A big thanks to those who came and helped on what was a really productive days grafting...
Todays mob where (in no particular order)
Retro Pedro...
Pete was there as always with his trusty 2.8 shorty again proving itself on extraction duty and dragging stuff duty!
A good grafter is our pete, and was a great help with the gravity defying trees that wanted to go up not down!! Cheers for giving Ch3f a guided tour of the site matey...
Hounddog...
Phil bought his 2.8lwb up, and his nutter dog...the little staff must have covered 20miles today I reckon...Phil got a bit stuck at one point and needed a double tow extraction and the top of his rear door now sports a little bit of "character"...tis the joy of workdays when driving stuff that aint been really driven before, makes it much more challenging and difficult...
MG autos (mark)
Mark arrived b4 everyone else in his td5 disco...really nice truck, but too nice to inflict on the woods on a/t's when its this guey...Mark slaved away draggin logs and trees around all day...and nearly caught a branch of a tree that someone felled nearby...
Wilblerforce...
Jim arrived with houndog today...car sharing, doing the green thing trying to offset all the trees we were gonna loose today...
Plus with the 2 sharing the same car, it meant that they halfed the journey time, so only 1/2 hr, that was my logic after a tree bounced off my head...Jim managed to avoid most if the falling debris today...but foolishly stood behind the chevy which was in some really wet guey mud...I accidently slipped into 2wd without realising...and then accidently dropped the clutch at 3500rpm into 2nd...whoops...I hate it when that happens!
Mapracing...
Paul done really well today...you would never know he was only using one hand...we done mate...Arrived in his L200 and found the easier route into the woods today!! Came up with some blinding ideas for digger weekend...
Paul now knows what a PROPER crew cab pickup can do...
Ch3f...
It was Darrens first visit to the woods today, having only recently moved up here...He came up mid afternoon after finishing work...Will be remembered for his pink sparkle baseball cap and getting the shitroen stuck on a flat bit a grass!!! Cheers for your help mate and good to get you involved in our project...
Gregsters Boss...
Sally was there as always, showing the lads the pace when it comes to lopping and clearing stuff...Sal made a new best friend with Roxy...Sally also managed to make a hole in her pink wellies today, and foolishly got in the chevy when we were going for a bit of a drive around!
Gregster...
Thats me...The guys today got to see the chevy for the last time (in its present guise) as its coming off the road at the end of the month, to disappear for a while, to reappear later this year with exo-cage, nissan patrol axles, double transfer box, 38's and new paint job...
The day started by swapping over the wheels on the chevy...taking the 10j chrome mods with 33-12.50-15 kuhmo M/ts off and fitted the 33-12.50-15 BFG mud terrains on fronty A series star alloys...They fit and work well...the kuhmos would have had me getting stuck today as they clog more and on the 10j's have a much bigger footprint which is not so good for getting loads of grip which was needed...gotta say they worked really well so its a big YES YES YES for anyone who wondered about whether 33-12.50-15's would work on a 7j fronty alloy wheel!!!
The day...
We started off in the clearing at the bottom of the woods and set about opening up the track to the left of the access track which runs to the far end of the bottom of the site...This 2nd track now runs the length of the site and is ready for digger abuse for your entertainment! Further access points where added to this track and the entrances to some of the climbs improved...We then extended the access track to the far end of the site, right up to our marker tape...
The final climb now has an optional straight approach right from the very bottom without the left hand turn as you start to climb, this removes steve 2much's "in the tree's parking space"...sorry mate...
The final climb isnt the final climb any more...as we put in a new one with a couple of different routes up to the right of it...The original final climb was modified loosing the awkward tree chicane 3/4 of the way up, so its now much easier...
The area at the top of the final climbs was then opened up and new tracks put it that can be diggerised...
This area was also opened up to the other climbs to the left of the final climbs so much more to do up that end now...
This was were Houndog got stuck, after successfully doing the old final climb...I bust the o/s indicator on the chevy and cracked the nsr wheel arch trim trying to get into position to assist pete to recover him, and had a battle almighty with a tree root that was out to get me...It isnt there anymore...claimed a chainsaw chain though...It learnt a lesson though when the mattock came out!
Next was to open up the new top access track...we lost a few trees making the turns much easier, the chevy drives it with ease now, as thats a fair bit longer than a lwb fronty with longer wheelbase too...
The trees were on one today...The few that did fall, did so in totally the wrong direction, one ended up on top of the chevy!...but most decided to get stuck in amoungst the other trees...so today was all about gravity defying swinging trees...
Had a load of debris from another tree land on me today, got a really nice cut and bruise on my shoulder!
We then started Identying areas off the upper access track that were ripe for diggerisation...we got a few bits cleared ready, but it gets really confusing as there are no tracks there and will probably be better done after the next picnic when there are more tyre tracks everywhere to go by...and we have done enough to get a headstart with the digger, and we can clear the rest as we go...
Then we went for a drive around and play to finish off the day...
Jim was my encourager in this session of stupidity...the old chevy did really well as always, until we went down a hill and realised that there was no way the chevy would get out the bottom as much too tight...Trashed the other front indicator and end of grill trying to get into position to get out somehow...couldnt reverse back up the hill, not for the want of trying, so picked a "new" route and bulldozed our way out...through the undergrowth and fallen trees...
Next we had a go at the hill by the stump garden...got a third of the way up several times but i just didnt have enough traction on this really steep hill which was really slippy...Jim then made a fatal mistake..he said it aint gonna make it today...so I reversed out through the stump garden...then planted it in 2nd....was a bit dramatic, but it went up the hill...good ole chevy...coming down was a bit hairy though...started to slip away on overrun coming down and I was loosing it, and had to plant it to regain traction and get it under control again...Jim seemed to enjoy the full throttle down hill technique...well it worked didnt it...
Then we all said our goodbyes and buggered orf home....knackered!!!
Big thanks for everyones help..the next picnic is gonna be cool, new bits to conquer and the old bits improved too...
Thanks Mark for the indicators which he kindly offered from his 2.3td that he is breaking, and thanks for the digger donations guys...
