Most of us bypassed the water hole. Like only a few others, new member Ryan took the plunge. He found a large rock and was good enough to roll it around so we could all see it. Then he backed up and his built 'kee slipped past the once hidden trap and eased through the rest of the hole.
Just past the waterhole, where the trail makes an uphill right-left jog, Rocky saw something we'd never seen before. A new trail, littered with 2+ foot boulders, climbing steeply to the left. Without knowing if it was a dead-end, he went for it. We watched him climb, carefully stepping through the inclined rock garden. With his YJ tilted way up, we heard all four mudders squealing against the 3 foot stairstep that blocked him from returning to the old route. A quick winch pull got him over the step.
Big Mark was next and his white YJ got verticle enough to give the big guy the shakes. He's been bitten by the Monster a number of times, so his trepidation is well earned. Mike, a guest whose truck, trailer and TJ all had plates from different states, took his family up the hill and attacked the step. Bouncing, rearing and backing with equal abandon, he tried all possible angles. His last try got him too close to a sharp edge on the left - it poked through a nearly new left rear tire.
I couldn't think of any good excuses, so when my turn came I joined Joan in the Howler and headed up into the climb. Howler loves to climb, so she popped from one boulder to the next, bobbing & weaving uphill. A little extra throttle at the stairstep brought the nose up and with a little bang under the front bumper she went right up. So, do we call it "Rocky's Rock" (he found it), or "Howler's Hump" (she, umm, jumped it)?
We'd been hearing revving, tire on rock, yelling, and metal on rock for a while while the rest of the crew fought their way through the jog. Both sections have hard and a difficult lines, none of which is easy enough to call this a go-around.
We re-grouped where the trails converged and headed uphill. The next section has a series of stair steps with a go-around that weaves back and forth so you can skip a step or avoid the hook when you can't climb one. Parts of the go-around are getting pretty hairy and have their own go-arounds. That's one of the coolest things about MaBell; a lightly modified 4x4 can fight to conquer one obstacle while 20 feet away a hard-core beast is getting spanked by another...
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I followed Multi-state Mike up a step I'd never tried before since he made it look easy. At the top of the step was some soft mud. Now there's a size Q78 hole. I don't think Joan had ever seen just how much mud Howler can throw before. I backed up and took a different line.
Garland's Hump is another obstacle that has gotten more difficult over the years. The center-right line has a huge cutout now that makes that line look impossible, and makes the right side look like a quick roll-over. Nobody tried either line. At the center-left, the once annoying rock at the base now trips the rear tires while the fronts are grabbing for traction three feet higher. The left line, as close as possible to a fir tree, now sends your front end skidding sideways while the rears stay put. Mike, Ryan, Mark, and Big Bob in his newly built Scrambler, all put on good shows here. Mark got lots of air, probably as much as you can and still land right-side up. Rocky made it look easy. Chen the Madman earned his nickname once again. Howler's muddy feet made this one a no-go after at least three tries. Spanked, we took the go-around. |
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Still climbing to the peak, the next obstacle is a v-notch between 2 faces. It's a nice articulation check for the big tire boys on the left paired with a slippery double bump on the right for those with more streetable rigs. Andy fought mightily with his YJ to get through here, and won.
A couple more steps with high & low choices leads, finally, to the peak. Next is a zig-zag followed by an off-camber turn close to a tree while bumping over a low rock. There's a couple of dips with water at the bottom to make the next climb interesting. This section has a rock garden, mostly 18 inchers, with no clear path through; just keep the tires ontop of the bigest rocks.
Going downhill, there is a divide for a go-around or a sharp drop-off on the left. Ryan took the drop-off, with lots of air, and then stayed on top of the huge, rounded rock, somehow avoiding the gulley next to it.
The rest of the trail is an easy run to the turn around. Other clubs use this a for lunch break, but we're too pokey for that. We did take a break, even though we ate by Garlans's Hump on the first hill.
Going out, of course, the long steep hill with a go-around is now a climb, with two major lines; over the rounded rock rock or through the gulley. The gulley looked deeper this year, so the rock next to it, though unchanged itself, was now a good bit riskier. I think only Ryan, who went down that way, tried it going up. This hill looks like double lockers are needed, but some built rigs with open axles gave it a go. Many tried the gulley, but Big Bob and Chen put on the best shows. Bob almost made it, going much further than you would expect an open 4 cyl. CJ8 to go. A tiny tug got him going again. Chen got a little sideways in the gulley and balanced his rig on 3 wheels. After Mike did his human ballast trick, Chen showed his son how sturdy the trees are in Massachusetts.
Big Bob chases the author off the trail |
Mike is balast for the Madman |
Second thoughts |
There is a second rockface in MaBell, only visible on the return trip. Mike had some experience with it and got us to look at a second new route for the day. An anonymous white TJ lined up at the base and took a good look; way steep, off-camber, lots of leaves and loose dirt over striated rock. Common sense took over and the TJ backed away intact. |
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Mike parked part way up the face and got out to study the terrain and think this one through. Or maybe he was waiting for a crowd to gather... He jumped back in and with the family buckled up gave it a go. He tried a few different lines and whenever traction ran out he would back down and try again. With the TJ almost on top, a sharp point ruined a second tire. Rich K. ran up and got a winch line to stablize the Jeep perched at a crazy angle. Sitting on 3 tires made the pitch and yaw of the rock even worse. A donated tire plug kit, LIOR runs prepared, got him going again. |
We got strung out way too much on the return trip. Eric got stuck in the water hole, but only a few knew about it. Most of us were waiting at Monster Rock without knowing why. Why the radio silence?
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Crazy or skilled? |
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Howler started up the face nicely, but after we went past the point of no return the tires started skittering. A little extra throttle made the mudders that still had grip push her up 'n over. A few easily distracted onlookers called for us to do it again, they missed the climb, but I knew not to push my luck. Except for the second time, every ascent here has
been scarier than the last.
Mike wanted more, the crowd was calling for more, so we both tried the far right approach. I made this one in the snow a few years ago, now though it's much steeper. Once we lost traction, poor Howler was left at a 60 degree angle. The engine would run, but not idle at that angle, and the twisting pulled the trans shift cable out of whack. Big Mark gave me a much-needed winch up. Mike got his TJ into pretty much the same spot and Mark's pull ended a fine day at MaBell. |
