Friday, July 28th - Eagle Trail

We need to be careful what we ask for! Eagle Trail was the absolute MAXIMUM for us and our stock Jeep!

After a buffet breakfast, we had a drivers' meeting at "The Top of the World" staging area. All 227 Jeeps were lined up according to the trail they were about to go out on. We "aired down" our tires to 18# and listened intently to the rules-of-the road.

In the first hour on the trail, I bumped off of a tree stump on the left and into a sizeable rock on the right. I made it thru the obstacles and was feeling pretty smug when MA says she hears air escaping from the front right tire. No, wait, MA hears air ALSO escaping from the right REAR tire, too. I was afraid I had ripped up a tire but, no, only the valve stems in both tires were destroyed. So we call for help on the CB radio and the trail guides hustle back to lend a hand - actually, they deal TOTALLY with the problem. I dismounted my spare and we borrowed a spare (31") from Travis from Charlottesville, VA and the trail guides replaced both tires and we were back on our way in about 20 minutes. One time I had to be winched up a very steep and slippery abrupt rise (about 14 of the 23 Jeeps on our trail also had to be winched up). and once I "high centered" on a rock that I was simply too low to clear (again, not the only ones getting a pull with the tow strap). Late in the afternoon, the windshield cracked badly, apparently from the twisting that the trail puts on the frame. At the end of a very intense day, MA and I both were happy that Saturday's trail would be easier. We HAD tested the limits of our Jeep and it performed magnificently!

We went to the maintenance shed here at Snowshoe Mountain and they replaced the valve stems and we were good as new on the two tires. The dinner consisted of beef tips & noodles and lasagna and actually was quite tasty for food produced in bulk.

Here are short video clips of today's fun...

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5864511135692487456

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2920553387077453479&hl=en

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6986772546082856169&hl=en

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3761426439473328882&hl=en