|
We all appreciate having a good guide when dealing with interesting obstacles on the trail. Being a guide is more than a t-shirt, a sticker, or a flag. A guide has to know the trail and the experience levels of the other drivers, so that the guide can anticipate where issues could occur. Unfortunately, the trails are always changing due to other off road vehicles and weather conditions, so being prepared for the unknown is key to a fun safe trip into the bush. A guide needs to know....A guide also needs to know how to attack different obstacles with the wide variety of rigs. We have CJ’s, YJ’s, XJ’s, TJ’s, JK’s, JKU’s, JL’s, some Rubicon’s mixed in and they all tend to wheel differently. A 4 door with the longer wheel base sometimes needs a whole different line than a 2 door, as do the Gladiator, Trail Hawk, Cherokees. Stock, lifts, tire sizes, skid plates, rock rails, steel bumpers, automatics, standards, lockers, winch, and even the ages of the rigs make a huge difference. The newest models have buttons for hill descents or climbs, disconnects, and even lockers. Older models have to do it all the hard way. This is where the experience levels come in handy. Guides have to be aware of all of this. This is why it is great to have at least 2 guides on a trail, but very best is to have 3 guides, one at the front, one in the middle, and one at the back. That way the drivers can be spread out with help close at hand. With a couple of guides, no one gets left behind because one guide can help a crippled rig out to the trail head and wait for help. Trail Guide duties How do the guides line up the rigs? The guides try to spread out the drivers by considering their experience and the capability of each rig. Well, it’s always a smart idea to put an experienced driver in front of an inexperienced driver with the same size rig, if possible, so that lines are easier to follow. Other things guides look for are winches and CB radios. CB radios are key to warn the drivers of any unexpected issues as well as making sure everyone is ok. Sometimes, it is easier to guide a rig up an obstacle from behind using a CB., especially if there is a big water hole between rigs. Guides try to carry everything with them from rescue equipment , engine liquids, tools, to first aid kits and bring a lot of experience with them. Many have taken guide /first aid training which helps immensely. Hopefully, when or if we ever kill this Covid, Tim Janssen can offer his excellent guiding course and Erin Burrell can train guides in basic first aid for possible trail injuries. In conclusion....After all of this, why would anyone become a guide? I know I get a lot of satisfaction seeing the happy faces on the participants after a fun day on the trails. I take pride in doing a good job. We try to impart the rules of off roading by example, by treading lightly, being courteous to other groups on the trail, and taking more garbage out than we take in. We have several excellent guides in COORJC and are always looking for more. You don’t have to start as a lead guide. You can be a tail gunner or a middle guide and still be an important part of a fun, safe day. It is very rewarding. PLEASE CONSIDER VOLUNTEERING TO BE A GUIDE SO THAT WE CAN RUN MORE TRAILS IN THE FUTURE!!
STAY SAFE, JEEP MOM
1 Comment
I hope this letter finds you all well and anticipating being able to get out on the trails once more. Having said that, with the Stay At Home order on until at least May 20, it makes everything so much harder. At least you can go out for food or appointments with the top down and doors off and enjoy that part of owning a Jeep. (Sorry to all owners of jeeps that can’t do that. No insult intended.) COORJC is asking that we follow the Covid protocols, showing everyone what a great club we are and presenting a respectful front. Once the Covid restrictions have lightened up, we have a full schedule of runs and events this season. Check out the calendar on the website and you will see that many weekends and even some week days have already been planned with trail clean up, several Rookie Runs, camping, lots of trail runs, bbq, and trail discovery. It is unfortunate that we had to cancel some events already planned , but they will be posted at a later date. When you do want to join a trail run, it’s going to be quite different this year. You will have to go to the website calendar and register there. You will receive confirmation and you will be sent a reminder of your upcoming trail run . If you find that you can’t make it, then you are asked to cancel your participation, allowing someone else to join the group. With our club membership close to 300 members, and only able to have 10 jeeps per trail (once Covid restrictions are lifted) every spot is needed. As you can suspect, to try to accommodate as many members as possible, we will be running multiple trails as long as we have the Trail Guides. Team COORJC (Board members) has been meeting via zoom or google meet once a month to keep the planning going on all through the winter and spring. A huge thanks to Erin Burrell for setting up these meetings. Once the Covid restrictions are lifted, we are all primed and ready to go. I don’t know how many of you joined in on the OF4WD AGM, but I thought I should pass on some of the high lights to those members who didn’t . -Camp NL is cancelled -lots of trail repair took place thanks to joint efforts by HATFA, KATVA, OF4WD, OFSC, TriCity, Ottawa Jeep club, LRAA, and of course, COORJC. -MTO wants OF to join in with other off road groups to set up a more formalized system to keep trails open and safe (still in planning stage) -Economic Insurance will insure modified jeeps and give a discount to members of OF The Group Code is OF4WD 5351 - 2 of our members are on the new OF Board -Joshua Dean and Randy Kunert. Thanks guys! Advertising has become an issue on our Face Book Group site. We only want our sponsors to have that privilege. If a company or shop wants to advertise then become a sponsor, no problem. Thanks to our sponsors’ donations, Tara and Adam have some excellent give aways for their Rookie Runs! Speaking of Rookie Runs, Tara and Adam have put a great deal of work into planning the upcoming season, and it looks amazing. Well, I hope that many of you are able to take advantage of this better weather to work on your jeeps as long as you can get your parts! Please everyone take care and I hope to see many of you out on the trails this year. Stay Safe, Lynda Darling (Jeep Mom) Well I hope everyone is enjoying this heat wave more than I am . I’m one of those who hates this humidity and I have never complained about the snow and cold of Winter. At least in the winter, I can put on more clothes. In this heat, there’s not much more to take off other than skin. Lol. Anyway, I hope everyone has a cool place to relax.
Wow, COORJC has been so busy and it’s still early July. First was the trails’ investigation and clean up held near the end of May. It was quite an onerous task for Angie and Mark to organize around the protocols of COVID 19, allowing only 5 people total. Well they did it and it worked out really well. We had 35 people, including 7 Guides, and did parts of 3 trails. We were able to check out North and South Picard, North and South Old Logging, and North, South, and Middle section of Gooderham Trails. We socially distanced ourselves and had a very good day. Trails got checked, cleaned, and we got to finally break out into the woods. Thank you Angie and Mark and to all of the Guides. I heard that Ernie took a little side adventure with his group. What a surprise, lol. Then June arrived with the darn mosquitoes, deer and horse flies that were ravenous. We have had trails planned for nearly every weekend, still following COVID 19 rules. I guided Concession and Gooderham and I know there were more groups out. What happened next was truly amazing! Thanks to Jayne Horton for allowing her property to be Base camp, Angie and Mark set up a trail/kayak schedule for the week of July 1st that boggled my mind. Of course the biggest obstacle was still COVID 19, so participation at Basecamp and on all of the adventures were limited to totals of 10, but it was done! I know I missed being able to sit around the fire after a full, fun day on the trails with everyone, but maybe next year. With the help of great Guides, we were able to offer Shoe Lake (2x’s), Concession (3x’s), Gooderham (2x’s), Greens, Norland (2x’s), Shoe Lace, Minden, Beaver Dam, Pencil Lake. A huge thank you to our Guides : Mark, Ernie, Randy, Tim, Mark John, and Lynda . I helped 3x’s too. Lol I know it was hard on our jeeps and our bodies. Thanks to Angie and Jayne for being the kayak hostesses and adding a lot of enjoyment to several kayak enthusiasts. I hope that many of you got to partake in some of the adventures with us. Now on a more serious note! It was brought to my attention that some young guys with COORJC stickers on their jeeps were seen drinking beer on the Minden trail last weekend. The MNR just happened to be on that trail as well. My friend spoke to them and they didn’t hesitate to pour out their beers, which was awesome. PLEASE, PLEASE DON’T TAKE ALCOHOL OR DRUGS ON THE TRAILS. Keep that stuff at home or at the camp site. We are desperately trying to hold onto our trails with the MNR. We don’t need to give them any reason to ban us from Crown Lands like they did just recently in Burleigh Falls. The MNR are being very watchful now. Enough of the serious stuff. I hope that everyone is able to get out on the trails and enjoy our wonderful sport, safely. Be Smart, Stay Safe, Lynda Darling, JEEP MOM Hello Fellow Jeepers, I hope everyone has a good stockpile of toilet paper! Sorry, couldn’t help myself. Everyone I have spoken to cannot understand this mania, so who the heck started it? I was one of those foolish people who wasn’t concerned and allowed my supply of tp to dwindle to 2 rolls. Oh boy, I couldn't believe my eyes when I went to our own Valu mart in Bobcaygeon to find one package of 12 Mega rolls that cost $22. I picked up a few packages of No Name Brand for myself and friends who were out , and boy did I get looks of derision. One lady had a good idea. She having 6 kids, told them that when they run out, there were lots of single socks in the laundry room to use. Lol On the serious side, I’m sure as caring people that we are, we would be glad to share what we have with people less fortunate at this time. Club AGMOn a much lighter note, last Sat., March 7/20 was our first AGM at the Bobcaygeon Lions Hall. It was an awesome meeting, all very positive, and just great to see so many old friends and meet new ones. Mark and Angie certainly have created a wonderful club with wonderful people. We had a good turnout of nearly 40 people and we got to enjoy yummy sandwiches, veggies, cookies, coffee, tea, pop, and water. Maybe that was why everyone was positive! Actually, I think it was more like everyone was very glad to start talking about our Spring and Summer wheeling plans with so many enthusiastic Jeep people. It was great to have Peter Wood, President of OF4WD, come out to explain OF’s beginnings, its progress, and its importance to us at this time. He did remind us that the Minden (Scotch Line) trail will still be open, BUT only to the posted sign until Sept. We must continue to observe this restriction or we lose the trail altogether. We finished the afternoon with a fantastic pot luck dinner and great social time. All I know is that I was super excited for May 1/20 that afternoon. One note I must add. A few people in Bobcaygeon asked me after, what was going on with all of those cool jeeps outside of the Lions Hall and down the street. We were noticed, lol. As you have seen posted, Mark has stepped down from being President, ( the poor old guy needs a break, lol) handing the challenge onto Tim Janssen, a very worthy choice. With Justen Winster as Vice President and Angie Sims still looking after our Finances/Admin., our club is in great hands. Don’t worry, Mark won’t be going anywhere. Final NotesDon’t forget that the OF4WD AGM will be held on March 29/2020 at West Shore Community Centre, 1015 Bayly Street, Pickering, Ont. Registration is at 11:30am Meeting starts at 12:30pm. That is if it is still on with this darn virus. Stay tuned for updates.
Please everyone be smart and safe. Stay in the garage and work on your jeeps, they don’t carry the virus. Get parts sent in! Remember that Spring starts on March 19/20 this year! Woohoo !! Cheers, Lynda Darling -Jeep Mom Wow, what an awesome wheeling season we have had. Nearly every weekend and some week days , our members were out clearing trails, teaching rookies how to enjoy the sport we love, finding and trying new trails, enjoying the old trails that always seem to change each time, attempting more challenging trails, camping wheeling weekends, holding the Tough Truck event, helping out at Thunder in the Hills, helping out during the Minden flood, trail guide training, participating at Trail Fest and Camp N.L.,and even having a club bbq. I think many of us would agree that participating in the passing of the flag and collecting food for the Kawartha Food Share was the ultimate event of the season. I was sure proud to see so many COORJC members flying our club and Canadian flags in the convoy to Buckhorn and then onto Belleville. LJ was the only member who decided to put his Jeep in a ditch. LOL
Well now that our public wheeling season is over as of today, Dec. 1. It’s time to reflect on all of our wonderful adventures and the new people we met on the way. It’s also time to make our Christmas wish lists for Jeep upgrades or repair parts (of which I require several) I ended the season with 3 leaking shocks, horrific death wobble, and a heater core replacement. A huge thanks to Andrew Burrell at Kawartha Jeep Werks for taking on repairing my girl in his spare time. I was glad I only had to drive her into Peterborough from Bobcaygeon . I lost count of how many times I enjoyed the death wobble on the way, but at least I was able to take a lot of back roads without a lot of traffic. If you still want to challenge yourself and your jeeps this winter, don’t forget Ray’s Place in Minden for some interesting wheeling adventures. At this time, I would like to thank Mark and Angie Sims for starting up such an amazing club and continuously creating great adventures with the help of awesome guides. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all COORJC members and families. Stay safe out there! Lynda Darling -Jeep Mom I know it’s been awhile since my last newsletter, but even though I’m retired, life is crazy busy!
Talk about busy, COORJC certainly has been since even before the season started with a Board meeting to set up trail clean up, events, trail runs, and training. We even helped out at the Minden flooding. Two members of our Board have been particularly busy. Andrew and Erin were blessed with the arrival of their beautiful little Chloe, our youngest member, and then Erin became Mrs. Burrell. Congratulations to you both! As soon as May 1st occurred, plans were made and volunteers jumped on board to scout out the trails and do trail clean up, depending on the trail conditions. Caution was taken not go into trails that were far too wet for off road traffic. In fact, the Gooderham clean up didn’t take place until May 11/19. We did have a great Jeep meet at Kawartha Chrysler on Tues. May 7/19 where we were warmly welcomed. Unfortunately our June meet was cancelled due to inclement weather. June started off with Trail Guide training by Tim Janssen and Mark Sims held at Ray’s Place. We learned about tire repairs, stem repairs, chain saws, winches, and necessary equipment to carry. Tim supplied hands on equipment, which was awesome. Erin Burrell and Chloe gave us excellent lessons on emergency first aid related to possible trail emergencies. It was definitely a great day that all members would benefit from attending. Hopefully, Tim and Mark will run another training day. We also had the opportunity to enjoy a lot of hands on winching on Ray’s trails. Lol I guided a great group on a Sunday drive through the Pencil Lake trail where we encountered lots of water and mud. It was a fun day. Thanks to Brad Yhard and Mark for comparing electric to gas chainsaws and also finding a nice bypass around the big water crossing. This was an existing ATV route so tread lightly was used. It was a tad tight though, especially for 4 doors. I took the water crossing lol. June 8 was our Rookie Run on the Gooderham trail that went very well, with many happy wheelers. The biggest and newest undertaking for us was the Tough Truck event held at the Millbrook Fair on June 9. For being our first year, it went really well. We had quite a variety of trucks to test their capabilities in a short and long mud hole, the RTI ramp, and a nasty rock garden. Justen Winster did an excellent job as the M.C., keeping everything running well. Everyone came away with huge smiles on their faces, especially Mark and Angie who did a fantastic job putting this event together. Justen Winster took us on an awesome run through Minden on June 15. I ran as the tail end and got to enjoy some very interesting off shoots following Ernie Sperling . I had to keep reminding myself that I only have a 2 1/2 “ lift on 35’s with a limited slip and I’m following Ernie with a 4-5” lift on 37’s, locked front and rear, and regeared. Needless to say, it was FUN, definitely not stock or newbie trails. We did stop at the outhouse where we have been asked to stop and turn around by Parks and Recreation and Ministry of the Environment. There were absolutely no signs and the outhouse has been flattened. We did ask a couple of jeeps to turn around explaining the situation and they were very cooperative. To me this doesn’t bode well. Without signage, I can see everyone who is unaware of the restriction, will continue on to the lake. Ernie took a group out to Gooderham and by all accounts, everyone had a great time. Dave Mayer and Ruth Versluis are based in Maynooth and are trying to find new trails for us up there. They could really use some other jeeps to accompany them. It’s never wise to go alone. Please consider helping out. I would be remiss to not mention that we gained our sister club, NOORJC, based out of North Bay. We always have a standing invitation to join them on a run or two. We have a great weekend planned for Canada Day at Jayne Horton’s home in Kinmount. Jayne has kindly offered camping for everyone and make sure to bring your canoes and kayaks. She is on the river. She and Rick have built an outdoor shower and will have a porta potty. Those of us who are not camping can go on day runs. Angie has set up a Sunday night dinner including pulled pork if there is enough interest. Thanks so much Jayne for having us!!! Well, my iPad is dying. Hope to see many of you this weekend or at least on the trails. Cheers, JEEP MOM With the new year brings OF4WD Membership renewals and new sign ups. Will you be part of the team? And if so, Will you be joining on your own or thru your favorite Club?
Was your off road season what you expected it would be?
|
COORJCOntario's #1 Jeep Club Archives
September 2021
Categories |
RSS Feed