 My
previous visit to Clayton, Ok was on Memorial Day Weekend for the SWFWDA
Spring thing event sponsored by FWD-FWD. It was a great event; I even won
a bumper: for a Jeep. And it rained. That fact is significant because rain
means mud and mud means tougher trail ratings. My Samurai, Kyote’s lil
pup, is a very capable trail vehicle but it only has 31-inch tires and a
rear locker. This means a trail rating of 4. I like that because it does
not limit me in any way. I have always been able to go anywhere I wanted.
But the rain turned the inaugural run of Lost Creek into a 5 plus trail. I
had to use a winch once and be strapped twice. It was a fun run and the
weekend was ok except for camping in the rain.
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| When the opportunity to make
a run to Clayton on Labor Day Weekend with smaller groups presented
itself, my wife and I were ready to go. Friday we arrived in Clayton about
12:30 am. Shawn and Chris Pagan had come up during the day and had set our
tent up so we just had to unroll bedding and go to sleep.
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| Saturday morning, we had a
good breakfast with neighbors at the Clayton Country Inn campground and
rolled out for Lost Creek about 9am. There were about 20 vehicles on the
run: Jeeps, Toyotas and 2 Samurai. The weather was glorious and the run
was grand. The Samurai ran flawlessly even if the driver did not. I
scraped a couple of trees; yes even as narrow a Sammy is. I was having fun
and was not as careful as I maybe should have been but lil pup is a trail
vehicle. The Grand Cherokee is the nice family vehicle. I got a new dent
on the left front fender but made it through with no effort to speak of.
We then watched some of the folks run the lowest stage of Three Stage and
went back, showered and drank some refreshments.
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| Dinner was at the Clayton
Country Inn with four of us couples having a grand time; good food, good
conversation and company.
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| Sunday we were up and ate
breakfast downtown and then gathered in a smaller group to do Three Stage,
then up Rock Creek and then to some place where our wives could drive a
little.
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| Three Stage: If you are not
real familiar with it, the lowest hill is several hundred yards long;
basically slick, solid, hard rock with a 12 to 18 inch step about one
third of the way up. The trick is to get your front wheels up on the step,
the just as your rear wheels are at the step, to hit the throttle and keep
on it as the rear climbs up on the ledge. It you are tentative or use too
little throttle, you will not make it. But, of course, you do not want to
bounce your vehicle and break something serious.
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| First up was a jeep and
after a couple of tries drove on up the hill. I was next. Shawn Pagan
stood at the step to spot me. Dana and I got in and put the Sammy in 4 to
1 low-low and crawled up the loose rocks to the slick part, lined up on
the left side and drove up to the step. I walked the front wheels up on
the step and hit the gas: 4000 rpm and 12 mph. It was not quite enough so
I let it roll back down to where the front wheels were just on the edge
and hit the gas again.
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I am told that I actually got the rear wheels up on
the ledge but, all of a sudden, I was not making forward progress!!! I was
rolling backwards, even in gear with the gas pedal down. I immediately
mashed the brake pedal to the floor and kept rolling backwards. I yelled
for Dana to get completely back inside the Sammy and steered backwards for
all I was worth. It started to back left which would have turned us across
the hill and set up for a multi-turn rollover but I steered it straight.
Unfortunately, the terrain on the side behind me was a steeply sloped bank
the Sammy rolled back up on it and laid over on its side. Whew!!! Oh no!!!
We are going all the way over so I got an E-ticket (remember the early
days at Disneyland?) ride and went flying over on my head. Ouch!!!
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I asked Dana if she was ok and then immediately,
there was someone there putting his back under me and helping me release
my seat belt. Shawn Pagan was on the other side helping Dana get out.
So, Kyote’s lil pup now is Kyote’s lil turtle.
Not very dignified but everyone is ok though shaken not stirred. |
| Looking at the underside of your vehicle
is an amazing thing when you can just stand next to it. Also, it was
immediately evident why this had happened. The front drive shaft had come
apart at the slip joint. It had not been recommended to extend the
driveshaft when I did the 5 inch lift on the Sammy but evidently the
motion at the step there on Three Stage cause it to slip out (pun
intended).
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| The guys there
immediately started recovery and pulled it over on its side, the slid it
around enough to turn it back onto its tires. We then used the winch to
slowly back it down the hill. The Pagan’s went to camp and came back in
the new Dodge Ram 4x4 to pull the Sammy back to camp. I removed the rear
driveshaft while waiting.
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The good news is that the entire event is
on videotape. The roll over AND the recovery. I cannot wait to get my copy
to watch on the big screen TV. |
| The bad news. I need a windshield frame,
a windshield, the basket hoop over the top and all the rest of the top end
to put it back on the street. I have some serious body dings particularly
on the right rear corner. I cannot even put the full soft top on right
now. |
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| We drank some beer and ate
some dinner that night and then drove home on Monday morning, flat towing
the Sammy. Sammy will go into the garage for
repairs and the addition of a full roll cage and maybe a new paint job. I
have already tracked down the pieces necessary to get it back on the
street. |
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Yes, it was expensive but it was fun and that is
what 4 wheeling is all about; fun times with good friends and family. Oh,
and Dana did not even threaten to kill me but is ready to get back in and
go again; but this time keeping all four wheels firmly on the ground.
For more great trail reports stop by
http://www.paqnet.com/~shr/
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