Liberty Run 4th of July 2023

[iaccocca]

Libert 4th o' July is in the books. I think this works as a rollcall.

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From front:
Lee no family in pic, but with Chris, Millie, and Jay for the weekend, LJ
Todd, arrived Saturday and wheeled Sunday, TJ
Casey and Sheila, arrived Saturday and wheeled through Monday, JKU
Jose, Sveta, and Isaabel, here with family Saturday for whole extended weekend, TJ- yep, TJ.
Curtis, 1st in Saturday and wheeled Sunday, TJ.

Everyone was in camp Saturday setup as comfortable as possible in RVs, tents, on a trailer or in a truck.
Sunday morning a run was picked suitable to temperament and equipment of all involved. Headed to a little find that Jose and Lee discovered, 2021, we just call the Ridge... it is the ridge just above Williams creek...
exit:

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Not the line:

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That dumped close to Pit Overlook Trail, to Crystal Ridge.
Bottom of Crystal Ridge:

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not quite that steep, auto rotate.
No pics from me, but 1st lunch was at the overlook on Crystal Ridge.
Off to Stairstep.

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Todd on stairstep 1st of twice. Casey making short work of it. Jose getting it done without front locker.
Not pictured, Lee, no one takes pics when I am not stuck.
Curtis, his spotter, yours truly, couldn't get pics because he was running for his life. Let's just say I check the tread depth on his RH front while it had no ground pressure on it.

From there we hit Ragan Way Trail and Nealy Creek Trail. Each had recently been cleared of downed wood, but tight. We moved some wood, but mostly went over it. There was a downed tree that offered some challenge-especially if your front locker was disconnected. Hopefully pics will show up. Only carnage of note was my passenger side softdoor.

The clock said that was a full day and we bombed down to camp to say goodbye to Cutis and Todd. Dinner was had and a firewood run was conducted.
Next up... offroad all the way to Wenatchee, accidentally, the parade, and the whatnot.

[Gregandlina]

Sorry I missed it, sounds great!

[Roman]

HUNDREDS of miles covered...

[Roman]

Mistakes (miscalculations) were made, but worth it!

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[iaccocca]

Monday, the remaining Putters headed off for a Over Lander mainstay, driven by Rob's (Lud) recent Facebook posted picture, Beehive reservoir. Promising those whose definition of adventure is slightly different than those of us that consider ourselves hardcore we promised a 4 hourish roundtrip on gravel roads.
Lee, with full family, Jose with full family, and Casey with wife headed off. At about 4 hours outbound the road became a washout. Easy for us, but hard to explain as regular gravel road. Upon reaching the Beehive reservoir, we decided to calculate fuel reserves. For the most part, we were past bingo fuel. The decision was made to push on to Wenatchee and return to camp via Blewett Pass. Wenatchee, is a bit of a culture shock for those of us that have been living in camp and it was hot.
With a little added air, no drama taking the trail rigs back on the pass.
I for one, saw scenery I have never seen before making the trip well worth it.
Back at camp Casey and Sheila packed up to enjoy the 4th with family. Remaining Putters enjoyed a potluck partly served up from the pizza oven.

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[iaccocca]

Tuesday it was time for the parade!

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Two of the nights, we played HAM radio in camp, experimenting with different antennas. Had a nice conversation (QSO) with a HAM radio operator in Australia from the picnic table... plus Alaska, California, Rhode Island and some local Washington stations.

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The Jeeperchicks put on their what now must be world famous no-fire Mentos-Soda Fireworks. I am sure someone got pics.
The remaning Putters, the Ybarra's and the Retterer's packed up Wednesday morning and headed home. We got to see the beautiful Yakima River Canyon twice, once from the passenger side, once from the drivers'.

This remains my favorite run, and every year we ask why we only go to Liberty once a year. Maybe that will change this year. We've seen to many trail heads that we pass by. I'm thinking we should get a little Liberty lost.