Walden, Colorado

February 18, 2012

These photos contributed by Rod Pepper

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These photos contributed by Mike Jacob

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Walden Snow Bash 2012

As tough as this run was last year, this year’s version was spectacularly just the opposite. Perfect weather, perfect snow and a great group. The Big T guys were a no-show but the RC4W guys made up for it by really tearing it up. Last month we had the Red Bottom Run, this month it was the Red Face Run. It was that nice! Sweatshirt weather all day long.     RC4W members besides myself on this run were Dewey, John, Pauly, Joe, Brian O and Mike, and friends of RC4W, Dennis and Cody. We couldn’t have dialed in any better snow conditions. There was plenty enough to get stuck in but not so much that you couldn’t really fly in it. Everybody was stuck at least once!     We played at all the usual places but we probably had the most fun at the “Creek”, with a twist, or would that be the “Twisted Creek Trail”? and the Back Bowl (formerly known as the Big Bowl). I had gone down to the “Beach” to play on the trails there when I heard a screaming motor but couldn’t see who it was. I was on the upper trail that goes up the mountain and Pauly was on the lower trail that follows the actual creek right below me, but I couldn’t see him. I could sure hear it bouncing off the 6500 RPM rev-limiter though!     Man, Pauly’s new 500 horsepower LS motor is one stout monster. He can wing those 40’s anytime, anywhere, and for as long as he wants to! What a “Sleeper” that Jeep is! I backtracked down to where he was but found President Mike stuck in Pauly’s tracks. I pulled Mike out, but hooking on to a JK with a lightweight CJ5 is like being chained to a tree! I followed Pauly up the Twisted Creek Trail and it was good. It was really good! You had to really get after it non-stop and just hope you didn’t hit a tree! John showed up behind me with his brand new 500 horsepower stroker. It’s a beast! And I thought, “Great, stuck between a Shiverlay and a Ford”! But then I heard the cavalry coming in the form of Dewey and another Mopar. “Now we’re cookin’, lets play!” We went as far as we could and at that point a very steep hill presented itself. Imagine that!     It’s been said (actually by a woman) that when men stop competing, they die. A “High Mark Contest” soon ensued with Pauly taking his shot at it first, followed by John, Dewey and then myself. What’s a little friendly competition among friends worth, without a “Blooper moment”? President Mike, the camera man, hadn’t gone far enough up the hill to film when my turn came. We both thought he was going to get run over! All I could see was Mike’s head and flailing arms over the front of my hood and I‘ve never seen a race won at half-throttle. What a quandary! You’ll have to watch Mike’s video to see how this whole scenario played out! see Mike's video (will open new window)     The Back Bowl was the scene for the final round of “Stupid human tricks”. There was about a 4 ft. cornice all the way around it, which provided the perfect stage for “Let’s see how stuck we can get”.     As the sun was going down, we were headed back to the trailers. We stopped at Shari’s in Laramie for dinner and to recount the day’s adventures. All agreed, it was one of the best Walden runs in a long time!     Life’s Short, Ride a Fast Horse!        Rod