June 1, 2005    The Official Newsletter of the New Mexico 4-Wheelers    www.nm4w.org

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President Leon Duggar called the meeting to order at roughly 6:13 pm.  It was held at the home of Keith & Connie Chapin. 

Members Present:  Bontly, Brady, Chapin, Coe, Cox, Duggar, Kausche, Lavy, Markham, Marx, Meier, Norton, Ohnesorg, O’Neill, Opatz, Rector, Whiston Sr., and Wolf.

Guests in Attendance:  Heath Hislop – ’86 Suzuki Samari, Michael Kiester and family – ’81 CJ5 and ’88 Chevy K5, Gary Markel – ’85 CJ7.

Vice President (and Sherriff) – Jeff Rector – Fines from Gordy’s Hill Work Weekend – Mark Werkmeister for referring to the trail as “scenic”.  Mark Wolf for hitting the Sherriff in the arm with a sledge hammer.  Sue Brady for jinxing Jeff on the step that he made for our new trailer – she called it a “shin buster” and that is exactly what he did.  At the club meeting, Chuck Peeples for his suggestion that maybe the Sherriff should fine himself for not being able to step up on the step he had made himself.

Treasurer – Susan Miller – was not at the meeting

Historian -  Rich Capener – also missing in action

Trip Chairman – Jason Lavy – Went over the past trips.  Auge’s 4X4 101 – Chuck Peeples – more people than last year – went very well – good course.  Some people used the course on Sunday while Auge’s was closed.  So, the railroad ties have now been picked up and put back into Chuck’s landscaping.  Gordy’s Hill – there have been 2 runs there. 

Gordy’s Hill – Mark Werkmeister was not there to talk on it, so Pat gave a short report.  We did an Orientation Run with a very good turnout.  And a Work Day, with poor turnout, but made good progress on 2 trails anyway. 

Hole in the Rock – Marcia Duggar was not there, but Leon talked about it.  Cold, rain threatening – 2 vehicles. 

Upcoming Events – Jemez Memorial Day Weekend Campout.  Near Porter’s Landing – usual spot.  Paul Thompson has volunteered to lead a trail.  Since he was not present, Chuck suggested that Paul organize a formal trash clean up with prizes for the winners, a 4X4 golf course tournament, mountain tennis, a lady’s run, and two potluck dinners.  It was voted and agreed that this would be great for Paul to do this for our club.  Chuck said that there will be an ice cream social (which Jeff has assumed to mean that Chuck is bringing ice cream and all the fixings for everyone). 

Also this Memorial Day Weekend, Dr. Bob is leading some trails in Moab.  Will decide which trails when the attendees have a chance to discuss which ones they want to run. 

Summer Quarterly will be in Hot Springs AR at the Superlift Park.  June 24^th – 26^th.  Please see Leon if you are interested in photos, CD’s, brochures, or raffle tickets (was not told what they were raffling off).

Glenn Bontly will lead a ride to Cedro Peak on Saturday, 11 June. 

Lauri wants to lead La Ventana again.  Could be July or so.  Keep an eye on the event schedule.

Jason Lavy will lead a trip to Hopewell Lake on July 30^th and 31^st.  Should be cool as it is about 10,000 foot altitude.  It is near the NM/CO border – in NM.

Director of Environment Affairs – Bob Norton – United is having a lobby day in DC in July.  They will be supporting a lobbyist on our behalf.  CA & the SW will be represented as regard to roadless areas.  Bob will again be the SWFWDA delegate at United’s annual convention.  It’s a sacrifice, but someone has to go!  (it’s in Montana this year)

Program Chairman – Jerry Marx – Has a special on Sweatshirts (it was 95 degrees outside when he announced this sale).  Sales have been good, enough to pay back about 2/3 of the money used to place the order.  He has a Custom Drive Line hat to put in the raffle. 

Secretary – Don Miller – was not present.

Old Business - None

New Business – Chuck & Ethel May are putting together a booklet, similar to what is passed out at Auge’s 4X4 101 that can be given to new members.  They will give one to Leon to review.  Leon suggested they have about 20 made up. 

Mark Werkmeister had Pat Brady bring up a motion and discussion for NM4W to adopt all of the 4 Wheel Drive trails in Gordy’s Hill area – in conjunction with other clubs in the Socorro area.  We would need club members to participate on the workdays.  We do not want to ignore it like we did Cimarron Mesa.  We need to have play time assigned on the same weekends that we have work to do.  We may be able to get BLM approval for us to host a quarterly there.  If you want a particular type of trail to be there (i.e., easy, moderate, hard), you need to go out there and volunteer to be lead vehicle – the trail will then be built for your vehicle to drive it.  BLM is very much pro-OHV there.  Our responsibility would be to maintain the trails.  Building them is short-term.  It will be 4 or 5 years before Inventory of Roads will be completed by the BLM.  It was voted in with no one voting against it.

Officers mentioned for nomination:  President – Mark Werkmeister, Vice President – Jeff Rector, Secretary – Lauri Rector.  More nominations to be taken at the June meeting.  Elections will take place in the July meeting. 

Guests voted in as members:  Jerry Markel (and family) and Michael Kiester (and family).

People buy 4WD vehicles for different reasons.  For Nancy Crowley, buying a Jeep two years ago fulfilled a childhood fantasy.  Nancy explains, “I always wanted a Jeep, even as a kid,” then adds, “although it wasn’t a rational thing for me to buy one.”  Rational or not, she did her homework before buying--Web research, discussions with suppliers, and inspection of ten Jeeps advertised in the Auto Trader.  She wanted an older Jeep so that she could do tune-ups, and the Jeep needed to be in good shape but not “cherry”.  She envisioned using it in some rough places.  Eventually Nancy found a red 1979 CJ-5 in Rio Rancho that fit the bill.

Like any good Jeep owner, she’s made several modifications over the past two years. The mods include replacing the rear axle, new front locking hubs, new top, winch, electric fuel pump, new paint, lower gears in the transfer case, ARB air lockers and most recently, 31” Goodyear MT/R’s.  Nancy is pleased to have learned how to do tune-ups herself.  Next up is a custom bumper to hold a hi-lift jack and gas can.  Someday she’d like an internal roll cage.

Nancy admits to not being interested in “extreme” four-wheeling or rock climbing.  For her, the Jeep offers a means to see different countryside.  An avid hiker and backpacker, she’s been to many out-of-the-way places in the Gila, San Pedro Wilderness, and Manzanos.  However, she’s enjoyed seeing new country with NM4W via Lauri Rector’s run to La Ventana in the Jemez and Gordy’s Hill near Socorro.  Nancy’s favorite four-wheeling to date was the 2004 Jeep Jamboree in Red River.  She liked the beautiful scenery and the meals, guides and assistance with carburetor problems.  In early June, Nancy will do a Jeep Jamboree in Canyon de Chelly.

All this outdoorsy, untamed stuff (including gun interests described below) may seem unlikely for a Bronx, New York native who attended college in New Hampshire.  But once this city girl found her way to the country, she stayed.  After receiving her Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire, she fulfilled her ROTC commitment by joining the Air Force. Besides New Mexico, her 20-year career took her to Ohio, Texas, and Florida.  Nancy enjoyed each place for what it offered.  She earned a Masters and Ph.D. in Computer Science from AFIT (Air Force Institute of Technology) in Dayton and was a Computer Specialist for embedded computers in aircraft and satellites.  Her favorite assignment was in Panama City, Florida where she flew in the back seat of fighter aircraft to monitor tests that her group had designed.

Nancy arrived in Albuquerque 14 years ago for the first of two stints at Kirtland AFB.  After retiring from the Air Force, Nancy joined the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute as a Computer Programmer.  She develops software for the Institute and makes it available with a web browser.  Although no doubt a skilled programmer, Nancy concedes “I love skiing and could be a ski bum!”

Besides hiking, backpacking, and skiing, another favorite pastime is competitive shooting.  She does what is called practical pistol.  It involves shooting complex stages under time pressure.  She shoots at the Zia Range and is an NRA-certified instructor.  The interest in shooting and self-defense arose when she started irrigating ditches at night at her Los Lunas property.

Nancy and her significant other, Rod (who’s retired from the Air Force and Raytheon) maintain a 4-acre “ranchette” in Los Lunas.  Their menagerie includes dog Zeus, four cats and a horse.  Nancy just completed a solar workshop for women.  That training will help her reach another goal—building a solar cabin on property north of Magdalena. 

A one-year NM4W member, Nancy learned about the club from the Web.  Her reasons for joining were “to go out with others and learn how to drive.”  She feels everyone has been kind and supportive.  Due to commitments that take her out of town most weekends, she regrets not making it to many summer potluck meetings.

As far as club participation, Nancy’s willing to help Glenn with the website if needed and will lead a trip once she’s more comfortable about where to go.  She wants to keep driving her CJ and exploring, and would like to see the club offer more moderate runs.  She’d love to do Moab “with someone in my league.”  It seems like this Bronx, NY transplant can join just about any league she puts her mind to.

The New Mexico 4 Wheelers and New Mexico Tech Off-Road Club (NMTORC) met for a work project weekend at Gordy’s Hill OHV area on May 14^th and 15^th.  The local Socorro club attendance was affected by the school holding commencement exercises that same weekend, but the NMTORC members that were able to attend were enthusiastic and involved. 

We had a total of eleven vehicles and fifteen people participating for all or part of the weekend.  We left the staging area at 9:00 am and accessed the work area in Amado Canyon via the south boundary road.  We spent all morning working in the vicinity of the fun known as Pucker Falls. 

By noon, everyone was dragging a bit, so we broke for lunch and rested.  Afterwards, we headed up a side canyon of Amado Canyon (this tributary is aptly known as Squeeze Canyon) and very slowly worked our way through.  The last three hundred yards are quite challenging and we had our only mechanical failure of the weekend when a birfield gave up and moved on to the next life.  The exit is just wide enough for a “jeep-width” vehicle to pass through and the solid rock walls are high enough to guarantee body damage if one gets off the correct line.  After wiggling through, the group was exhausted and most headed back to camp for some refreshments.  Mark, Pat, and Sue took a very scenic route back to camp, doing a little exploring of the north half of the area.  If you want to play on some major whoop-de-do’s for many miles, ask Pat to retrace the route for you!  And then run!

Sunday morning, we once again left camp at 9:00 am and headed into the bottom end of Amado Canyon.  Working our way back up toward Pucker Falls, the group enjoyed the “playground” aspect of the eroded conglomerate rock below the Falls.  Pucker Falls turns out to be well named as the precipitous drop on the driver’s side combined with a sharp left-hand turn at the top of the climb tends to gather up the seat covers as you cling to the ledge and try to defy gravity.  By the time we got everyone to the top of the Falls two hours later, we were running out of time for some participants and decided to call it a day.

I would like to thank everyone who made it down for the weekend.  The trails we worked certainly fall on the upper end of the “challenge” scale and we will try to continue to work a variety of trails for different skill and equipment levels.  Come on out and join us for the next one.  If we get enough people, we can let people work the level of trail that interests each of them.

Ahhh!  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel on this project.  The new tires are mounted and installed and the Jeep is supporting its own weight again.  I spent the first day removing the NP 231 transfer case and installing the Advanced Adapters Slip Yolk Eliminator (SYE).  The instructions indicated that the install could be done in place, but removing the case is recommended.  The case had to come out for the Klune-V, so the SYE was done on the bench as recommended.  I had to remove the transmission mount in order to access one of the nuts that hold the NP 231 in place.  I also had to make a run to purchase a set of stubby wrenches.  Clearance was tight getting to all of the nuts.  Once the transfer case was on the bench, the SYE install went very smoothly.  The hardest part was working with all of the snap rings.  It is a good thing that the kit came with new ones, because I trashed the originals during disassembly.  I got the case all sealed up and swapped the speedometer gear to the correct tooth count for the new gear and tire combination.

The next day, I worked on fitting the Klune-V.  An additional mounting bracket was supplied to bear some of the weight of the added case.  I used a rubber mount from a Chevrolet transmission to tie the bracket to the belly pan.  I also had to fabricate a foot into the belly pan to mate to.  A floating output shaft is included with the Klune-V and the end play needed to be set between the Klune-V and the NP 231.  I set it up and had about .375” of play.  The proper amount is between .050” and .200”.  Shim material was supplied that required shortening to fit the specific application.  Mine was rather short due to the fact that no adapter was required to fit up to the NP 231.  Once all of this was figured out, I mated the Klune-V to the transfer case.  Next, the Klune-V/NP 231 assembly was installed to the transmission.  I then had to lengthen the factory transfer case linkage by the overall length of the Klune-V.  I used 3/8 ID tubing and welded it in the center of the factory linkage arm that I cut in half.  I also routed the cable shifter for the Klune-V through the floorboard.  The shift lever is mounted under the driver’s seat for easy access without getting in the way of things.  With all of this installed, I made measurements to order the new drive shafts.

The drive shafts arrived and I bolted them up.  Then I proceeded to install the belly pan and found that the transfer case hit it since it is no longer in the factory location.  I cut some notches and added a plate to reinforce the cuts and all was well.  With the belly pan installed, I was ready to pull the Jeep out of the garage under its own power!  What a relief!  I could not wait, so I did a quick flex test using the poor old Ranger.

It was a truly wonderful trip, and although we missed having fellow club members along, the fact that April 29 was our 5th wedding anniversary and it was just the two of us and the dog made it even more special.  We left Wednesday, headed out with our mini-fleet, Leon in the Dodge Ram towing the Bronco on a trailer, and me and the dog in my faithful Cherokee.  The weather report was iffy, with possible rain, but we both had time off, which doesn't happen often, so we were committed.

I'd found the right software the night before to enable our GPS 60 CS to talk to the TOPO! software over the USB cable and had transferred waypoints from Bob Telepak's tracks, and manually entered some from Glenn Bontly's tracks (before we figured out the fix). 

We headed up through Shiprock, and when I turned right to go north, I knew it didn't quite feel right, but I wasn't about to let Leon know (sorry, dear, no way to communicate between vehicles).  I was trusting the GPS totally at this point, but the further north I went, it felt like I was headed to Moab so I checked the way the GPS was taking us and it LOOKED okay on the map.  I turned west, south of Ute Mountain and headed to Aneth and Montezuma Valley.  Not the best road for towing, as it turns out (I could picture Leon cursing behind me), with lots of twists and dips, but the Dodge made it just fine and we saw some spectacular scenery along the way.  Down to Halls Crossing with wonderful skyscapes, Comb Ridge in bright sunshine with dark clouds behind it.  Camped for the night.  Got showers the next morning (only $2 and a good bargain; I would recommend this even if not camping there) and left the truck and trailer near the campground with permission.

We headed out to find the half-track vehicle.  It took a little bit to get the correct dirt road.  The trail is a nice introduction to the rock surface at that point.  Since we had three days, we really took our time, stopping often as I got accustomed to following the GPS waypoints, which were wonderfully close together.  I felt like I was just threading a series of needles.  We made steady progress through the trail, and the rain seemed to move around us.  At one point, it looked threatening and gave us incentive to make it to the Chute before it hit.  We camped near there the first night, without seeing anyone else on the trail the entire first day. 

The second day, we drove the rest of the way to Cottonwood Canyon and hiked pretty far down into the canyon itself, marveling at the roadwork still visible.  The trail becomes harder to follow in the wetlands and the dog was beginning to doubt my sanity, since it was mid-day and quite warm.  We turned around and climbed back out, totally in awe of the pioneers that had gone that way 125 years before us. 

We returned back to Grey Mesa and drove down to the Rincon trail, one I'd not been on before.  The Rincon is a place where the river at one time carved out a large bend through cliffs that are now (I'm guessing) 800 to 1000 feet tall.  I was a little concerned about the size of some the rocks we were driving over since they seemed loose, although the trail was plenty wide.  The fact that my Cherokee does not have lockers was rattling around in my head, and I was going to be mightily annoyed if Leon had to strap me back up that trail the next morning.  The dramatic scenery drove that thought from my head though.  Our timing was perfect and we settled into our campsite for a panoramic view of the sandstone cliffs lit by the late afternoon sun like it was nature's drive-in.  We were actually a little put out to see headlights coming down the trail at one point.  We'd gotten used to having the whole vista to ourselves.  But they drove on by, a bunch of TJ's, and we soon forgot them.

The next morning Leon led with the Bronco and we clambered up the hill with no problems.  The sandstone uplift that we had seen the previous afternoon now looked totally different in the morning light, with brilliant colors.  The rocks made us feel like ants winding our way between them, on what was a nicely challenging trail.  We got back to the "T" on Grey Mesa and headed back on our original track.  We met one YJ coming up a dugway with a Cherokee diesel engine in it, from Europe.  Sounded odd.  Leon used the Bronco as an anchor for it to winch up over a tough spot and they were on their way.  We also saw some other ATV's and one really pretty turquoise blue uncut Bronco on the return trip.  We finished the trail by taking the "shortcut" to come out by the airport (the only airport I know of with more boats than planes sitting around).  Then back to Hall's Crossing campground for a relaxing and congratulatory evening of Utah-lite beer.  Neither vehicle needed any assistance doing this moderately hard trail, and as yet, no known parts were broken.

The next day we drove to Goose Necks State Park (geologists best example of an "entrenched meander") to admire what the river had done there.  Did we mention you drive down the Moki Dugway road to get there? (a gravel road that descends 1,000 feet with lots of switchbacks, lots of fun to tow on)  Then over to Bluff for fuel and down to Shiprock (the right way this time), Blake's in Bloomfield (we had stopped there on the way up; Dela, the dog, prefers their fries) and home. 

For some reason, not clear to me yet, leading this trip, even if it was just the three of us, was important to me.  You have to make a lot of judgment calls out there on the rock, even with the GPS.  The rocks curve so dramatically that you're getting out and looking ahead quite often to make sure you're not headed over a cliff that you can't see over the nose of your vehicle.  It's a true test of your confidence, especially when it's over three days.  I'm looking forward to doing something like this again, because I think it makes you grow, and it's a wonderful way to share all that natural beauty with others.

Submitted to El Defensor Chieftain
By the Bureau of Land Management

The national "Making a Difference" volunteer award will be presented to the BLM Socorro Off-Highway Vehicle program in a ceremony Wednesday, May 11, in Washington, D.C.  The award-winning program is made up of several OHV groups.

The group consists of 72 volunteers from the New Mexico OHV Alliance, National Vending Racing, Team R & S of Albuquerque, Hick's Body Shop, New Mexico 4-Wheelers of Albuquerque, New Mexico Tech University Off-Road Club, Spoke-N-Word, and Wes Willis Financial of San Acacia.

Gordy Hicks (Hick's Body Shop) will represent the Socorro Field Office OHV Program at the award ceremony.  Also planning to attend is Joanne Spivack, president of the New Mexico Off-Highway Vehicle Alliance, a BLM partner.

The BLM needed an inventory and map for all roads and trails in Gordy's Hill Off-Highway Vehicle Area, overlooking the Rio Grande Valley and Bosque.  The OHV volunteers commenced an exhaustive road inventory, resulting in identification of at least 120 existing and potential routes, numerous public visitor use contacts, and discovery of unauthorized OHV intrusions by unknown persons into two wilderness study areas.

Since beginning the project, volunteers have ridden or walked more than 300 miles detailing, flagging and using Global Positioning System technology to accomplish the task.  In addition to inventory, some individuals have made additional contributions.  Jeff Porter (Team R&S) built and installed a prototype ATV/dirt bike cattle guard, with more planned throughout the area.  Hicks also fabricated special brackets for holding a GPS unit on dirt bike and ATV handlebars and donated them to the BLM.  

OHV Program volunteers have helped educate visitors on the unique natural, cultural and recreational resources of this highly scenic locale.  The group has also contributed many hours to site design, visitor-use data collection, photo monitoring, boundary marking and assessment of OHV impacts at sensitive sites such as springs and cultural sites.  Group members have served as instructors at annual volunteer training sessions and are skilled in the principles of both the "Leave No Trace" and "Tread Lightly!" programs.

The BLM estimates that, in 2004, more than 7,000 people visited Gordy's Hill.  Thanks to the efforts of this OHV volunteer group, the BLM is seeing vast improvements in recreationists' awareness of the public lands as well as visitor understanding of ethical outdoor behavior.

For more information about volunteering, go to your nearest BLM office or go online to www.blm.gov/volunteer/.

Aluminum Cans: Our club saves and recycles aluminum cans.  Money from the sale of cans goes into our club treasury.  Please bring your crushed 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 trail-tales@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 trail-tales@nm4w.org, or Trail Tales, 21 Rattlesnake Ridge, Tijeras, NM 87059.

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Trail Tales
21 Rattlesnake Ridge
Tijeras, NM 87059-7440

trail-tales@nm4w.org