Little Stoney Sat 7/26 & Trail Report

[SamuraiGuyTN]

I've decided to bail on the Harlan trip. my friend that was gonna be riding shotgun doesn't know if he will make it and my wife was quick to pipe up and took dibs if he doesn't go. But she isn't good for long trips on a whim. SO I wanna do something local. Plus There are a few things I wanna keep playing with on my sami.

So if anyone wants to go or still go from when I first mentioned a trip, let me know. we can meet at the grocery store at 9 am and hit the trail no later then 10.

I'll be on a couple times today to see if anyones interested.

[Adurbin]

You should ride bumpus with us on Sunday.

[SamuraiGuyTN]

Can't, I will be flying back to ATL for work in the morning.

[Hokie_YJ]

Harlan isn't a long trip. I can be there in just a few minutes more than it would take me to get to Stoney.

[aclokwerk]

how difficult is this trail i go up to the blue hole all the time but not very off road experienced and would like to start with something somewhat easier... i also have a stock 08 x so not sure if i could make it just curious thanks...

[Gordon]

Stony is just that - lots of rock, but not terribly difficult. The road to Blue Hole (Panhandle) is a gravel road. The trail actually starts down by the airport, goes up to the towers, then down, via Panhandle.

From the pic I saw of your rig, it'll do fine, however, Stony has laurels, which could cause you to pick up Appalachian Pin Striping.

Where have you wheeled so far? Might be easier to compare for you if we knew a bit about what you have done.

[aclokwerk]

well the one real 4 wheeling trip was to what i call bumpus cove near the washington county dump in johnson city heres a pic it was not really that rocky more rutted out and such

http://my.project-jk.com/data/1236/medium/IMG_0055_copy_copy.jpg

[Gordon]

Here's a link to some short videos taken at Stony last summer.

Lil Stoney 9-29-07 pictures by babyjeepwoman - Photobucket

[aclokwerk]

so the food city in elizabethton at 9 am? im there

[Gordon]

I'm in for this one.

[Gordon]

Nick & Paige, Eric, Don, and myself met up at about 0900. Nick blessed the ride and we headed on up to the T/H. Weather was overcast, and although there were just a few drops here and there, no rain fell.

After Nick offloaded his rig, we headed on up. Nick had a little overheating going on, which turned out to be a broken fan belt, so after that repair, we pressed on.

No carnage, but the JK guys were plagued with laurels. Of course, Nick's and my paint jobs have seen enough rash, to us it didn't matter. As usual at Stony, the laurels were thick, plus a bit heavy from previous rain.

The trip was routine, no issues, and all rigs did just fine on the trails. Eric did great on his first assault at trail riding, too.

We stopped at the Hilton so Don could remove a 2" branch that found its way up and under his JK and we had some great fellowship, then headed down Panhandle and out.

All in all, a great day. I think Eric got a few pics, too.

[SamuraiGuyTN]

That Branch was an under statement. it was jammed in for over half the vehicle and the removal was tedious to say the least until Don brought out his cordless drill with a 3/4? drill bit. it was funny watching the saw dust fly.

As far as my over heating, yeah it was the belt and once replaced the temp stayed firm, so I was pleased. And the sami went were ever I pointed it.

Eric did very well for a newby to the sport. Handled spotting tips well too. Glad he came along.

All in all a very blessed day.

[JKcaveman]

I had a blast, even with the log and pin stripping. I'm learning half the fun is coming up with the fixes. The pin stripping wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I'll vouch for using ICE.
You guys probably taught McGiver what he knows.
Great meeting Paige, Nick and Eric.

[aclokwerk]

I had an awesome time it was a great ride, I was glad to put faces with names, and meeting everyone as well and learning how to tackle the trails. Will defiantly be going back out perhaps something less technical? But without you guys guiding me I’d still be up there trying to get up the mtn.

as far as "Natures own pin-striping" I rinsed the jeep didn’t notice too many , but that was thanks to don riding in front of me and clearing all the braches out of the way, and my Jeep thanks you as well. I kept wondering why he was stopping. Then I’d see his hand reaching out the window snapping branches.

BTW that was more like a small tree stuck under dons JK it was 3” or 4” diameter. It kind of scared me when I saw it hanging underneath; it kind of looked out of place. From a distance it looked like a drive shaft.

You guys were awesome helping me learn how to handle the jeep, need to give it more gas....I was always scared of the second rock not the one I was hanging up on...I’m way to use to street driving.

More things to add to the to do list... I will mod but it will take time. I’m kicking around the idea of picking up a friends Cherokee to wheel with, as the x is a daily driver.

I got a couple of good photos, Thanks Paige, as well as a video of Gordon on pinto hill, it took me 5 min and Gordon 30 seconds…I need more experience, and to stop worrying so much.

I’ll try and upload those photos later tonight, Gordon pm me your email and ill send you the video. Thanks again.

[aclokwerk]

here they are sorry for the wait....

http://my.project-jk.com/data/1372/thumbs/IMG_00844.jpg (http://my.project-jk.com/showphoto.php?photo=27878)

http://my.project-jk.com/data/1372/thumbs/IMG_0078_copy.jpg (http://my.project-jk.com/showphoto.php?photo=27874)

http://my.project-jk.com/data/1372/thumbs/IMG_0087_copy_copy.jpg (http://my.project-jk.com/showphoto.php?photo=27877)

http://my.project-jk.com/data/1372/thumbs/IMG_0073.jpg (http://my.project-jk.com/showphoto.php?photo=27873)