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August 2000
Volume 3, Issue 6 |
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Last month we heard the news that much of the land in the Harbourview
area is going to be purchased by the Land Conservancy. While we applaud
the fact that this means our favourite playground will be protected
from development, many of us have great cause for concern about what
will actually happen to the area once the sale is complete—an area that
is currently used by so many different groups for so many different
recreations. Rob deLange
Click here to read more about Harbourview and the History of Sooke Mountain Park. |
Upcoming Events South Island Contact Events Co-ordinator
August 2000 Sept 2000 Mid-Island Contact Steve Duifhuis for more information. August 2000 September 2000 |
 On
Sunday, July 23, 2000 at 9:00am the gathering began in the Western Foods
parking lot. Numerous IRC members and their rigs showed up. After the
Lions where introduced and assigned their seats (and a few IRC members
left their vehicles behind and jumped in some empty seats) the caravan
of 15 vehicles departed for Shields Lake at 10:00am.  The game plan for the day was to give the Lions a little taste of Sooke Hills backwoods adventure, IRC Style! A BBQ at Shields Lake with a tour of a few trails. Everyone arrived at the Harbourview parking lot and after airing down and locking the hubs, we were off. The first part of the trail was pretty uneventful. Show-off rock, 5-Ways, etc. At the turn-off for Shields, three vehicles left the group to set up camp. The rest headed up the steps we call “The Waterfall”. Some of the fun here was a rope and a couple of guys pulling Wyatt’s Bronco II up the first step (he just couldn’t quite make it). Then Rob McF. had to remove the seat cover from his butt after the laws of physics were applied to his CJ, allowing the right front tire to become a little higher than anticipated. A new young prospective member for the Mid-Island chapter (Neil and his dad), and his stock CJ5 took some guidance from our more experienced members. Next we had a suspension flexing demonstration by Wayne F. and Andy J., who took more challenging lines. Of note was the stampede of guys and their vehicles to be the one to pull Garrison and his high-centred White Rhino off the culvert at the top of the steps after a few large nuggets decided to squirt out from under the tires. Rob McF. got the honour. After all, how often do you see a Jeep tugging a Hummer? With everyone at the top we proceeded to Hill 35 where the real carnage began! Dave H. attempted the climb with his YJ but to no avail. Then  Slim
with his Cherokee opted to give it a go. Manoeuvring the large Jeep into
position he had the front wheels up on the top ledge and looked as if
he might make it, when it started to act like a rabbit and hop. For some
reason front axles don’t like hopping and the driver’s side top steering
knuckle decided that it had enough and removed itself from the axle. Of
course this caused the u-joint to leave too. Not wanting to be left out
the transfer case tail shaft departed also! In a brief moment and a cloud
of dust that was it! The breakage investigation team concurred that when
the steering knuckle let go the torque was transferred back to the rest
of the driveline causing the damage to the transfer case. After all the excitement it was getting late in the day so we loaded up the Lions into Garrison’s and Wyatt’s vehicles to take them into Shields Lake for lunch so the rest of us could get Slim down of the side of Hill 35. After removing the front wheel, related parts and the rear drive shaft, Slim backed down in front one wheel drive and on three wheels. After assessing the damage, Wayne F. and Steve D. left to get bits and pieces to get Slim down to the pavement. With everything under control the rest of us went back down the steps to Shields for lunch where Chef Rick was cooking up a storm of burgers and hot dogs! After everyone was stuffed we packed up camp. Some of the group headed back to Slim with growlies to feed him and his repair crew. The rest of us headed back down to Western Foods where we were thanked by the Lions for a most enjoyable day. Kudos to Rob McFadyen for organizing this fine event. On Sunday, July 9, the regular gang of wheelers explored the trails
near Sooke during the monthly run. On the way up, apparently some drivers
and vehicles thought it was time to give ‘that rock’ a try. You know,
the one at the back of the giant mud puddle we call the ‘frog pond’.
This rock has been conquered a few times before from the west face,
but today’s challenge was the fearsome ‘south face’. Way to go, Rob! On Saturday, July 15, 2000, The Island Rock Crawlers were invited to
participate in the All Sooke Day event held at the Sooke Flats. Never
wanting to miss a chance for some publicity, we jumped at the chance.
Our favourite person to come by that day was an old lady who asked
if this was some kind of display for ICBC and road safety. No, we replied,
we’re just demonstrating our vehicles capabilities. “You mean this isn’t
some kind of accident display?” |
 E-mail: Bow-Mel Chrysler |
IRC Parts Bin
If you have parts for sale or parts you need, contact Rob McFadyen, Email: mcclan@telus.net with subject = “IRC Parts Bin” |
Island Rock Crawlers Home Page
