WATTORA will be running the Naches Pass Trail one final time for the year this coming Saturday.

You are welcome to attend.

Details and a link to the RSVP site are on the chapter site at http://www.wattora.com. Just follow the "Upcoming Events" link in the nav bar.

 

Hey Rob,
Long time no see. Man is it going to be a fun run.
Hope Gene takes plenty of pics.
Me. I'll be stuck in town. Im oncall till mid next week.

Mike

P.S You have mail

 

Oh yes, take plenty of pics this time on the Naches.
I would like to run it again some time, but I'd rather be locked.

Speakin' of locked, Jeff at Badland's can do the work at his shop and save me a bundle.
As cramped as it is under my hood, him & Derick said they can fit the ARB compressor in the passenger corner by the firewall.

They can have the whole setup in one day.
This might be a mod in the future, and it will save me a ton on a regular shop doing the labor.

Don't forget your camera Gene

 

Heh-heh. I have been forgetful of late - but I think I'll make it this time! Too bad you guys can't join us, it's going to be a fun challenge!

-Cheers!

 

You guys will be missing out on a lot of fall colors up there It's going to be gorgeous

The trail closes on November 15th, so it looks like it will be my last time through for the year. It doesn't open again until July 5th, 2003.

So far it's a small run, so I am certain we will have time for lots of pictures

 

Yeah, the colors up there are changing alright.

I plan on getting up to FS 70 within a few weeks to explore.
Too much going on this weekend here.

There are some areas up by the Naches trail that I want to explore that I have not been on in about 10 years.

Looking forward to the pics.

 

We found some seriously photogenic areas this past weekend and with the cold nights this week, I am sure it will only be better this weekend

Depending upon the schedule and weather, I may go out the following weekend in a search for fall colors We encountered more snow las weekend than I had anticipated, so I expect that it's just a matter of weeks until I am planning snow runs

 

Please note that the meeting time has been moved out 1 hour to 10am.

 

Let me know how the conditions on the Naches pass were. We have a group that is intersted in making an end of the year trip as well. When does the trail actually close for the season?

Gibby

 

It is closed beginning at 12:01AM 11/15/2002. They have already got the signs up there, all they need to do is turn them around to face the entrances and the Government Meadows cabin is being cleaned and stocked for the snowmobile season.

I will put together a trail report tomorrow, just too tired tonight...

 

Dang, a thought just occured to me.
I should have rode along with one of you guy's and played camera man.

We did not get out and explore that cabin when we ran it a few years ago.
Corey

 

I went through and picked my favorites of the hundreds of Mb of pictures we took on this run.

Those pictures are posted on the WATTORA site at http://www.wattora.com. Just follow the "Past Events" link. There are a bunch of them I really like of Gene's 4Runner, "Dread".

A more comprehensive write up should be coming along soon...

 

Nice pics Rob, brings back some memories being on that trail.
Looking forward to the write-up.

Who's Taco is that that got the band-aid treatment?
Corey

 

That was my eighth trip through the Naches this year, so I getting to know it pretty well

The duct-tape job belongs to Jowie. He was brave enough to take a completely stock Tacoma through the trail. All in all, he and it did REALLY well, but, as they say, you have to pay to play and on that trail it is doubly true. That trail has a way of exacting it's fee, one way or the other. Just half a moment of less than 100% attention and it will bite you

Total damage for this trip consisted of Jowie's forced removal of his front bumper valance, a dent in Gene's (Dread) rear bumper guard and a small tree that inserted itself into the bead of my left front tire.

 

Ahhhhh, I saw Gene's boo boo on the back of his rig.

I am still wondering how I made it through that trail two years ago October without a scratch or dent, and unlocked.

I think the mod gods must have been watching over me that day.
Either that or the trees knew I'd get pissed off and punch 'em if they cut into my wax job

Believe me, I had to ask myself WTF I was doing in there a couple of times.
Parts of it are easy, and that first hill climb at the West entrance was a piece of cake.

Going up the stairs was fun, I think I had to goose it on that as it was a little slippery.
The big roots got to me being unlocked. I'd start spinning and go no where.

Just the really off camber stuff where you snake around the trees with 1/4" on each side of your mirrors was pretty nerve racking.

 

90% of that trail is easy for me now... the other 10% makes me think, but it's been a while since I wondered what I was doing there Judging by the number of folks who go through there like it's a pinball machine, bouncing off the trees, I don't think the trees would have noticed your punch

I hear they are thinking of banning 2wd and unlocked trucks from the trail due to the erosion from people gunning it through there... next year will be an interesting season for that region. There are several tree-hugging, eco-nazi groups who have decided that once they shut down Walker Valley and Sultan Basin, the Greenwater area should be next... and they are winning Walker is now closed half the year and many of my old favorite trails in Sultan, including the Shaw Lake trail are now closed

 

Damn eco nazis.
Yeah, I read over on www.snort4x4.com a local board I like to check out for the trail pics was saying a lot of stuff is getting shut down.

Well, we'll just have to do something about that.
What we need to do is equip our rigs with one of these.
That ought to keep them away from us

Caution, 29.7 MB file above.
Best to righ click & save it.

 

I think the wheelers have already got them outgunned that's not really the problem. It's that we can't seem to get organized politically.

For example, have YOU written protesting the Walker Valley closure? How many of our local members do you think have?

For those few who will get involved, here is an article describing what is going on at Walker and a copy of a form letter you can print and send.

http://www.nmaoffroad.org/news/news131.htm

http://www.watrd.com/work/dnr.pdf

 

I mentioned that I picked up a small tree in the bead of my left, front tire. Here's a shot of the little hitch-hiker. It was kind of funny. It had just barely penetrated the bead, but the tire self-healed a bit around it. When I went around a sharp corner to the left, I would hear a *hiss*. That was the mighty redwood letting air out when conditions were just right. All fixed now, for free... gotta love Schwab

 

Les has been gettin' my business since around '90.

Not sure what I re-shoe up with next time though.
Corey