Thursday June 23rd- Saturday June 25th , Quadratec along with Off Road Consulting paired up to once again represent at a Jeep Jamboree. This time at the Penn's Woods Jeep Jamboree in Bradford, Pennsylvania.
The Penn's Woods Jeep Jamobree is one of the longest running Jamborees with 2016 being the 19th year.
With goody bags, catalogs and the LJ on the trailer, we began the 5 hour drive to Bradford, but not before a few pit stops.........
Kinzua Bridge State Park, home of the Kinzua Viaduct that was once known as the 8th wonder of the world was the longest and tallest railroad structure at 2,053 feet long and 301 feet high. The impressive framework was partially destroyed by a tornado in 2003 and you can still to this day see the devastation that occurred to the railroad as the remains of the toppled structure still inhabit the bottom of the state park. In 2011, the engineering wonder was resurrected as a new pedestrian walkway was constructed and visitors can walk 600 feet out on the remaining support towers. At the farthest point on the bridge you can see miles out into the Kinzua Gorge. Below is a graveyard of sorts with the debris field from the tornado. There was also the addition of a partial glass platform at the end of the walkway where visitors can view the structure from a different perspective 301 feet down! This is not for the faint of heart! We were soon to find out that some of the trails were within a mile or two of this landmark.
After lunch at the Kinzua Bridge State Park we were pack on track and next stop.....Bradford!
Bradford is home to the Zippo lighter and Case museum and since we had a few hours before the Jeep Jamboree festivities began we decided to check out the museum.
After exploring it was time for Quadratec and Off Road Consulting to go into Jeep Jamboree mode!
With registration beginning Thursday evening Quadratec and Off Road Consulting set up the booth to hand out the goody bags, meet the participants and trail guides.
As registration was taking place inside, outside vehicles were being inspected. The Off Road Consulting LJ was inspected and was given the stamp of approval from the Jeep Jamboree inspectors.
After the Jeep had been inspected we were able to select the trails we wanted to do and even though the challenging trails looked enticing, we opted for the more easy and scenic trail ride. We signed up for the "White Trail Ride" on Friday and the "Green Trail Ride" on Saturday.
With registration wrapping up and the last few vehicles being inspected, it was time to grab some dinner and relax before the Official Start of the 19th Annual Penn's Woods Jeep Jamboree!
Friday morning we had an early start so we could prep the LJ by topping off the fluids, securing our gear and get in line with our trail group.
Jeeps of all sizes, shapes and colors started rolling in and before long everyone was lined up and ready to get out on the trails! After an informative driver's meeting and a few words from the Jeep Jamboree Representative it was time to time to fire up the jeeps and follow the trail guides to the trails!
Our group of about 12 had a 1/2 hour drive on back roads before our tires actually saw dirt. Once we were on the trails the group stopped for folks to air down and finish preparing their jeeps for the day. Quadratec and Off Road Consulting was assisted a few drivers with airing down and transitioning their vehicles into 4-lo. During the break we got a chance to talk with a few of the Jeep Jamboree representatives.
With blue skies and the sun shining down everyone was back in their jeeps with seat belts on, Penn's Woods Jeep Jamboree day one of the trails had begun!
We weren't on the trails long before a TJ became buried in mud and to add salt to wound, the front axle was hung up on some unknown debris in thick mud. After numerous attempts by the Jeep Jamboree trail guides, Off Road Consulting and Quadratec offered some advice and provided some safe recovery gear to assist the trail guides including a Bubba Rope and a Custom Splice soft shackle. In no time at all the jeep was finally recovered unharmed and most importantly no one was injured.
A short time later the same TJ's string of bad luck continued with a slice in their tire. Quadratec and Off Road Consulting were asked to assist as they were prepared with tools and on board air. After some trail repair time and lunch the group continued on the trails encountering tight, twisty areas, muddy ruts and a few challenging rocky sections. Among the group was a stock 2005 Grand Cherokee which got stuck in some muddy ruts a few times. This was another chance for us to pull them with our Bubba rope. Off Road Consulting then took them under their wing and spotted them through a few sections.
Day one of the Penn's Woods Jeep Jamboree had come to an end but the trails weren't over yet! The saying "Eat, Sleep, Jeep, repeat" is the best way to describe Jeep Jamboree......after we ate, and slept it was time to repeat Jeep!
Day 2 brought with it sunshine and hot, humid weather! Perfect for our group because we were headed out for woods and the shade from the woods provided relief from the sun. We saw more trail time on day 2 as the group ran muddy uphills, more tight/twisty areas and a few stream crossings. After lunch the trail guides lead the group to a rather difficult rocky section that proved to be a challenge for a few folks. After an extended wait and with a bypass available we opted to skip the obstacle so that the group was able to get moving. The area is filled with oil history and one of the trail guides stopped the group at a few points of interest along the way to discuss the history of the area.
It was time to navigate back and the trail portion of the Penn's Woods Jeep Jamboree had come to an end.
At the dinner Quadratec and Off Road Consulting enjoyed exchanging trail tales that happened over the weekend.
The Penn's Woods Jeep Jamboree had ended and for the 19th year this Jamboree had brought folks from all over the US and Canada together for one weekend where we all have the same goals.....friendship, camaraderie, exploration, trails and jeep.
Check out Quadratec for information on recovery gear and all of your jeep essentials. Quadratec tent sale is scheduled for Saturday October 8th 2016
For information about Off Road Consulting including our 101 Off Road driver training classes and guided rides please visit www.offroad-consulting.com or check us out on Facebook and Instagram
No comments:
Post a Comment