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| Meadow Lake, California - August 2001 | Short Cuts | ||||
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By: Randy L. Wheeler
Meadow Lake, California- Once again, the California
Association of 4Wheel Drive Clubs and the hundreds of volunteers and committee
members put on one heck of an event. As in years past, people from all
across the United States made the "trek" to Meadow Lake, California
for the 35th Annual Sierra Trek. For those that have never attended Trek,
this is one of the largest events in California. It's three days of
some of the best 4wheeling around. From mild and scenic tours through
historic areas around Meadow Lake to the rugged and challenging short wheelbase
(SWB) route over the Fordyce Creek trail.
| Fordyce Creek Trail |
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| First creek crossing. |
The premier trail of Trek is the Fordyce Creek Trail. It covers roughly 10 miles of varying types of terrain - from the mild beginning portions of the trail which wind through the trees to the steep, rocky sections between the five Winch Hills. This year, the trail was particularly tougher than in years past, with sections between the Winch Hills often rougher than the actual winch hills!
The short wheelbase run starts at the staging area located off Interstate 80 near Cisco Grove. Staging usually begins around 4 a.m. when the first group of rigs are allowed to enter the staging/safety area. The rigs were divided into five separate groups of between 25 and 30 rigs that head out at staggered intervals. Volunteers run through a safety check list and make sure each rig has the required equipment and is in the proper group. Once the vehicle safety checks and last minute preparations are completed, each rig was given an orange CA4WDC trash bag and a boxed lunch for the trail. With over 130 rigs registered for the Friday SWB run, getting everyone through the safety check and on the trail by 6:30am was a real accomplishment for the dozen or so volunteers.
The first couple of miles of the Fordyce Creek trail traverse through tall pine trees and relatively mild terrain. This year, the trail was particularly dry and the fine dust often times reduced the visibility to near zero. The creek crossings earlier in the year can be hazardous, but for Trek, PG&E reduces the flow coming from Fordyce Lake, thus making the creek crossings easier to navigate. Even with the reduced flow, the first creek crossing was still pretty deep.
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| Kimber Rau on Winch Hill #1 |
Once past the first creek crossing (mile marker 3.0), the trail winds up through the trees, past Carlisle Mine and up to Winch Hill #1 (mile marker 7).
Winch Hill #1 is a long steep climb over loose rock and culminates at the top with an off camber rock ledge. This is a great spot to catch some 3-wheel action! Once again, the spotters at Winch Hill #1, representing the Cal Sierra 4x4's, did a great job of getting the rigs up and through this tough section.
Once past Winch Hill #1, you cross the 2nd creek crossing then on up to Winch Hill #2. While waiting in line, we stopped to check out some folks who were doing a bit of trail repair on a broken axleshaft on an early Bronco. They guy was trying to cut the end of his shaft off using an air powered cut-off wheel powered by a QuickAir compressor. We offered the use of 4x4wire.com staff member Vance Anderson's Sanden compressor to help provide some more "air power". Things were going well until we heard a loud pop followed by a cloud of bellowing black smoke from beneath the hood of Vance's TJ. Vance opened the hood, and to his dismay, his rig was on fire! It was quite a scene as 4 different people went scrambling for their fire extinguishers. A quick shot of fire retardant and the fire was out. Luckily only his filter on his air system had burnt. All other systems checked out fine and soon, we were on our way up Winch Hill #2. The spotters from F-Troop were handing out beverage coolers at the bottom of the hill with the words "I made it up Winch Hill 2" printed on the side. This winch hill was much rougher than in previous years, with a section mid way up the hill that required drivers to make a sharp right turn and then a sharp left hand turn, all the while making sure the right rear tire didn't fall into the large hole! Several rigs had problems with this section, including a bright orange YJ that popped a bead on the rocks.
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| Winch Hill #3. |
Shortly after Winch Hill #2, the trail crosses the creek for the 3rd time. From there, the trail winds up across some granite slabs and then down into the dense trees. Squeeze rock is next. This little obstacle is really a tight fit, and wide rigs often times have a bit of trouble squeaking through the narrow granite chute. Following squeeze rock is Launna's Hill and the "Grotto". Winch Hill #3 is a little further up the trail at mile marker 9.5. Some people refer to Winch Hill #3 as the "mother of all squeezes".
Winch Hill #3 routes drivers through some tight s-turns at the bottom then up into the squeeze. The spotters on Winch Hill 3 give you two options, the easier bypass on the left or the narrow rocky chute on the right. Rigs with wide axles or extremely large tires are often too wide to clear the squeeze and many of these rigs have wedged themselves between the rocks. This year, the bypass on the left seemed to be harder than the main line through the obstacle.
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| Winch Hill #4 |
A 1/2 mile further up the trail and you encounter Winch Hill #4. Winch Hill #4 is a long, boulder strewn climb to the first left turn around a large granite rock followed by a sharp right turn to line up for the final climb up a rocky ledge. The left side line is easier, but the right hand line lifts your left front tire far into the air as your tires claw the granite for traction. The large boulder on the right has had its fair share of sheetmetal contact. Winch Hill 4 provides a good opportunity for photographs as it's a short hike down from Winch Hill 5.
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| Winch Hill #5 |
From Winch Hill #4, its about another 1/2 mile up to Winch Hill #5. The first turn up Winch Hill #5 is a sharp left turn up a steep rock face. The other option is the far right hand line that takes drivers up and over a large boulder outcropping. This line actually seemed to be easier for some rigs, even though it looks menacing from below. Another sharp right turn through loose rock and dirt takes you to the final left turn at the top. Drivers then must negotiate several deep holes to clear the hill and finish the trail. This year, as in years past, the crowds were out in force to heckle each passing rig. At times it seemed that some crowd control would be needed as several groups were getting a bit too rowdy. Winch Hill 5 is a short drive from the main camp at Meadow Lake and is often packed with people and photographers.
All in all, this year's Trek was pretty awesome. Even with the large contingent of volunteers who are responsible for such things as entertainment, breakfasts, lunches, dinners, showers, staging, and the five winch hills, it seemed that there still weren't enough volunteers to go around. A very special thanks and kudos to each and everyone who volunteered their time for this years Trek. If you saw something that was lacking service, please consider volunteering a couple hours of your time during next years Trek. After all, if it weren't for the volunteers, Sierra Trek wouldn't exist!
| Goodbye Ed... |
Speaking of Sierra Trek, as many of you know, this year marked the passing of Ed Dunkley on April 4, 2001. Ed organized the very first Sierra Trek back in 1965 and is largely responsible for what Sierra Trek is today. To quote an excerpt from the 2001 Sierra Trek Program:
"Ed helped form the CA4WDC into the organization that it is today. Ed strongly influenced the formation of the CA4WDC Conservation & Education Foundation. To help finance the Foundation, Ed started the Trip to The Diggings & The Lassen-Applegate Wagon Trail Ride. The club that runs the Lassen-Applegate trip just happens to be a club that Ed started 16 years ago. The High Rock Trekkers. The Trekkers have won many conservation awards from the CA4WDC Association.
Ed stayed very active right till the end. Ed did the historic talk at many Sierra Trek for years and even did some historic runs. Ed attended all of the Government Land Use meetings where he spoke up for 4-wheelers everywhere. It is because of dedicated people like Ed Dunkley that we still have trails open today." - Warner Anderson, President for 2001, Sacramento Jeepers.
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