NOT pictured are the KNARLIEST trails & obstacles faced! Speedy was the first to conquer every obstacle
& TWICE my life passed in front of my eyes as I conquered the top section of two trails! PHEWEEEEEEEEE! Once
I ducked under the low & heavy canopy & headed UP on those two , there was NO STOPPING! Too NARROW , STEEP &
SLICK to STOP once a certain elevation had been reached! Help NEVER would have gotten there in time!
Sometimes you'd be riding along a so
called NORMAL trail & it SUDDENLY would head up & then get SUPER KNARLY REAL FAST! Mike Yucha who
was following Speedy ,STOPPED dead in his tracks when he saw WHAT I was faced with as I dropped the hammer
on the Susuki Twin Peaks 700 4x4 on those two SUPER KNARLY obstacles!
The first one was STEEP
& had a 30" rock ledge at the STEEPEST section ! The second was STEEPER , with water & mud filling the ruts &
a thankfully somewhat smaller rock wall! Without those AMS 26" DEEP LUGGED sneakers aired down for rock
crawling & a very stable quad , Speedy could easily have experienced a REAL DISASTER! Needles to say in BOTH
cases , Speedy yelled into his walkie talkie " DON'T COME , DON'T COME " & rerouted the others via a much SAFER route
!
The mountains are STEEPER & much KNARLIER then the hills in Pa. ! Dan lasted one day after his front
tire dug into a very steep & off cambered descent & STOPPED! He was LAUNCHED head first down the boulder infested
trail & IF NOT for a HELMET he would NOT be here with us today! HELMETS are a MUST!
Luckily Dave Kuhn was on a fairly level trail when his front right ball joint blew out & seperated from the A-arm
& the entire front end dug into the Kentucky turf! Could have been UGLY! He also was ejected &
his quad rolled upside down as he took the wrong line on a deep & severly rutted mudhole.
On our lone night ride Steve Loftis mistakenly went down a " Class 3 " truck trail & was stranded in a VERY SLICK . STEEP
& NASTY yellow clay gulley! It was PITCH BLACK & we all thought Steve was going to have to stay
with his quad until AM the next day ! UGLY!!!!! I had the only qaud capable of rescuing Steve IF possible at all??????????
But with a bad knee & being DARK & SLICK , I lent my qaud to a younger Mike Yucha for the ATTEMPTED rescue!
Mike wedged the Susuki King Quad against a big tree & attempted to reach Steve's stranded Honda Rincon , but not
enough winch cable or rope! Everyone dug into their backpacks & bags & retrieved ANTHING that could be used to extend
our tow rope. Finally our tow rope reaches the Honda , BUT it seems the Susuki King Quad wants to slide sideways
away from the tree! WOW! This is getting hairy!
With almost
everyone holding & pulling , the Speedball's finally get the Honda moving SLOWLY upward! Inch by inch &
then foot by foot the Honda is finally winched , pushed & pulled up far enough that Steve can get the Honda
to the top on it's own! YEHAAAAAAAAA!
Once the rescue is complete we celebrate & everyone heads off towards the trucks , but Speedy's quad is pointd in the
wrong direction & no one notices that I'm NOT with them as the lights disappear into the nite! By the time I get
the Susuki Twin Peaks turned around , it's PITCH BLACK & NO headlights ANYWHERE!!!! I listen & NO sounds
either!
I wait a minute or two & still no lights or sounds , so with the help of my GPS , I head off the mountain towards
the trucks & finally spot headlights dancing in the nite & heading down the mountain. I get excited & with extreme
caution make a bee line for the dancing headlights , BUT soon they disappear once again . Was that the Speedball's or NOT??????
I go a little faster & soon I spot headlights once again & watch the GPS & make a bee line for the trucks &
hopefully the others. By the time I reach Evarts & the trucks NO ONE is there! " Did they go to the car wash as
normal or did I miss them somewhere???????? " I THINK I spot atv tail lights fading in the distance towards
the car wash , so I head off to see If I I'm RIGHT or NOT ?????
By the time I reach the car wash & look around I realize the others MIGHT still be on the mountain or by now at the trucks??????
So I retreat back to the trucks . Still NO ONE! I now realize that they are out there looking for ME ! WHAT to do NOW???????
No way to find them , so I load up my quad & park my truck halfway up the mountain & blow my truck's horn &
flash it's lights trying to get their attention. NO LUCK!!!!! I try sitting there in the dark trying to
spot lights on the mountains , BUT it's TOTALLY DARK & VERY SPOOKY ! NOT GOOD! So I turn on my 4way
flashers & wait. Within ten minutes I see ATV headlights headed off the mountain in my direction . YEHAAAAAAAA! MAYBE
it's them ?????
Almost an hour has gone by & FINALLY we are reunited ! Everyone is HAPPY to see that everyone is SAFE & OFF
these Kentucky mountains for the nite! PHEWEEEEEEEEE! Time for a good nite's rest & a hot shower! LOL!
We encountered MANY challenges during the week , BUT working as a team we conquered them ALL! Folks had to be
helped or rescued off some very tricky & knarly obstacles BUT it only added to the wonder of it all! WHAT
A GRAND TIME!!!!! Mike & I also found some LOCAL trails that were VERY STEEP & LONG !!! We both got hand cramps
as we squeezed the brake levers for LONG periods as we explored & descended down these trails. At times you
had to SLOWLY crawl from boulder to boulder to help slow the quad from going too fast! If you got a quad in great
shape & have very good skills , MAYBE you can join us in October???? I can ONLY guarantee ONE THING ! IT WILL
BE FUN & EXCITING!!!!! LMAO!
