Story by Hallie Vail / Photos by Michael L. Palmieri Photography

[Hallie Vail, Springfield, MA, mixes graduate studies in education with Land Rover studies in off-roading. She took to the woods this fall and had a ball –ed.]

Graduate studies can tie you to the library and really sap your energy. A few New England events, alongside group trail riding in late summer, jerked me back on track to living and breathing Land Rover.

Rewind several months – I hadn’t done much “rovering” since Winter Romp 2008 in February. At that event, I made it 30-feet along the trail when I shattered the rear differential of my Range Rover Classic. Not to worry, it was a quality learning experience scooping shards of metal out from the pig and we always find ways to thoroughly enjoy Winter Romp.

Fast forward to late summer – still not much to tell. Extra classes and a broken hand delayed off-road activity although the suicide knob on our ‘97 5-speed Discovery proved my claw-cast could be of some use. With classes over and two functioning extremities, I headed home for some much needed family and Rover time. First on the list was a weekend trip to Rangeley, where our southern Maine crew met up at Chip Perkins’ camp for some off-roading. Overall, it was a quiet weekend with scenic day trips and not-soon forgotten nights. However, I did manage to set off my inertia switch twice on the relatively calm roads and my brother Nate, traveling with his friend Evan Allen, fought a fire under the hood in another family Rover. Here’s a tech tip: when you rebuild your engine, be careful where your ignition wires run because if they’re too close to the exhaust manifold, melting can occur. Don’t ask me how I know.

Autumn saw me back in the library and the classroom. It was not long before I started crossing off days, anticipating the All Metal Dash event and the Bay State Rovers’ Fall Heritage weekend. The All Metal Dash, organized and hosted by Don Flye on his land in Petersham, MA, brought together a sizeable group of enthusiasts. It’s aimed at the Series I, II and II-A owners [thus its name], but every Rover enthusiast was welcome. I admit, I’m the first to announce how much I adore trail time, but All Metal Dash was a learning experience I’d like to encounter more often. The September weekend included tech sessions by Rovers North’s Les Parker, Forrest Clifford and Al Richer, trivia with everything from the gear ratios on a 101, to what year Rovers had an aluminum bulkhead (Les Parker insisted it was 1952 when Rover ran out of steel bulkheads for a while), and an obstacle course along with other contests.

It seems nearly every day is a tech session when owning Land Rovers. Over the weekend, Lars Sjulander had to fix a fuel leak and replace a hose. Mark Libby suffered on the ride home first with a failed fuel pump in Lowell, MA, and then breaking a connecting rod in the engine.

The Vail compound is in Cumberland, ME, where as usual there were non-stop projects underway in an effort to get ready for Fall events. Matt Hawkes upgraded his yellow Defender 90 with a 200 Tdi conversion (I still can’t decide what catches my eye more – my dream truck or my dream man?). At 2:00 am, Evan Allen also had his rig in the barn while he tried to rebuild his slave cylinder just before the scheduled departure for the BSROA Fall Heritage in New Hampshire. I remained unsuccessful in convincing my father, Bob Vail, to upgrade my Rover to 35-inch tires.

In October, a convoy from Maine left for the Fall Heritage event. The crew consisted of three green Discovery I 5-speeds (representing the Vail clan), Jeff Porch’s white Disco, newly equipped with 38-inch boggers, Matt Hawkes’ rugged ‘59 Series II, and Matt Browne’s blue Range Rover Classic. Evan Allen became my co-pilot when his early morning ministrations failed.

Thanks to the leadership of Adam Check and Peter Janney, the caravan headed to New Hampshire for a brilliant day of trail riding. It had been a wet fall, so no one was surprised when a deep mud hole hung up the convoy as we took turns working through the trail. Great weather yielded a perfect experience and satisfied my craving for more Rover time. In general, there were no significant problems but we Vails just seem to attract trouble. Nate Vail bent his steering rod so badly that his wheels visibly pointed outward. A few of us marveled and took guesses how it happened while he and my father used the winch to work it “straight.” The mud even came home with me to Maine; I found mud throughout the engine compartment and a soaked air filter. The solution – a snorkel!

This is a great time to send special thanks to those who set up these events, regardless of where they are in North America. Everyone who organizes off-road events provides a wonderful service to enthusiasts. As for me, I send much love to everyone I’ve seen over the past few months as I return to my studies. Hopefully, I won’t have to wait till Winter Romp 2009 to have more fun!

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