Story by: Pamela Petroff
Photos courtesy of Pamela Petroff & P.C.R.C

[Pamela Petroff, Portland, OR, has entertained Rovers North News readers for several years with reports from the Pacific Northwest. Here’s her latest excuse to jump in her Land Rover –ed.]

Like any normal person suffering from the commonly known Land Rover addiction, the email from Christine Bach asking a small group of PCRC (Pacific Coast Rover Club) members to take her husband, Mike, out off roading on his 30th birthday was nothing more than a welcome opportunity to get out in the forest and run some trails. It seems she was deviously planning a surprise party for him and needed him out of the house for the day, returning no earlier than 5 PM. Her most cunning moment came when she explained that the “day of off roading” with pals from the club was his birthday present from her.

We met at the Log Cabin Restaurant early on Saturday, May 5. The outing was being lead by off-road maestro Doug Shipman. That in itself always makes for an interesting day. We had an exciting crew. Doug was driving his blue hybrid Series truck with a 3.9 liter engine. There were 3 Range Rovers, one being Mike’s, with varying degrees of modification, a Discovery with a slight lift, my stock Late Series II-A (Lil Red), and a Jeep Rubicon (!), driven by a former Land Rover owner.

In addition to keeping Mike occupied and out of the house, the assigned task was to scout a route which Doug contemplated using as leader of the “ Jolly Jeepers Back to Basics Rally.” We would be running trails and roads on the north side of Highway 6 in the Tillamook State Forest OHV Area. (www.oregon.gov/ODF/tsf.shtml) The route would be from the top of Triangulation Peak to the top of Pinnacle Peak. We had great expectations for the day. The prediction was for clear and sunny skies, but this is Oregon, after all. We were met with overcast skies interspersed with occasional bright spots. The sun didn’t come out until we were about to head for home.

The trails were still recovering from a hard winter. Conditions were generally pretty good, not dry, but not too muddy. We started up to Triangulation Peak taking some interesting trails and roads, but without incident. Each truck took its turn ascending the steep rocky track to the very top of the peak itself, my little Series truck included. Following the narrow road down from the peak, we hit a nice drift of snow covering a section of the road. Doug ploughed through first, making repeated attempts until he broke a nice straight trail all the way through. Everyone followed nicely with only one truck completely loosing traction and having to be strapped out of the drift. The road from the top ends in a small junction with the route down to the highway continuing to the right. Straight ahead through the junction another trail ascends steeply into the woods. The visible section of the trail looked fine and Doug forged ahead. Each truck followed in turn, leaving adequate space between vehicles. Being in a Series truck, leaving a significant space between me and the truck in front of me is critical on an uphill trail. I have to be able to guarantee my momentum, as stopping on a steep ascent may mean backing all the way down to try again. All went well, pretty much a normal trail with bumps and rocks, until we reached a section of the trail hidden by the trees.

The full impact of a winter of hard rain, snow and wind was readily apparent. Although there were no trees directly across or blocking the trail, there were substantial limbs and branches and debris from several fallen fir trees piled up at least a couple of feet deep on the trail. It was a tough go, but we all made it through. More than one driver had to stop at the top of the trail to remove tree branches (big tree branches!), which were stuck in the undercarriage of his truck and protruding out the side or back.

The next trail on the route was another fun challenge. The beginning section was a nice ascent to a very rocky groove filled with large rocks and small boulders. Some trucks made it through unassisted. Lil Red was not among them; I winched up the last 20 or so feet. Mike was immediately behind me. He came up into the groove, traversed a large rock and came down hard on the rear undercarriage bending the rear control rod pretty badly. With a bend in the control rod, the wheel was not correctly positioned in the center of the wheel well, but was canted forward and was pushed into and rubbing on the passenger door frame. A halt in forward progress was called and Mike’s truck was winched the remaining distance to the top of the groove. The rear passenger door was opened and the front part of the wheel well was bent out to prevent continued rubbing and the eventual cutting of the tire. It was decided that the load on that side, the passenger side, of Mike’s truck would be lightened by farming out his passengers to other vehicles and we would continue to the end of the trail, which was very close. Upon exiting the trail to a large clearing it was time to take a break for lunch and a field repair.

Mike removed the control rod and several novel steps were taken to straighten it, at least enough so he could replace the part, get out of the forest and drive home. The initial straightening was done by inserting the control rod in the PTO opening in the bumper of Doug’s truck and applying leverage. The second, and more sophisticated straightening, was done by strategically placing the control rod on the ground and having Doug drive over it. Amazingly enough, it worked!

While the rest of us ate, Mike replaced the somewhat straightened rod and we were on our way. The final trail of the day was up to the top of Pinnacle Peak. The beginning of the trail was a maze of wet tree roots, small stumps, wet slippery decaying wood and debris from newly fallen trees. All but the Jeep had to winch through this first part (it had lockers). Mike and one other truck decided to go around this trail and to meet us on the other side of the peak. With a weakened control rod, Mike did not want to push his birthday luck any further. Once through the first section we had to deal with our first downed tree blocking a trail. Doug pulled out his chain saw and cut up the tree as we dutifully pushed, pulled, carried or threw the sawed pieces off to the side. As we proceeded up the trail, this drill was repeated at least a half a dozen times. The trail was fantastic: narrow and winding with beautiful vistas off to the left as it followed the ridgeline to the peak. From time to time, the trial was lined with white birch trees leaving narrow passage for the trucks. The Range Rovers and the Discovery came out of these sections with white bark marks smeared on their rear quarter-panels. It was great fun to drive!

With all the stopping to remove the obstructing trees, it took a good deal of time to reach the peak. One obstruction consisted of several trees, varying from 12” to 20” in diameter. The final obstruction was a whopper! It was a huge tree that had to be two feet or more in diameter. Doug sawed through the trunk, then carefully cut away its supporting branches so we could roll it off to the side, while trying to keep it from rolling directly down hill into our trucks. At last, we made it to the top. The trail opened onto a small grassy plateau. The sun was trying to break through the clouds (as tiny ice pellets fell from the clouds directly overhead). We could see the canyons and ravines below us. Doug said that on a clear day you can see the breakers on the beach to the west, Mount Hood to the east and Mount Rainier to the north. We could only see the canyons and ravines, but that was enough. It was beautiful. Ran Freudlich volunteered to drive his Disco down the trail and pick up those who had opted to drive around the trail, so they too could enjoy the view. We spent a very nice piece of time relaxing, chatting, enjoying the view and knowing full well these moments are one of the reasons we love our Rovers so much

After a time, we climbed back into our trucks and followed the steep down hill trail that lead from the plateau. Shortly, we were on gravel road heading for the highway. We all headed back to Portland, at varying speeds, of course. Mike made it home safely, but before he could even tell Christine about his trials and tribulations, he was led into a house full of waiting guests! The trail buddies headed home to clean up, then drove on to Mike’s house to join the celebration. Not a bad birthday after all!

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