Our "sister" club 4X4 In Motion held their annual Niagara Rim Poker Run July 11th.  The event is held in the Stanislaus National Forest, above Strawberry, CA off of Highway 108.  The Niagara Rim Trail has been adopted by 4X4 In Motion for the last several years.  They are responsible for opening, closing and maintaining the trail throughout the year.  The trail itself has a wide range af terrain types and elevation changes.  Trail difficulty range is easy to moderate with bypasses available for the tougher sections.  The Rock Pile is the most difficult section and is completely optional.  The staffing, spotting and organization on this run is top notch.  All 4X4 In Motion members work their tails off to make sure everyone has a good time.  The trail is not the only draw to this event.  The Tri tip dinner and the raffle are both at the top of the class!  This year over 60 raffle packages were given away and included a Premier Power Welder, 2 Power Tanks, 4 Ipods, high lift jacks, 2 winches, TJ tube fenders as well as a ton of other stuff.

As Friday rolled around the list of WCRC members signed up for this run had fallen to 2, myself and Richard Chadwick.  It's a shame we weren't  able to generate more participation on this run.  It is VERY kid and family friendly, a relatively short time commitment to run the trail and tons of other stuff going on all the time.  I made the call to Mary to let her know that we would have 4 rigs from WCRC.  Richard had invited his brother Scott, his sister in law Linda and his niece and nephew Nathan.  Scott has a nice LandCruiser that he has owned for over 20 years and his son Nathan has a Toyota Pickup.  Both rigs are set up well and the owners know how to drive them.

Richard and I left Rohnert Park about 8:30 and headed over Highway 12 to drop into Stockton to pick up the rest of the group.  We loaded the Landcruiser on the tail of Richards trailer and headed off.  Scott knew a shortcut over to 120 but I lost track of them at a stoplight.  I continued on my intended route knowing that I would have to haul a** to get to the 120 intersection the same time that the did.  As it turns out I beat them to 120 and was concerned that I was still behind them.  So I continued up to Escelon when my phone rang.  It was Richard and he was abouit 8 miles behind me.  Within 10 minutes we were all together again.  After a quick lunch in Oakdale we made it up the hill to Niagara Creek cut off. 

Mary had reserved our camping spot as usual (what a gal!) complete with custom signs and graphics (see the picture of the signs in our Photo Gallery).  Wine Country members get treated a little special at this event.  Registration was painless with the help of the excellent 4X4 In Motion staff.  We set up tents and unloaded rigs just in time for the wine and appetizers provided by our hosts.

Back in camp we enjoyed the campfire and the stars with perfect weather. We even got in a little night run on Lion's Butt.   The drivers meeting Saturday morning was uneventful and we were placed in the smallest group (another perk) we began the trail backwards, split off in the middle and did the first part last ending up at the Rock Pile.  We all conquered everything with ease including the Rock Pile.  Richard newfenders came away virtually unscathed.

My talent with Poker held true at the Poker Run.  I had nothing!  Richard's hand was a little better than mine but still zilch.  Richard's brother Scott however had pulled 3 of a kind that netted him 3rd place overall.  We supported 4X4 In Motion as bst we could be buying raffle tickets.  We got shut out of the big prizes but both Richard and I ended up with winning tickets.

More relaxing by the campfire and digesting tri tip filled out Saturday night.  Sunday morning coffee and a leisurely pack up led us out on our way home.

4X4 In Motion members were stationed along the trails with cameras taking photos of participants.  As they make those photos available to me I will post them on our Photo Gallery.

I hope we can get a larger group up to Niagara next year.  It's a great run and a really good time.

2. 11-08-2009 10:34

Mike, I agree with Jerry C great write up. Hopefully I am in town next year so I can attend.  
 
Ken

Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.

Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition v.1.4.2