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New Years 2006 What better way to ring in the new year then on the trail. We joined up with hundreds of others at Johnson Valley this past weekend and slipped into 2006 with a BANG. We brought down our Formula Toy for some practice time before going to our first competition of the year, in Congress AZ. We arrived late Friday afternoon, and after setting up camp with the Tin Benders and eating dinner we decided it was time to hit the trail. The only problem with this plan is that it was now dark and we had no lights yet on our unfinished rig. We rounded up a few flash lights and set out on our night time exploration of Sledge Hammer. With no moonlight to guide us, the hardest part was just finding our way to the trailhead. Once under way on the trail our Formula Toy was right at home crawling in the rocks. We drove the trail slowly under the glow of our LED flashlight. And those new lights sitting at home on the shop floor? They will be coming along for the next trip! The weather man had predicted a 30% chance of rain for Saturday over the area. As the storm approached it slowed down and did not arrive until Sunday afternoon. Saturday morning we awoke to cool, partly sunny skies. First trail up for the day was Wrecking Ball. With a group of around 10 rigs we started working our way up the trail. Near the start of the trail John James popped a front 4.10 high pinion gear set on a relatively easy backup. Disappointed, John turned around and headed his newly finished X-Chassis back to camp. The rest of us finished Wrecking Ball and then headed back to camp for dinner and some night time activities. The Benders had organized a pot luck meal where everyone shares a dish. I think the chocolate fudge was the best part! New years activities included Mickey bombs and fireworks. Todd "Glitter Princess" Steele felt that everyone needed some glitter to help celebrate the new year. So he took it upon himself to freely disburse his happiness with no regard to those of us that has not brought our wives. Only photographic evidence of the culprit in action saved me from having to explain who I had been with over the weekend. Sunday morning brought more clear skies and another great day for wheeling. Groups ran many different trails on Sunday. Six of us headed over to run Claw Hammer. After about an hour of driving we arrived at the last climb on Claw. JC had been having problems with his brakes today and at the last section he completely lost what little peddle he had left. Normally he would drive this section but to prevent any safely issues a winch was attached to assist his final assent. |
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