As told by my friend, Mike Hankock: Last Frontier 4wheelers
Video and Photography by- Scott Brady, Expeditions West
After missing the first Ruby Lake run of the season, there was no way I was going to miss the second. We're well into the rainy season here in South Central Alaska, so the trail promised to be almost as slick as it is just after breakup every year. Since Ruby Lake can take a bite out of you even when dry, we expected a little trail carnage, but what we got was more than we bargained for. |
Great video of off-camber portion of the trail |
| Chad (Explorer), Bryan (CJ-5), Dave (Bronco), Phil (winch monkey), and I (CJ-5) decided to revisit my favorite trail this time around. Joining us were my friend from Arizona, Scott; Bo and Barbra (YJ), who were on vacation from New York; and Steve and family (Bronco). After the usual drive up the Glenn Highway, we aired down at the parking area and started off towards the lake and the actual trail. |
Cool water crossing video |
| It was obvious that the area had seen its share of rain over the past couple weeks, but the water really hadn't soaked in very far. A little surface mud was present, but nothing of any consequence. As we proceeded down the trail next to the Kings River, I was focused on getting to the challenging sections. A call came over the radio that Steve's Bronco was stuck in the water, so those of us in front stopped to wait and stood around talking. We all thought that it needed a small tug through the optional water crossing. When the voice on the radio said that they had successfully extracted the son from the vehicle, we all started running as quickly as possible through the greasy mud back towards the bridge. When we reached the bridge, we found the Bronco had fallen off of the right side of the bridge and was upside down in the fast-moving creek. After making sure everyone was unhurt, we started winching the vehicle upright. A second winch was called into play to try to extract the Bronco backwards, but small trees and a couple stumps blocked that route. A third winch was used to pull the vehicle forward onto the bridge with the other winches providing stability. Once on solid ground, the plugs were pulled/cleaned, excess oil was blown out of the cylinders, and the vehicle damage was assessed. Overall the Bronco wasn't in too bad of shape, and to their credit Steve and family decided to continue on- although with a greater degree of caution. Considering their experience so far, I can't say I blamed them. |
Video of Rolled Bronco
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Great video of the CJ-5 wheel lift |
| The trail leading up to the lake had a few fun spots, but nothing overly challenging. The first mud hole was easily conquered, and nothing really gave us any trouble until right before the first rock section. As Bryan crested a short hill with a 90 degree turn at the top, we heard a loud bang come from his vehicle. We all thought he had broken a u-joint, but a quick examination of the vehicle showed he had broken his passenger side rear leaf pack at the front of the spring plate- all four leaves sheared off evenly. That's one for the history books. A quick call to Greg's cell phone located the required parts, and Bryan and Dave made the trip out in Dave's Bronco to pick up the leaf spring. Steve and the family decided that their fun meters were just about pegged here, so they followed Dave out to the trailhead. Considering the hardest parts of the trail were still ahead of them, it probably was the right decision. While Dave and Bryan were occupied with parts acquisition, the rest of us continued up to the rocks. |
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The rock sections had changed quite a bit since I was last on the trail, with some sections becoming easier and some new obstacles being created. We wove our way through them rather quickly, and somewhere along the line I scraped the sheet metal right behind my drivers side rear tire. Oh well, won't be the last time that happens. Nobody seemed to have any real trouble here, and before I knew it we were off the hillside and moving towards the z-turn. |
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| Just before the z-turn there is a small mud pit with an abrupt exit. I tried a few times to make it up and out, but the steep exit was too much for me and my skid plate bottomed out every time, forcing me to go around it. Bo made several attempts at the hole and managed a little front tire air in the process. During one of his attempts, we noticed a lot of air leaking out of his rear tire. He backed out of the hole and we went to work on the tire to dislodge the gunk in his rim. Although we slowed the leakage considerably, we decided to put on the spare tire to be on the safe side. The z-turn mud pit was no problem going in, although the way the bank was dug away led me to believe that getting out wouldn't be so easy. |
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| The pace to the top of the plateau was fairly leisurely, and we really didn't have any real problems here. The short hill I tipped on a couple years back was a walk in the park, and before we knew it we were at the traditional end of the trail for the club. We stopped for a few pictures and to look around, but since the hour was still relatively early and there was still trail ahead of us, I wanted to see how far we could go. A few hills from the usual stopping place the trail started narrowing and began to head downhill, so I chose to shoot up a small hill for a good photo op. The trail stopped at a great spot overlooking the Kings River Valley and the mountains that surround it. A couple rocks provided the right setting for trail rig photos, and we posed the vehicles one by one for maximum effect. We could see it was raining at the trailhead, so we started back towards the rocks before darkness and/or rain caught up with us. |
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Video (great wheel stand!)
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As expected, the return trip was more difficult than the trip in. The z-turn thwarted my attempts at driving out, and I winched myself up and out of the mud hole. There was a second, smaller mud hole above the z-turn that a finally managed to drive out of after a lot of trying. Bo and Barbra tried another route out of the z-turn, and almost rolled when their YJ slid backwards down the steep hill. They also tried and failed at the usual exit, and winched out of both of the mud holes. Chad brought up the rear, and to our surprise he drove right out of the z turn on his first attempt, although he needed to be snatched out of the second since it was pretty chewed up by the time he got there. We made excellent time up to the rocks, and drove through the mud pit that had beaten us before since the exit was easier from this direction. |
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Primarily due to my narrow track width and blind luck/fear, I drove up the last rock section without any difficulty and parked just before the v-notch so that the next vehicle would have room to park. Bo tried several lines with his YJ before we hit on one that would allow him to conquer the obstacle unassisted. Chad wasn't so lucky, and we resorted to stacking logs and rocks to allow his rear differential to clear the rocks. Even then, the full-width axles and long wheelbase wouldn't allow a clean line, so we made do with what we were given and finally got him up the rocks without winching. The v-notch provided a little fun from this direction as well. Bo and I chose to put a tire on the bank and then pivot around the rock as the rear tire passed. However, this put our vehicles at a pretty good off-camber angle, which caused Bo to grin crazily and Barbra to scream. In fact, if Phil hadn't put a steadying hand on the roof of the YJ, there might have been another rollover to report. Chad's long wheelbase helped here, and his vehicle never seemed to get tippy at all since the rear tires were firmly planted. Once the rocks were cleared, we parked next to Bryan's Jeep and waited for them to return. |
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| Once Dave and Bryan showed up with the spring, the Jeep was quickly repaired. We prodded Bryan into running the rocks (wasn't that hard), and we all watched as he ran them both directions with less effort than most of us exhibited. Looking to get off of the trail and back to Palmer before McDonalds closed, I pushed the group to make good time back to the trailhead. Although it was dark and rather late by the time we reached Palmer, I still got my McFood fix for the day and we stayed past closing discussing the day's events. |
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| I had a great time wheeling with everyone and I expect that this won't be the last time we visit Ruby Lake. At any rate, it was everything I've come to expect from this trail, and more. You never know when or where things are going to get interesting... |
-Mike Hancock |
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