The group met up at the Maverik for an 0730 departure under beautiful blue skies, although dark and ominous clouds loomed to the West. In attendance were myself and the boy minion with Gladys and the RZR, OG in Ginger, Dryside using his Super Duty to tow his eldest minion’s XJ, and the aforementioned eldest minion driving the LS-powered Trail Cow. Several jokes were made about the irony of me showing up towing per usual, even though the entire intent behind Gladys was to not tow, and Dryside using his Super Duty for towing when he’s got a 400+hp V8 under the hood of his Jeep that would tow the XJ without batting an eye… Good clean parking lot fun…
We rolled West and settled in with the cruise control set at 63mph:
After a quick stop at the Ahtanum super center, we made our way to the Nasty Creek corrals to unload and remove psi’s, with dark clouds overhead:
The group trundled up the loose, rocky hillside with chalky dust puffing out as we slowly gained elevation:
As we traversed the entirety of what we commonly refer to as Nasty Creek, trading positions in line several times along the way, we eventually made it to the intersection with Jackass and then took the hard right turn up toward Ewe Neck and beyond:
We stopped for lunch at the overlook just before the intersection with 1020, and as we enjoyed our lunch the weather changed from cloudy and calm to 30mph gust to clear and sunny, all time while dramatically changing the view of the Rim Rock area directly to the North. It was awesome:
With full bellies, the decision between nap time and wheeling was difficult, but we decided to press on since it was Sunday afternoon. As we approached the cabin above Blue Lake, we found some snow and played around a bit on one particularly sizeable drift:
The descent to Blue Lake was, uhhh, interesting in Gladys. She’s a long beast, and the little chute between the trees was greasy with mud and provided some entertainment trying to avoid taking on body damage with less than 10 days of ownership. Wouldn’t be the fist time I guess :
Leaving Blue Lake signaled the end of the wheeling portion of this trip. That does not mean, however, that the day was over… You see, the minion decided to absolutely hammer the poor RZR on a few of the drainage ditches across the road, and that air time resulted in both rear lower A-arm bolts vacating the premises. The end result was both rear spindles floating freely as they saw fit, and of course a drastic reduction in fun. The long, slow limp back to the trailers was still better than any old hour on the couch at home, and the RZR will be back in action in no time.
Overall it was a marvelous day and a great first test for Gladys as a true dual purpose vehicle. I’m ecstatic to report she towed great, wheeled great, and I’ve got high hopes for what’s to come.
Gladys Break-in Run 13Jun2021
Moderator: SPR
Gladys Break-in Run 13Jun2021
Yep, I've wheeled one of those, too...
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