Maryland Creepers Fall Foliage Run
at Rausch Creek
October 30, 2004

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Our shanty town at camp site A

A picture to show off my tent and sleeping bag. I went into Eastern Mountain Sports and asked for help. I just told him that I knew nothing about camping and was concerned about getting wet. The guy there did not try to upsell me on anything I did not need and hooked me up with everything I needed. I ended up with a 20 degree sleeping bag and a 2 man tent with a full rain fly. Even with the cold and rain I managed to stay warm and dry.

Jake (evilpresence) high centered on his rear diff. His Jeep handled the trails well but the rear diff seemed to find every rock on the trail no matter where he pointed it. It was also cool following him on the trails and seeing the difference between long and short wheelbases. There were a lot of things that he struggled with that my TJ handled with ease, but then I had difficulties with stuff that his Jeep just walked up.

Another Jeep with it's rear diff high centered on the same stump. Maybe it's an XJ thing?

Jake flexed on a rock. This would have been an awesome picture, but I was too lazy to walk up and get a closer shot.

Will coming up a rocky hill on trail 12.

Will stuck on trail 12. The trail was rutted, muddy, and there was a big root right where he is stuck so most of us had some difficulty getting through it. I backed up to give him a strap and got myself stuck. After Jake pulled me free, we had to rig up two straps to get the length we needed to reach his Jeep. I could not get him loose so we ended up strapping Jake's XJ to my Jeep and try to use the both of us to get him rolling.

Will finally getting freed from the mud. After our daisy chain of Jeeps was unable to free him, this TJ (sorry dude, but I forgot your name) yanked him out easily.

Will jump starting his YJ yet again.

XJ after slipping off an obstacle. This rock was a bit of a tough climb and I had to be strapped to get over it. He was trying to get traction as he crested it and slid on the wet rocks. The Jeep went about two feet sideways and slid off the rocks that he was using to climb up.

As he went sideways he tipped and slid into this tree, which kept him from rolling over. It took us a good bit of time with the hi-lift to get him moved over and away from the tree. I am still really suprised that his window didn't bust out, but the only damage involved was a small ding in the body and a dent in the drip rail on the roof.

After all the sliding and tree, the Jeep was in a bad position to be able to get a good line over the rock. The rocks behind him wouldn't let him reverse and the rock was too tall to climb at the angle it was at. So, after much rock stacking here he is getting spotted as he finally gets over. It's amazing how a split second of bad luck can end up taking up so much time.

While we were messing around with the XJ, the rest of the group went on ahead. Somehow, this TJ managed to get a big rock wedged between the frame, transfer case and driveshaft. It managed to push the transmission sideways, breaking the transmission mount and bending up the motor bellhousing. They used a winch to pull the trans back close to where it should have been and held it in place with a ratchet strap. Then, as they tried to start it, the crank position sensor somehow got ground up and the Jeep wouldn't start. They ended up pulling it off the trail with AJ's beast and trailering it.

James' TJ on the left and mine on the right. He managed to get his two front wheels off the ground as he jumped it to where it was here.

Same as the last picture, but taken from the other side.

I climbed up a huge dirt mound to try and get a good shot of the group. Most of the vehicles in the group were close enough that they should have been visible in the shot, but the fog was just too thick.

Body damage on a Rubi on it's first trip out. The damage wasn't bad and it really doesn't show up well in the picture, but he managed to bend up his fender and flare. He made it through mud and over rocks all day, but this damage was from simply hitting a tree as he was turning around.

Jason's (Hubdeep) bottle opener on the side of his YJ. Luckily it was not damaged when he flopped it on it's side on a bypass.

The Possum Lounge at the hunt club. For $10 each we were fed hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, summer sausage, and some awesome baked beans. This hot meal was very welcome after being cold and damp all day.

My GPS track from this trip.

I showed up on Friday night after driving through some of the thickest fog I have ever seen. As it turned out, fog was a major theme of what should be renamed the 'Fall Fog-age Run'.

I would like to say thank you to all those who helped me get my tent set up in the dark. It was my first time camping and my first time setting up that tent. Even with all the rain, I managed to stay warm and dry.

After sleeping off a night of beer, fog and rain, we split up into groups. I managed to run my stocker through blue trails all day without any serious damage. The trails were very muddy from all the rain, but the fog lifted for a few hours and made for a beautiful day.
We ran trail 15 to 12 and finished up on 18.

After the club met up again, we were treated to an excellent meal at the local club. Afterwards we were able to return to camp and start a great bonfire. I'm not sure if it was the fire or the rum I was drinking, but it managed to get warm enough that I was able to sit in AJ's apare chair in a T-shirt, kick off my boots and socks, and still be very comfortable.

I owe a big thanks to everyone who set this up. It was an awesome time and I'll be back next year.