July 13, 2019 a/k/a TJ Forum Day at Rausch Creek
Really fun day with Reggie (
@jazngab) & Trevor (
@Camdenst) along with my
@Chris like buddy that, like
@Chris, is also named Chris, and like
@Chris also drives a (clears throat), JK
The main part of the video (starts at 2:23) is a trail 38C which I’ve only done once before, that rocky portion just before it was 38B which I had forgotten about & would’ve rather avoided but it went well. 38C is like a roller coaster, one minute your seatbelt is holding you from falling into the dash & the next you’re staring at the sky, repeat, sooo much fun. Look for the part in the middle where we go into the water very briefly, going down into that pit I’m pretty sure the front passenger flare is dunked in.
I think one of the trickiest things about the terrain here is the effort that goes into avoiding the omnipresent trees which often force you into lines you wouldn’t otherwise pick, most often when mixed with rocks – look for one section of the video were I squeeze through two trees & it looks like the opening is about an inch wider than the TJ.
Part of the video is Reggie yanking me out of a ditch, that was a stupid turn I took while aiming for a really cool hill climb, when I went down I could feel the shovel lop off the leading edge which was fine but going backwards the rear of the shovel dug in which made it tough to get back out. After that Trevor successfully got into the trail I was aiming for, though about a Jeep’s width to the right which was the smarter line. After the f-up my balls shriveled up & I passed on following him, pissed I didn’t get his run on video because it was really impressive – the LJ Rubihara is a monster & he really knows how to drive it. And kudos to Reggie who went everywhere on 31s, I’m always amazed how capable these TJs are in any configuration.
some other random photos:
Gotta feed the beast, around 6am
it's a beautiful drive to the park
arrival around 7:45am
hard to tell where the 'trail' even is sometimes
Trevor assessing the conundrum
Chris's turn to add two cents. Problem was my front bumper was gonna dig in with any more forward movement, only way out was from whence I came
while we were parked here an 'Offroad Consulting' green trail ride wagon train passed us by, looked to be around 20 Jeeps many of which were shiny new JLUs, really glad to see that people are buying those things & taking them out on the trails. They sure are beautiful vehicles though I'd opt for the two door version
As always I'm already looking forward to the next trip, not sure when that'll be but soon