Harlan: Trail Report included

[Hagan34]

Friday was an Early start for the guys coming from Indy, 5 am I believe? didn't hear any stories being told about the trip south so I feel safe to assume nothing went on.

Meet up at McD's in Lexington and set forth to Harlan (black bear Capitol of Kentucky) around 2.30 we arrived and made camp. Got are bearing and set out on a late afternoon trail ride. After a couple dead end trails we finally made are way in to the main part of the park.

we quickly made the Lower rock garden look like sand box, , with the way mine and Bears clutches were smoking you would have thought we were trying to rock crawl in 4 hi. After we made it look easy up rolls 2 Toyota buggies and a FJ80 on Volvo Military Portals, At which time Bear and I realized how hard we had made it looked as they rolled through slowing down only to ask how we were doing and where we were from.

From there we went to the top of Rail Bed and showed Bear, Brinner, and Token Jeep Dave, Coyote Camp Site. Here we watched a Propane'd Bag'd Link'd Dana 60, rear steer TJ on 40's come out the end of Rail Bed with a Toyota 4Runner close behind. After chatting with the guys form the NC krawlers we headed in to town to top off with gas and see some of the local eateries.

At this point everyone made it clear that it had been a long day and dinner wasn't going to cook itself so we headed back in to the park, taking a different route back to the our camp, mean that is why we went to run trails. as the sun was quickly setting over the tall Harlan Mountains we mad are down Trail 15. Trail 15 runs along the top of the north eastern Corner of the park, with views that are second to none in this part of the country. as we made are way off of 15 and to the cross roads that would lead us back to camp, we ran in to a Side-by- side that the owner of the Camp Grounds was on, as we chatted he mentioned that there was a Hill climb there by were we had set up camp and who ever was the first to make it to the top got to name it * (remember this for later)

Finally back at we broke out the Hot Dogs, Hamburger, and Frosty Brew. We all had a great time telling "war" stories, but with it know pushing ever so close to the morning hours we called it night.

[Hagan34]

Saturday we, well everyone but me, got up early had some very taste egg and Bacon Tortilla made by Bear (still cant get over Dave yelling "Mike I'M licking your Tortilla")

As I waited for a couple more Ky chapter members to show Brinner was scouting out his first adventure for the day. As the other guys show up we started wrenching on my truck, seems that Power Steering Return hose and Super Charger pulleys don't play well together. As I "Borrowed" Bears Dave to help fix my problem. Brinner had decided to give the hill challenge a name, well almost. Brinner is rear bumper to a tree, Hoss is hooked to him by winch line and snatch block. all is good till the winch line unravels from the end. as Dave reattaches the line. rest of us start working on how to Hoss out of the ditch that at the start of this climb. With a quick tug from a winch Hoss was freed from the grasp of the no name hill climb (made for a great pic of 2 05 DC's). In pulls Bear and Dave starts to work on getting Brinner off the tree and back on to the trails. As luck would have it 10ft from getting the cable hooked up Bears winch unravels from the end. so again Dave is working getting a winch line back on the reel. while Dave is busy doing this Brinner decided that he didn't want to replace yet another passenger side tail light so we were going to need to pull his rear end off the tree. so after the winch is back up and running a short pull forward and a side step of the tree we were able to get everyone off the hill with no no name.

as lunch time was approaching we finally head out on to the massive trail system. first to hit a couple warm up trails, every thing is going great till Bears U-Bolts work loss and the rear axle beings moving forward, or has we now call it the Kentucky effect, as this only happens when Bear come to Kentucky to wheel. after a quick trail side repair the group was back under way and head for the upper rock garden/ can opener. OK OK I wanted to go there and try out the SAS. and new it was on the way to couple nice trails. After Dave spotted me through with only some minor Paint scuffs, busted tail light and a bent D44 Upper link mount. It was discovered that Bear had busted a hub and it was discussed that we go back to camp and drop off Bears rig. I trustingly left my Rig in the hands of the group rode with Bear as Brinner followed (hes got 3 seats) on the way Bears U blots loosen again, causing the center pin to snap and the pinion angle shim to fall out.

After making it back to the group we headed out to Lions Den, on the way Token Jeep Dave sliced a sidewall on something and we quickly changed to the spare. once at the Lions Den we walked through it and determined that we all like our trucks the way Toyota Designed the body lines and opted out on this obstacle.

we then trekked to the scenic over look, once there pictures were taking and some one may have said something about Kentucky being Gods Country

Started back towards Camp for dinner only to stop on some hill climbs to let Brinner play as i found a pill of Rocks to climb, and almost flop on. nothing a winch cant fix. not long after we got back to camp a buggies come up the road and look over the hill climb challenge the driver decided that we couldn't make it up it. but when some of the ATVs guys started talking money and getting out to back it up he changed his mind. "i only got to get to that 1st ledge and were good, the 200 is mine?". "Hell I'll try that!" Next thing you know there's dirt flying and that buggy took off like a rocket sled on rails. he was looking good for the 1st 1ooft then the ass end broke lose, went left, then right then left again and a roll and half later came to stop on the passenger side. we all pitched in to get it righted and off the hill. the guys we great sports about it and still got the money for the great show and only came about 5 ft short of where the beat was too. after the excitement was over we headed back to camp for Steaks, Baked Potatoes, and Grilled Onions. and of course brew of choice. Bear and Brinner were at home with their native Texas brew Shinner Bock. Has the fire got bigger so did the lies. I tell you Fisherman have nothing on 4 Wheelers.

[Hagan34]

Sunday Camp was broke down and the Indiana Guys and Hoss headed home. Steve and I stuck around for some more wheeling and lunch at the Corner Cafe. after lunch we aired up and made the 20 min trip around the mountain instead of the 45 min trip over it. Broke camp and head home our selfs.



Sorry for the long post but there was a lot that went on this weekend

Carnage Report

Bear: Hub, rear leaf center pin, burnt/ glazed clutch
Brinner: Front left fender, and I can only imagine the number of teeth rattled loose on the ride home
Dave: Sidewall sliced
Steve: pinched inner tube, couple of new dents
Hagan: Toasted power steering pump, bent Dana 44 upper link bracket, toasted throw out bearing, leaky rear axle seal, small scuffs from rocks and busted tail light lens.


All in All I know i had a great time and I believe every one else did also. Thanks Indiana Chapter for being great guest!

[Sweendogie]

sounds fun to me

[Fuod]

[ron86toy]

Originally Posted by Drunken Cricket

x2

[Hagan34]

pictures are slowly being uploaded, here http://ImageEvent.com/hagan/harlaninkyttora , there will 105 there when they all get uploaded.

[Bear]

Originally Posted by Drunken Cricket

Well believe it or not…being the "photographer" that I am, I actually remembered my camera this time!























but I forgot the film

But Hagan was gracious enough to become the "token model" on most of the obsticals and lent me his camera to use most of the weekend! I believe he is working on getting them on line as we speak. Now just don't tell any of my photography buddies that I actually used a Canon camera this weekend instead of my beloved Nikon brand!

[Bear]

105? doing some tight editing huh? I thought you took that many of just my truck in the rock garden. and I know I took about that many of just you in the middle rock garden.

remember I want cd copies of everything, including Hoss' video if possible.

[Full_Tilt_Fud]

It was an ok trip........kinda dissappointed though..........it seemed like every trail was either so easy you could run them in 2wd (we ran more than 1 level 4 in 2wd) or they were so tough you needed 1 ton axles and 40's......with the exception of rail bed........we did not find anything that was inbetween......we did do some exploreing and found a mine worker and in bullshiting with him it sounds like there may be some very positive things comeing for the park in the future......and I will agree that the views were sweet.


And y'all should have came up to the ohio sit saturday night........we burnt three truck loads of woof and a very large wooden spool.......not to mention the fun baloons that the camp owner brought us

[Full_Tilt_Fud]

Oh and as far as carnage goes........I dented my gas tank (not bad), bent my sliders some more, and for some reason my truck has one hell of a pull to the right now........but nothing major.

[Bear]

when do you think the rest of the 105 will be up? I only see 18 so far. and most of them are of that damn poser in the vinyl invested gold truck!

[Hagan34]

Originally Posted by Bear

when do you think the rest of the 105 will be up? I only see 18 so far. and most of them are of that damn poser in the vinyl invested gold truck!

well its taking between 6-10 mins per pic and i can upload 2 at a time. yeah there were alot that were really close to being the same. I can post more There were only 486 pic taken so i guess i did cut alot of them out. LOL
I'll go back through after this get loaded.

[Bear]

I was just giving you a hard time. I do appreciate you letting me use your camera though!

on the amount of photos you have compared to the amount you intend to post: I once had a college professor tell my class, that for every one shot that lands in a news paper…that photographer on average shot 7 rolls of "film" to get that one shot! so judging by that theory, we were actually ahead of that game. we shot the equalivant of 13.5 rolls of film, so in reality we should have only got 1.75 photos worth posting! so you did better than the average photo journalist.

and yes, we already had that discussion about "film"

[Hagan34]

Originally Posted by Full_Tilt_Fud

It was an ok trip........kinda disappointed though..........it seemed like every trail was either so easy you could run them in 2wd (we ran more than 1 level 4 in 2wd) or they were so tough you needed 1 ton axles and 40's......with the exception of rail bed........we did not find anything that was in between......

I find this hard to believe, I have ran Rail Bed and with 2.5" of lift and locked in the rear it was far from easy or undo able. as for the other Class 4 trails Mason Jar, the lower rock garden, and the class 4s around the middle fork are not easy either. with as much trouble as you all had with reading the map are you sure you all were where you thought you all where.

I agree there not all lot there between the level 3 (couple inch lift) and the Class 5 (Locked, lifted, Body armor/ no body, and 37"s) but its still a newer park. and to say you rolled through all the "harder" trails is just unbelievable to me.

[Hagan34]

Originally Posted by Bear

we shot the equalivant of 13.5 rolls of film

And didnt cost me a Dime

Originally Posted by Bear

so in reality we should have only got 1.75 photos worth posting! so you did better than the average photo journalist.

and to think i wasnt the one to get that 1 photo either

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q...nJuly07058.jpg

[Hagan34]

Looks like im not the only one that had problems with the AP 3 link this weekend

check this out All-Pro 3 Link

[Bear]

I need to loose some weight!

Oh! also need to revise the carnage report! I didn't blow a hub…it is something internal in the front axle. Not sure if is an easy fix such as a bearing or something major yet such as gears. But I can definitely hear that "noise" when I rotate the axle shaft while sitting under the truck, with the hubs free!

[Bear]

Ouch! that coil over is a minimum $350 to replace. not sure what brand it is, but hopefully he can get the shaft replaced.

[ohio03trdtaco]

Originally Posted by Hagan34

I find this hard to believe, I have ran Rail Bed and with 2.5" of lift and locked in the rear it was far from easy or undo able. as for the other Class 4 trails Mason Jar, the lower rock garden, and the class 4s around the middle fork are not easy either. with as much trouble as you all had with reading the map are you sure you all were where you thought you all where.

I agree there not all lot there between the level 3 (couple inch lift) and the Class 5 (Locked, lifted, Body armor/ no body, and 37"s) but its still a newer park. and to say you rolled through all the "harder" trails is just unbelievable to me.

I ran a couple of level 4's with them and can advise that they weren't tough. Rail bed was the worst I saw and well my rig wasn't going there. Witch was proved to be a good idea. We didn't run all the level 4 trails though and maybe there were some tougher ones. As for level 3 no lift need just bud built and sliders will do. I had a good time all in all. I understand it is a newer trail head and will need more time to develop.

[Full_Tilt_Fud]

Originally Posted by Hagan34

I find this hard to believe, I have ran Rail Bed and with 2.5" of lift and locked in the rear it was far from easy or undo able. as for the other Class 4 trails Mason Jar, the lower rock garden, and the class 4s around the middle fork are not easy either. with as much trouble as you all had with reading the map are you sure you all were where you thought you all where.

I agree there not all lot there between the level 3 (couple inch lift) and the Class 5 (Locked, lifted, Body armor/ no body, and 37"s) but its still a newer park. and to say you rolled through all the "harder" trails is just unbelievable to me.

The class 3 stuff........from what I seen was stocker with all terrain tires easy........like Eric said he followed us everywhere and aside from smacking his skid plate a couple times it was nothing.......the only reason i would shift into 4wd is for low range compression braking going down hill.....if I had a twin stick I would have never used 4wd.

RailBed was fun......it was all I could do to get up it with 2" lift, 32's and a rear locker.......but I did make it sans winch or strap........and never dented the truck once which amazed be cause of how tight it is.

We never went to Mason Jar.........after running a couple of level 4's (they were on the map as 4's and the signs at the entrance said level 4) in 2wd and haveing Eric in his bone stock truck not even struggle we decided it was not worth it to drive way over there..........guess we should have checked it out.

Maybe we did miss out on some stuff.......but by day 2 we were getting pretty good with the map and could get around.......I don't know......from what I seen if I am gonna drive that far i am gonna keep right on going down 75 and drive the extra few hours to Tellico.......the campgrounds, trails and everything are well worth it.

[Bear]

Well I enjoyed myself on the level threes, level twos, and level fours that we made.

I have always gone by the premis of a trail is what you make of it! you can make it hard or you can make it easy. I am thankful that everyone seemed to have a good time and other than Hagan and myself, there was little damage done! Dead ends and all included

I see the "new" park has a lot of potiential. I would not hesitate to go back, but maybe next time I will take my own trailer!

I can't comment on the compression between Harlan and Tellico, I have never been to the ladder. but to me anytime you can get out of town, off the pavement, wheel, and be around good company is a great way to spend a weekend!

[Full_Tilt_Fud]

I understand that it is fairly new........and like I mentioned ealier.......after bs'ing with the mineing guy..........there could be some really big things comeing.

And I totally agree.......anytime you can get away from town and spend time relaxing with friends is well worth it.......and I had fun........it is just not on my short list of places I want to go back to.....personal preferance I suppose.

[ohio03trdtaco]

Originally Posted by Full_Tilt_Fud

I understand that it is fairly new........and like I mentioned ealier.......after bs'ing with the mineing guy..........there could be some really big things comeing.

And I totally agree.......anytime you can get away from town and spend time relaxing with friends is well worth it.......and I had fun........it is just not on my short list of places I want to go back to.....personal preferance I suppose.

That guy was cool. If they get all that land like he said the mines were trying to give them it will at least double the place.

[Full_Tilt_Fud]

I know.....7200 acres is alota ground