Photos by Rich Klein
Mt. Besek Trail
With the wet forecast I didn’t expect a big turnout. But I guess people have been itching to go wheeling, so we had more rigs than I expected; close to 20. My CB died on the way up to the run so I had to let Jay lead the group through the trail. As we made our way onto the trail the access road up to the mountain was super icy and people had to use a bit of HP to get up.
Once we were into the trail it was a mix of snow/ice and mud. The water/mud hole that is near the entrance to the trail was frozen over and we went past it towards the 227 trail that we created a few years ago. We only had one stock rig with us and he seemed to only need a few tugs along the way that day. By lunchtime we were at the end of the 227 trail and a few people tried the alternate side hill climbs but the ice/snow combo made it tough except for the far right climb. Since no one
else cared to try it and with the weather being a bit on the wet side we decided to head on out to the mud hole and to the other side trails.
At the mud hole we got to watch Mike Ciaio try and flip his YJ onto its side while at the other end of the hole Willie was stuck and couldn’t get through the icy muck. After being winched out with the help of Jay’s Toy as an anchor point, we moved on to the side trail that goes towards the ridge line. It was cold and cloudy and we pretty much did the climb and got the rigs turned around and headed on towards the ski slope trail.
This has the nice little climb at the beginning and some rocks to play on up at the top. Well while attempting to climb the rock at the top Mr. Ed lost his footing and slid off to the left and into a tree.
So much for that fender being straight. We then got to watch Jay’s tough truck impersonation with his jumps over some berms. With the tailgate flying open and spare parts going airborne it looked as if we might have some potential winners for the new bonehead stickers.
After everyone had their fill we headed on back to Jacoby’s and aired up. Some people stayed for dinner and the rest of us headed on by to the Island.
The damage report was minor on this run. Jack lost a tire to sidewall damage, I dented the nose of Mr. Ed and Mark tried to open his Pinzour’s top on a tree. Not the best of weather conditions with the light rain all day, but hey its Connecticut, so what do you expect? Well until next month and the Junkyard Trail this is Wilbur saying happy trails to you.
Ed. Note: This trail is closed now. The only solution for us is organized action. Support your land use representatives with phone calls, letters, etc. Visit the
LIOR and EC4WDA Land Use sites for information.
