Bethel Ridge 17July2022

[tobyw]

It was time to put in a shakedown run on my daughter's LJ, and a quick look at the calendar reminded me that it was exactly one year ago that I had run Bethel Ridge for my very first time... Seemed like a good idea to rinse/repeat, so plans were made and the group met at Maverik at 0700 in relatively cool conditions (for mid-July). In attendance were Mr. & Mrs. OG in Ginger the red JLU-R, Paul riding solo in his blue JL-R, Boyscout riding solo in Lil' Red's not-so-red Sting Grey JLU-R, my boy riding solo in his white XJ, and me with (3) teenage girls towing my daughter's blue LJ:

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We rolled West in a decent headwind, noticeable primarily by the rapidly depleting fuel gauge in the tow pig:

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Thankfully the minions were good passengers at such an early time of day :

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We offloaded at the bottom of NF-1500 and headed up the switchbacks to the lookout by the radio tower:

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From here we trundled our way generally North-East along the cliffs and through the thick wooded area. It was disheartening to see all of the fire damage from last fall, but at the same time it was nice to see some significant effort put in to clean up the forest in the aftermath. It was nice to still see the vibrant colors this late in the year. We stopped a few times to chat and soak in the views:

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Everyone was getting hangry as we started making our way down the North side of the drainage approaching the other end of NF-1500, so we found a nice spot to have lunch:

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After an nice BS session and plenty of food, we loaded back up and continued our journey across the contour lines:

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Reaching the gravel parking lot at the bottom of the hill, we parted ways with Paul and the rest of the group headed back into the hills to run up and over the top and back down to the trailer, with a quick side trip to the summit of Timberwolf Mountain:

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The fire had clearly done significant damage through this particular drainage, and it was oddly impressive to take in the shear scope of the fire area from up here, knowing the fire had started well to the West over by Bumping Lake . With the day getting long, we made a beeline back to the bottom to load up and head back home:

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Overall I'm happy to report the LJ did great, with only a few fresh-build niggles to take care of. The day had been a lot of fun, albeit slightly boring for those seeking more challenge or adventure, but as always it beat the couch. Definitely looking forward to more LJ wheeling this season