Saturday we decided to leave New Salem to Doug, Don, and Justin and we took off for Myer’s Mayhem with our friends Mike and Julie.  Dennis led eight Jeeps toward the trail but suddenly picked up seven more Jeeps in Griggsville.  Dennis and John had a lot of Jeeps to deal with but the majority of the group were very experienced drivers with very capable Jeeps so the day went well.

Myer’s is a great trail and may be under rated for many parts of it.  The hills are steep, the “V” notches are deep and there is a lot of off camber throughout the trail.  It was our second time on the trail and we had to winch once again at a creek crossing, so far it’s 0 for 2 for us at that crossing.  Greg and Melanie twisted their rear driveshaft on a climb and that ended their day in their Jeep but they were able to find rides with other people on the trail.  Later Melanie got to sit pretty high in that Jeep as it got laid on its side in a tight notch.  A strap was placed though the roll bar, the Jeep pulled back onto its wheels and the driver drove out of the notch.

Our friends Mike and Julie had never been on a trail rated higher than a three before and I think that they really enjoyed the experience.  The first drop into a creek bed is steep and long with a couple of off camber vertical drops.  What a way to be introduced to the trail.  Shortly after that Mike got a front tire jammed into a front fender trying to go over an off camber ridge and I had to give him a strap.  I think he’s now considering high flat fenders for next year.  Chris and lost our camera in the Jeep and didn’t find it for the first part of the day and we missed some great shots of Mike and Julie’s faces when they went down Hell’s Gate.

Dennis and John opened a new loop that they named Purgatory.  They gave everyone the opportunity to drive it or watch, Chris, Julie, Mile and I decided to watch and take pictures.  It’s a steep drop into a creek, a hard left turn, and then the off camber begins.  Once you get through the first part you have a second off camber area to negotiate.  In addition there is of mud and the loop lives up to its name.  I posted photos of all of the Jeeps entering the creek and then going off camber in both areas.  A green Jeep got a lot of air making the left turn, a tall Jeep knocked down a lot of dirt from overhanging roots, and a red Jeep went on its side in the second are.   Pretty good stuff and everyone had a great time.

We saw a couple of instances where people kept grabbing their roll bar during the off camber sections.  In one case a driver actually put his hand through the cage to push at some tree roots that he didn’t have a prayer to move while his passenger held the cage.  Several people yelled at them to get their hands back into the Jeep but they didn’t pay any attention and luckily didn’t get hurt.  I don’t understand this problem, you can build a capable Jeep with a capable roll cage but you can’t put a couple of handles on the cage for you and your passenger’s.  The other option is to simply purchase the nylon handles that Velcro to the cage tubing and the problem is solved.  Some people have to learn the hard way; unfortunately that way could cause enough injury to end their Jeepin days, possibly forever.
  
We had a great day on the trail, the weather was hot and again we met a lot of nice people.  Dennis and John have put a lot of work into Myer’s Mayhem and it shows.  Dennis is going out this weekend to make another loop as he wants to add a lot more area to the trail ensuring that everyone gets their money’s worth.