DC area meet

[tom4bren]

"Tom, I didn't notice your name on the Moab thread. Its only a 24-25 hour drive from DC.

How about a GW National Forest camping trip? I'm ready for some light wheelin'"

CSTYLES - I'm interested. If you Honcho this one, I'll Honcho a lake event this summer (Lake Anna) for a cook-out & SeaDoo fun. If no-likey Lake Anna, we could do Potomac around Lorton (nice regional park there).

[etlsport]

ooh ooh ooh!! im in! im leaving now.. be there in 2 hours!:dance:

[CSTYLES]

Okay, done deal. For your consideration, either some "on sand driving" at Assateague Island or some off-roading in GW National Forest. Both options would involve camping, so I would like for it to warm up a bit. Plus I've got a couple more weeks left of this snowboard season.

Last fall I researched two trails in GW, Tasker's Gap (Peter's Mill Run) and Rocky Run Trail. I ran one in a Jeep and the other I rode dirt bikes. You can avoid most of the big rocks and still feel like your "crawlin'." Both depend on sporadic closing by the local ranger station. Neither was very crowded and we saw no rangers the whole time. Tasker's is close to Luray, and is 30 minutes away from canoeing/kayaking at the Shenandoah River Outfitters

I can do the beach around May. Assateague allows off-roading on the MD and VA side. Camping and fires allowed with certain restrictions. The driving is restricted as well, so the novelty of driving on the sand might get old quick.

We could do one or both, just need to find the right weekend.


Tom4Bren Can you pull a wakeboard with the Sea Doo? What are the water temps like at Lake Anna?

Etlsport Can you bring some cheesesteaks - "wiz, without?"

[etlsport]

hah! Wiz Wit only!

i prefer the woods over the beach.. but I'm up for either if the consensus goes towards beach

[tom4bren]

I think I'd prefer the area around Luray for this event. Someday I'd like to drive on Asateaque but not equipped yet.

I've got the SeaDoo Sportster (boat) for tubing, skiing & wakeboarding. I've also got 2 PWCs for the crotch rocket enthusiasts. I need to work on the boat before pulling anyone tho - picked up some gravel last summer on Occoquan & may have damaged the impeller (runs but cavetates under too much power). Lake Anna is warm (especially near the power plant - referred to as the hot side of the lake) June-September & tolerable May-October.

Eric - we'll have to rely on you for the cheese steaks wit. Brother in law & wife are expecting this summer so they won't be attending. Actually, wifey requests sausage pretzels instead (still steaming please).

[CSTYLES]

Okay, agreed then. The bad news is that the trails near Lurray are closed until March 17th this year. The weekend after that is easter. The first weekend I can go would be April 12th and 13th.

TRAIL INFO:
The Lee Ranger District (http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/gwj/lee/recreation/ohv/index.shtml) has two OHV trails, Peter's Mill is about 6.5 miles and Tasker's Gap is about 4.5. They are both rated easy, which means I'll be able to make it without damaging my ride. One trails leads up to the Woodstock Tower, which offers panoramic views of the mountains. The car-camping grounds are also located at the end of the trail.

Close by, the Shenadoah River Outfitters rent canoes and kayaks, with pick up and drop off, for a leisurely 3 mile paddle down the north fork.

On the other hand, Rocky Run in the Dry River Ranger District (http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/gwj/dryriver/recreation/ohv/rocky_run_trail.shtml) has no advertised closures, offers 10 miles of trails and camping is permitted anywhere along the trail. This one is located about an hour north, exit at Harrisonburg near JMU.

Originally I planned to hit both in one weekend since I hardly ever get down to VA. You more experienced off-roaders can tell me if that is too much.

[etlsport]

they are close enough together that hitting trails in both areas wouldn't be out of the question

As for timing, im not sure what my April - summer schedule will be but for now i have friday-sunday off and will have the week off from March 22-31

I'm thinking my tires are gonna feel inadequate next to u guys :cryb: lol

[tom4bren]

April 12-13 would prolly work for me. I'll have to check with Wifey. That'll give me time to equip for camping since it's been YEARS since I've been. I'll tell my wife that the trip & equipment will be my birthday present.:)

[CSTYLES]

Sorry about this, but the weekend of April 12th is no good.:confused: I forgot I have a bachelor party that day and the wedding is the first weekend in May. Besides that I have nothing on the horizon. Maybe we can move the trip to either of the two weekends after (April 19-20 or 26-27). Hopefully we can all agree on a new date...

[tom4bren]

I'm keeping both weekends open till Y'all decide.

[etlsport]

right now i don't have much concept of which will be better.. if I had to guess offhand.. I would say the 19th because the 26th is a good friends b-day so I'm sure there will be something going on for that

[CSTYLES]

I will say the 19th is a definite, but I'll keep the following weekend open just in case. When the date gets closer I'll start the rally cry. Maybe we can entice others to join us.

[Cobrajet]

When the date gets closer I'll start the rally cry. Maybe we can entice others to join us.I'll try to make it. I'm in Warrenton, so it's fairly close for me.

[Thmstec]

I would love to make it, its only an hour away from Leesburg. Although I can't say yes for sure yet. I'll be picking up my VX this week :). Assuming I don't get to lifting my VX before the 19th, think these trails are going to be easy enough for a stock 99?

[tom4bren]

Thmstec,

I would guess that you would be fine in a stock 99 - hey that rhymes.

I'm lifted with 33x12.50 Wranglers. I haven't been 4 wheeling in my 00 Proton yet & am concerned that I may get some tire rub with the suspension articulated so I want the trip to be 'mild' for my first attempt. If the trails get too difficult, I'll probably 'bail' before you (besides, it's my wife's VX so I'm not allowed to tear it up).

Tom

[etlsport]

you should be fine, ive taken my VX out to offroad parks a couple of times stock and havent had any major problems (knock on wood!) only damage i have done was scuffing up the trim piece under the passenger door and putting a good sized scratch across one of the wheel center caps. both were a result of the same underwater rock that nobody else managed to hit (including me driving through it at least 6 other times that weekend)... so just bad luck.

not sure what the condition of my VX will be for this one, I *should* have 31x10.5 tires mounted on 15" rims with a 4" offset, which will stick them out of the wheel wells about 2-3" more than stock...and a 2" lift but thats not for sure yet, otherwise ill be stock with stock tires

[tom4bren]

Note, I changed the date from 5 Feb to the correct date of 19 April. You'll have to enter your attendance again - Sorry about that but most people were looking at the calendar instead of the thread.

Are we still planning on camping? Should we start taking a poll of how many are staying overnite so that plans can be made?

I guess everyone has figured out that we are planning on some mild 4wheeling - nothing major. Too many of us are not quite ready to test our machines to maximum capabilities yet.

Tom

[etlsport]

99.9% chance ill be camping friday afternoon - sunday morning since its a long drive to make for just a day;Db;

i've got entirely too much camping gear so all are welcome to camp with us.. all you will really need is a tent and some chairs.. most other things ive got 2 and 3 of lol.. i travel over prepared

[tom4bren]

May take you up on that offer.

Don't forget to RSVP (again - lost when I updated the calendar).

[frog11]

I would love to attend but am scheduled to be out of town that weekend. Hopefully we can have another VA/DC/MD meet this spring/summer.

[tom4bren]

Look on the calendar in August. I'm setting up a lake event near Fredericksburg.

[tom4bren]

Picked up tent and sleeping bags today. We're ready.

[tom4bren]

I vote for camping at Elizabeth Furnace since they have WARM showers (Wifey says it's a must & I second). Thanks to cstyles for the info. Here's a link.

http://www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail.asp?trailid=HGD109-024

[etlsport]

im up for anything, but it seems theres no running water there at the moment
http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/gwj/lee/recreation/camping/group_camping.shtml

[tom4bren]

Eric,

Yer right & it won't be fixed by April (just called). Other option:

http://www.shenandoahriver.com/campoutback.html

[CSTYLES]

I've been to the Shenandoah River Outfitters camp site. They let you shower after their river rafting trip. They have canoes and kayaks, it's a lot of fun. We could run the dry river park, camp out in Luray, go canoeing, and still drive the Peter's Mill Run the next day.

Only draw back is, the "family" camping environment. I would like to bring fireworks and boozy drinks, and be loud after the curfew. J/K. Well, I'll gauge the party scene once we get out there.

[tom4bren]

CSTYLES - Is this a go?

http://www.shenandoahriver.com/campoutback.html

Should we make reservations?

Cobrajet, are you in?

Thmstec, are you in?

Tom

[Cobrajet]

Cobrajet, are you in?Yeah, I just detailed the VX. This IS a car show, right? :_confused

[Thmstec]

I want to be there, just gotta get out of a "volunteer" situation my step-mother is dragging me into. If I do come, I doubt I'll be camping. Just wheeling and socializing.

[tom4bren]

"Yeah, I just detailed the VX. This IS a car show, right?"

Of course it will ... for the first 30 minutes ... then we get muddy:)

Light wheeling only tho on this trip. I'm not ready to go hard core yet (may have to do a little more cladding trimming to be ready for any of that).

[etlsport]

im gettin nervous, I havent heard back about my time off request yet :_confused i dont see why they wouldnt though so im keeping my fingers crossed..

I do plan on putting a nice heavy coat of wax over the vx before driving down, not so much for looks, more for resistance to brush scratches

[CSTYLES]

It's a go Tom, we should make the reservations.

Got the same roof rack as E for the spare tire. Speaking of brush scratches, I already bought some Maguires ScratchX after some wheelin.

[etlsport]

:thumbup:golden.. found someone to cover my weekend shifts even if my request gets denied, class ends at 2 on friday so ill be headed down to frederick md right after that so i can get down to va bright and early saturday morning

so are we bringing the fireworks and boozy drinks? haha i need to stockpile if we do!;Db;

[CSTYLES]

YES! That's what I'm talking about. I've got both to bring, but I didn't think it was going to be that kind of weekend. The campsite is family oriented, I think we could more easily get away with that kinda stuff in the Federal Park.

If you stop at Phantom Fireworks I can kick in for some mortars (the good stuff). Watcha doin' in Fredneck?

[tom4bren]

Fredericksburg, VA - Frederick, MD - We're all just one big FredNeck family. I guess we're just lucky not to be Baltimorons or Dale Cidiots:)

I'll try to reserve some campsites this week. I'll reserve 4 sites for 10 people & then adjust when it gets closer to our arrival date.

The restrictions at the 'family oriented' campsite will be a pain but couldn't find any others that had 'facilities'. Any other suggestions before I make reservations?

[etlsport]

ill probably bring 15 down into frederick and stop by keystone fireworks on the pa/md border.. since i still have my md license i can buy anything i want :-D

i grew up in good ol fredneck and my fam and most of my good friends still live there so i try to get there monthly but its been lilke 3 now so i figure i should stop in at least for a night heh

[etlsport]

at work today looking through our old inventory i found a discontinued sony handicam.. picked it up for practically nothing, so our trip will be well documented!;Db;

[etlsport]

hey tom, any word on reservations? or are we all making individual ones? sounds like 1 site would do fine if they really hold up to 10.. ill just be a group of 2

any word from any of you guys rsvp'd maybe? i wanna see 7 VXs out there!

[tom4bren]

I didn't make any reservations yet. I'll try to get on it today. I'll post an update this afternoon after I talk to them.

I PM'd a couple of locals recently but haven't gotten any 'bites' yet (interested but wouldn't commit).

[tom4bren]

I made a reservation for 8 for Sat nite (19 Apr).

Wifey & I will prolly stay at a hotel on Fri nite and camp on Sat nite. Plans can change tho if others are wanting to camp on Fri nite. They still have plenty of room so reservations won't be a problem if we need to increase. Just let me know.

There's a hyperlink for Shenandoah River Outfitters earlier in this thread if you want to check out the accomodations.


BTW: the 10 day forcast for Luray has daytime temps bouncing between 50 & 70 with nighttime temps ranging from 40 to 50.

[etlsport]

blujfan - glad to see you will be joining us!
thmstec - sad to see that you wont :( keep trying! or maybe you could meet up with us just for the day saturday or sunday, i think we are planning to do runs both days

as far as supplies, im trying to figure out what we'll need
offroading stuff I have..
full sized spare (18" rim w/ dueler)
20' 10k capacity tow strap w/ 5/8" D ring shackles
a boatload of tools just in case
a video camera ;Db;
2 walkie-talkies and a CB

what camping supplies will others need me to bring?

[tom4bren]

Eric,

We're trying to get self sufficient for the trip so can't think of anything to borrow. Thanks for the offer.

Tom

[CSTYLES]

So cool. I have all the camping equipment I need and I think I'll bring the hibatchi. I'm getting excited. I hope the weather is good. My trip to Assateague this weekend got called off due to severe thunder storms in the forecast. I was willing to go rain or shine, but other were weary to camp on the beach during a t-storm.

E - runs both days (sat and sun) would be cool. There are at least two different trail to hit.

[etlsport]

yea im definitely pumped a little rain doesnt bother me.. few years ago i camped 3 full days through hurricane Ivan(04) , just got the spare tire mounted/balanced, almost done with my spare tire mount.. just have to let it dry over night and itll be much cleaner than ratchet straps

started to put together my offroad tool kit..

finished my fiberglass tweeter pods to show off, just need paint now ;Db;

ill be leaving philly either late thursday night or early friday morning.. staying in frederick then heading down bright and early sat morning, what time you guys thinking of meeting up/ and just meet at the campsite so we can unload?

i was talking to another VX owner in MD the other day, just a lurker here on the forums but he mentioned maybe tagging along if he can get a new set of tires before then.. that would be 6!

[Thmstec]

There is a chance I could make it out on sunday! Hopefully I can say for sure sometime this week.

[tom4bren]

This seems like the easiest plan (let me know if something else looks better):

Friday: Wifey & I will camp out on Friday nite (that way we can pick the best site for our group).

Saturday: The grounds open at 0800 so plan on meeting there to off load gear & grab a cup of coffee. Leave at 1000 to follow CSTYLES to the trail head. After that, we'll be having so much fun that no further plans will be needed (Just plan on returning to the campsite with enough daylight to pitch tents).

Sunday: 'Nother trail ride or ???

It looks like only about 1/5th of the campsites are reserved so unplanned guests, late arrivals, etc are all welcome without reservations.

Weather: Friday - 77-41 degrees & fair, Saturday - 71-45 with 25% chance of sprinkles, Sunday - 67-57 with 25% chance of sprinkles.

http://www.shenandoahriver.com/campoutback.html for directions, maps & phone number.

My Cell number is 540/760-3510 (I have no idea if I'll have reception tho).

[etlsport]

anyone else have a CB? ill hook mine up if someone else has one to make communication easier..

tom that sounds good to me

[tom4bren]

Nope. No CB.

The chance of sprinkles on Sat & Sun has increased to 35%. I'm still a go:)

[etlsport]

heh rain doesnt bother me.. my vx and my tent both have a roof

[Cobrajet]

I've got an ancient Cobra CB (circa 1975-ish) with hump mount, but no antenna. I used to use an AM/FM/CB antenna in my Cobra. This thing hasn't been fired up in 20 years.

Can you still buy vacuum tubes for these things at your local 7-11? :_shrug:

[etlsport]

just a thought.. any cigar smokers? I'm thinking about bringing the humidor along for a campfire smoke

[tom4bren]

Ain't smoked cigars since we used to fumigate our apartment in GA with Swisher Sweets ... cured me 4ever.:)

BTW, forcast has changed slightly. Now forcasting 15% chance of sprinkles on Sat & 40% on Sunday. Maybe we'll get a chance to 4wheel dry on Sat & sloppy on Sunday.

[tom4bren]

Headin home now. Headin westward around noon tomorrow. C-Y'all there.

[etlsport]

all packed up.. leaving at 9am tomorrow morn for frederick.. will be in luray around 8 on saturday.. see you guys out there... call with any questions/concerns! three oh one six oh six four nine seven nine
Eric

[CSTYLES]

8 a.m. is early for me, especially since it'll take me 3 hours to get there Sat. morning.

I'll shoot for between 9 and 10 a.m. to get to the campsite. I have directions and my GPS, so hopefully we won't be getting lost on this ride. A lot of the ride is off the grid so I approximated the closest points. Should be a full day of wheelin'.

See you guys there...

[etlsport]

good times.. good times.. just got back.. just over 850 miles total for the trip, ill post up some photos soon.. was nice to meet everyone and see u again tom!

[etlsport]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7SwY3TaPHA

quick vid of Cstyles makin it look easy

[tom4bren]

It was great meeting everyone: Eric, Karen, Andres, Greg, Norman, Jen (hope I remembered everyone's name - I'm terrible with that).

Got home without any problems despite the torn CV boot & no rear tags:)

It rained the whole way home & pretty much ever since so I haven't tried to fix it yet.

I got the pix on the 'puter but haven't uploaded them yet (network problems today). I'll get them up ASAP. Sorry, no action shots - just some dirty VX's.:)