Great pics. Can't wait to see the rest.

AZScooby wrote:Great pics. Can't wait to see the rest.

X2! Talk about some fantastic shots!

Alan, we were tryin to keep moving for the sake of time. It's not common for us to wheel long trail on a Sunday. I just like that pic you got of TC..... pretty vertical.

I forgot you had a camera up there Scooby.... I knew Michael was up there too and his will be awesome, maybe another poster in my future?

Youtube was doing some "site maintenance" last night so it took forever to get the 3 vids I got uploaded.... only 20 more to go.

Great pics as always Michael..... lookin forward to more. From everyone.

Oh yeah, I wasn't crackin' on you, Sy, just explaining why the back of the back didn't get pics of the front of the pack. I am a HUGE fan of "keep 'em movin' baby". LOL

I've got a lot of the back end of Jon's rig, though, and I know all of Rick's stories now, including which plants are indiginous and which ones aren't. 8)

Wow! Sweet pics. Looks like a good time. Sorry I missed out.

OK. Where was I... oh yes, we had finally returned to camp from running SC. It's hot, we're dusty, and I wanted to go fishing. We noticed there were drop-ins to the Verde River on the way into camp, so we went exploring, looking for a non-posted River access.

We finally came upon a river access that was not posted and was open to general access (verified by a couple of local who said a mining company had purchased the land from a crazy lady after her 100 years of ownership was up... whatever, it wasn't posted, there were roads, and there were other people down there.)



Once at the river, some of the the boys decided to pose for a pic...



and then Mike farted.



Mike and Jonathan decided to swim and clean up. Jon has shorts. Mike didn't. I went fishing.





All in all the swimming / fishing portion turned into a modern day version of Lord of the Flies. Yes, Mike is in his undies. More on that later.

Daniel posted pics of me crossing the river earlier in this thread. I got a few shots of Bob crossing at the landing.







After we were all done swimming and fishing and (unfortunately for some, "frolicking"), Jonathan thought it would be a GREAT IDEA to take Mike's clothes and shoes and head back to camp. Really funny plan, except for the fact that I had a wet semi-naked man in my XJ on the ride back to camp. There was much ridicule, "water must be cold" jokes, etc... which lead to Mike violating my XJ in retaliation. I still cannot look at my Jeep the same way. There is a picture, but it shall remain hidden.

THAT being said, Mike was forced to walk into camp in nothing but his velvety locks of hair and his drawers. It was cold. HCR will never look at us again the same way. Sy. Andy. Tom. I sincerely apologize, but it had to be done. (editor's note: this is where the 'nekid pictures of Mike' jokes keep coming from.)

Here is a gratuitous campfire shot to get the mental image out of your minds...

So, the morning of day 2 dawned bright and early and not nearly as cold as morning one. After everyone had breakfast, T.C. sat in his castle and made fun of the grounders as they awakened and GRACIOUSLY provided me with hot, caffinated sustanance (thanks again for the coffee, my friend... and no I wasn't "running", I was "walking briskly" since it was so cold!) we were off to BC.

for my money's worth, I totally enjoyed both runs, but BC was more fun for my taste. Bigger waterfalls, closer obstacles, much more technical than SC, and just all around great trail from start to finish.

Just getting into the canyon was a challenge as there is a mighty hill you had to crawl through loose gravel and sand. Powering up it was not an option as you were just as likely to flip backwards as you were to dig in. slow and steady wins the race headed up this entry.





As soon as you entered the trail, you noticed the rocks were bigger and there was no "easy" path. Everything was up and over.







We had some quick, minor trail repair as a CV cap came off AZScooby's rig, but Sy had parts, Andy had know how, and we were up and running in under 15 minutes.



Sy makin' it look like a walk in the park...



and Jonathan crusin' right along

Let it be noted for the record, my favorite part of any trail are the waterfalls, and Brutal had 3 great ones. Sy, T.C., and Bob made short work of the first one.

T.C. put on a waterfall clinic, but we were all really careful to not scratch his soft top (or to tell him he only had 3 wheels on the ground while doing a statue of liberty!)

The approach (and realize, with T.C's lift and tires, he is not driving a short Jeep):





Work it up!





What the what?!?!?! LOL





Now we know how T.C. got his guns...

Next up (with a fierce look of determination on his face) was Bob.



I think he originally though the plan was to "jump the waterfall" like it was a ramp.



As cool as the other side of the pillow at all times...

After the 1st waterfall, the crew (along with the Holy Condiments) were back on the run with only a short breather between obstacles.



I think T.C. cheats and can actually levitate his Jeep using black magic.



Here his rig is lifting it's rear leg and getting ready to pee on Andy.



the Holy Condiments once again:



Bob humping and bumping. He's just got wicked flex.







Line and placement were a must have if you didn't want to get turtled or hung up.

Andy and Sy made short work on the little steps in between major obstacles with their driving skills and well built rigs.





Jonathan walkin' it up



Now we have gotten to the 2nd waterfall and AZScooby led the way!







there was even a nice little shaded place to eat, watch the action, and take pics!

Sy was next through the Gap. That little remote control truck of his will go anywhere.

(editor's note: if you scroll the next four pictures back and forth really quick on your computer monitor, it looks like he's climbing it in real time! Yes, it's been a long day...)









Third through the waterfall was T.C. showing everyone how the High Country Retirees (that's what HCR stands for, right?) get it done when it's time for business.

Fourth through was Bob.

As usual, Bob does everything in his own particular, um, "style". The man knows his rig and how to drive it is all I have to say. Everything you are about to see is intentional. Very few animals were harmed in the making of these photos. I do, however, believe Daniel chose to be absent from the vehicle during this climb. : )

All I can say is that Bob's a stud and I hate him and his fancy pants jeep.











Next up, the lower half of Team Yellowsub ~



I am quite handy at standing around and telling Jonathan he's not doing it right. That's my job.

FINALLY (after pilates and a PTA meeting), it was time for the minivan to try.









(somehow the picture of my getting strapped up was deleted from my camera. So, if there are no pics, it didn't happen, right?)

After the waterfall fun, there were a few minor issues with brake lines, etc... but for the most part, just rock crawlin' our way out of BC.







(Nom Nom Nom... I'm going to EAT YOU)



I will let Jonathan tell you the story of this one if he so chooses, but let's just say it reminded some of us of the scene in Austin Powers where they got the golf cart stuck sideways in the hallway. I still don't know how he managed this...



And that concluded BC. There was another little hill climb out, then back to camp.

All in all a wonderful day with good friends new and old, a challenging and technical trail for all to enjoy, waterfalls, rocks, and Jeeps. What else could a person ask for?

The drive out was nice. There are tons of great buildings along the way:



Beautiful main street in Cottonwood:



The corner where Bob and I turned tricks on Saturday night:



Once we were back in town, it's was time for all the TJ's lift their skirts and flash everyone:



Naturally, a trip to AutoZone was in order.

Jonathan had to fix a break line issue, Bob did something, and then helped Avis with a CV joint on his tow rig.

I aired up and served as an achor point for the said tow rig at times...











and then on the way out of town (gassing up, pooping, getting food), I decided to park next to a poor stock XJ
(just to make it sad and to make the soccer mom it belonged to sob quietly in her stock XJ prison.)



and then it was an uneventful trip back down into the Valley of the Sun to shower, shave, and enjoy the memories of a great weekend of wheelin.

Good stuff i really enjoyed yer company ....T.C.

alanzona wrote:
Once we were back in town, it's was time for all the TJ's lift their skirts and flash everyone:

Lol. GREAT job Alan on the timeline pics and captions. 8)