Trip Reports - Spring Creek
June 20th, 2004 by Solihull Soceity,Downieville, Colorado - In the week prior to our trip we heard of a 3 hour wait at the rock garden due to slow traffic, snow traffic, and stock traffic. Also it was reported that the bypass was blocked by tree trunks. Timeliness by the Solihull riders prevented all that potential distraction and resulted in a pleasant ride in the mountains.
Things I didn’t know before this trip:
You can call yourself [or is it Yousef] the greatest
You can keep a dog in your jacket or purse but not one of Kristy’s horses
You can lose a cow on the trail and not have a Charlie
You still can get free air if you follow Carl
You can wear a safari hat in Colorado , only if you’re Carl
You can expect sons to show-up fathers
You can’t expect to move large trees
You can experience four seasons in June
The Solihull participants:
Matt, Cat, Hans , and Gabe Schulze with Rollie dog, in their red ‘95 D90 with Blanca modifications
Chris Davis in his white ‘94 D90 w/o a rollcage
Yousef Hamzeh in “Big Yousef”, the ‘95 D90 red monster and guest Mike Morphew
Kristy Long with Max the Chihuahua in her ‘95 D90 “Princess Buttercup” with Jan Smith as guest
Carl Padgett , wife Judi and daughter Dani in the white “everything kool” ‘97 D90 hardtop
Ali Vali, wife Kirsten and son Peyton in the polo green ‘93 Rangie
Larry Grubs in the “downsized” burned red ‘90 Rangie
Charlie Haigh and wife Pam in a “custom blue” ‘86 110 pickup with a 300 TDI
Hans Schulze and wife Roseanne in a white ‘95 D90 softop
An unexpected timely departure from the Evergreen Park meeting place resulted in futz time at the Starbucks caffeine cabana that was utilized for airing down, gassing up, and all around good natured socializing, By the time we arrived at the trailhead, Larry had his now “princess” un-trailered and un-aired. And when no other groups were assembled at the trail head, we forgot about potential backups. That was until 10 “Toys” passed us at the trailhead, some properly modified for the impending challenges but some not. Oh excrement! But unexpectedly they pulled off to the side to start pre-trail preparations, and therefore good riddance as we passed them….with a friendly wave.
The only expected wheeler that hadn’t arrived was Ali, but a couple of minutes into the trail, a familiar voice boomed over the CB and by the time we started the first obstacle, the troupe was intact. And this rocky, sand peppered, uphill, off-camber climb met with varied degrees of success, but all making it. In the tradition of throwing good bodies into good trucks, Yousef thought he’d put himself between the down-hill and Chris’s D.
As we traversed the kidney rattling switch-backs, we noticed the Toys ahead of us. They either didn’t know about the optional first obstacle or they chose to by-pass it. But they were a friendly bunch and let us play thru.
The next plaything was a bouldered and gullied, 160 degree, uphill turn, natured with pines and aspens on both sides. Some did the 8-point turn to position the obstacle in a favorable, straight-on approach, whilst [thanks Norm] those with tires, temerity, and time cut the corner where it was the steepest and required a left turn at the same time. Open Matt was able to easily do what some locked vehicles struggled with. In the tradition of man over-powering machine, Carl thought he could help Kristy by pulling uphill by her front bumper.
From there, it was several switch-backs and potty stops to the rock garden where three J**ps were finishing their version. Ours lasted until the Toys were able to catch up to us. Long enough for most to have lunch and Peyton to play with his off-road vehicle, reportedly with a little unsteadiness, little like his ole man, eh? Then nature dumped rain-snow-hail material, just enough to dampen the ground but not the spirits.
The by-pass, now chain-sawed open, looked inviting to some, but everyone attempted the harder lines first. No slackers here. Further up the garden was a section where you can get stuck between a rock and a hard place. Several tried, several made it, several were strapped back. Several took the far left by-pass, but not Charlie. He wanted to try door number 2, in between the other two choices. This puppy was bookcased with two trees, and boulders leaning to one side. Charlie now sports a modified roof, but he was a sport about the whole thing.
Although most already had lunch, we wanted to take a break at the clearing, close to the top. There Hans and Gabe could throw meteors into the mud pit, and Rollie could chase anything on fours. We reminisced about past rides, and discussed mods, what else, eh?
It started to drizzle as we descended the switch-backs to Georgetown where some used the pay-for-air machine while some relied on Chris’ compressor. Carl, Kristy, and Yousef started down the frontage road, back toward Downieville, soon followed by Matt and myself when we realized they knew of a free-air machine.
After airing up and gassing up, talk turned to food. Matt et al, Kristy and guest, and Roseanne and I took the frontage to Idaho Springs to eat buffalo. There we saw Charlie’s truck and figured Chris’ vehicle had to be there too. Kristy hinted that her wipers were mysteriously customized while the truck was parked, but we don’t know the details.
Another pleasant Solihull outing.
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