Faubion Ranch 03/06

Text taken from my Blog: Playing with those other shifters on the floor

Well, I finally got a chance to get out in the dirt and put Ol' Blue through the paces. My Dad and I went out to Gordon's ranch to knock the cobwebs off the Jeeps. I led a small group through all the obstacles.

First up was the crowd favorite, "The Rock". The Rock is the staple of all Jeep outings. Is is a very short, but very steep, loose rocky climb. It looks really easy, but can be deceiving. My first attempt at it, I just spun tires. I rolled back and gave it a little more skinny pedal and managed to get up and over without much effort. Once I got to the top, I realized that I never engaged my front ARB locker. Which would explain the tire spin I experienced.

Then it was a trip over to "Double Take". This hill climb is aptly named Double Take because you have to get started up with a little bit of speed. Then at just the right moment, you have to slow down a bit for the Rock Crawling portion. Ol' Blue made it up without so much as spinning a tire. Which I was really impressed since I didn't air down at all. All four tires had 28 p.s.i. in them.

We then worked our way around meandering through some really simple but fun trails. We ended up at the the main obstacle. Gordon's Crack... No, I'm not talking about Gordon's plumber's crack. This is a nice little ledge notched out of the side of a hill. I was the first to ever conquer Gordon's Crack in the Big Wheel Jeep. I don't feel confident enough in the junkyard axles in Ol' Blue to give it a try. But my Dad did manage to make the 'Crack with little to no effort.

Afterward, we headed back to the tank to swap lies and eat some Elgin Sausage. I can't wait to get to go out again!