Solihull Society

If you missed the CPR/First Aid Class in September, we still have 3 vouchers that can be used to take a class on your own time. The cost for the voucher is $60 (payable to Solihull Society) and the class can be taken at any American Red Cross Mile High Chapter location. Here is the link to see the class lists: www.denver-redcross.org

These vouchers will need to be used by the end of the year, December 31, 2009. If you are interested please e-mail Karen Kreutzer at: karen.kreutzer@solihullsociety.org

A Solihull Society meeting was held on June 6th, 2009 at El Señor Sol Restaurant in Denver.  The meeting was called to order by our club president Karen Kreutzer.  Turnout was excellent with 33 people including several new members and a few guests.

Rally Status: Chris Doty announced that rally plans are nearing completion.  Details include:

Staging Area for our morning muster will be the same as in 2005, in the “I Love Leadville” area known as Poverty Flats.  Permission was kindly granted by the owner, with no fee.  The suggestion has been made is that we invite him to our banquet as a guest.  The club is to provide him with a case of beer and proof of insurance, indemnifying the owner against all claims.  As there are no facilities, the club will provide 2 port-a-potties.

Vendor Night will be in the Ice Palace Park behind the Leadville mining museum. Permission has been granted with no fee.  The park will be available from noon to 10pm. Please note that this is a public park, it cannot be completely shut off to the public.  Requirements: A donation should be made to the Lake County Recreation Department.  Club is to supply 2 additional port-a-potties placed next to the bathrooms. In case it is requested we will have a copy of insurance on hand.

Volunteers are needed to handle rally tasks other than trail leading.  So far Jesse Adams and Mike Jablonski have offered to help.  If you would like to help with this, please advise Chris Doty or Paul Donohue.

Trail Leaders’ get together is scheduled for July 25.  For details please contact Chris Doty and/or Jim Hall.

Summer BBQ Picnic: Wendy Vaughn reports that plans have been finalized.  Location is Pioneer Park in Arvada, near Ralston Road & Garrison Street, on August 30, 2009 from 2:00 to 6:00 PM. The club will provide meats and soft drinks.  So that we don’t all bring the same side dishes, Wendy has signed us up at:  http://www.luckypotluck.com/potluck/SolihullSocietysSummerPicnic

Graham Jackson made a short presentation on guidelines and rules for convoy.  His version is much different than my old copy of convoy rules which includes armored escorts and Huey gunships overhead.

The meeting concluded followed by the traditional small gatherings around various Land Rovers in the parking lot.

Submitted by Paul Donohue Club Secretary

The list of summer trails is now up in the forum. Please volunteer to lead one. The dates can be changed to Sunday if the leader would like, just ask me, Jimfoo. It looks like this year will be far better than last as we haven’t been hammered by so much snow. Trails are mostly every other week, with more towards the end of the year. Trails and dates may change, so please check before you go, and post in the forum so the trail leader knows you are going, and MORE IMPORTANTLY, let them know if you were signed up and decide to cancel so they aren’t waiting for someone who isn’t going to show. I hope you enjoy this year’s trails!!

Trails were posted in chronological order, but may get out of order as people post, and that trail moves to the top. I will try to keep the upcoming trail on top.

The first trail of the year is Chinaman Gulch, by Buena Vista on March 21st. This trail looked to be clear of snow the last time I drove by the area.

EAS Conversion Tech Article

After talking to many fellow roverholics (Yes, I mean you Paul!), I decided to take the leap and get an old Range to use as a heavy trail rig. My goal was just to find a truck in good condition and running for the most part. After look around, mainly on the west coast, I did find some very worthy trucks. After working out the details of the purchase with my wife, I decided to by a 93’ LWB. Initially, I did not believe I was going to buy anything that still had the stock suspension in it. Amazingly enough, the truck still had the working EAS system in it. The bags did not look replaced as they were very worn.

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All photos are of Rattle Snake and the Colorado National Monument

On the weekend of June 23-24 several club members met to pre run some trails in the Grand Junction area. Jim (66 Series IIa) and Pete (70 Series IIa) linked up on I70 outside of Denver and drove over the ‘hill’ to Grand Junction. After dinner they met up with Neil (96 Disco) near the Bangs Canyon trail head. The three discovered that overnight camping was not allowed at the trail head so followed the Billings Canyon trail about a mile and a have until they found a good spot to set up for the night.
In the morning the three went to Starbucks to meet up with anyone else that wanted to run some trails. Gem (2002 D-II) arrived and after waiting for a while to ensure that no one else was coming the four trucks made their way towards the Colorado National Monument and the mornings first trail.

After crossing the bridge over the CO River there are plenty of signs marking the way to the Monument. At the first turn there is a gas station that had the lowest priced gas/diesel in town. They also have a quarter operated air pump. This is also on the way to the Bangs Canyon OHV area.
The entrance to the CO National Monument is just a few miles further down the road. At the Ranger Station you need to pay $10 per vehicle if you are going to be stopping in the park, but it’s free if you are passing straight through. We just went straight through but for the Rally we will be stopping at all of the scenic overlooks. On the far side of the park is West Glade road, two lane gravel. A short distance down this is the entrance to the trail with a sign Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness Area. Turn right here.

There is a large parking area with a map board explaining about the area, this is a good spot to air down a little, 20-25psi should be fine. There are a few areas on the trail that have some small rocks and a couple loose gravel climbs. Airing down isn’t really needed for these areas, but it does help to smooth out the bumps. The signs posted here explain how the canyon is two different trails. One that follows the rim prior to August 15th and the second follows the canyon after August 15th. So we had to take the upper trail, while for the Rally we will be using the lower. The lower is going to be the more difficult of the two, but still only rates a 4 and is passable by any stock Rover.
When the upper and lower trails meet back together you are now at the beginning of Rattle Snake Canyon trail itself. The trail follows on a finger point of land sticking out into the canyon. About half way down the trail there is a pull off on the right. As long as everyone parks tight there will be enough room to get a dozen trucks off the main trail. This pull off is on the canyon rim and has some great views.

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On June 3rd, 18 trucks made the trek north to run Kelly Flats. The vehicle make-up varied from stock to heavily modified trucks consisting of 9 Discovery Is and Discovery IIs, 3 Defenders, 3 Range Rover Classics, 2 LR3s and 1 Jeep. The weather was great and the scenery superb. Multiple lines were tried as the truck proceeded up Heart Attack hill without real incident. The real entertainment of the day started when everyone rolled up to the Chutes. Anthony in his D90 ST made quick work of the obstacle with only minor body damage. Next up was Kyle in his ‘customized’ RRC. Kyle quickly showed his energetic and enthusiastic driving style. The line chosen, ‘careful’ spotting by Ali, along with ample skinny pedal resulted in Kyle landing on his side. The truck was put back on it’s wheel with a strap and manual labor. A little winch action was required to properly orient the RRC Special, but after that Kyle proceeded through the rest of the obstacle with spirits non-the-less dampened. [Considering Kyle’s recent propensity to do acrobatics with his truck and the nice job he did fabricating the roll cage of this soft top RRC, one has to wonder how long it will take for him to make a complete external skeleton for the truck and stop typing up wanted ads each week on the forum for body panels.] Next up was Ali and his RRC. He chose a more delicate style of driving to negotiate his way through the obstacle. With just a little rock-to-metal contact he was through. Garbs was next and made it look easy with the short wheel-base of his D90 SW with 37” MTRs and rugged sliders. Scott in his DiscoII climbed up the first part of the obstacle with a nice wheel-stand and subsequent soft positioning of the truck’s front wheels back on the ground. He made it through with just a little rubbing (“Rubbin’s racing”- Days of Thunder) to the driver’s rear quarter panel. Last up was Jimmy in his highly modified DI. With the right line and ample use of his sliders he too was through with just a little ‘rubbin’. The rest of the contingent having taken the by-pass with their vehicles took a seat in the rocks to enjoy the show. Everyone had a great time, and served as a reminder that anyone interested in running trails with the club should come on out and enjoy themselves, regardless of their type of Rover, modifications, and driving experience.

Running Kelly Flats today was popular (16 trucks) and interesting!! Trip Report to follow….