Friday morning everyone woke up, and milled around the barn for a while. Ed arrived, and we decided to head down to The Pit for some warm up runs. Adam was first in - showing off with a few passes back and forth in 4wd and 2wd, ingesting a little water in the process. I was up next.
Dakota: "What's your prediction?"
Adam: "Oh he's gettin' stuck for sure. Tom is gonna get stuck, 95% sure."
Dakota: "Well there's a vote of confidence"
(Tom blasts through The Pit without flinching)
Adam: "Adam was wrong!"
I came around for a 2nd run - and went in on the other side. I became stuck almost 3/4th's of the way through, and took some waterin the engine. Adam, with Dakota assisting - pulled me out.
Dakota was next with his new 33" Thornbirds. They were flinging large hunks of mud way up in the air. Dakota's Dak left the BBQ not simply brown this year - but plastered with chunks. Jon finishes up the trial runs with a few passes in his Ram.
(Jon makes a run through in 2wd, has to use 4wd to get out)
Adam: "SIDEWAYS!! Jon has to go sideways to make up for that!"
(Jon drives across The Pit sideways)
Amazing......
As this is happening, Andy and Neil are rolling down the side of the airstrip. More intros take place, as well as truck examinations - followed by more runs through The Pit. Neil walks through in 4wd - prompting later ribbing about his "Bleazard like crawl".
Adam stalled in The Pit twice, the 2nd time requiring Dakota to pull him out. Adam, at one point, took a squeegee to his side windows to clean the mud off. --- Oh the irony! --- After Adam's Dak was removed and allowed to dry out - a neighbor friend of Jon's came by with a front loader/backhoe and attempted to churn up one side of The Pit. It worked to some extent, creating some nice bumps and holes.
After the backhoe churned and chopped up the mud - Jon takes the Ram through a couple of times. I was determined to make it through The Pit a 2nd time without getting stuck. This time I tried from the other side. When in doubt - give more throttle! -- Didn't work. I came in hard and fast from my running start.... only to come to a very fast stop. A very stuck stop. That was my last time in The Pit with Granpa. Whelen's wailing, and exhaust rumbling, Dakota came in nose first to yank me out of the goo. The floor of the truck started to fill up with muddy water - I later found out I have a hole rusted through my drivers side floor pan.
More passes through The Pit by Dakota, Neil, and Adam...
Earlier Adam aired down his tires.... perhaps a little too much. He ran his passenger front tire right off the wheel. The cause was blamed on an inaccurate tire gauge. Adam later went into town and had the tire remounted on the wheel.
Someone says they see a light blue Dodge Dakota up at the Barn. I maintain that I do not see a truck and there is nothing there. I am proven wrong when Jason Yates and his wife Cameron, from Ohio, cruise down to The Pit.
Later that afternoon we take to the trails but without any thing eventful happening. We go down Mud Lane and loop back down The Longest 100 Yards, which this year, is rather dry and easily passable. Ed and I take up, what would become our customary positions for the weekend, hiding on the Mud Lane Bypass. Adam blasts through. Andy gets close to getting through, but gets stuck after backing up to try and get traction. After 5 minutes of digging, Dakota attaches Adam's tow strap to Andy's front hooks and Adam pulls him forward. Everyone returns to the barn without incident.
It is decided that for dinner we would go out to eat instead of delivery or cooking something there. Afterwards we kick back at the barn and watch the video footage that was shot earlier in the day. Jon also puts on some of the previous BBQ tapes.
