Friday was the KnuckleHead's day to take a flight to Shoestring/Kaner and I was pulling duty as trail leader. Skies were gray and a bit coolish. Again, we got out of the staging area right on time and headed up Highway 410 to Milk Creek where we aired-down before starting up the hill.

The Forest Service had "closed" the upper portion of Milk Creek to normal traffic because the road had slid-out in a place or two, but it was still open to four-wheel drives and our first "stuck" was Ralph playing around on one of the moguls in the road. The driver in front of Ralph thought he was kidding when he asked for a strap and drove on without him.

Before we reached the end of the road, I made a spontaneous decision to run the Woodpecker Trail up to the ridge top. This is an optional portion of the Shoestring run and Skip and I had pre-run this section on Wednesday. It is a nice trail when you're not in the clear-cuts and is even fairly scenic around a lake (pond) part way through the lower portion.

As we moved along, the weather began to darken and we heard a few faint rumbles of thunder. Two thirds of the way through Woodpecker, it breaks out into the meadow at the end of Milk Creek road, just before it starts up Five-fingers. It follows the meadow for a couple hundred yards, then heads back into the trees headed for the ridge top.

 Despite lectures each day to wait for the rig behind you at all intersections, plus a refresher course by Merrick Graves Thursday night and a review by me Friday morning, the participant in front of Ralph left the intersection before Ralph arrived. Ralph tried to call on the CB, but thought he got no answer. So he headed up into the Five-fingers meadow with four or five participants following instead of making the turn.

Ralph's query about the turn came when I was about 100 yards from the ridge trail at the top and just as more thunder, lightening and rain decended upon us. Repeated attempts to correct Ralph's path failed until he had the thought to check his volume. I halted the rest of the group after they made the ridge and we waited about 20 minutes for Ralph and the rest of the participants to catch up. When they did, we again stressed the importance of making sure the driver behind you makes the right turn.

We then made good time along the 307 trail toward Tripod Flats. At the creek-crossing just south of the flats, Mr. Clean spotted a frog on a rock. We celebrated briefly and moved on across Tripod until we hit the Shoestring Trail where we stopped for a break and a snack.

After the break, we pushed on through Region 4 Meadows and through the small, scrub pine forest making our way to Shoestring Lake. We made good time and when we arrived at the lake, the concensus was to push on before stopping for lunch.

Past the lake, we discovered two new bridges put in by the Wondering Willys Jeep Club. They were in the muddy section past the lake that has been a traditional challenge ... we all understand the need to cut down on our impact in muddy areas.

We took a short bio-break before heading into the Rock Garden, something the best of bladders appreciate about half-way through this wandering path of grapefruit-sized to basketball-sized rocks.

As we creeped along, one of the older rigs, a YJ-Wrangler, started having fuel problems. Most likely a vapor lock just north of the gas tank. The rest of us decided to break for lunch at the far end of the Rock Garden while we waited for the YJ to catch up. I told the group that those that wanted could play in the rock bowls beside the trail ... this was to be our undoing.

Not wanting the participants to be bored, I pointed a steep pinacle of rock out to Maulding. He promptly walked his TJ up it until it was nearly vertical. The crew had to get plenty of pictures of it, then Mr. Clean backed down. Ralph (a consumate poser, just look at his photo takes) had to try next. He climbed up the steep rock, the crew did the photos-from-all-sides dance, and then while either trying to get higher or just backing down, he busted the pinion in the rear D44.

Major breakage! Especially since Ralph had rendered his front Air-Locker inoperable during the Thursday Rimrock run. Now he was faced with trying to get out with only one drive wheel on the front of his Jeep and some steep, loose hill climbs to come.

Ralph would never make it by himself, so we decided to leave Mr. Clean and SuperDave to help tow him out to the road. I hate to give away the ending, but they made it and hopefully one of them will write a report on "The Shoestring/Kaner Rescue" ... it's got to be a good story given the hills they had to climb AND descend.

This left Skipper and I to get the participants out by our lonesomes ... hoping the YJ had no more trouble. We were relatively lucky, it only stopped a couple times, and I think Skip may have had to tow him on one short section. Nonetheless, I was pretty happy to top the ridge and be looking at Lilly Pond, knowing a Forest Service road was only another 300 yards.

At Lilly Pond, I sent Skip back to help Ralph and the Daves while I took the participants down the hill and aired-up. Back at Jim Sprick Park, I grabbed Gage and the Kodiak to bring Ralph's Jeep back, but traveling up 410, we ran into the crew about five miles from camp.

All-in-all another great day, and entertaining for our guests ... now, I wanna hear the story of pulling Ralph out.

  -- Wimpy