September 1, 2004    The Official Newsletter of the New Mexico 4-Wheelers    www.nm4w.org

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Jack and Stella Sierra were the gracious hosts of the August meeting.  It was held in their lovely backyard and Jack grilled wonderful hamburgers and hot dogs for everyone.  Leon Duggar, our dutiful President extraordinaire, opened the meeting at 6:02 pm.  A motioned was immediately made to dispense of the reading of the minutes of the July meeting.

Member present:  Attendance by family:  Capeners (Rich), Clines, Cox, Duggars, Hurt, Kennicotts, Lavys, Millers (Bobby), Peeples, Rectors, Sierras, Thompsons, Trappetts, Wolfs, Werkmeisters.

Guests:  Darrin Miller – ’93 Ford Ranger.  Phil and Carol Kennicott were also introduced.  They are long time members, but can rarely attend meetings or events.  It was really good to see them again and have them at the meeting.

The Sheriff and VP – Jeff Rector:  The only fines were to the President at the Summer Quarterly in Fairplay, CO.  Tie Rod pulled out of DOM tube and the other Tie Rod fell off – 50 cents total.  There was also discussion of the addition of the Port-o-Let to the Presidents Bronco – such as how it got there, its intended purpose, and use of improper straps for its installation.  No fines were cited for anyone on this Port-O-Let.  Our Sheriff is turning into a “Mr. Softie”. 

The Treasurer – Susan Miller:  reported a balance of $3,289.08 after the check for $601 to land action fund – which is the money collected from the raffle.  We will be sending another check to the land action fund that will be from the donations indicated on the registration forms from the entrants to the Summer Quarterly. 

The Trip Chairman – Jason Lavy:  We must have bought Replacement Cost Coverage (which replaces damaged property with same like, kind, and quality) insurance on Chuck, cuz Jason’s just as windy.  Upcoming events were discussed 1st:  Behind the Reef (the trail in Utah co-adopted by our club) – to be led by Dr. Bob Telepak Labor Day Weekend; Mount Blanca – Rich Capener to lead on August 28^th and 29^th; Red River – Tom Hurt to lead September 25^th and 26^th; Caballo Lake – to be lead by Mark Wolf on Nov 13^th and 14^th with a pot luck dinner on Saturday evening.  Please be sure to also look at the event schedule on the Members Only Page.  Leon Duggar will also lead Cimarron Mesa on Saturday, Nov 6^th – Jeff Rector would like to see this be an overnight event if Leon isn’t too much of a “girl” – I don’t know what they ended up deciding – I was too busy making notes on all of these trips.

Also, Wolfie would like to see a good turn out at the SWFWDA Fall Quarterly to be held in Farmington October 15^th, 16^th & 17^th (please check your registration on exact dates – do not trust your substitute secretary).  Mark Werkmeister pointed out that the quarterly would not be all about Choke Cherry Canyon and extreme rock crawling.  There will be trails for all vehicle types and driver skills.  Some trails will be rather scenic and go through some ruins. 

See “Old Business” as the only trail run since the July meeting was the Summer Quarterly. 

The SWFWDA Delegate:  Was not present or we don’t have one – not sure which.  See old business for some information on the Summer Quarterly meeting. 

The Program Chairman – Jerry Marx:  Was absent and there was no 50/50 raffle. 

The Director of Environmental Affairs – Bob Norton:  Missing in Action.

The Secretary – Don Miller:  Also, Missing in Action.  Filling in for him was the 2^nd Lady – Lauri Rector.  If you have read the minutes thus far, please make a mental note to yourself that I should not be nominated for this position or allowed to fill in if the Secretary cannot attend the meeting. 

Old Business:  The Summer Quarterly went very well.  We were well organized with registrations (excellent job done by the 1^st Lady – Marcia Duggar).  We were able to be flexible on the trails, for the most part, and get everyone on the kind of trail they wanted that day (thank you Mark Werkmeister and Marcia Duggar).  The trail guides knew their trails and no one got lost.  We got all of our deposit back from the Fair Grounds – because we left it cleaner than what it was when we arrived.  $2,400 was donated to the 4 H’rs that made and served a wonderful hot meal on Saturday night (and the desserts were awesome!!!). 

The 3 items that were voted on at the SWFDA meeting resulted in the following:  1.  Internet and mail in votes by member clubs will now be allowed.  2.  Board members will be the ones to vote in new clubs as members.  3.  The reimbursement for travel expenses to the quarterly meetings by the officers was tabled. 

A thanks was given to Susan Miller for efforts in getting the plastic nameplates for the members in time to wear at the quarterly.  Chuck Peeples felt a need to test their durability in the washing machine – they are not that tough.  No need to try this at home yourself – that’s what we have Chuck for. 

New Business:  First item brought up was the place for the Christmas Party.  The Werkmeister’s (Mark and Deb that is) offered their home.  Someone asked about the members in Corrales who had mentioned that they wanted to host the party.  I mentioned that the Marx’s were the ones that had said they would host the Christmas Party in their brand new home in Corrales, but I did not want to speak for them.  Mark is more than happy to let them do it – no harm done.  (Update since the meeting and prior to publication – Jerry Marx has confirmed that they will host the Christmas Party in their lovely new home in Corrales – details on exactly which Saturday and what time should be forthcoming in the very near future). 

Congratulations to Mark Wolf.  He was voted in as President of SWFDA at the Summer Quarterly.  Thanks for volunteering for this position.  We know that you’ll do a great job!!!

Mark Werkmeister told us that NMOHV has been reborn.  It is more serious, more organized, better funded and improved relationships.  This association is mostly ATV and dirt bikes, but would greatly appreciate the involvement of 4 wheelers (were old, we’ve been around along time and they are impressed with SWFWDA).  They are sponsoring a 2-day event on August 27^th and 28^th.  It is a land-use seminar with Saturday being geared toward recreation specialists and the 2^nd day being geared toward the general public.  Please go to NMOHVA.org for an application ($20 annual membership fee) and hopefully more details on this seminar.  This is in conflict with Mount Blanca event, but I think I heard Mark Wolf say he was going to attend one of the days. 

No new members were voted in this month. 

Chuck Peeples won the “NM4W of the Year” award. 

Mark Wolf won the $50 gift certificate for the member with the most points.  Besides attending many events, almost every meeting, he lead 8 trips this last year – 2 of these were events that he helped organize.  But, Mark was just satisfied with being “the Crusty Old Fart” of the club and since Jeff and Lauri Rector did tie him on the points during the year, he said that we could have the gift certificate.  Thank you Wolfie, the club really appreciates you and we’ll put that gift certificate to good work (Jeff needs deflaters for those huge new tires). 

Leon adjourned the meeting.

Hello all you NM4W's.  Well, I have had a fun time, working on the brakes on three vehicles in the past week.  I need a break.  The master cylinder on the bronco and the jeep.  Pads on the Honda and a caliper and a brake booster on the bronco.  Enough of that.  I hope every one had fun at the Summer Quarterly. I am looking forward to the Fall Quarterly in Farmington.  We need to come out and support our friends, The Cliffhangers.  It happens October 15-17.  And it is just a short drive to Farmington.  We have some good stuff coming up in the next few months, so stay close to the events schedule for the latest postings, and visit the COOL web site for the most up to date info.  See you at the next meeting.

I caught up with Bob Telepak in Fairplay at the SW4WDA Summer Quarterly event.  Although now semi-retired, Bob is on-the-go more than ever.  He travels to his Moab home at least monthly and has expanded his four-wheeling explorations from Utah and Colorado to include ghost towns in Nevada and Arizona.  He’s made four trips to Death Valley in recent years and led a 500-mile trip all-on-dirt-roads from Page AZ to Moab.  His all-time favorite trail is Hole in the Rock because it’s tough, scenic, and of historical significance.

Dr. Bob (he’s an M.D. and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Nuclear Medicine, and Radiology) is originally from Cleveland, Ohio.  He grew up near steel mills and refineries, where the pollution was bad.  After graduating from college in 1964 with B.S. and M.S. degrees in Physics, he worked at NASA Lewis Research Center as an Aerospace Engineer.  He married, moved to California, and worked as a Product Development Engineer.  He then applied to two medical schools: UNM and Colorado.  The University of Colorado-Denver was the first to accept him so that’s where he went.  It didn’t take long to fall in love with Colorado and begin traveling the state at every opportunity.

During his senior year of medical school, Bob joined the Army Medical Corps—and spent the next 20 years in the Corps.  After completing his last assignment at Brooke Army Medical Center near San Antonio, Bob moved to New Mexico.  He joined the UNM Medical School faculty as Professor of Radiology.  He mostly teaches Radiology Residents one-on-one and is justifiably proud that the UNM Radiology Department ranks in the top 10% of schools nationwide.

Four years ago Bob was diagnosed with heart disease and underwent several procedures.  He recovered and feels fine now, but decided it was time to work less and play more.  His halftime schedule at UNM, two weeks on and two weeks off, allows time to keep up with family, other interests, and four-wheeling.

Bob’s three adult children are all moving to Texas (Corpus Christi and Austin), so he anticipates many trips to those areas.  His son Damon is 33, Justin is 31, and daughter Lauren is 28.  They all like four-wheeling, but not quite to the extent Dad does.  His granddaughter Raven, age 1-1/2, has no opinion at this time.

The four-wheeling bug bit in 1972 when Bob was hiking the Needles District of Canyonlands.  At an overlook he saw a road far below with a Jeep and exclaimed, “I want to do that!”  It took a few years (career and children became priorities), but in 1986 Dr. Bob bought his first Jeep, a 1981 CJ5.  The CJ resides in his garage at Moab and still sees action.  A 1998 purple Cherokee and a 1975 Scout round out his fleet.

A sobering incident happened in January 2004 with the Scout.  Bob and Damon went for a Saturday drive on a moderate trail, Martinez Canyon, near Phoenix.  Rather than go the traditional direction, Bob decided to run it backwards.  He was going the “wrong way” on a bypass around an obstacle named “The Luge” when the Scout stalled.  He lost the power brakes and power steering and tried starting the vehicle as it rolled backwards down the hill.  Near the bottom of the hill, he turned the wheel to keep from going into “The Luge”.  At that point the Scout did a three-quarter roll and all the loose stuff (toolbox, jack, cooler, etc.) went flying all over the cab.

Luckily Bob and Damon weren’t hurt and other Jeeps in the area helped them recover.  Bob says, “The scariest thing was how fast it happened and how quickly I had to make the best of five bad choices of what to do.”  He now has a bed net and tie-downs for everything in the cab.  His children, especially Damon, are encouraging Dad to get the Scout back on the road.  Bob vows to return to Martinez Canyon and run it “the right way”.

Bob spends a lot of time on another favorite hobby, amateur radio (his call is K7WC).  In fact, Dr. Bob learned about NM4W from fellow radio hams Bob Norton and Arnie Gjerning (the tres amigos joined NM4W in the mid 1990’s).  Bob has been a licensed radio operator for 44 years and is a DXer, long-distance caller.  He’s enjoyed talking to people in 211 countries via mobile radio and 300-plus countries via fixed radio.  Another favorite hobby is finding ancient Indian ruins, pictographs, and petroglyphs.

A major focus of Bob’s life is fighting for public access to public lands.  “I like to be a thorn in the sides of public agencies such as the Forest Service and BLM.  I want to keep government honest.”  Bob believes that the government should manage the land for the people and that agency employees should not push their own agendas.  Bob is concerned that government tends to look for a simplistic solution, which is to close the land, rather than negotiate with all sides.

The Adopt-A-Trail program holds great promise, Bob believes, because then the four-wheeling community becomes part of the government.  The government knows that self-policing by interest groups works.  Public involvement takes a great deal of time and energy, but Bob feels it’s worth the effort, “You lose some and you win some; but if you don’t fight you will lose it all.”

It’s ironic that Bob belongs to NM4W because he doesn’t like group events.  He admits that his favorite thing is to be 40 miles from pavement in way-out places.  As much as he loves remoteness, he attends group events to show support.  He was a trail leader and tailgunner at Fairplay and has helped with the Moab Easter Jeep Safari for the past seven years.  “NM4W is a great club. I like the camaraderie, family orientation, and the willingness to help fix a vehicle,” says Bob.

Bob is a great advocate of public access and we’re lucky to have such a well-spoken representative in our midst.  He does his homework and has probably visited more backcountry in Utah and other states than any government employee ever will.  As former Environmental Chair of NM4W, Bob continues to keep the club aware of the big picture and notes, “The fighting front is in Utah.”  Bob’s not sure how long he’ll remain working and living in New Mexico.  But no matter what the future holds, Dr. Bob will continue lending his voice of reason to public lands issues.

It all started with a promise to Kristy sometime back that I would show her where the Giant Footprint Indian Ruins were so that she could lead a trail someday.  Well, Friday evening August 20^th I decided to give her a call and see if she was home on a Friday evening.  She was!  I asked her if she could go and she said certainly.  Right then I decided I should make it available to the whole club and see if there were any other takers.  Well, well…I got three other vehicles to go along with us as several is always more fun than one or two.

On Sunday morning, August 22^nd, I was met by Phil & Carol Kennicott, Cliff & Jeanie Meier, and Erwin & Jeanie Grevin (besides Kristy that is!) to go exploring!  Erwin wanted to know where we were going, but after I told him, he still didn’t know where we were going!  Cliff and Phil had their trusty GPS units on and working and that made for a complete track of the day’s run.  Phil is preparing a comment sheet for the USFS about the trails he knows of in the Jemez.  In fact, Phil (along with ex-member Charlie Wilson) is directly responsible for maintaining the route we took to the top of Holiday Mesa.  Those two gentlemen talked with Santa Fe Forest – Jemez District Manager John Peterson a few years ago and convinced Mr. Peterson that this was a valuable route to the top of the mesa and should be preserved for future use.  Mr. Peterson has so far agreed with this request and even lately made sure that the access route across the Rio Guadalupe remains open to gain access to the mesa.  Mr. Peterson is to be congratulated for this decision as the northwestern gate along the northeast side of the Rio Guadalupe is closed at Porter Landing.  (Note:  There will be a trash pickup and general cleanup run established as soon as I can make arrangements with the Recreation Officer of the Jemez District.)

We started at our usual place in Rio Rancho and headed out at 9:00 AM.  We went straight to the turn-off across the Rio Guadalupe and aired down our tires.  After such, we went across the river and up the hill to the top of Holiday Mesa.  Half way up, we crossed a small stream and decided to trim some branches as maintenance on the route.  Jeanie Grevin (a Biologist no less) steps out of the car and before she realizes it, is standing in a grove of poison ivy!  I sure hope she didn’t get any on her!

It was very dry up there!  It looks like the rains are going around this location and that is very concerning.  We were extremely cautious and kept going until we got to the Ruins.  Low and behold, someone had cut the tree out of the way to get to the top of the mesa where the ruins are.  Kristy and the Meier’s and Grevin’s had never before set foot here and were impressed (especially Jeanie Grevin!).  It is a most spectacular place and one that I hope remains unspoiled forever.  We respect this place very much and leave everything behind but a few pictures.  After a short stroll around, it was time for lunch!

After lunch, we decided to go see if the cabins I remembered northwest of here were still standing.  I had heard that they were gone after the Schoolhouse Fire, but luckily they had been spared.  It was fun to look and take a few more pictures before heading on across the mesas.  We went through several intersections and my memory was not as good as I would have hoped, but I did remember enough to get to the western end one of those mesas.  Here I thought I hit a dead end, but the road down was open and looked good (and lately traveled).  I headed down to make sure it was open and after a few minutes, returned to get everyone else and we headed down off the mesa.

It took us all day to go through this route (I hope that Kristy remembers when she leads her run!), but it was fun!  We headed to the northwest end of the route paralleling the Rio Guadalupe to find the gate closed.  After we turned around and headed back to the crossing we took earlier in the day, we unlocked our hubs and headed down to the tunnels to air up our tires.  It was about 5:00 PM when we got there, but everyone had a good time.

Thanks to Phil (who said he hadn’t been on the roads we were traveling this day) for keeping a GPS log of the route.  This will be handy when the USFS starts their roads and trails inventory.  Also, thanks to the others for attending and sharing this trip.  It was a good time and very relaxing.  I love the Jemez as we never saw a person all day and were only an hour-and-a-half from Albuquerque.  Anywhere in Arizona (and probably Colorado also) that would be impossible.  New Mexico is a lovely place and I’m glad I live here!  PLEASE help us keep the many trails in the Jemez open!  We picked up trash all day and carried it out as our contribution to the woods.  What is yours?

Since Jeff and I were the only club members, I think, that did this trail, I thought that I would do a little write-up on it.  Mark Werkmeister did a very good article on this trail in one of the spring issues of 4 Wheel Drive & Sport Utility.

We had a 35-mile drive up Hwy 285 to the Johnson Village area, where Hwy 24 and Hwy 285 meet.  We followed Harold Off up to the truck stop where we were meeting up with Jim Bailey.  There were 2 other people from Texas, in a CJ and a pretty blue Bronco, that were to be waiting on the side of 285 for us, by the YMCA where they were camping.  Since they were not there, we went back and got them, after we fueled up.  We also had someone from North Carolina in a Toyota with us.  Jim Bailey was nice enough to lead the trail and Harold Off volunteered to do our tailing gunning duties for us. 

The “extreme” rating for this trail is definitely appropriate.  It starts out extreme and pretty much stays that way until you climb the hill up out of the canyon.  There are a lot of boulders that are as big as your rig, even more that are as big as your tire.  It is just almost one continuous obstacle after another. 

This is only the 2^nd extreme rated trail that we have done.  I do have to say that the people who can run these kind of trails are very good drivers, have well-built rigs and excellent spotters, and are good at following their spotters.  It was also very exciting for us to run a trail with Harold Off and Jim Bailey. 

We did have some trouble here and there.  It was working out that, where everyone else struggled, we would make it through fine.  And, where everyone else was going through just fine, we were struggling – needing spots, and yes, some rearranging of the rocks.  Jeff did add more “rock rash” to his Jeep, but we had thought that was all of the damage that we had incurred.  We were able to drive back to camp and lead our trails the next 2 days without any problems.  However, after 2 days of driving it back and forth to work, we found that we had stripped some teeth on the gears on the rear-end. 

This was an extremely good day for us and everyone on the trail.  No winching required.  Jeff did need a quick tug of the strap, but that was all.  Never pass up the opportunity to run or ride this trail, it is awesome!!

Aluminum Cans: Our club saves and recycles aluminum cans.  Money from the sale of cans goes into our club treasury.  Please bring your aluminum cans to each meeting, and somebody will take them to the recycling center.

To Our Guests: If you attend a club meeting or event and provide us with your e-mail address, you will be added to our guest e-mail list, and will receive monthly notifications of when the Trail Tales newsletter is posted on our Club web site.  If you are interested in becoming a member of the New Mexico 4-Wheelers, please contact one of our officers for membership requirements, or visit our web site at www.nm4w.org/join-the-club.htm.

Trail Tales on the Web Site: In a continuing effort help save natural resources and to control costs, you are encouraged to read the Trail Tales newsletter on the Club Web Site in lieu of receiving a hard copy in the mail.  Around the first of each month, the current issue of Trail Tales is posted at www.nm4w.org/newsletters.htm and an e-mail notification is sent to all club members.  In addition, a minimum of 2 years of back issues of our newsletter is also available on the web site.  So if you want to help “save some trees”, please send an e-mail to TrailTales@nm4w.org stating that you do not need to receive the hard copy of the newsletter.  Thanks for your participation in this program.

Submission Due Date: The Trail Tales is published on the first of each month.  Submissions for each issue must be received by the Editor not later than the 25^th of the prior month.  Submissions can be sent to TrailTales@nm4w.org, or Trail Tales, 21 Rattlesnake Ridge, Tijeras, NM 87059.

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Trail Tales
21 Rattlesnake Ridge
Tijeras, NM 87059-7440

TrailTales@nm4w.org