Relief Ride at Paragon, October 7, 2001
by JJG

Here is a quick spit of my day.

I arrived in staging right on time (my time ;-) at 8:45 am. The place was a zoo. There were trucks everywhere. Mostly heeps and very few Toys. The raffle was about to begin and I had managed to purchase the last few tickets before they started the raffle. Like a deer in headlights I looked clueless into the trucks trying to find some friends.

Out of nowhere JH appeared and gave me the lowdown. JH and BS were on Whompum. Don and Doug where in E or F. Some of the staff started yelling at me to get my rig staged already. I was worried about my raffle tickets ;-). Just then BS appeared and offered to mind the raffle for me. I thought, "This is really cool! Every time I need a hand someone pops up at the perfect time." :)

The stager told me all the runs I wanted were closed and put me in the F group. I looked over the F line and there were no Toys to be found. Just then Don Waters appeared. He showed me where he was on the E line. I looked at him, He looked at me, we both looked at the E line and before we could blink, I had my truck backed up and placed on the end of the E line. ;-) I aired down as I searched for some shoe polish to change my letter F to an E. Shhhh...

I grabbed some food from the catering stand and headed over to the already half finished raffle. The raffle was Excellent! The vendors really came out for the cause. In particular a company named Quadratech really went above and beyond the call. They must have donated their whole inventory. There were Quick Airs, High Lifts, IPF lights, Hella Lights, Recovery Gear, Blankets, and Weather Tech Floor Mats. You name it and they were giving it away. I caught up with Brian Smith who had just won a HighLift and found out that I was the lucky winner of some mats. In a great show of generosity Brian offered up his just won HighLift citing 2 of them were unnecessary, as he has never used his first. I am the only one in the group without a HighLift and we strike a deal for dinner and the mats. THANK YOU BRIAN! Delighted, I head back to the rig ready to hit the trail.

I meet Doug in a green 96 80. We talk for a while and I showed him some of my mods. Doug was also in the E group but on a different staging line as Don and I. We were happy, as we all expect to be on the same trail. The first E line pulls out with me trailing. Nobody notices the F on my window. Cool... I think, as I was not picked off. Stumpy our tail gunner pulls out behind me. Where's Doug??? The second E line never pulled out. We lost Doug for the rest of the Day.

The day went quickly. The trails were good. We had a few miss haps but nothing serious. I managed to put my HighLift to good use when I heard that dreadful PSSssssss on my right front tire. Don came to the rescue with the ARB bar adapter for my new HighLift and we made quick work of the tire.

I also had a chance to use my winch. After watching a Wrangler get strapped out of a mud pit and Don barely make it though the same pit, I lost my better judgment and decided to take the same hard line through. I was the last in line (outside of the tail gunner), by this time the hole was a pure mess. I drove in to the hole, which quickly ate my 80 and was not giving it back. All 4 tires spun in unison like marbles on ice. The rig went nowhere. After many futile attempts I handed my winch remote out my window and the guys strapped me up (It's great to have friends). The Warn 12k did not blink as it plucked me from the hole.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. A few conquered obstacles and a few more stucks. My highlight was conquering a climb originally attempted at CMCC. The first time I attempted this climb I was forced to back down when screaming on lookers told me I was gonna roll. ;-) Don conquered this gully climb also. When we were done, we both thought it was cake. My low was when I got myself really stuck on an easily passable rock. The continuous rocking back and forth ground down the rear diff drain plug protection ring lower edge flush :(. Next time I will pull cable much sooner.

After the ride was over, Don and I went to the campground expecting to catch up with the group. Alas, the group never showed. Don and I were it. We chatted with some cool people, had some great cake and bratwurst complements of 4x4wire.com and headed home in the dark.

All in all, a really great day for a really great cause.

Wish you were there.
John
97 FZJ80