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Frostbite Run 2010 |
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By Jared Gill |
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This was my first time off-roading with a full size vehicle, my last run was on a borrowed ATV. I had just bough a stock 83 Ford F-250 Diesel from my stepfather a couple of months earlier. Not having the expertise and being excited, I probably could have avoided the damage I did, but it’s a small price to pay for gaining some patience and experience, and it stayed intact enough to drive it home. Anyway, I had a blast, and that’s what counts, right? A 5:00 wake-up started off the day. (NOT a good start!) After loading up my truck, I headed for Kansas Rocks after meeting up with Josh Campbell and his grandfather who was towing Josh’s Jeep there. |
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At 9:30 there was a driver meeting followed by some guided trail riding. I was the largest vehicle in my group by far, and we hit the easy trails…sort of. The first hill that we came to took me 3 tries to get up. (and I was told, a couple of tires off the ground.) It was so slimy, no one else made it up the first try either. It dried up ever so slightly as the day progressed, but never really got any easier. At one point we hit a more technical section of trail, and in an extremely sharp s-turn, I managed to slide into a tree and tag my passenger door and bed. Welcome to life on the trail, with a wide rig. This is why I bought the truck, so it’s just a battle scar. No other damage the rest of the morning, but a lot of fun, including using my new front hooks to pull an XJ free who wedged himself just right and set it on the front diff. just before I tagged. After the traffic jams and wheeling we finally made it back to the staging area in time for lunch. Lunch consisted of a brisket sandwich with barbecue sauce, baked beans, chips, a cookie, and lemonade or iced tea. It was delicious! For the next couple of hours we watched the guys in the more extreme rigs play in the rock and mud area. I managed to get the front tires of the truck on a concrete pipe set up and got a couple of good pics. After that was the raffle, but unfortunately I won nothing. I managed to snag a water bottle and a bottle opener they were tossing out, so I didn’t walk away totally empty handed. |
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The first indication that I needed to be careful was the sign that said Kansas Rocks rec area…and Dayton Cemetery. I had a small laugh, as I hoped that I wouldn’t kill myself or my truck this day. After getting my grab bag and raffle tickets, I went in to check out the staging area. There were several small fires in the fire pits, (it was only about 35 degrees or so at that point), a big tent, a few advertisers, and a LOT of off road vehicles. I found a spot to park and went inside the tent. The raffle prizes this year were apparently light due to the economy, but nonetheless, there were several good ones, like heavy-duty drive shafts for jeep YJ’s, a complete Toyota u-joint kit, and an 8000 lb. winch. I dropped my raffle tickets in for the prizes I wanted and headed out to mix and mingle. |
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Around 3:00ish I hit the trails again, and hooked up with 3 other vehicles, a stock and tore up Dakota, a stock(ish) Chevy short bed, and a full size Bronco locked in the rear. We hit some more intermediate stuff, and I learned more about what the truck can do, between the mud and hills. The “skinny pedal” came in very handy in a few areas, and I impressed myself as well as a few others. The diesel engine really benefited me out there, powering up the hills and through the mud and keeping things in check going downhill and over the rocks. Unfortunately, at the top of one hill, I slowed down too late, slid off a rock, and bounced hard off a tree with my driver door. The window popped of the track, and when I got out further down the trail, I forgot about that, closed the door too hard, and shattered the window…ouch. I decided to call it a day after that, as it was getting late anyway, but the line to air up at the trail head was rather long and I didn’t get out of there until after sundown. It was a COLD ride home! A small price to pay though for the fun time I had. I had no major breakage, met a lot of great people, including at least two interested in the club, and had a wonderful day of wheeling. I can’t wait to get a new door on and go again! Jared Gill |
