Pumpkin Ridge Road

Brown's Camp

Feb 23, 1997

What:	Oregon BushHackers Trip #25c
Where:	Pumpkin Ridge Rd, North Plains & Browns Camp, TSF
Date:	Sunday, February 23
Time:	9:00 am (or not) CB: 28
Meeting Place:	North Plains McDonalds
Who:	The trail boss (Mike Ames) did not show up and neither did a few others who we thought were coming. We found out Monday that the trip was cancelled late Friday, but some of us did not get the message.

Attendees
Name	Rig	Roll
Doug Carman	89 "Killer" 'Burb	Driver, De Facto Trail Boss
Doug's son		Passenger, Photographer
Scott ?		Passenger, Pinch driver
Ernie ?		Passenger, Technical advisor
Matt Bateman	91 Jeep Cherokee	Driver, Trainee, Report Writer

Since this was my second trip with the Oregon BushHackers, tradition says that I write the trip report.

We all met at Mickey D's about 8:45 and waited for the rest to show up. As were to eventually to learn, no one else was coming. At 9:45, Doug suggested that we head out anyway. I looked at the Suburban and then at my basically stock Cherokee, and wondered aloud what we would do if Doug got stuck. He said we would just take it easy, so I agreed.

PART 1 - Pumpkin Ridge Road

We aired down in the parking lot, then headed up Pumpkin Ridge road until it turned to gravel. After a little ways, we came to a fork and took the road on the right. It looked like it might provide something interesting. A little ways further on the right was a big pit with mud and ruts that had obviously been used as a 4x4 playground many times. We also noticed a guy sitting in a truck back in the trees. More on this later...

Since the conversation about taking it easy was still fresh in our heads, we skipped this spot and continued up the road. At the next fork, we went right again and soon found some mud and ruts. After a long puddle, the road climbed and became very rutted and gooey. We tried several time to get either vehicle up it, but it just got deeper and slicker the farther we got. We eventually gave up on this one and headed back to find other roads to explore.

After two dead ends, we found ourselves back at the "Pit" and wonder if we should try it. There were some signs posted, go we got out to read them. They said this was "Longview Fiber" (?) land, but that they allowed a lot of different recreational activities. OHV was not allowed however. We also noticed that the guy in the truck had moved to another spot and was watching us. Since he looked rather official, we went over to ask him if we were where we thought we were, since the map showed all kinds of 4x4 trails.

He informed us that we were on Pumpkin Ridge Rd., but that all of this land was private, and he was here to try to catch people playing in the "Pit". His company had been fined by the Forest Service for the damage that had been done to the land, and he was trying to find "Volunteers" to help pay for it. Needless to say, we decided not to volunteer. He also told us that some other vehicles had been up here last week and crossed some private land that had the owner really pissed. The State Police had gotten involved to try to catch them, but I guess they were unsuccessful. I hope this was not the Bush Hacker scouting crew! He suggested that we head to the Brown's Camp area since it was a designated OHV area, so that is what we did...

PART 2 - Brown's Camp (TSF)

We got to Brown's Camp around noon, and immediately headed up to the power line road. When we got to power line, we turned east and had some fun with some mild mud and ruts. A few minutes later, I heard someone on the CB mention "Reiswig's Bog". Who else besides Bush Hackers would be on ch. 28 and know about George? A called up and asked who was out there. It turned out to be George himself, and Fred (?). They were headed west on power line, so we turned around to try to meet up with them.

This is where the Cherokee got its first real test. The road got quite steep and rutted very soon after we headed west. Doug took the 'Burb up without much trouble, but I had never tried anything like this before. I aimed my nose up, and tried to choose a line. No problem! I just kept climbing. When I got to the top, Doug and Scott were just walking back to see how I was doing. When they saw me, they cheered, and I was instantly hooked on wheeling.

I was soon to find out that the little Cherokee could handle much worse. The road took a long steep climb with rocks and ruts up to where George and crew were stopped. The 'Burb bounced and spun and powered his way up without too much trouble, but I wasn't sure if I was going to make it through some of it. I spun a couple of times, but I was able to keep forward momentum and eventually made it to the top.

We stopped and chatted with the others for a few minutes, then watched George and Fred tackle a really slippery hill for fun. Doug and I skipped that one and we continued on. Doug took a little side trip through some muddy ruts, and I followed. I was soon high-centered and hopeless stuck. Doug had already gone ahead, so I finally got my tow strap dirty with Fred helping me out. Once I was out, George and Fred decided to part ways and headed off to tackle some tough stuff. I think my rig would seriously cramp their style and getting stuck just proved it, so I re-joined Doug and we continued west on power line.

We soon found a deep mud bog on a flat stretch of road that made for some good playing. We each went through the first time with some finesse. On the second run, Doug's son set up to take pictures, and we went for the power and bounce technique. Coming out of the bog, was a small wall that made for an interesting exit. I hope the pics turn out, 'cause according to Scott, I had mud flying and both front wheels airborne. Yehaw!

We then continued on power line a little was until it started to head down hill steeply and became pretty narrow. Doug was stopped in front of me, and I asked what was up. He said there was a tricky spot that he wanted Scott to spot us through. We got out to scout it, and I didn't see any way I was going to make it. Doug was already part way into a steep drop with large rocks that would definitely test the clearance on the 'Burb.

We decided to see if we could get Doug back up and out of where he was, so I turned around and got out of the way. It was soon clear that he was not going to get up that section backwards by himself, so I backed the Cherokee back down through a tricky section that threatened my rocker panels. I made it, and we hooked up the strap. Now imagine a couple of minutes of everyone's tire spinning and you will get the picture. Doug was NOT getting back up. Time for plan "B".

We could see that there was a main road just below us, and I decided to go back up the hill and find it. Doug would turn the controls over to Scott to pilot the white monster down through the rocks. I had a little trouble getting back up the hill, but I made it and was soon sitting below on the main road. I then hiked up to where Doug was so I could take pictures.

Scott tried to ease it down, but the rocks were slick, and it kept sliding. Every time he started moving, we heard loud clunking sounds that did not sound good. Eventually, Scott eased it over the worst spot and got it down to where I was parked with no clearance problems at all. As I was headed back down to the trucks, I found metal parts everywhere, including part of a U-joint. Uh-oh! We inspected the 'Burb, and found that the U-joint on the right-front wheel was a mess. The day's wheeling was obviously over, so we unlocked his hubs and he made it out in 2-wheel drive.

We stopped at the highway for a short rest and some pictures of truly muddy vehicles, then we headed home. Scott and Ernie were going to help Doug with his repairs, and I hope that there is not too much damage. Otherwise it was a great day of wheeling and the weather couldn't have been nicer.