Work Detail
with
OK 4 Wheel Drive
Harmony, New Jersey
The hunt for new trails sometimes requires that trails be made, not simply
found. A recent contact of some of the group lead to an agreement with the owner of some private land in the area. There were a few logging trails though the
mountainside but we weren't looking for the easy way. Looking up the mountainside there were rocks in those woods just asking for a trail to be cut though the tough
stuff. Armed with chainsaws, clippers and manpower we scouted some great lines though the rock fields as well as carved a few bypasses around the tough stuff. One trail
ran along a dragon-back of exposed bedrock that will make for some interesting 4 wheeling. Another trail followed a rock garden of medium to large sized very loose rocks up
the mountainside for quite a stretch that promises to never be the same trail twice. Most of our day here was to work on the trails for another day however we did manage to
test a few of the trails and got a glimpse of what Harmony has to offer. These foothills are old. Very old. Worn rocks and crumbling bedrock intermingling with
trees of every size and loose mossy soil all combines to challenge the toughest rigs.
After spending several hours blazing a few trails it was time to wrap it up and call it a day. Of course though, we weren't going to leave to same way we came
in. Our alternate route out took us up one very challenging climb though a Rock Slide of knarly rocks ranging from bowling ball size to Wrecking Ball sized jagged
bolders. The whole assent leans to the left enough to push your rig towards a large fallen tree. A few vehicles, looking for a good line ended up wedged against the
fallen tree and a few against some standing trees.
First up was Bill in his Blue YJ. This rig ended up with a front locker problem early on in the attempt and decided to take the bypass rather than risk further damage.
Next up... Mike in his 77 CJ-7. Mike took the lower line, running close to the fallen tree. This is where the rocks are very loose and large.
Spinning wheels quickly piled up the rocks behind the wheels digging 4 big holes.