9th March 2009, 19:55
| #16 |
| BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: India
Posts: 30
Thanked: 2 Times
| Awesome Report Congratulation Samurai sir, awesome report with awesome pictures  waiting for the 2nd part esp with the heavy ones(Endy & scorpio) and how they faired through the trail  |
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9th March 2009, 20:14
| #17 |
| Team-BHP Support   | The next challenge was crossing a ditch. As you can see in the next photo, the offroaders have to climb down the hill we are standing on and then come up to reach the next hillock.  This is how you climb down.  And then climb up. This is Sreeraj by the way.  Hurricane Vivek looks all ready to take the plunge, this one won't be a challenge to the SWBs.  After watching couple of Jeeps negotiating the ditch, I realised that the bottom of the ditch has a sudden drop before the Jeeps can start climbing. That is going to hurt vehicles with long overhangs, especially in the rear. So we discussed this with the Endeavour drivers, made sure they know the risk of plunging into the ditch. Still the Endeavour drivers looked like they are going to try it anyway. I know what they were thinking. They didn't want others to think that they chickened out from the ditch despite having 4x4 SUV lot more powerful than the average vehicle there. Then I let it slip that my Grand Vitara cracked the rear bumper on such a trail and it isn't worth it. That seems to made them think. Really, it is not worth breaking the ultra-expensive rear bumper just to get some pats on the back. Eventually they took a alternate path that avoided the ditch. As I crossed the ditch on foot and climbed up, I ran into the most unexpected & out-of-place duo greeting me on the next hill. Mclaren and Memo were standing there, looking lost among all the offroading hoopla. For people who don't know them (4x4 section regulars hardly know them), these are guys who spend all their waking hours making their cars a second faster than before. They would be at home in a track event or drag event, but in an offroading event, they looked so out-of-place. They had come in Memo's SX4 which was parking at the entrance of the trail. Memo did mention something about HKS kit, which sounded so alien in that place. Currently they were passengers on a friend's 4WD Scorpio. As I looked back, I could still see some vehicles looking down the ditch with apprehension.  Few moments later, I looked back again and swore... Somebody was going bananas!  This image might express the emotions of the audience at the time, a princess surrounded by wild thorny bushes.  Where Endeavours didn't dare, the Beetle did. Both are the in the frame.  And yes, it got stuck. Without 4x4 there was really no hope at this place. It was time to tow.  Now, I have been around many towing operations. In fact, I have been towed out 3 times myself, once had to leave the vehicle overnight after 4 hours of futile effort in rains. Generally, regular offroading vehicles have many towing points that can used for towing safely. But this vehicle was an unknown entity. So, I went down, sought the owner Raghavendra and introduced myself and asked him whether the vehicle had any towing point in the front. He replied in negative. That means it will be tricky, since he would know his vehicle best, it would be up to him to choose the right towing point. Sreeraj was the closest Jeep with a towing cable. So we pulled out Sreeraj's towing cable and proceeded towards the Beetle hoping that Raghavendra would figure out where to fix it. And Sreeraj also backed up the Jeep back into the ditch. At this point we ran into a strange situation. A guy whom I never met before had started prowling in front of the Beetle. He was muttering comments at us, I don't recall the exact sentences, but it was clear that he didn't trust us. He stood there like a bouncer/bodyguard, blocking us from coming any closer to the Beetle. And he was passing orders to move the Jeep closer, hand over the cable, etc. I am not used to this kind of unfriendliness from strangers in offroad events, so I was a little taken aback. Since I didn't recognise him as either Team-BHP or Jeep-Thrills member, he must have come with somebody. Since he was acting so possessive of the Beetle, I concluded he might be known to the owner. So I just handed over the tow cable and backed off. Finally, the tow cable is tied and Herbie gets pulled up.   A little later one more Jeep in trouble. This one was a 2WD Jeep, since Herbie made the effort, they must have been compelled to do it too. By this time Sreeraj had gone ahead, so I got just the cable and came back. I talked to the 4WD Scorpio driver who was there and requested him to tow. This Jeep too had no towing hooks in the front, but with the Jeep it isn't a problem. First, I quickly looked around, this Jeep had no bodyguard. So we tied the tow cable to both the vehicles, and then I found myself trapped between them, no way to get out. I really didn't want to be anywhere near the cable. Eventually I backed myself into the bushes before I shouted the go ahead. As I looked towards the next challenge, I realised it was an eye-candy for photography. This obstacle made every vehicle assume a 3-legged position while getting down. Here we go.  And the rear leg goes up.  Ok, that's not too high. But you gotta see the Gypsies.  Holy cow, that's really high. BTW, notice the missing tailgate.  It was pretty clear that the axle articulation advantage of Jeeps was helping it not tilt too much. BTW, I have a question for experts here. In couple of photos, you can see people standing on the rear to possibly counter the tilt. Does that really work? When the front left tyre touches the ground, rear right will raise. The degree of tilt will be determined by the axle articulation of the vehicle. How exactly the weight on the back going to counter the tilt, unless it is heavy enough to keep the rear right tyre on the ground? Gypsy (high)  Jeep (not that high)  After watching a few climb downs, the correct approach line was pretty clear to some of us standing there. So I again became a spotter/advisor along with Prithvi and couple others. They were supposed to go down straight along the tree (notice the tree before the slope) and then, once the rear goes up, the driver should turn fully towards the tilt and then continue. That way, they will counter the tilt and go down smoothly. Some went down straight with the front paw hanging in air. Some pressed clutch instead of brake and flew down. Oh yeah, this was one place where brake was necessary unless you had PS or have really strong arms to quickly turn the steering. Hey, it was great fun just watching, can't deny that. By this time most had cleared up and I saw that the 2WD Jeep and Beetle were finally parked. They didn't dare attempt the 3 legged circus. Now Kiran was trying to cross and I decided to shoot from below for a change. This fellow doesn't really need any help. But he insisted I shoot from the right so that I capture the raised wheel.   He completed the climb down easily but not before drowning me in the dust he kicked up. Good thing I have a weather-proof dSLR.  Now that I am very much in the tail end of the convoy, and Sreeraj nowhere in sight, I jumped into Kiran's Jeep. One look through the windshield, I jumped out again. I can't do justice to photography if I stay inside the Jeep even as passenger. This is what I saw from inside, the offroad highway.   Kiran's Jeep again. How can I shoot this if I was inside?  Meanwhile, I noticed a familiar logo on a Gypsy, what is it doing in this part of the country?  Then I again run into this handsome cowboy on wheels.  He was so camera shy, he backed away out of the trail...  ...and vanished into the bushes. He probably thought I might capture his spirit.  Meanwhile, the Endeavours had joined the trail from the alternate path and they were climbing the rock across the river.  Although the Endeavour had Maxxis Bighorn mud terrain tyres, I guess it was fully inflated. So it had considerable difficulty in climbing the rocks.  Finally he makes it.  To Be Continued... |
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9th March 2009, 20:37
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10th March 2009, 10:45
| #19 |
| Distinguished - BHPian   Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 5,209
Thanked: 18,044 Times
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10th March 2009, 10:53
| #20 | |
| Team-BHP Support | Quote:
 Last edited by Samurai : 10th March 2009 at 10:55. | |
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10th March 2009, 11:47
| #21 | |
| Senior - BHPian  | Quote:
keep the pics rolling! | |
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10th March 2009, 12:17
| #22 | |
| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 4,106
Thanked: 537 Times
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Agree with where one has to stand, but for the above statement, number of people is inversely proportional to the weight of the volunteers!  | |
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10th March 2009, 12:26
| #23 | |
| Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Bangalore
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10th March 2009, 13:09
| #24 |
| BHPian  | |
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10th March 2009, 14:30
| #25 |
| BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai
Posts: 42
Thanked: Once
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10th March 2009, 15:22
| #26 |
| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 1,240
Thanked: 229 Times
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10th March 2009, 15:34
| #27 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Gurgaon, Delhi NCR
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10th March 2009, 19:53
| #28 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 90
Thanked: 32 Times
| Samurai san, I have long been a member of TBHP, but i use the forums for learning rather than posting a lot. over these years, i must admit that i have become a fan of your outstanding photography and writing capabilities. its really addictive.  |
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10th March 2009, 20:37
| #29 |
| Distinguished - BHPian  Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Gurgaon
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11th March 2009, 12:20
| #30 |
| Senior - BHPian  | |
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