Wednesday, May 28, 2008
A day on the Trails - A women guide
Preparing for a day on the off roading trails for a woman is a bit different from a guys. Guys make sure they have tools, extra parts, fluids, winch controller, tree savers, tow straps, fire extinguisher, etc. and they're ready to go.
Now when a woman goes they think of essentials needed throughout the day to make it a little more enjoyable and comfortable.
First, lets look at safety and nuisance items.
First aid kit is a must! What if your guy smacked his knuckle and busted it open while changing that tire that blew?
How about the stinging Nettle plants? The Band aid itch gel is great, or as our daughter calls it "the magic gel". Takes the sting & redness out immediately.
Now bugs...
The gel works great for stings but what about the ticks. Learned a trick from an Army Ranger that sounds really weird but so far works every time. You know the paper matches? Take the sulphur head off of one and swallow it. The sulphur comes out your pores and the ticks will not latch on. They may crawl on you but won't dig in.
Gnat's an annoyance? Mix about half of a bottle of vanilla with water in a spray bottle and spray yourself. Really works and smells good too. You may have to re-apply every few hours but who cares.
Pack a small cooler. Be sure to fill it with water and sport drinks to keep hydrated on the those hot days. You'll want a minimum of 3 drinks per person for a full day of wheeling. Bring things to make sandwiches for the lunch break; bread, lunch meat, condiments. Bring some fresh fruit for energy. Pack some chips for the junk food if you need it or do trail mixes for a healthier side. I've even brought yogart on the trails!
Well, what else do I carry in my pack on the trails? Toilet paper, a few empty baggies for used TP (don't leave anything on the trails or in the woods), wet wipes for quick clean up, healthy snacks, a camera, extra batteries for the camera, a trash bag .
Now if you have kids with you. You will want to bring something to keep them busy in case there is down time. There are break downs on the trail and the last thing the guys working on a rig wants is a kid in the way. Bring baggies and maybe a camera for the kids to use. Leave the video games, ipods and phones at home! Enjoy nature!
There are always things to find on the trails if you look hard enough. We've found clay, different weeds make beautiful bouquets, deciduous tree beads, rocks, geodes, fossils, nuts, pine cones and all kinds of things. Kids love finding new things on the trails. And don't tell them, but they're learning things! We have a wonderful friend that knows all kinds of nature stuff and shows our daughter. We have quite the unusual collection of things and pictures that our daughter has brought home along with some great memories.
It truly is a family sport and quality time together as a family! Enjoy it!
Now when a woman goes they think of essentials needed throughout the day to make it a little more enjoyable and comfortable.
First, lets look at safety and nuisance items.
First aid kit is a must! What if your guy smacked his knuckle and busted it open while changing that tire that blew?
How about the stinging Nettle plants? The Band aid itch gel is great, or as our daughter calls it "the magic gel". Takes the sting & redness out immediately.
Now bugs...
The gel works great for stings but what about the ticks. Learned a trick from an Army Ranger that sounds really weird but so far works every time. You know the paper matches? Take the sulphur head off of one and swallow it. The sulphur comes out your pores and the ticks will not latch on. They may crawl on you but won't dig in.
Gnat's an annoyance? Mix about half of a bottle of vanilla with water in a spray bottle and spray yourself. Really works and smells good too. You may have to re-apply every few hours but who cares.
Pack a small cooler. Be sure to fill it with water and sport drinks to keep hydrated on the those hot days. You'll want a minimum of 3 drinks per person for a full day of wheeling. Bring things to make sandwiches for the lunch break; bread, lunch meat, condiments. Bring some fresh fruit for energy. Pack some chips for the junk food if you need it or do trail mixes for a healthier side. I've even brought yogart on the trails!
Well, what else do I carry in my pack on the trails? Toilet paper, a few empty baggies for used TP (don't leave anything on the trails or in the woods), wet wipes for quick clean up, healthy snacks, a camera, extra batteries for the camera, a trash bag .
Now if you have kids with you. You will want to bring something to keep them busy in case there is down time. There are break downs on the trail and the last thing the guys working on a rig wants is a kid in the way. Bring baggies and maybe a camera for the kids to use. Leave the video games, ipods and phones at home! Enjoy nature!
There are always things to find on the trails if you look hard enough. We've found clay, different weeds make beautiful bouquets, deciduous tree beads, rocks, geodes, fossils, nuts, pine cones and all kinds of things. Kids love finding new things on the trails. And don't tell them, but they're learning things! We have a wonderful friend that knows all kinds of nature stuff and shows our daughter. We have quite the unusual collection of things and pictures that our daughter has brought home along with some great memories.
It truly is a family sport and quality time together as a family! Enjoy it!
2008 Illini 4x4 Sarafri
Once again, we had a great time on the trails at the 4x4 Safari put on by the Two Rivers Jeep Club in Southern Illinois! The first day we headed to the trail Myer's Mayhem, a trail that we've done a few times and really like. Well, this time was a bit different. That area of Illinois had a hard winter with lots of ice and recent rain, so the trails had lots of down trees and very wet. We were only able to do about half of the trail and didn't even see our 2 favorite obstacles this time. We had about 10 Jeeps and a Toyota truck with us.
The first hard obstacle that we came to was a steep muddy hill climb. Nobody made it up even half way, except for us! OverKill's Jeep made it to the top without to much of a problem but lots of mud flying! It was a rush!
The second one was called Hell's Gate. A steep incline (again muddy) to get out of a ravine. It is very common for Jeeps to end up on their sides at this point. A tire has to be in the air when trying the exit properly. Everyone one (except us), was winching out of it. Oh, and we had a little puppy following us all day, so the kids named it Lost. Hope she's okay...
The second day we decided to go on the Susie's Knob trail again. OverKill's Jeep made it up Warren's Revenge with out any issues this year!! (Last year a drive shaft separated as the top was reached). Warren's Revenge is a large rock waterfall and it's at the beginning of the run. Lots of Jeep's break on this obstacle, mainly drive shafts. I had video but the disk decided it didn't want to finalize right, so I lost it... Guess we'll have to do it again next time. The highlight of this run was giving the Toyota a tug out of Full Throttle! I told him he needed to take off an anti-Jeep sticker but he wouldn't do it.Another Safari on the books and a great time! Looking forward to the 4x4 Blast in August with TRJC!!! Which BTW is now open for registration!
