Pennsylvania Rausch Creek Rides

I'm planning on Rausch the following weekend, the 18th
Famous Reading the 26th
Southington Feb 1
All weather dependent of course.. And if the Jeep's not broken
Well, I don't have 4wd. Got everything put back together this weekend but left the front drive shaft out so I could dial in everything on rear after TT with MML. Dialed in tonight with no vibes so went to put my front drive shaft in and....it's too short by 1 1/2"-2". Don't think I'll be able to get it lengthened by Sat. I could still run in 2wd but don't want to be a burden. Thoughts?
 
I do have 4.5" front springs I have yet to out on. I have 5.5" now, so maybe that 1" lower will help with DS length. I will change them out tomorrow to see. I already changed rear out this past weekend.
 
As of right now, I'm a go for Rausch on the 18th. Looks like about 36* with a chance of a passing snow shower. Might be a good chance for some "winter wheeling" pics.
AOAA was a blast today!!!
 
Here's a few. AOAA 1/11/20

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UPDATE! With the snow forecast for Saturday, we've postponed until SUNDAY the 19th. I plan to be on site by 0830.

man great pictures of AOAA, I love that place, it's becoming my preferred destination. I just looked at the forecast for Rausch, they're only calling for one inch of snow at this point turning to rain as the day goes on. Keep in mind though that it'll be a salt festival to/from, & if that pattern shifts there could be a few inches up there in the mountains & with the condition of Rausch it'll be treacherous wheeling. There have been biblical rains up there over the past couple years which have reshaped everything, many trails have increased in difficulty as a result. Add snow to the mix & ...

I'd love to join you but I'm hiding from the salt these days. Our forecast here in West Chester PA (about 75 miles south of Rausch) is for 3-5 inches on Saturday (plus 1-2 inches of salt :LOL:). Seriously that could mean anywhere from a dusting of snow to 9 inches, that's about how accurate they are. Either way the salt brigade will descend upon all of SE PA, it'll look like one giant rim of a margarita glass.
 
Now the projected delivery date for my driveshaft to even make it to Tom Woods is the 24th instead of today the 21st. It's sat at the UPS facility in Illinois for 5 days. I called Tom woods and they're going to see what they can do if anything. 2-3 weeks for delivery is ridiculous. SMDH.

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  • Wow
Reactions: jazngab
AOAA: At this point there is no set date to open until Governor lifts the ban.

With the COVID-19 outbreak the AOAA has made the very tough decision to close until further notice. We are taking an over abundance of caution for the safety of our riders, the staff and families of the AOAA. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.


Rant:

I regularly check in on the websites of both parks I frequent to see if they’re open & above is the message from AOAA, Rausch has a similar one.

I understand it, generally speaking off-roading is not ‘essential’, at least in the life or death sense anyway. But what I don’t get is the buckshot approach in closing everything that’s non-essential even if it poses no risk, & I believe off-roading easily falls into that category. Certainly at first it made sense as it was a bit of a panic situation. But we’ve had plenty of time to think about all of this & it no longer makes any sense to keep these places closed. The only time I’d normally get within even 10 feet of someone up there in the mountains is when I’d walk into the little office trailer to pay the entry fee, which can easily be done online, & from that point forward the only people I’d come anywhere near are buddies I’m wheeling with when we stop for lunch but that could easily be modified just like we do everything else these days. I guess perhaps in a real hairy recover situation two people might ‘have to’ be close to one another, but maybe not even then.

By keeping these parks closed the government is telling me that while they trust me to stay 6+ feet away from people at 'essential' stores and/or out walking around the neighborhood, somehow I'm incompetent to do the same thing INSIDE my Jeep in the mountains where the bears outnumber the humans?

Granted PA is part of the epicenter of this mess but still, maybe its time for the Governor in PA (& everywhere) to begin looking at businesses that can effectively open with no risk regardless of the overall situation in that state. If a given activity is safe, it's safe, and banning it isn't helping anything. I’m exposed to far more people in the 20 minutes it takes me to go grocery shopping every weekend than I’d see in 12 hours in the mountains, & when in the mountains I’m nowhere near those people I see unlike the store.

I think starting to look at ground level businesses like these off-road parks that could open safely & start moving the economy forward again makes perfect sense.

But of course I’d say that, I own the greatest off-road vehicle ever made 😁

End Rant.

For now the closest I get is looking at a picture of my rig at AOAA hanging on the wall at my office.

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