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Re: 2008 Meet ....... Afterwards

Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 6:40 pm
by Frankenstein
Myers wrote:Thanks Frankenstein, pretty bad when a guy in the Netherlands has to help an Okie post something done in the U.S.
Isn't the internet a wonderful invention :D Looks like you guys had a great time!

Re: 2008 Meet ....... Afterwards

Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 7:27 pm
by Myers
More pics.
Myers

Re: 2008 Meet ....... Afterwards

Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 7:36 pm
by Myers
More pics.
Myers

Re: 2008 Meet ....... Afterwards

Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 8:34 pm
by Glen Friesen
looks like a whole lot of fun. I can't believe I missed the Canadian meet, and it was in my own old back yard. Ah well, and still no baby so I would have had time to go...

Re: 2008 Meet ....... Afterwards

Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 9:02 pm
by Myers
More pics,
Myers

Re: 2008 Meet ....... Afterwards

Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 10:46 pm
by deimos_jr
Does anyone know where Steve is? Did he make it home o.k.?

Re: 2008 Meet ....... Afterwards

Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 11:22 pm
by Rick Friesen
Hey, those are great pictures, you can never have to many. I'll try and get some more up later this week when I'm more awake!

Re: 2008 Meet ....... Afterwards

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 4:45 am
by Myers
Hi, Jr. Believe Steve and family were going to spend more time in Canada before going home.

Myers

Re: 2008 Meet ....... Afterwards

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 5:07 am
by Myers
More pics.

Myers

Re: 2008 Meet ....... Afterwards

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 5:31 am
by Myers
Last pics from Myers.

Steve, Smuz, etc, etc. I posted a lot of pics. If too many feel free to delete or tell me and I will do it.
Again, the meet was a blast.

Myers

Re: 2008 Meet ....... Afterwards

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 7:56 am
by Jimny
Oh man I am so jealous! That is the exact type of trails I like doing, long steep hills and water to cross! I wish I could have gone, :Crying: if I did actually got to go then I would have been wishing that I had my own LJ there...







Great pics Myers and we are not going to delete a ONE of them.

Re: 2008 Meet ....... Afterwards

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 3:16 pm
by Ruby
Little video clip, saved it sideways for some reason. :?

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid= ... qgO-66mGCw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: 2008 Meet ....... Afterwards

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 6:06 pm
by Myers
Ruby, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, That was a great surprise to get on a late Sunday afternoon. Did not know anybody did that.

Thanks again, Myers

Re: 2008 Meet ....... Afterwards

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 6:17 pm
by Suzy
Hey that river is flowing up hill !! :)

Re: 2008 Meet ....... Afterwards

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 10:30 pm
by Ruby
Myers wrote:Ruby, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, That was a great surprise to get on a late Sunday afternoon. Did not know anybody did that.

Thanks again, Myers
No problem, it was Roseanne that took the video.

Re: 2008 Meet ....... Afterwards

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 11:02 am
by flea
wow guys.....


maybe when i retire i can afford one of those and have time to do that.


y'all sure know how to leave .US drooling !!!


smuz, i never realized you had friends besides .US !!!! LOL j/k


:hail: :hail: :hail: :hail: :hail: :suz:

Re: 2008 Meet ....... Afterwards

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 12:11 pm
by stevec
We had a pretty good turnout - 9 rigs were represented at the meet, though only 7 rigs were actually there (Rick had trailer issues, so he just drove his Toyota, and my parents elected to not tow their LJ20 behind their motorhome). We had 3 LJ10's (Smuz's Wilson, redsnodog, and one of mine), 2 LJ20's (Myers "O" and my "V"), and two LJ80V's (Ruby and woodchopper), and Rick took his 4Runner out with us on Sunday. It was great seeing everyone there - most of the people I had met before, but Jim (redsnodog) and Carole (Mrs. redsnodog) and Phil (woodchopper) were first timers. Great to meet you all!

We arrived a bit later than planned, about 2:00pm Friday, due to getting a late start out of Lake Louise, staying at Lake Louise Thursday instead of Banff, and having to stop in Canmore longer than expected, to find a valve for the black tank on my parent's motorhome. We turned off Hwy 1A to Road 40, and saw a highway sign: Nordegg, 266km. I couldn't believe anyone would drive up this little road 266km, and was even more surprised after it turned to a nasty wasboard dirt road after the first 20km. The speed limit was still 80km/h (about 50mph), but I slowed down to 20mph, and still almost vibrated the LJ10 off the back of the trailer. We saw Jim and Carole on the paved portion of the road, they were heading back to Cochrane for supplies, and stopped at the information kiosk to remove the LJ10 from the trailer and start posting signs. While there, we had lunch, and Smuz showed up - he had arrived a couple of hours earlier, and was scouting campsites. We decided to camp in the campground, as the group sites all required reservations, and the campground was still fairly empty.

I gave the rest of the signs to Smuz so he could post more, finished lunch, and we headed up, stopping a couple more miles up the road when a taillight fell off the trailer. Once in camp, I went to unload the LJ's, only to find the fuel pump was bad on the V. It had run fine all spring, but I had trouble getting it on the trailer, and it wouldn't start at all. I had an electric pump in the toolbox, so I just put it on (thanks for the wire Larry!) Meanwhile, Jim and Carole showed up and set up next to us. Larry showed up later in the afternoon, and woodchopper and Ruby showed up about 11:30 Friday night. My roll of duct tape got a lot of use that day - first it was "cooler repair tape", as Jim put it, then two girls camping nearby needed it to patch their air mattress, then Smuz used it to refasten Wilson's front bumper.

Saturday we had a leisurely breakfast, then headed out for the trail. We went about 1/4 mile before finding the river. My map didn't seem to indicate a river crossing here, so we proceeded along the river until the trail ended. We backtracked a couple of times, and finally found where to cross. Woodchopper walked it first to see how deep it was, and we determined that the LJ's would make it, so we crossed. The LJ20V, being the shortest of the group on 165R15 tires, got water on the hood, but all rigs made it across without incident.

A few hillclimbs, a few more (easier) water crossings, and some great scenery marked the day, and the trails were mostly dry except a few mudholes that we tried to avoid. I was leading, with my wife behind me in the V, so I was picking the easiest lines so she could follow. The one "stuck" is when the trail split. I thought I had picked the easier route, as the other side was deeply rutted, but upon cresting what I thought was a small (6") ridge, my front tire plunged into deep mud to the axle. I could still move, but feared getting stuck when the rear tire went in, so I waved to the others to go the other way. By the time the rear tire crested, the front tire was completely submerged in sticky mud, and mud was near the top of the fender. As soon as the rear tire hit the mud, forward momentum ceased, and rather than dig deeper into the mud, I elected to wait for others to go around and pull me through. The left side was mot as muddy, but a bit more difficult. My wife got stuck a couple of times and had to back up, managed to dent the (stock) bumper on a berm, but we managed to get the V through without the strap.

Once everyone was through, we pressed on, stopping for lunch and photo opps, to a very wide but shallow river crossing and the intersection. With our late start, it was getting late, so we picked up the pace a bit. Luckily the trail was bouncy by dry and level, and most rigs were in 4-high through this section. There were a few long and steep but straight and smooth hillclimbs just before Margaret Lake, including a long one that Woodchopper's LJ80V stalled on (I believe he was having clutch or tranny probs.) but we towed him up and made it to the beautiful little lake before 5pm. After a brief rest, snack, and a lot of pictures, we headed back, intending to take the shortcut back to camp. Again we made good time, getting back to the intersection in less than an hour, and found signs that read "Road Closed due to washout", dated June 2007. Wanting to get back to camp quickly, and noticing on the map that if the road was impassable we would know very quickly, we tried it anyway. The trail had washed out in two places, the first was narrow but the LJ's still fit through (it was too narrow for even a Jeep though); the second place was after a few camps with cars, and we had to cut through the trees, but we hit the main road, and got back to camp at about 6:00. We had covered well over 20 miles according to my odometer, most of it in 4WD.

At camp we had the potluck, with lots of steaks, Ruby's wonderful salmon, and everything that goes with it. Mrs. Myers even brought a German chocolate cake for dessert. Rick Friesen and his friend (Jake?) had showed up Saturday afternoon, but without his LJ, as the trailer he was planning to borrow was unavailalbe. After dinner we sat around the campfire and chatted, until a group of kids showed up looking for beer, and trying to impress us with their (lack of) knowledge of Suzuki's.

Sunday we headed out again, to get better pictures and video of that first river crossing, and then run a different trail back to camp. My parents were without their LJ, so they stayed in camp Saturday, but they both wanted to drive awhile, so I played passneger on Sunday while they took turns driving the RHD. Rick and jake followed us in the 4-runner, so we had eight rigs on the trail. No issues at all today, we pushed through at a fairly quick pace (since most were planning to leave that day) and got back to camp by 2:00pm. From there, people packed up and left, except for Smuz and Ruby, who elected to stay another night.

I took over 300 pictures of our vacation on my camera, but was having so much fun at the meet, I only got four pics, all in camp! My wife took a lot more (50+), including some video, so I will post those as soon as I can. We had a wonderful time, and I'm already planning next year's meet! If anyone else has pictures, please post them up!

Re: 2008 Meet ....... Afterwards

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 1:15 pm
by Frankenstein
Sounds like you had a great time! Wish I was living closer (or plaintickets would be cheaper)...


flea wrote: smuz, i never realized you had friends besides .US !!!
Smuz has friends??? :ohno: :wink:

Re: 2008 Meet ....... Afterwards

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 1:50 pm
by flea
well whats left of .US ..... he grows on ya , i hear. !
:))):



those photos are just awesome, cant imagine seeing so much incridble stuff at once !!!!

Re: 2008 Meet ....... Afterwards

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 2:35 pm
by deimos_jr
:pute: :pute: :pute: :pute: :pute:

That was the longest post I've ever seen! Sounds like lots of fun though... anybody's feet get wet on the river crossing? I know most people only have like two floor plugs at most in their zukis....

Re: 2008 Meet ....... Afterwards

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 3:20 pm
by stevec
The first day when we crossed, I didn't pull any of the floor plugs. The passenger (i.e. downstream side) was dry, but the driver's side had water up to the door sill, from the current washing over the sill. I pulled a plug after I got across and stopped, and by the time the others had crossed, the water had drained out.

As far as long posts, you must have missed the writeup I did on our Rubicon trip on the old Wazuks site...

Re: 2008 Meet ....... Afterwards

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 4:06 pm
by deimos_jr
You must be good at typing. I just realized the other day I use im pointer finger to hit the space bar :roll:

Re: 2008 Meet ....... Afterwards

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 5:28 pm
by Smuz
Here's a fun one...... Look in the rear view mirror.

Re: 2008 Meet ....... Afterwards

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 1:43 pm
by Frankenstein
Cool pic, but my eyes are going nuts... They can't decide where to focus :shock:

Re: 2008 Meet ....... Afterwards

Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 10:54 am
by woodchopper
Just got back from traveling

The meet was great, people were great too

I've got a few photos of the trail that I will have to download and post.

I had a great time and will plan on next year

oh last night I got around to tearing appart the right front knuckle and its a huge mess, differential oil in the CV (Birfield) joint and grease and diff oil all over the brakes. Going to need a few seals, and at least one bearing.