PERCHES CREEK TRAIL
We hooked up with some local off-roaders,
some of whom we had previously wheeled with, to do another run in the Anchorage
area. This time Brook left his stock Cherokee at home and brought his 'Freak',
an old tube-framed Chevy on 45" tractor tires. We climbed the scenic route
over Hatcher Pass to the trail head.
After airing down and disconnecting sway bars we started with the shallow water
crossings right at the entrance of the trail.
We snaked along the dusty path until we came to the first obstacle, a long incline
with loose dirt and some scattered rocks inbetween. This section required some
articulation to keep the tires on the ground on the twisted terrain. The vehicles
kept creeping up the mountain passing the occasional mud hole. On top of the
plateau we came to a wide area of muddy tundra. Curtis attempted a route through
the middle with his Cherokee but got stuck in a deep hole. The two buggies had
no problems cruising through and Nick's Land Cruiser also made it, throwing
mud all over the place. From here the trail continued downhill towards a river
which we had to cross. The water was almost four feet deep in the middle, but
equipped with snorkles and/or big tires we all made it. John and Brook decided
to return at this point to head back all the way to Kenai.
A little bit further up the trail Curtis' track bar mount on his Cherokee ripped
off and he had to reweld it on.
We headed to a cabin on the opposite hill and pushed on to see what we'd find
further in the trail. After Curtis (the guinea pig) got helplessly stuck in
another mud hole, we decided to turn around.
We had to return the way we came and slowly crawled back. At the river crossing,
my rig's driver's door which was facing upstream and I got a few gallons of
water penetrating past the door seal and flooding the area at my feet. Across
the river we tried to soak up as much water as possible with paper towels. Pushing
back up the mountain some sections privided a challenge, but we all made good
time on our return. This time we chose the easiest possible way through the
mud field and I got stuck again. Nick was the only one to attempt a route through
the middle and needed a winch.
On the way downhill we played around on some challenging sections and made it
out of the trail without any major breakage.
We followed the dirt road out to the pavement and filled up our tanks before
everybody went their own way. Thanks again to everybody involved on taking us
out on these amazing trips.
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