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

[Diana Fisher couldn’t wait for her second year in Oregon offroading. Here’s her report –ed.]

I bought my ’98 Discovery II new in Denver, CO and belonged to a Rover Club there. Although I went out with the dealership crew more than with the club, I felt like I had a fair amount of “off-road” experience on the old mining trails of the Colorado Rockies. I must say, until I moved to Oregon, I had only been on one run with another woman driver! She was 82 and walked with a cane, but she could drive her Range Rover with no problems and she and I were able to drive all of Pearl Pass outside of Aspen in our Rovers unassisted (as in did not have to be towed or winched)! Then I moved to Oregon.

I was delighted to find out that not only were there women drivers, but there was even a Women’s run! I went on one two years ago, when Steve Schoenfelder, from Warn, gave a winching lesson and I discovered there was a multitude of women Rover drivers and that the “off-roading” in Oregon could be quite challenging!

Scouting for the Women’s Run
Pamela Petroff sent out a message asking if anyone was interested in going with her on her scouting run to drive the trails for the Spring Women’s Run, to be held April 7. Each spring for the last seven years Pamela has organized an off road event for the women drivers in the Pacific Coast Rover Club. She said that this year’s scouting shouldn’t be anything too difficult. Right! As we all know, it had been raining since November 1st of last year and although the prediction was for a clear day, it was raining. Two cars were on the scouting run: Doug Shipman’s hybrid Series, with Pamela as shotgun/navigator and my stock Discovery, with a friend, Dennis Christen as shotgun. We were supposed to drive Roger’s Road, but it was temporarily closed so we headed further west and started with Jeep Trail. It had been a rough winter in the Tillamook Forest and there was a multitude of downed trees. Someone had run the trail and had cut sections out of the logs that were blocking the trail leaving a gap wide enough for an ATV. Our first obstacle was just such a log that Doug winched off the road. No big deal. We encountered several logs of this type and either nudged or pushed or pulled each just enough to allow our Rovers to pass.

Then we found the big obstruction. Two large tree stumps had washed down a hillside and onto the trail. A live tree stood to the left of the trail and a huge old growth stump landed to the right, with the trees falling across the trail. An opening had been sawed through that was actually wide enough to permit a Rover to pass with about an inch to spare, IF only the large stump was not blocking the opening. It would take more than a tug or a nudge to move this obstacle. Doug and Pamela rigged a snatch block that would pull the stump away from the sawed opening. It took three sets of the rigging and winching to move the massive tree trunk. Quite impressive! During the winching we kept well out of harm’s way. Pamela was standing just uphill from me and leaned on a dead tree for balance, which immediately broke off at the ground and toppled in my direction. We both screamed and then laughed; the environment is indeed fragile. I suggested to Pamela that the obstacle we had just driven through is too narrow to bring a string of cars through; otherwise, Jeep Trail is just plain fun! She just smiled!
After the Jeep Trail, we ran a few others: Zig Zag and Fire Fox. By the end of Fire Fox, I’m tired, I’m ready to go home and I’ve escaped without body damage. We started back to the main road. Instead of staying on the highway, Doug turns off and starts up Roger’s Road (it was closed at the top, but not at the bottom so we decided to scout it). Dennis said just to tell them that I’m not going on, but I decide to go anyway. About halfway up we come to a wet, muddy switchback which Doug in his armored tank, has trouble navigating. I decide I’m not going to try it. Dennis said he would go up and tell them that I’m turning around. After talking to them a few minutes, Doug came back and said that I wouldn’t want to turn around here and to go ahead and try it and if I can’t make it he will winch me through it. (He said that if you’ve never been winched you’ve never really off-roaded.) Within moments, I have slammed sideways into the embankment and indeed Doug winches me out. (I guess now I’ve really off-roaded! Ha!) It dawned on me later that Dennis didn’t even tell them I wasn’t going to go on. I ask him about it and he muttered a very quiet “no.”
The Spring Women’s Run – April 7th
Again, the prediction was for a clear day, but alas, the day started with a drizzle. We had 8 vehicles with at least one woman driver each, ranging in age from 15 to 60-something. My car contained the 60-somethings: my friend, Char White, who went on the Rover All Over Rally with me and loved it; and my friend, Janie Birdsong, who had never been off-roading. In fact, Janie was vacillating because she was supposed to be cooking Easter dinner for her family the next day and needed to prepare, but when her son heard her potential plans, he said by all means go, so she did. We had a mix of Range Rovers, Discoverys and, of course, Lil Red, Pamela’s late Series II-A.

This group of able bodied (and vehicled) women headed out for the trails. Even in the rain, it was a day of fun for all. The heavy precipitation held off for the morning. When we came to the “tree stump obstacle” Doug expertly spotted each vehicle through the narrow space. We had 8 unharmed vehicles successfully navigate the challenge. At the lunch stop, of course, the heavens opened. After lunch I thought we were probably finished for the day, Char commented that the Lil Red, the lead vehicle, was going up a mud trail. I said that I thought that she was just turning around. Low and behold, she was going up the trail! Although Pamela had no trouble negotiating the terrain, the second vehicle barely rounded the first switchback and the third couldn’t make it up the slick, muddy slope. By word of mouth (I don’t have the right radio so I just hear gossip) we heard that the vehicle behind Pamela was also stuck. After some discussion, it was decided that too much damage would be done to the trail if we pursued this track, so we all got good practice backing down the muddy hillside. From there, Pamela led us to the Fire Fox trail. Total fun! Hill, muddy, rocky, tree rooty enough to be quite challenging, but not treacherous enough to wound anyone’s pride.

Our day concluded at the Apolloni Vineyards where we drew for goodies from our sponsors, Rovers North, Land Rover Portland and the Hillsboro Police Department while sharing appetizers, tasting the great wines and chatting about our experiences! All of us drivers want to thank the guys that rode along and helped spot and were great passengers! Thanks to Doug, Pamela and our sponsors for their efforts and support!

•