Jenolan Trip 18/12/2010

[Will2003tj]

SJC Jenolan Trip

Date: 18th December 2010

Meet: 0730hrs Richmond McDonalds

Attendees:
1. Mani - JK Unltd Red
2. Will 2003 TJ - TJ Wrangler Red
3. Scott Badman - XJ Cherokee Blue
4. Wolfe - XJ Cherokee Green
5. SteveC - Grand Cherokee Glod
6. Rob&Tanya - JK Unltd.Green
7. Miraz - JK 2 Dr CRD Black
8. Sebastian - TJ Wrangler White
9. Steve F - XJ Cherokee Green

The trip began with common early (too early) meet at Richmond McDonalds, at 0730 hrs. After everyone had arrived we realised that nobody was meeting us at Lithgow, and after making a quick decision we decided to head out a little further to Jenolan instead. We headed past mount Victoria, and onto Jenolan Caved road. After a quick pit / loo stop, and after some ‘Are we there yet?’ banter through the radio, we had arrived at the turnoff onto mini mini forest road.

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We stopped below our first obstacle to air down / disconnect and for some of us, to remove mudflaps that are likely to be damaged off-road. Ahead of us was a steep rutted climb which required solid traction and/or a fair deal of right-foot. For the jeeps equipped with lockers / traction control this proved to be a good test of their effectiveness.

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At the top of the hill was a steep left hand and sloped turn, with care needed not to rub on the surrounding trees, not that it would matter to some! Next up was some fun in some bog holes / muddy ruts. Wolfe tried to convince a couple of us to go in a deep bog hole, but after checking the water level, I’m glad I did! The meter long stick completely disappeared!

[Will2003tj]

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Next up for the day was a steep decent down what i believe is nick-named ‘slippery hill’, and after the rain we had encountered mid way through the day, it certainly live up to its name. This was defiantly a first gear low range decent been careful not to break traction or slip sideways. I realised here that mud-terrains really would have helped, especially for lateral grip under steering.

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Approaching around 1pm things really started to get interesting. On the approach back up slippery hill we were challenged with a steep rutty slope with some obstacles such as some deep nested boulders in the middle of the tracks. Miraz, Wolfe and SteveF made it up with ease with their 35’s+. This was fortunate as they would become the winching party, to assist those with limited diff clearance and traction. Slowly, and with some clever track building and rock placement, the underbody’s of smaller jeeps could be lifted over the progress hindering boulders.

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[Will2003tj]

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This final stage really pushed most of the vehicles and the drivers to the limits. Frustrations were heightened due to most vehicles not been suitable for the terrain, and not expecting a B/A trip. It really wasn’t anybody’s fault as nobody was anticipating the worsened track conditions. It shows how things can change and emphasizes the need for regular track updates.

I myself would assume that 33’ tyres and front / rear lockers would be required. The ascent became even more difficult after the heavy rain we experienced mid-afternoon. The rest of the time until approximately 5/5.30 consisted of rock lifting, track building, spotting and winching to get all jeeps to the exit at the top of the hill. This was a huge recovery effort and i am especially thankful for Wolfe, steveF and Miraz for hanging around to help get everyone out, even though they had commitments that night (hope forgiveness came easily!). This is what makes SJC. After preparing for the road, i, and i assume others arrived home at about 8pm. Muscles were sore the next day but it was worth it!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and i look forward to more wheeling in the new year!

Will2003tj

[Will2003tj]

All of the photo's:


Password for the picture album is 7073892

PM me if you want high res copies

http://s31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...%20Dec%202010/ (http://s31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/Will239/SJC%20Jenolan%20Caves%2018th%20Dec%202010/)



PM me if you would like to add your 2c to the report.


Cheers

[Wolfe]

thanks great report!