Fun in the Desert

Okay, here is the tripo report from FITD
I arrived midday Friday just after Ric. Great spot on the west side of the lake bed. As Kristen said we need to gps it because there was great cell reception As the evening progressed Mike/Laura, Keith, Richard/Kristen and Mark arrived. Another great evening in the desert. Mike had already registered for Outer Limits, but it was full so Mike changed to Wrecking Ball(WB) with Ric and I. Keith, Richard/Kristen and Mark ended up on Sledge as WB was full.
I am commenting on WB as I did not do Sledge, but the pictures looked great.
A short ways up the trail I became the first casualty. I slipped off a rock and the rear ujoint landed on the edge of a sharp bolder and tore the rear ujoint off. Parts coming to next meeting for Scott. In order to get the jeep in a repairable place we had to use the bottle jack and slowly step it up, so I could be winched to a flat area. Mike had the tool and I had the part. The rear yoke had part of the ears torn off, but there was just enough to hold the ujoint. It was also bent, so by the time I got home, that ujoint was toast. We were actually the first four vehicles in the group and were finished as the last vehicle passed us. It was an interesting section.
From there on it was pretty challenging and no real problems until Ric sliced his tire going up a waterfall. It was a challenge changing the tire as there was no flat area. From there until the last obstacle we didn't have any problems. I was the last vehicle in the group and managed to bend my tie rod into MacDonald's arches on the last obstacle. After an hour or so, we (they) were able to get it straight enough to drive out. Our trail boss (Trent) and his crew were the best I have ever ridden with. They were unwilling to leave until everyone was out and really helped everyone through a pretty rough trail. I don’t think anything happened to Mike.
It was interesting driving back to camp with the wheels pointed in.
Back at camp, Keith used his jeep/winch to help straighten the tie rod. Richard was the President of the Peanut Gallery, while I worked on the jeep to get it towable.
That evening was better than the night before. Several of us sat around eating and drinking while a few went to the drawing. No prizes won.
The next day we were pretty tired and I think everyone was gone by noon.
If I missed anything, chime in.

John