Attica Trip – January 2002

By Bill Ernst

What a day! Despite the local weather forecast for 1 to 2 inches of fresh snow, we all enjoyed a sunny day of wheelin. Of the members that made the trip, everyone had a good day with lots of fun and laughs. I believe we all even managed to learn a little about each other and our jeeps. Scott started the day off nicely by high centering his jeep – he demonstrated the "effectiveness" of lockers when his wheels turned into "air movers" (makes me think a little harder about a winch). Hank followed suit with troubles – he showed us the "school of hard knocks" when it comes to wheelin. We weren’t a quarter mile out of the parking lot at the start of the morning when he lost his power steering. This was then followed by a broken brake line and the loss of most of his braking ability. Shortly thereafter, I saw him arguing with a tree. I know he was shoving that tree around pretty good with his front bumper, but the tree didn’t back down and finally ol’ Hank got tired and drove away. I’ll take the credit for the worst break down of the day. Very shortly after starting in on the orange trail, my jeep died. It didn’t take long for our ace mechanic Dave Glader, and a few others, to figure out that my power steering pump had seized. Under escort of Dave and Jim Witt, I did manage to get my jeep out of the woods and back to the parking area under my own power. Jim and I didn’t think I would make the last climb up the sand hill leaving the woods due to the soft sand and the sharp turn at the top of the hill. My steering almost wasn’t fast enough (which makes me envy Hank even more for strong-armin’ it all day). Everybody was willing to pitch in a hand to help however they could. Jim was a savior when he offered to trailer my jeep home. I don’t know who was more afraid of my girlfriend seeing it on a trailer broke, Jim or me. At one point he mentioned me just rolling it off as he drove by my place. I have to say "thank you" to everyone who attended the run. Not just for the help, but also for the enjoyment I shared with all of you. I hope we can do it again sometime soon. It would be nice to have a few more jeeps join us next time as well. No matter what we were faced with, we all kept a good attitude and smiles on our faces. By the way, I did get my jeep fixed first thing Monday morning. Also, my girlfriend wasn’t too upset, and she’s already letting me sleep and shower inside again.