay stuck in the treads of the tyres. With a bit of guidance and a couple of wheel stands, the D2 made it up and had me just wanting to turn around and do it all again:D:D
Next we had Stikman up who managed no problem apart from trying to show off by trying to find grip on a near vertical slope on the driver’s side……this saw him slip rather violently into the rut with an almighty bang as the side of his car slammed against the side wall…….this is why we do say some trips will result in panel damage:o:p Safely around this section and again another couple of wheel stands and he was up and safe. No problems for the other drivers with only guy having to be winched over the top rock section who had done extremely well to pilot the rangie to where he had with no lockers.
Around 12.30, we made it to the top of the ridge and stopped for lunch.
Lunch over and we headed off for more fun and it wasn’t long before we found some. The now famous hill where Justin detonated his diff the last time we were here now looked even more feral than it had and with the rain coming down in chunks, it was decided we would all take the “easy” track to the right. This easy track saw me breaking out the winch for the first time since fitting it and I’m pleased to say the cheapy Chinese winch did its job admirably:D No trouble for the rest of the drivers as they drove up the hill without the need for assistance, but with Justin vowing to drive his nemesis next time if it was dry!!
Within the rain coming down fast it was off again to the next section and after few wrong turns here and there, Stikman was complaining of a funny noise from his car. Turns out the nut holding his pinion into the diff decided it had had enough, so unwound itself. With me thinking this was the end of our day, Justin and Eric had other ideas and came to the rescue. We had Stikman back up and running with 4 wheel drive within about 30 mins:D Still amazes me how each time we have what looks like a disaster on our hands, just needs a bit of knowledge a couple of spanners and it’s back to normal again!!
With Stikman smiling again, it was off to find some more. We managed to find Big Red and wisely decided it was simply not drivable in the wet and was even horrific in the dry, so off down Ho Chi Min which was in itself interesting due the wet. All down safely with Eric making noises about wanting to find some mud bogs:twisted: As I’m an obliging kind of bloke, I did find some small mud holes for Eric to play in…........and so it was Eric’s turn to pull out the winch:wasntme: He had bitten off a bit more than he could chew and found himself bogged to the chassis and going nowhere:p:p With the super speed of his winch though, he was out in no time and ready for the next bog!! Unfortunately the next bog was not so forgiving and although he will try and tell you I made him drive it, you would be hard pressed to stop him with the smile on his face at the time:wasntme::angel::D So a simple nose in the puddle and then the back end in…….well, that’s about as far as it went. Water pouring over the wheel arches as the engine struggled to pull forwards or back. A quick winch from Justin and the drowned 109 was plucked from the goop and stood motionless on the side of the track with a steady stream of brown water pouring from every conceivable part of the car:( Out with the WD40 and with no sign of life from the engine Patrick, Annika and Chloe set about making stick bridges over the smaller puddles…..Chloe however thought this was so yesterday and decided that jumping in all muddy the puddles was much more fun:D:D
Eventually Eric’s engine fired back into life just as it was getting dark so we were on the move again and looking for the exit……this found, it was back to camp for a well earned shower and beer. As Bolts had left Jeannie behind to read her book for the day, she had very nice prepared a damned good feed of marinated pork chops and salad……..beats packet pasta and stail bread rolls any day!!
Once we had eaten it was down to visit Justin and Eric and crew and sit for a few beers. A short time later, we were joined by Sledgehammer and Hoops and their better halfs for a few more beers and chat:D
All in all a great trip and an area we should really come back to as there are tracks all over the place. With some proper bread crumbing, there would be tracks for all levels up there and at only 1.5 hours away, could easily be a day trip for the club.
Thanks to all drivers for again making my day very easy and to Dranged for going TEC. Cheers to Bolts for being my navi and winch man……remember you rain jacket next time Bolts!!
Until the next trip……….aye, Mick
Arranged to meet Bolts and Jeannie at the service station on Gooding Drive at 7.15 to grab coffees and hit the road……….departed from Worongary Shopping centre on the other side of the high way at 7.45:mad: Reasonably good run up to the BP Morayfield with a couple of other 4x4’s calling us up on the radio. One jacked up D1 called up to ask where I got my rear bar and a Pajero to ask if I was heading to Fraser….quick chats with both of them saw me only just making the turning for the BP but unfortunately saw Bolts sailing straight past the off ramp, sorry Bolts……bad leading on my part. With Stikman and Guy G met and Jeannie fed more coffee and breakfast, we were off again towards the camp site to meet the others.
Arrived at the camp site around 9.40 and once our cabin was sorted and bags deposited, we set off in a 5 car convoy to hit the trails.
Not long before we ended up in another town centre that shouldn’t have been there:eek: A quick U turn (now standard practice on any trip I lead, but we can U turn with the best of them I can tell you:D) saw us back tracking for about 5 k’s to the correct turn off. Finally we were on the right road and it wasn’t long before we had left the hard top and were airing down ready for the imminent action. The great thing about Beerwah State Forest is that it changes so much every time you go there and for the more fool hardy drivers of the club, this makes for some exciting driving!!
From where we air down, the tracks drops relatively steeply onto the main power line track and with a tight right hand turn drops even more steeply into the basin of the rainforest. There are some daunting mud shoots which you simply have to pick your gear, stick your wheels in the ruts and let the car drive down. About 3 mud drops in and we came across our first “puddle”. A quick assessment by all and it was decided the left hand side was the best option. So with the winch controller in hand and a winch point rigged on the other side, I was first in. Thankfully, with the excellent overhang design of the ARB winch bar and with the 45 degree entrance angle, I managed to plough the first couple of feet off the bottom of the muddy puddle:(……on purpose of course to make sure the following cars would have an easier run through the puddle:cool: All good though and the trusty D2 sailed through and out the other side albeit carrying a couple of kilos of clay in the winch bracket! Guy G next and again no trouble getting through. The 109 next and as both Guy and I had managed to successfully navigate through the left hand side; Eric decided the right hand side was the best option:twisted: It was a tad deeper, but thankfully he also sailed through without any trouble as did Dranged and Stikman.
Onto the next section which is easily one of my most favourite tracks around just now. It’s a relatively steep off camber clay uphill section which all up goes for about ½ a k. With all the rain and with other people driving it, the only option is to put your wheel into the ruts and drive, so with both lockers in, I was first head up. The first section is literally a 45 degree side angle, which then switches across a rutted cross axle section over to another 45 degree angle on the driver’s side. This continues for a while with a couple of wheel stands here and there and eventually pops you out onto the flat before the 2nd part of this track which is even more extreme. Guy did his very best to claw his way up this track, but being unlocked puts a lot of strain on the cars drive line so it was decided to attach a snatch to Justin and have him pull Guy up the first section……..this was achieved effortlessly without the izuzu wincing once. So onto the final section of this track and again I was first up. More of the same slippery clay so wheels I ruts was the go and the near the top is a series of rock steps which are very greasy due the clay stuck in the treads of the tyres. With a bit of guidance and a couple of wheel stands, the D2 made it up and had me just wanting to turn around and do it all again:D:D
Next we had Stikman up who managed no problem apart from trying to show off by trying to find grip on a near vertical slope on the driver’s side……this saw him slip rather violently into the rut with an almighty bang as the side of his car slammed against the side wall…….this is why we do say some trips will result in panel damage:o:p Safely around this section and again another couple of wheel stands and he was up and safe. No problems for the other drivers with only guy having to be winched over the top rock section who had done extremely well to pilot the rangie to where he had with no lockers.
Around 12.30, we made it to the top of the ridge and stopped for lunch.
Lunch over and we headed off for more fun and it wasn’t long before we found some. The now famous hill where Justin detonated his diff the last time we were here now looked even more feral than it had and with the rain coming down in chunks, it was decided we would all take the “easy” track to the right. This easy track saw me breaking out the winch for the first time since fitting it and I’m pleased to say the cheapy Chinese winch did its job admirably:D No trouble for the rest of the drivers as they drove up the hill without the need for assistance, but with Justin vowing to drive his nemesis next time if it was dry!!
Within the rain coming down fast it was off again to the next section and after few wrong turns here and there, Stikman was complaining of a funny noise from his car. Turns out the nut holding his pinion into the diff decided it had had enough, so unwound itself. With me thinking this was the end of our day, Justin and Eric had other ideas and came to the rescue. We had Stikman back up and running with 4 wheel drive within about 30 mins:D Still amazes me how each time we have what looks like a disaster on our hands, just needs a bit of knowledge a couple of spanners and it’s back to normal again!!
With Stikman smiling again, it was off to find some more. We managed to find Big Red and wisely decided it was simply not drivable in the wet and was even horrific in the dry, so off down Ho Chi Min which was in itself interesting due the wet. All down safely with Eric making noises about wanting to find some mud bogs:twisted: As I’m an obliging kind of bloke, I did find some small mud holes for Eric to play in…........and so it was Eric’s turn to pull out the winch:wasntme: He had bitten off a bit more than he could chew and found himself bogged to the chassis and going nowhere:p:p With the super speed of his winch though, he was out in no time and ready for the next bog!! Unfortunately the next bog was not so forgiving and although he will try and tell you I made him drive it, you would be hard pressed to stop him with the smile on his face at the time:wasntme::angel::D So a simple nose in the puddle and then the back end in…….well, that’s about as far as it went. Water pouring over the wheel arches as the engine struggled to pull forwards or back. A quick winch from Justin and the drowned 109 was plucked from the goop and stood motionless on the side of the track with a steady stream of brown water pouring from every conceivable part of the car:( Out with the WD40 and with no sign of life from the engine Patrick, Annika and Chloe set about making stick bridges over the smaller puddles…..Chloe however thought this was so yesterday and decided that jumping in all muddy the puddles was much more fun:D:D
Eventually Eric’s engine fired back into life just as it was getting dark so we were on the move again and looking for the exit……this found, it was back to camp for a well earned shower and beer. As Bolts had left Jeannie behind to read her book for the day, she had very nice prepared a damned good feed of marinated pork chops and salad……..beats packet pasta and stail bread rolls any day!!
Once we had eaten it was down to visit Justin and Eric and crew and sit for a few beers. A short time later, we were joined by Sledgehammer and Hoops and their better halfs for a few more beers and chat:D
All in all a great trip and an area we should really come back to as there are tracks all over the place. With some proper bread crumbing, there would be tracks for all levels up there and at only 1.5 hours away, could easily be a day trip for the club.
Thanks to all drivers for again making my day very easy and to Dranged for going TEC. Cheers to Bolts for being my navi and winch man……remember you rain jacket next time Bolts!!
Until the next trip……….aye, Mick