Badlands, Easter Weekend, March 22, 2008.

[Jeffro95]

On March 22, 2008 I joined Jeeps Gone Wild for the third time, which was also my third trip to the Badlands in Attica Indiana.

The day started with a 4:30am wake-up...which was accompanied with snow and freezing temps. My first thought was "do you really want to do this?" The answer of course was yes!


This was how the day started.

The 200 or so mile drive started at 6am. As I headed south on I-39 I was greeted with some "black ice" and a quick lane change. Luckily I kept it on the road, the fullsize pickup in the median wasn't as lucky. The next 30 miles were in 4-high at 45mph. After that it was smooth sailing.

Once at the park I met up with the Jeeps Gone Wild crew, and fellow Jeep Forum members who had made the trip. We played in the quarry for a bit, before hitting the first trail of the day.


Here Zach, a club member, tries a step up. I belive he finally made it, as I heard him say so on the CB.


These guys weren't apart of our group, but it was worth a photo.

They managed to get the Jeep back on it's wheels.


It's a good thing the winch cable held!


This is me playing in the mud. My future son-in-law snapped this shot for me.


The long arm suspension on this rig worked really well.


Jeff, a club member, does a little climbing.




Mike, the club president, does a climb and finds a tree at the top. He backed up and went around it.

[Jeffro95]

This Ruby was a week old, with only 580 miles on it. 185 were from getting there!

I gave him big props for being out there. He took every trail too. Made it through the day undamaged....unless he found some hiding under the mud.


The start of the creek section.


We ran across some fellow Jeepers who were stuck, so things backed up while a few members of our group helped them out.


We waited at the top of the hill....didn't get wet up there.


My ride!


Here a couple of the guys follow me down the creek.


I was following this group...there were more a head, 15 in all.

The creek offered ledges, trees and boulders to drive over or around.


He was wishing he went around this boulder.

A simple tug and he was back on his way. The sound of the skid plates banging on the rock made it sound much worse than it was.


Yep, it's my Jeep again...lol.
We all made it through the creek with no real problems.


Don't worry he took the bumper off before hand.

I took a few shots, as we prepared for the next adventure.

[Jeffro95]

Just a couple of group shots.

We decided we may as well play on the sand hills for a while, before breaking for lunch....and Easter Eggs!


Nothing like getting a bit sideways on the sand hills...yikes.


It looks like the tree would have kept him from rolling too far.

Momentum was the key when going up these hills. Let off the gas and you were done. Turning, not a good idea, backing up not always that easy.


Seems trees were always nearby to "help out".

It took two Jeeps to get this Grand Cherokee out. One to winch and one to anchor the winching Jeep.


Here a couple of satch 'em straps hooked together would do the trick.


Chad, a club member, takes his Jeep to the top.


Once free of the tree he was able to back down and take another run.

After the sand hills we headed back to the parking lot, for lunch, damage inspection, a group shot and a little flexing.


Mike drove off, just before I hit the shutter release!


This was some good flex.

[Jeffro95]

Some flexed better than others.






Some cheated...lol!

Since it was an Easter run, the Jeeps Gone Wild crew handed out plastic eggs with treats inside. If you were lucky you won a little prize. I think one was like $10 off the days entry fee or something like that...heck I didn't win, so I didn't really care....JK! LOL!


Here everyone takes two eggs each, and tries their luck.

After the break it was time for another trail. We figured the Orange trail would do. Heck some Samari's just did it, so we had too. Add to that a group of Toyota FJ's headed towards it just before we did....who was going to save them? Just kidding, they had some nice rigs too, but I'll stick with my Jeep.


Heading to the Orange Trail.

I couldn't help but remeber my October trip, where Kevin, a JGW member, got his yellow Ruby in a bit of a water problem on the orange trail. With all the recent rain and flooding in the area, I thought we may be in for an interesting ride.


Here Mike leads the way, and drops into the Orange Trail.


The trail had no dry spots to speak of, but nobody cared.

[Jeffro95]

A TJ makes his way up a hill.


There a few deep "gullies" on the Orange Trail too.


One of the mud holes.

A few guys got stuck in this spot. It probably had more to do with tire choice and air pressure more than anything. My Jeep walked right through this mess, despite my passengers apprehension....lol. He's a beliver now.

We ran into the Toyota group on the trail, they circled around and started to cut in line. I didn't much care for that. They soon took a different route and got out of our way.

Once at the end of the Orange Trail you have to climb your way out. Some made it easier than others, but we all made it. There was a little damage here and there, but all in all, it was a good ride.


It's under warranty.....gun it!!


Who needs a warranty? Gun it!


Gun.....never mind..lol.


This XJ took a slightly different line. Took a couple of tries, but he made it.


I don't remeber these two guys starting with us, but they finished with us.

After the Orange Trail our day was done. There was only a few minutes before the gates closed. Time to air up, connect the sway bars say good-bye and hit the road home. Why does the road home always seem longer?

I took quite a few pictures, when I could, and my passenger took a few here and there as well. If you have some free time, you can see them here.


See you next time!

I want to thank the guys and gals of Jeeps Gone Wild for their hospitality, once again. I won't be able to make the April 12th run, but maybe the next one will be a go. My wife and kids need to see what all the fuss is about.

[TheEddie]

Originally Posted by Jeffro95

[IMG]

One of the mud holes.

A few guys got stuck in this spot. It probably had more to do with tire choice and air pressure more than anything. My Jeep walked right through this mess, despite my passengers apprehension....lol. He's a beliver now.

And that is what I get for leading the trail with bald A/Ts.

They've got about another run or two in them before they give up the ghost.

[Jeffro95]

Originally Posted by TheEddie

And that is what I get for leading the trail with bald A/Ts.

They've got about another run or two in them before they give up the ghost.

Yeah, from where I was, those tires looked like they were on their last trip...mud trip anyway!

[backwash]

Looks like you guys had a great time. Thanks for posting the pics.

[IU98]

Jeffro thanks for taking the vast majority of pics and posting them for the group. Hope to see you again soon on another trail run.
Chad

[Jeffro95]

Originally Posted by IU98

Jeffro thanks for taking the vast majority of pics and posting them for the group. Hope to see you again soon on another trail run.
Chad

You're welcome. You will defenitely see my again...like it or not

[IGotADisneyJeep]

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for coming out and it was nice wheeling with you. Awesome pictures and it was a blast that day. We's see you on the 27th and bring more friends.

Thanks again,
Michael
Club President

[Jeffro95]

Originally Posted by IGotADisneyJeep

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for coming out and it was nice wheeling with you. Awesome pictures and it was a blast that day. We'll see you on the 27th and bring more friends.

Thanks again,
Michael
Club President

Thanks for having me. The Jeep goes in for the Aussie Locker Thursday, so next time I'll have something new to try out.

[Mudhound0530]

"Gun it" lol

[CBlakeNS]

Nice pictures, looks relaly fun!

[itasor]

Cool to see the WJ's and WK's out there wheeling! The WK's look really nice with a little lift and some larger tires!