New Years Day Run 2004
George Washington National Forest (Virginia)
German River District and PeterÆs Mill Trails

Some Pics

I joined the Capital Area Off Road Enthusiasts on their annual New Years Day run to the George Washington National Forest (GWNF) on January 1, 2004. The dayÆs forecast called for bright sunny skies with a temperature in the low to mid 50s. We met at the WendyÆs parking lot off Exit 47B from Route 66 West at 8:30 am. The Off Camber Crawlers were also meeting in the WendyÆs parking lot for their run. There were eventually 16 vehicles lined up in the lot. The OCC group runs mostly Jeeps. The morningÆs line-up from both clubs included 11 jeeps, 3 Chevys, 1 Range Rover, and 1 4Runner (me).

After a quick discussion with the OCC trip leader, we decided to head for the German River District while the OCC group would head a little further south. Our group of six trucks departed WendyÆs at about 9:10 am and headed west on Route 66 to I-81 for the trip down towards Harrisonburg. Traffic was light and we made good time to Exit 264 (Route 211 - New Market) off I-81. We chatted most of the way down on the CB. We followed Route 211 for a little while through Timberville and Broadway. We turned left onto Route 42 at the end of 211 and then right onto Route 259.

We stopped at a gas station to top off our tanks at an Exxon station on Route 259, just across the railroad tracks. From this point, the trailhead was about 15 minutes down the road. I believe a sign near the gas station said the West Virginia border was 17 miles away. Soon the paved roads gave way to gravel then dirt trails as we entered the German River District. After a short climb up the mountain, we began to encounter the first of many pick-up trucks with hunting dogs in the back. It turns out these guys were bear hunting. They were all pretty friendly and warned us about icy conditions on top of the mountain. With this in mind we continued our climb until we reached the top, an area what I believe is called ôSand Springö (N 38?39.886, W079?05.003). Sure enough, about a quarter mile passed the clearing the trail was covered with a thick sheet of ice rendering it impassable. We turned around and decided to take a short break back at the mountaintop clearing to find alternate fire roads on the map.

We back tracked about a third of a mile and found another trail that was passable. The trail conditions werenÆt bad, however we continued to encounter sections that were iced over. The ice wasnÆt much of a problem on level trails; the slopes however were another story. There was a section of trail a little over 100 yards long completely iced over with a 20Æ drop off on the right and a rock cliff on the left. It didnÆt leave much room for mistakes. One by one we descended the iced trail. I steered towards the left, trying to keep the left wheels off the ice and on the snow or what little dirt I could see. I was concerned with the rear end of the 4Runner sliding out and going over the right drop off. The back end did slide out a little bit, but with some gentle coaching and disregard for the pin stripping from branches on the left, I made it down and off the ice. After another water crossing, the trail headed back up with about 50 yards or so iced over again. Like before, one by one we ascended the trail sticking to the right this time. We continued to wind through the mountains slowly descending leaving behind the ice as we went.

Since it was only around 3:00 pm, we decided to head over to the PeterÆs Mill Trail in Edinburg. The PeterÆs Mill Trail was completely different from the German River run. First, no snow or ice to worry about, but plenty of red Virginia mud to play in. Second, there were lots of rocks. Last, instead of sharing the trails with bear hunters, there were a number of ATVs buzzing around.

The afternoon light started to fade and we still found ourselves on the trail as the sun set behind the mountains. Though I havenÆt mounted my auxiliary lights on my roof rack, my bumper mounted fog lights lit up the trail ahead of me very well. The shadows produced by the fog and headlights played tricks on me guessing the size of rocks or depths of holes in the trail. Night trail riding was a lot of fun.

Overall we all had a good time and everyone return home safely with no trail damage. I was impressed with the performance of my Goodyear MT/Rs in handling the ice, mud and rocks we encountered during the run.

The adventure continues.

Like you planned a new years day trip and did not tell anyone??

Nice pictures.

Gadget

www.GadgetOnline.com

My bad, it was my first outing with CORE. Hopefully after this month's meeting I'll get voted into the club. I'll post any future runs.

nice pics and nice runner. where you get your roof rack?

was it your lifted 4runner i saw outside of the 9:30 club a couple months ago in DC?

small possibility it was me? i went to the saves the day show and yellowcard show.

yeah i was at the saves the day show. i ment to post about it but forgot. nice 4runner btw.

Thanks. It's a Wilderness rack from 4x4 Connection.