|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | Short Cuts | ||||
|
|
|
||||
By: John Nutter - 12/1/2002
Family Fun on the Rocks
The 2002 Dakota Territory Challenge occurred as normal on Labor Day weekend, despite a very dry Summer and fires that has threatened to shut down the event as late as the first weeks of August. Some trails such as Bikini and T-Back were not accessible due to the Rockerville fire, and the section of 385 between the Fish N Fry Campground and Deadwood was closed because of a mud slide that had occurred during Bike Week. The mud slide was a by-product of the fires earlier in the Summer that threatened homes in Deadwood and Lead.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Our group was disappointed to hear that Bikini and T-Back wouldn't be used this year. Mt. Charmin was one of the highlights of the 2001 Challenge for us. The BH4 Wheelers weren't about to let us down though. This years they had opened some previously unused sections of the Hal John's trail, we were going to get to 4 wheel one of them on the first day. A few members of the BH4Wheelers and the occasional hard core visitor have used the various parts of Section 4 of Hal John's, but our group was the first to use section 4.3 as part of the Challenge.
Steve 'JeepMan' Jones led the group to the top of Section 4 and started down into it. We were told this was called section 4.3, and that section 4 was divided into three sections by two areas where you could pull out onto the access road. We were on the highest part of section 4.3 and heading down the creek. Most sections of Hal Johns are run starting at the lowest point and climbing up the creek bed. Our group was near the front of the line, with Dave Jacobs in the red YJ following behind JeepMan in the competition buggy. I was next, then Keith Thomas in the gray TJ. Dave Stauffer lost part of his soft top on the way in and was about 10 trucks back from us with Andy Hoffman riding shotgun. It was interesting being that near the front of the pack and following a trail guide in a competition buggy. None of the lines that Jeepman took would work quite right for the rest of us and the trail was basically brand new, so it was hard to tell where the best line would be.
Challenge director Scott Wrigglesworth and Jeepman managed to spot everyone through with only minor carnage. Andy Hoffman did a fair amount of spotting for us in the areas between the major obstacles as well. Section 4.3 of Hal Johns was almost a continuos obstacle, with several places that were more difficult than the rest. I believe the toll for the day was one torn side wall, one or two front axle shafts, one CJ steering box bracket that nearly came off the frame and one or two broken spherical rod ends on someone's tie rod. There was also plenty of sheet metal damage, but you should expect that on any Dakota territory Challenge trail rated as a 5 1/2.
Although the Dakota Territory Challenge offers some extremely difficult trails, there are other trails offered for every level of experience. My friend Andy Kaplan had driven his TJ with 31" tires and open differentials out to the Challenge. We saw Andy at mid-day on Friday. Andy had signed up for the Hal John's Access Road trail. The access trail can be a challenge itself, as it crosses the stream bed many times and some of the boulders are unavoidable. The Black Hills 4 Wheelers had no trouble keeping Andy busy with other trails on Saturday and Sunday as well.
No one had signed up for Hal Johns on Sunday, and I wanted to run some other sections that we hadn't seen on Friday. After a quick conference with Jeepman, the plan was set. Dave, Dave, Keith and I were joined by Tony and Phil from the Redliners 4x4 club and Steve Benson from the MnToyx4s. Jeepman lead us past some of the damage from the Deadwood fire on the way to the trail. This was a route that I had never taken, but it was enjoyable because it was almost all on dirt and was very scenic.
Steve wanted to try Sky Scraper first, so Jeepman lead us to the beginning of section 1. Skyscraper demands a longer wheel base because it is very steep and very tall. Most of us with 94" wheel bases gave it an attempt or two, but ended up backing down. Steve's long Toyota made the obstacle though. Dave Jacobs and Keith had another errand they wanted to run while they were in the Hills, so they took off on their own. Jeepman led the rest of the group on the harder routes through section 1, never hinting that there was another route until we were done with that section. Once we stopped and looked back it was obvious that most of the traffic that had used the trail in the past had taken easier routes than the one we were lead on. Jeepman explained that he used the hardest routes through Hal Johns during the Challenge. Thanks Jeepman. I realize that it takes extra time and effort to lead groups over the more difficult sections, but that was what we were there for. We wouldn't have signed up for Hal Johns if we were looking for easy routes.
After some discussion, we decided to run Section 5 next. JeepMan's description of Section 5 was "It has some stuff in it." He was right. One of the first obstacles was a steep climb that took you out of the creek bed, had you pivot your right rocker on a boulder and then drop straight in. This was FUN! Section 5 continued with more "Stuff" throughout the afternoon. It was a hot afternoon and there were several children with the group, so Jeepman suggested that we stop for ice cream at the Boondocks restaurant on the way back to camp. I think that was Sierra's favorite part of the trail. I'd like to thank Jeepman and the rest of the Black Hills 4 Wheelers for a couple of great days of 4 wheeling.
Contact the Black Hills 4 Wheelers for information on attending the 2003 Dakota Territory Challenge.
| Contacts | Related Links |
|
| Please support 4x4Wire by visiting our featured sponsors | ||||||
|
||||||
|
| 4X4Wire Portal | About 4x4Wire | Search 4x4Wire | TrailTalk Forums | Advertiser's Guide | |
Trail Ride Planning Forums
