[dwaraka]

Thanks jaggu. good pictures and nerration
Robinson has lot of pictures of second day.

[svsantosh]

Back from a week long vacation... still remember the 1st day OTR more than the last 7 days It felt good at the trail. I was nursing a little feverish Jeep, so cldnt push it a lot. Would like to see more pics...

[swastikviji]

first day action pictures, any how no need to writeup any thing already Jaggu sir done it.

[dwaraka]

Vijaykumar, this ditch was a real challenge. Long wheel base vehicles and larger bodied vehicle will have maximum damage.

[Jaggu]

Not only for LWB, look at the way the Girish's SWB lifted up. Seeing that i decided i will take it real slow, till then i was feeling a lil overconfident and wanting to show off

[svsantosh]

Jaggu, did you mean Ganesh Banavar In the bling hurricane CJ? That ditch was a great find by MP sir. Only LWB to cross it was Roby. IIRC no other LWB attempted it.

[Jaggu]

Oops sorry its Ganesh and i think couple of gypsy's made it at the end.

[svsantosh]

Oh, by LWB I ignored the gypsy's... quite a few gypsies crossed it successfully. I meant the gurkhas, scorpios, Izuzus'...

[hisunil]

Actually The Gurkha HT crossed it I believe, Me & Bhaskar were asked to turn around as it was taking a lot of time !! well everything happens for good I guess!!

Cheers
Sunil

[IronWolf]

Hi all,

After breakfast at Kamat and a briefing before the trail entrance we entered the trail.
Since its a long line of vehicles.. we wait for those ahead to clear the obstacles, small talk with those around. Lower our Tyre pressure to about 18-20psi.

The first big obstacle was to either go up a small wet slope on the right or a much higher gradient wet one on the left.

How 'it' happened: I slotted in 1st low and went for the higher gradient one on the left. kept pumping the gas on way up. The low PSI lame NDMS helped me clear it just fine, except for a loud snap and thud at the rear after reaching the top.



If this was a video 1 sec after this scene ~ After I landed ~ The right rear Leaf 1 & 2 snapped

I could not believe that in the middle of nowhere after the very first big obstacle, I was being asked to move to the side.

What Next? :
Option (a) Dwarak suggested that I come along the trail, leaving the Jeep and to get a mechanic the next day. Next day was Sunday so that was not an option.

Option (b) He suggested to go with someone to Chikkaballapura town, bring a mech with tools and a set of leafs and get it fixed.

Question is ~ who is going to sacrifice their OTR to help out someone they hardly know.

Within a min, Saurabh and Justin said they are ready to take me. So I clear the jeep and gave all my stuff including the tow rope <big mistake - did not think it through> and shackles to Santhosh.

3 of us hopped in Saurabhs Rally Style Blue & white Gypsy and drove out the way we came in.

Dwarak sir guiding us out and giving us a set of instructions of what all items to get.

Drive to Chikkaballapura - 45mins - Since its a 2 seater Justin jumped in the lil back cabin and sat on the steel floor even before I could say anything. Saurabh was determined to get the job done quickly as we both wanted to join back the trail. He was redlining it and flooring it rally style. It was one bumpy and fast drive <Sorry Justin>

After hitting the tarred road to town we got lost at multiple turns. Finally making it to the town.

@ Chikkaballapura 25mins - I was pointed in a certain direction and I found the right mechanic - Arif, who kinda specializes in suspension.

Arif took me to the right shop. Shopman took us to the godown at the back which was filled with nothing but suspension leafs.
It was leaf spring heaven. I was thrilled that we found all the right parts needed.

Drive back to Avalakonda! 25mins -
This time we decided to drive down the highway to Kamat and then take the left. This time it was my turn to sit in the lil cabin at the back.
Saurabh was flooring it on the highway and on the uneven roads leading to the trail.


Arif <Chikkaballapura mechanic> was hanging on for dear life outside on top of the spare wheel along with his tools and the truck jack. He never showed any signs of complaining.

The guy was actually enjoying the wind in his hair and the extremely bumpy drive to reach the 540.

We got lost again near the trail entrance but not as bad as while going.

Repair - 25mins: Yes 25 mins. Arif was quick and knew what he was doing. He needed very limited help from me.

Used 2 Jacks to get the job done.



Tracking the Trail -XX mins - This was the most taxing part of the day.

After it was fixed. We convinced ourselves that we would not drive back home. We were going to try and find the OTR gang. We also convinced Arif to come along, citing the that our friends place was close by<lies>.

No Tow rope!!!, No experience, No clues, No knowledge about this new trail, ....nothing.

We follow the trail, pass through some nice obstacles, not trying anything stupid. Making sure the first attempt was the best attempt.

Justin and Arif Spotting. Arif was looking very serious however he was having a blast. This was his first OTR.

Following some tracks we came to a dead end. Extreme slush tracks where even a tractor would get stuck. Wrong way !
LOST!

We almost quit and we turn back and drive a bit to see where else the tracks could have gone.. when we noticed tracks going into nowhere on the right... tire tracks-woo hooo. It led us to some more wonderful obstacles.

The most hair raising for me was a huge ditch with a high gradient decline and incline. The Gypsy went ahead almost got stuck on its AT tires. Saurabh gunned it for the 3rd time, slipping and sliding and got out successfully.

I went in fine, however going up I got the angle a big wrong and had to counter right into the bush to avoid a possible topple. Second attempt I got it aligned, was out and freken pumped.

I am 99% sure its this one - Is this from Day 1? If so this is IT!



Lil later we follow the sound and the tracks and we see this - 4x4s!
Mission accomplished! 2 Vehicles & 4 guys without a clue get through the trail and reach the OTR convoy.

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

What happened? Danny where the heck are you hibernating these days? You are not seen in other OTR's along with Bangalore boys.

Spike

Spike - thats what happened. The best part is.. it broke, was fixed and was back on trail and caught up with the pack like nothing happened.

Yes, I need to up my OTR attendance.

Originally Posted by svsantosh

Back from a week long vacation... still remember the 1st day OTR more than the last 7 days It felt good at the trail. I was nursing a little feverish Jeep, so cldnt push it a lot. Would like to see more pics...

Good to hear that you had a good vacation.

P.S sorry for losing your Spare wheel lug nut. Did you find it in the next morning?

Originally Posted by livyodream

We were shocked when we saw you back in action, that too only 2 vehicles without knowing the route. Hats off.

Thanks Akshay,

We were also relieved that we were able to:

a) Track down the trail with the tire marks + faint vehicle sounds in a distance
b) Not getting stuck at even one obstacles including that one big ditch meant only for SWBs
c) Do all this without a tow rope!!
d) Catching up the posse after over 3 hours.

Saurabh and Justin Thanks again and I owe you guys a lot!

Saurabh loved the drive to the town and back

Justin (and Saurabh) did an amazing job at tracking, spotting and keeping us going all alone on the trail. I would have turned back if I was all alone.

[dwaraka]

Daniel/Saurabh,

You guys did great. Trailing on the track in jungle is one big tricky task.

That's a big arsenal of springs.

[RGK]

Very nice report and good photos. Seeing for the first time. Seems to be a great adventure for the participants. The mechanic seems to a shrewd guy. How many kms you would have cleared..

[swastikviji]

Pictures of first day after lunch and second day,

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Viji, that's your oil sump? I guess your recce gave a foreshadow of events to come.

Spike

[swastikviji]

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

Viji, that's your oil sump? I guess your recce gave a foreshadow of events to come.

Spike

Ya Spike its My Jeeps sump, new engine came without a stone guard, and i asked my mechanic to take out old engines sump and fix it but he has not done it and i noticed it after it hit a stone.