OTR Report
Location - Palar River Bed (Wallajabad)
We assembled outside Hotel Trident on GST road at 6:45 with overcast skies above us and the prospect of a rainy OTR ahead. With 8 4x4s in attendance we set rolling from Trident by 7 am to see the skies clear up a bit and the early morning sun getting warmer by the minute. It was going to be a long drive to the spot so all vehicles stuck to the convoy and briefly stopped over for breakfast at one of the little establishments on the highway.
The Vehicles in attendance
1.Arka's MM540 (ex670c)
2.Vikram's MG 413 (headers)
3.Senthil's MG 410 (blue_thunder)
4.Doc Jones' 3B (doc jones)
5.Lokesh's MM540
6.Arjun's SPOA'd MM550 (arjunrudra)
7.Ganesh's 500 D
8.Karthikeyan's 3B (propeller)
9.Vinod's MM540 (vinod_nookala)
Luckily for us (inverse applies for Arka
) the skies clogged up again and the weather got cooler with the sun disappearing behind the dark clouds. Though rain was expected it failed to turn up till we were on our way back.
The entry into the river bed was quite enticing with flowing streams of water and huge pools that posed a challenge. As usual the briefing was crisp and clear from Arka with clear cut guidelines and safety procedures for 1st timers. Then after a quick check on the depth of the first water crossing the first Jeep rolled through. Senthil's MG410 had a little bit of an issue with the first crossing but cleared it with ease in its second run.
So we assembled past the entry and then drove up to the first obstacle following the lead Jeep.
A 15 - 20 feet incline at quite a sharp angle of inclination. Again it was about taking turns to clear it once Arka had given the go ahead after assessing the climb. Unfortunately at this point the 500 D started overheating which was the result of a shredded fan. The recovery team immediately left for Wallajabad town in Senthil's Gypsy to pick up an alternate fan for the stranded 500 D. In the meantime we decided to stay at the same location till the replacement fan arrived to ensure that the stranded vehicle was not out of sight. So now everyone had a go at the obstacles with seniors like Arka taking this opportunity to help out the new comers and fine tuning the basics. Arjun's Jeep was quite impressive but for a few issues that can only make it better.
The second obstacle was in a lot of ways trickier than the first with a higher and steeper incline followed by an immediate 15 feet decline. While everyone took turns to perfect the climb and improve with every attempt a few of us were constantly watching over the 500D and looking out for the Gypsy's return. This was where Karthikeyan's vehicle started failing to charge. After a lot of permutations and combinations, we finally plonked in the battery from Arka's 540 and decided to keep the engine running.
In the meantime Doc Jones, Lokesh and Vikram set out to find the next spot and drove away towards a spot with water pools. After checking on the depth of the pool Doc tried driving through it in Lokesh's 540 only to realize that it was not what it had appeared to be. Only the photos would be able to explain this. So lets wait till then.
In the meantime Senthil, Ali and Ganesh returned with a fan and finally managed to get the 500D rolling. Recovery on the 540 was painfully difficult but quick. Immediately afterwards we see Arjun's 550 stuck in the approach path to the third obstacle. After recovering this vehicle the convoy moved towards the exit point as we were hungry and dirty with the destination being Adventure Zone 40 kms away. The drive back was eventful again. Senthil's Gypsy had a punctured radiator. This was attributed to the horn that got dislodged and struck the fan. The shards struck the radiator and hence the leak. This was sorted out in a jiffy and we moved on. The 3B started having pump problems and hence the last vehicle in the convoy stopped and Ali got to work on the vehicle while the rest headed towards the camp site. When all attempts failed we were left with no choice but to tow the vehicle back to the camp which was still 30 kms away.
Finally we had lunch at 5:30 pm. It was a long day but we enjoyed it as much as always. A few new climbs and few water crossings, recovery, spot repairs, contingency planning, learning and a whole lot of 'serious fun' all packaged into one day. This is a just a gist of the Sunday OTR. The photos should do the real talking.