Big Dogs Ice Breaker 2007

Well... we made it home at least. That should be the theme for this trip.

It was a rough go at planning out the event... all the millions of changes that had everyone confused, upset, misunderstood... and it just got to the point of "Let's get there and wheel already"

So that's what we did.

Nick and Nicky met up with Bobbi Friday night... the rest of us left Saturday AM... met up at various places... I was the last to join the group @ 695 and 70.

Away we went. The directions were just as confusing as the planning... what is it about this place??? GPS gave one route, mapquest another, and the Big Dogs directions a third. But we got there.

Checked in... at the camp site/land use office, and headed to the drivers meeting area... all the rig were staged in the trail they were going to run.

We parked the tow vehicles a bit away, and went to register the event.

All checked in, and back to the rigs... last minute change in plans... originally we were splitting into 2 groups... now it was just all together on trail ride 6. There were reservations if I would make it on a 6 running open/open on 33s, but I had signed up for 6 on Sunday... so this would tell me if I could make it... I figured worst case I would just run 6 both days if it proved too challenging.

I aired down, etc... Joe, Bobbi, Kat, Von, and the rest staged up... Danny was still checking in at the camp office.

Long story short, I missed the group pulling out... waited for Danny, and then the 2 of us got a personal trail ride from none other than John Hunt, the person in charge of the event.

He was a class act all the way. Led us through the trails to catch us up to the group, and happy to do it for us as if it was no big deal we were lost...

The Creek Crawl trail was pretty uneventful... Joe got hung up at some point before Danny and I arrived, which created a gap for us to get in line.

That led around to Winch Hill. My first time at Rausch I did winch hill... I was the ONLY one to get stuck (going down hill)... karma does work because this was my first time to Big Dogs and I was the ONLY one to MAKE the hill AND on my first attempt!!!

It was a very steep hill climb with a lot of loose sediment... it had a slight curve to the right about half way up, and right in the middle of the curve were 2 big rocks about 1/2 tire high (well... for me at least). They had a nasty dip to them that sucked you in, and with no traction from the ground around, proved impassable... except for me for some reason.

Of course with that glory comes a sacrifice that I learned later. More on that down the line

We continued on... played in Hell's Hole a bit... nice section of rock crawling there... then across the way to Extreme... Nick, Joe, and I were the only ones tempting fate, the rest headed back to camp... Nick and Joe made it... Joe will tell you I chickened out, but my version is that I was last in line with no recovery options if I got stuck, and I wanted to save carnage for another day.

So after a very near high center on the entrace to the trail I backed off and waited. Joe and Nick say it was a nice challenging trail we should all try Sunday... I figured revenge would be mine then.

Camp set... lots of socializing... a visit by Randy Wood to see how we faired... and then 8PM... time for the MUUUUD BOG

Bobbi, Von, Joe, and I shuttled everyone down to see the festivities... when we got there, not much to really see... booooooring.

So Von kicked it up a notch.... BAAAAAM. With a few toots of his General Lee horn he roared to life through the mud hole... got some wicked air on up to the second step of the hole, and out. With another toot he turned around and did it backwards.

Joe followed next... same results... and of course not to be outdone by Joe... I followed suit.

Neither of us were as spectacular as Von, but we were all just as muddy at that point (well us and the jeeps, except Joe who did it with the windows up ).

With Kat kraving mud in Von's right seat, they went to take on another of the 4 holes. Just when we thought they would make it, the mud got thick and Von was stuck... I tried to give them a yank with a tow strap, but they were buried... so Joe got to use his new winch along with a strap to a tree. Out they came, and in they went again to hole #3... again stuck... again winched, Hole #4... SUCCESS .

A few more passes from Von, then I went again... I wanted to try hole 2 where Von got stuck coming back... I figured if I went the wrong direction with enough speed I would push through to some traction...

That proved wrong. I buried my driver front up to the fender... couldn't even see the fog lights. Winched back out I took the route I had a few times before and all was good.

We watched a few others try to wheel it... most were all show and no go... it was impress to see the Dodge 2500 use heavy right petal a few times to just yank everyone out...

It was getting late... the crowd was bored... time for Von to bring back the Mud Mayhem.

The dixie horn roared to life, as the crowd cheered him on... first hole #1.

Once across the way he staged at hole 4... shot out of 4 and back into 1 as if doing laps in the pool.

back to the other side... The crowd wants 3... Von teases and gives them 4 again with another few blast of the (now mud filled) horn...

Another lap around... the crowd wants 2. Von gives them 2... he tries a new line to get past the pudding, and into the wet stuff, but his driver slipped off, and he does a soft flop onto the driver side. Kat was standing on the roll cage to stay out of the mud, danny crawling out the window... and von crawling over danny... what a sight... out comes the winch... pulling forward it just flopper further over til the mud was coming in the window on the driver side.

almost 2 hours later, 3 differant winch cables (at the same time all to Von's rig) along with 3 snatch blocks, and Von was free.

Sorta... the jeep was undrivable... broken driveshaft (second one for the day... the first was attempting winch hill after my run) 2 broken tire beads, rear leaf spring (nice 90 degree bend to it), and other issues probably not yet known because of the amount of mud coating it.

it was about 11:30 at night at this point... I paraded Von, Danny, and Kat in my Jeep... Danny said he felt like he was in a parade as they waved to the crowd...

Today none of us woke in the mood to wheel... Von went to assess the damage and load it on the trailer... Kat, Danny, and others went to help. Joe tried to clean up his rig because it was overheating... he and I spent the morning scrubbing our radiators for the trek home (me more so since it is my daily driver).... on the way back I had a hard time turning... so we assessed the situation...

In the process of conquering Winch Hill, I bent the tie rod towing the wheels in a good inch. Joe did a superb alignment job to compensate for the 45 degree bend I put in the rod... this is when we found the control arm issue. We assessed that too. they now look like the letter S instead of ll.

Just as he and I wrapped up, the rest came back... Danny, Joe, and I packed it up and headed out while it was still light in case I had an issue...

We all made it safe and sound (thanks again Joe handles GREAT now!!! even got rid of the 45-50 mph death wobble)...

As for the rest... well... you just had to be there...

I for one had a blast. The trails were just the right challenge (at least for me) where the harder sections had an easier bypass to weave off and on, so everyone got what they wanted (I think ).

This is definately a run I will be on the look out for in the future... and I hope those reading this will join me on the next Big Dogs event.

Awesome Weekend!

https://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v619/connordanny/Big%20Dogs%20April%2007/

Here is a link to my pictures. After dark they get a little fuzzy - I guess I didn't have a steady hand by then. This is something I would definitley do again. It was an Awesome Weekend!

This was a really cool event made even better by the good company

Tony - I am still amazed at your hill climb! You Da Man!

Von - that mud run was cool as Sh*t. If I can help you get the rig back together let me know John was telling me today that the Mud Bog is a huge during the June event with lights, a band and a mud bog contest. No pressure, but I'll be there cheering if you're in

Kat and Bobbi: Thanks for keepin me laughing!

Joe - there is a video from inside your Jeep going thru the mud bog. You cant see a whole lot, but the audio is pretty funny. Oh yeah and "Fire Jenga" is a great invention.

Nick - Your run up the winch hill was just plain Scary! The way your front end was bouncing all around...... I had to look away! It was nice to nock back a few cold ones with you.

Andy and Ang... its always a pleasure wheelin with ya! You guys seem to be the camping experts...I need to take notes.

G-Man - Thanks for the random MRE parts. For some reason I now have TP in the glove box. (I know what your name is...I just can't spell it)

Greg - my brother in law came along too. He had a great time. He wants to water ski across the mud bog next time! He told me that he woke up in the middle of the night and found me laying on the floor of the tent in my muddy clothes just shivering. He woke me up and got me in a sleeping bag. Good looking out.

My dad actually got a speck of dirt on his Jeep! I wish I could have done a little wheeling with him, but He and my uncle Jack hit the road right after breakfast. Apparently they showed up at the mud bog last night?????

Hmmm. I guess I never got around to replacing Ali's lower control arm today like we had planned.

It was a great day for a ride home. The TJ wasn't too happy pulling the Taj Mahal up some of those hills on 81 and 70. I labored in 3rd gear for a lot of the time, and had to use hand signals to let Tony know when I was changing lanes.
The new locker makes a world of difference on the rocks:yj: It just wants to crawl up everything.
It was making some strange noises though. I gotta break out the bucket of fun to check it out.

Good Times! I'll be back

I think this picture best describes the weekened.

You're right Joe!
A picture is worth 1000 words!

SOunds like you all had a great time. I will have to get out for the next one.

Pictures...sorry my brain shut down a while ago this is all i got

http://picasaweb.google.com/njf128/BigDogsIcebreaker

Let me sum it up with picture things

Tony you did a splendid job on the story , it had me laughing allthe way thorugh, If fact I am still smiling just thinking about all the mess, the carnage and the fun you all had. Sound Like I miss a hell of a day or two. Glad to see everyone made it back home, maybe not in pne piece but your home. Tony post this on the meet up too, please.

Now with the experience you guys gained you can develpe a better action p[lan for the next trip.

Danny, I enjoyed your part of the story too, can't wait till the rest tell their side of it.

Thanks for the pictures, they look awesome! Would it be posible to get a CD of the pictures, Danny and Nick?

The pics look awsome. Glad everyone had a good time.....

time was assume

I guess I'll start with my arrival Friday night...

It took us about 4 hours to get to the entrance of the campground and the last 20 miles took about as long as the entire trip!! The driveway into the campground was like a parking lot. There was about a 1.5 mile long line of rigs but believe it or not it was one of the most fun parts of the trip. Everybody was having a great time getting to know eachother and bs about the rigs during our 2.5 hour wait. I pulled into camp and had NO idea where I was. By the time I made it to Bobbi and Galen they were asleep so I made my own campsite. Nothing like off-camber camping.

Saturday morning came and we were finally ready for some wheeling. John Hunt lead the drivers meeting and you could tell his heart was into Big Dogs 110%. My favorite was him saying "you can do whatever you want on the mountain, just follow the rules when you're at the campground." Anyway we wheeled trail 6 which was equivalent to a green 3 to maybe a blue 1 at Paragon which was somewhat dissapointing but it was still great to be wheeling somewhere new. I aslo enjoy driving up creeks so it was good times.

Winch only or winch hill was the eventful part of the day and the wild side of people started to come out. Against my better judgement I decided to give the hill a shot. My intentions were to try and crawl a few spots and see if I could get any bite anywhere. It was so loose you could never end up where you wanted to be and I ended up pinning myself against a tree. At one point trying to grab a line on the right side I had some air time but that was the only excitement and it was time to winch before breaking something. I'm so bad with names (sorry) but the husband and wife team with the green TJ hit the hill insanely hard. The front tires were about 3 ft in the air and the rig came crashing down with an explosion. The worst part was coming down the hill backwards with the rig shut off and in neutral. It came rolling down out of control jumping the front in the air and they were lucky it stayed rubber side down! Tony followed next and bounced into just the right place under full throttle and made it up the hill. Von was next and gave it a good run run. His face puckered up real nice when the front end shot up in the air. While winching the rear ujoint let go and thankfully that was all the problem was. Von and Kat fixed it and we were back at it in no time.

We ran one more trail after this which was also pretty weak and that was the end of our official trail ride. I saw a trail called Hell's Hole on the way out and it was just calling my name so we crawled through that and then we did Extreme. There were some serious rigs and buggies doing this trail and lockers were a must. It was a fun crawl and I got some nice air time at the top. Joe didn't think he could make it but after some name calling and taunting I talked him into it. It was an accomplishment to get through with the Grand and not many conquer it with 33"s. It was a great team effort and we came out without any damage.

Everything went to hell from this point on because of the visit to the mud pits. I must say that Maryland Rock Raiders definetley brought the show to the mud bogs. Joe and Von had the place going CRAZY. There was some serious rev limiter and air time action. It was to the point where the club name might as well have been Maryland Mud Raiders. Von was the only one at Big Dogs to make it through the far left hole (3 times actually). It was all fun and games till it flopped in the middle pit...it was not pretty! Von attempted to winch himself out and this did nothing but flop him farther. I decided it was time to go get muddy and help a fellow rock raider. We hooked up to his rocker and yanked him back down and then I switched and starting winching from behind. This was impossible without a snatch block so we hooked one to Von and my winch still didn't have enough pull. I'm still amazed that it still works - never buy a winch other than a Warn. About an hour of winching inch by inch we decided it was time for another rig w/a winch and we got Bobbi's rig winching with a snatch block as well. This still wasn't enough and then we got a 3rd rig in and Von was finally free. The winching beat up Vons rig pretty badly. It pulled the driveshaft, yanked the rear very cockeyed, bent the hell out of the leaf spring, blew 2 tires, and who knows what else he'll find. This wasn't your average mud pit...it was NASTY - 3 inches of water 4 feet of mud. I was talking to a trail guide and he said a 40" bogger was pulled off a wheel in there and never recovered.

Sunday was nothing exciting. I'm not sure what trails we even ran but I thought they were supposed to be 8s. I don't think they were though. We ran squeler, went down K2 which was one of the steepest hills I've been on, then Snake and some easy stuff in between. Our intentions were to run Camp 8 trail but a TJ from the last group broke and we didn't have time to wait for a trail fix.

It was a great time and I will do my best to make it to as many Big Dogs events as possible. Everybody is very easy going and it's nice to be at a place with laid back people. Now that I have a better feel for the place I will make sure to register for higher rated trails. I also look forward to returning to finish Extreme trail. More rocks would have made the trail rides better since most of it was loose rock, hill climbs, and some off camber stuff here and there. The campground is beautiful and that part alone was worth the trip. I'm excited for our next trip to Big Dogs (Rich and Nester WILL be there - no excuses).

Hmnnnn....How to put this delicately....

Wheelin' with you all is great. Fun times on Saturday and Sunday...Mud boggin' with you all is a...well...I'll stay at camp next time...Was kinda fun and a bit funny right up until I was the one doing the recovery...

Von, sorry to hear about all the damage...

Tony, you are gonna be dangerous if you ever start to build your Jeep...It's cool to watch the "stocker" just do chit!

Nick, great wheelin' with you, nice to see what you have done to your YJ...gonna have to copy some stuff for mine...

Joe, did you really smoke your motor or just get it good and hot? And thanks for the sparks bath on Saturday night... I'm sure my hair will grow back out sometime...

Bobbi, great to see you again, as always wheelin' with Max is a study in finesse, with some throttle. Thanks for conning me into coming up to BD, think I'll have to put it on the schedule for next year.

Everyone else...was nice to meet you or see you again.

Here are some of the pictures I took on Sunday

Till the trail brings us together again....

"G-Man"

HAHAHA...that gave me a good laugh as soon as I read the first sentence! Good post...awesome pics and thanks for the pics of me coming down that steep ass hill! Thanks for spooling the winch too, I appreicated it big time!!

connordanny wrote:

You're right Joe!
A picture is worth 1000 words!

Unfortunately, in this case, none of them good and most of them foul. I'll post my version of the events, and hopefully the video, later tonight.

Great times,

Jinx

Locked_N_Loaded wrote:

Good post...awesome pics and thanks for the pics of me coming down that steep ass hill!

Funny how I almost never take the camera out anymore...Used to take 200-300 pics per weekend...

I have higher resolution copies if you want them, I drop them from 3072x2048 to 640x480 for the web.

Locked_N_Loaded wrote:

Thanks for spooling the winch too, I appreicated it big time!!

No problem at all, happy to help. Glad you and Bobbi still have working winches...They sure did work hard.

HAHA Jinx!! I love it...hope you do because it's your new name


If you could hook me up with the higher res that'd be great. I figured you dropped them because I noticed you had a nice camera. My email is njf128@gmail.com if you want to send them that way. Thanks dude!

Locked_N_Loaded wrote:

If you could hook me up with the higher res that'd be great.

You've got gmail!

Tony, you are gonna be dangerous if you ever start to build your Jeep...It's cool to watch the "stocker" just do chit!

Galen,

Thanks All though I am not sure dangerous is such a good thing... hehehe... if that is the case, roll cage is first mod after all the repairs from this run... hehehe.

Scratch that... a second vehicle to drive if I am in-operable... then roll cage... hehehe.

What a blast.

The Jeep is still a mud mess. I am off to the washers now.

It has been the talk of the town since I got home... all the neighbors came out to see it, asked where I went... a few jeep owners on the street asked for club info (gave em your card Tico).

I got to work and no one recognized my truck... not 1 person. Only when they saw the liscence plate did they know it was me, and then all i heard when they saw me has Holy S@*&. It became the punishment of the day... "Who ever doesn't do xyz has to go wash Tony's Jeep.". Never saw the store more productive.

But the proudest moment I got... I was at a red light getting on to 100 after work, a gentleman stopped beside me, rolled down his window and yelled to me "NOW THAT is what a Jeep should look like!!! Nice job buddy."

Sadly... now I must go and clean it ... but not before I get a few more pics in.

Von - If you need hands call me... I will pm you my number... "will work for knowledge ". I love learning new things... maybe in the process I will learn a thing or two about welding... hehehe.

May be out of commision for the May run (that sounds funny... )... have to assess how bad the front axle is.

Til the next post.

See ya.

Locked_N_Loaded wrote:

HAHA Jinx!! I love it...hope you do because it's your new name

Good thing I didn't bring my video camera to the mud bog...things might have really gotten ugly

This may well have been the most written about event that I have ever seen posted up, and the Big Dogs Icebreaker deserves all the fuss. I believe that it was the most well attended non-club event that I have been to. The Rock Raiders made a strong showing with 11 members present. (19 if you include spouses and guests)

The wheelin' on Saturday ended up being the whole group...picking up Kim & Jay from another line. Funny after all the fuss about who was riding which trails, in the end, we all rode together. Tony and Danny...Glad you could catch up to the group. The ride wouldn't have been the same without you. We rode a lot of definitely intermediate trails with no problems, which brought us to the hill you have all heard so much about.

Tony,

The trail ride ended early, so we found some rocks to play on. Fun times.

Nick and Joe...next time I will be on Extreme with you. Sorry I missed out on that. Seems like y'all had a good time on those rocks.

So back to the camp to start the party.... Once we all had some dinner, it was off to the mud bog. More and a lot of

Greg, you will be thanking my "voice of reason" someday, as waterskiing through the mud attached to a winch cable is, well, not really as fun as it sounded...especially for $2.

If there is one thing I learned at the mud bog it is this...If you are too drunk to drive, you are too drunk to operate a winch. So thanks G-man on both counts, I will forever be in your debt. Max and I made it out of there unscathed.

Watching the recovery of Von's rig was a sight to behold. If there were ever any doubt about how much suction is behind a mud hole, it is gone. It was an amazing recovery. It was good that we had some solid winches in the group, plus an experienced passer-by to orchestrate.

Once the rig was out of the bog, we had to pull it off the trail. Down to one winch and a lot of excited drunks who were tired of waiting for their turn to tear up their chit. Under pressure to clear the trail, we worked as fast as we could, or as fast as the winch could, to get Von's jeep in the trees.

Once that was accomplished it was back to the camp... We seemed to be a few short, but, ah well, they would find their way back.

I didn't last long at the fire. I was past my one beer limit and getting tired. I was there long enough to hear the funniest words ever spoken... "Stealing my girl is one thing, but if he took my beer, then I will really be pissed!"

That quote gave me a good old fashion "belly laugh" all over again!! I'm still laughing.

great write up everyone tony after i get everything cut off and cleaned up i will give you a hollar when my new suspension comes in, i cleaned the jeep today, boy was i tired when i got home , reached the house at 5:00 pm pics of damage https://s58.photobucket.com/albums/g262/vonbierman/big%20dogs/ my spring are hooked to tereflex z-boxes that allows the springs to move sideways at drop when articulating, i think they opened up when i was on my side and when i got winched back , with the suction of the mud, the spring could not handle it and they simply bent. it was god telling me to go ahead redo the suspension, ha made it an easy decision all i need now is the money ................................................... HEY ISNT THAT SOMETHING JOES GRANDADDY USE TO SAY

Well I must say I had an awesome time this weekend. Although as of right now I don't have my own jeep, I enjoy being apart of the 4-wheelin adventure. (and it's always an adventure!) It's awesome meeting people and getting to wheel with such a wide range of people. I also enjoy all the craziness in the evening! One thing I have noticed is no matter where we wheel or with who, everyone rocks! I'm sure this weekend and the stories (haha guess you had to be there) that go with it will be talked about again and again. Glad to be apart of it and can't wait for the next one! Until then everyone take care and


-Nicki

more vids and pics... mostly of aftermath...

trying to use photoshop pro tools to adjust the night shots... i will post them if i get them fixed.

tony

https://s157.photobucket.com/albums/t65/prophoto26/Big%20Dogs%20Icebreaker%202007/

Hey Tony you should post the video on U-tube and call it a day after four wheeling comes the clean up. Put some music to it and who knows...
Great picks thanks!