Rausch Creek Trail Report and Pics
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JK Enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 372
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From: Kingston, Ontario
Rausch Creek Trail Report and Pics
Well All,
The Canada group met up at the Husky on Friday at Joyceville and we headed to the border for about 8:30 am
had a big lunch at the Ponderosa in Binghamton NY.. Brown Trout's and all.. There we met up with Pat and Mike travelling
down from Ottawa.. We then continued on to Pine Grove in PA along the 81 turning heads and entertaining the young and old along the way.
Also we met a very mentally unstable transport driver who thought it would be fun to use his trailer as a baseball bat and I believe
it was Art's JK as a ball.. then my jeep as 1st base...
Anyway we safely checked in to the Comfort Inn around 3:30 ish.
The group of us then headed to the Creek around 5 to get the registration ball rolling meeting up with Chris from JK-forum, and the 4WD.com folks
Bob,Jamie,Brian,and the guys and Gals from River Raider.
We then tried to get supper that night at the Red Lion however the Inn was full. So we headed back to the "high class" Gooseberry restaurant near our
hotel. We watched people spit their teeth in and out and ate our food with a lot of laughs and a few Rolling rock's..
Back at the hotel "corn hole" was played in the parking lot.. but the US players didn't want the "ringer" from Canada to play
them so I wasn't informed of the game until the next day.
Saturday morning we all convoyed to the Park, Breaking into groups Todd and the rest of the Canada crew decided to do the intermediate run,
Pat and I decide to go on the Modified Aggressive trails led by Bob Huff (and Michelle) and Jamie Paine from 4WD.com in Big Red.. The photographers
from Low Range magazine came out with us as well great guys...We had a lot of rock and great obstacles and a great bunch of people it made for a
great first day out.
http://rides.webshots.com/album/567941360YcGPVw (day 1)
Saturday night we arrived back at the hotel around 7 pm. We dropped off Peter Loretto (David's Dad who came down from BC for the weekend) at the
Hampton Inn as he was going to crash for the night. Mike,Pat,Crystal,Jordan and I decided to try the O'Neal's pub in town while the rest of the
Canada crew stayed behind at the park.
Just before leaving our room for the Pub Peter called and decided to join us. We headed out and had a blast the food was great
and I don't think I have ever laughed so much in my life. That night I showed my expertise in "Corn Hole" against the US with my fellow Canadian teammate
Danielle.. crushing all records set before in the history of the game..(lowest points ever) We had fun though. Crystal and Sheri played very well but where
defeated by the the professionals Brian and Jamie.Mike thought it would be fun to use his assorted body parts as a way to redirect the bags into the hole
this was very funny but proved useless.. USA 5 Canada 0..
Next day Sunday..We all head back for day 2.. Pat Mike and I wanted to stay with the Modified group from Saturday..Todd, Dave and Peter,Art, Wayne and
Danielle decide to join us as well. Today being led by Brian from 4wd.com in his CJ .We headed to some more Black,Blue Black trails. Everything was going
well until one of the JK's decided to back out due to the potential for damage (understandable) then at the bottom of one of the trails a exploding snap
resounded through the forest it was the front right axel shaft on Brian's CJ.. After much spotting we got him out in 3 wheel drive and he was able to
continue for the day. Art we had to get turned around as well as he was right behind Brian..
We continued to the Christy Lake where Bob and I went through the water to the other side and as a joke I headed up the right side slope to scare Crystal
(she hates steep inclines).. Bob however decided that this slope was worth trying .... for real.. He did get to the top but was so off camber he couldn't
continue. I grabbed my straps from the jeep and headed to the top.. We where joined by some other wheelers that had one more strap we needed for tieing off
Bob so he could bump over the top of the hill.. All of us hanging on to the straps and it turned around a tree we where able to safltey get
him down.The rest of the day was very technical and fun for all.. I came down quite hard on a large boulder but thought nothing of it at the time..
We made it back and took some group shots ..
http://rides.webshots.com/album/567948975LJOtqA (day 2)
On the way back to the hotel on the 81 I noticed a shake in the JK between 60 kph and 110 My fear was drive shaft.. Back at the hotel upon inspecting the
rear shaft it was discovered that I had done severe and unrepairable damage. At this point the JK not driveable realistically. Unless I could find a
driveshaft.. This is where the story gets better...
Bob Huff offered to give me his spare one from home since he was running an aftermarket for his lift.. but would have to overnight it to me arriving
Tuesday morning and I could swap it out in the parking lot.. ( What a very nice offer ..many Thanks to Bob and Michelle ) Then Brian got on his cell phone
and called Craig from Quadratec to see if he still had the stock rear driveshaft sitting in the shop from Quadratec's "Show Rig" Unlimited X that they built
last year and fortunatley it was still sitting on the shelf.
There was some concern regarding the model numbers being completetly different but a few calls into Jack at All American Jeep/Crysler in Tamaqua solved
the issue. He was able to do a comparison on the computer and found the diamensions to be the same along with the cv joints being of equal size as well.
(great customer service). Jack also checked new inventory accross the US and there where only three shafts in the whole Country all needing two to three days
to ship.This was not a great option since Jordan had school Tuesday morning and it was election day as well...
The Canada crew left the hotel at around 8:30 am as they all had to get home. I warned them to ensure their rigs where mud free crossing the border then we
all said our goodbyes...but thankfully Pat and Mike stayed behind with us to make sure we made it home too. Pat was willing to drive me to Westchester to
pick up the shaft and bring it back to my rig but I thought the Red Rock would pull through. So we took a leap of faith and I decided to try and drive the
JK as far as possible to Westchester PA near Phillidelphia Quadratec's main office.. Pat and Mike lead the way there and we drove carefully without any
problems (Thanks God).
Craig met us at the main office and gave us a tour of the inner sanctom of Quadratec.. I felt as if I had died and gone to heaven... not only seeing the
warehouse full of "jeep everything" but the studio with all the built rigs including the donor vehicle..I wish I had more cash and time that day but Pat and
I where able to spend a few $$$ whilst there.
Craig handed me the transplant and Mike and I went to work under the Rubi removing and replaceing the shaft.. Mike finished by setting the torque.
First Bob now Craig..Between them and Pat and Mike, Brian, Jamie...
Crystal teared up.The kindness shown to us while wheeling down in Raush.. What a great community we have and great people.
http://rides.webshots.com/album/568004667IddhgM (Day 3) The Drive Home
The drive home was great the shake was gone so we headed to the border. We got there just before 11pm only to be pulled off to the side at customs where
"the Frenchmen" (he called himself he looked like captain Ahab) turned us around sending us back to the States to clean our Jeeps ( we forgot to clean even
after giving the advice ) We washed up in Alexandria Bay then went back to the border only to have me sent to the side now for my "stolen" /Jeep/License
Plate" or it could be just a lost plate... ya I am not kidding .
Turns out that last year wheeling with Dad, My sister Lareina and Scott "wraithyjeep' I had lost my front plate. I reported it lost so I could reorder a
new one..
The MTO issued a new plate for me but CPIC doesn't update there system so at the border it flags as "Lost or Stolen"... guess which way the border gaurds
look at it..? You guessed it "stolen" yep I tried to explain I had not stolen the 2007 JK Rubicon registered in my name ROD ETIENNE.. and that my Drivers
Licence and Passport in my name ROD ETIENNE was the same as my "personalized licence plate" which is "ROD 8CN" which is my flippin name.. What are the odds
of me stealing a License plate with my name on it..? 1000000000000000000000000000000 to 1?
Home by 1:15am
All The Best
Rod
P.S if the photo link doesn't work use this one and hit the "continue to webshots) button
http://community.webshots.com/user/zebco99
The Canada group met up at the Husky on Friday at Joyceville and we headed to the border for about 8:30 am
had a big lunch at the Ponderosa in Binghamton NY.. Brown Trout's and all.. There we met up with Pat and Mike travelling
down from Ottawa.. We then continued on to Pine Grove in PA along the 81 turning heads and entertaining the young and old along the way.
Also we met a very mentally unstable transport driver who thought it would be fun to use his trailer as a baseball bat and I believe
it was Art's JK as a ball.. then my jeep as 1st base...
Anyway we safely checked in to the Comfort Inn around 3:30 ish.
The group of us then headed to the Creek around 5 to get the registration ball rolling meeting up with Chris from JK-forum, and the 4WD.com folks
Bob,Jamie,Brian,and the guys and Gals from River Raider.
We then tried to get supper that night at the Red Lion however the Inn was full. So we headed back to the "high class" Gooseberry restaurant near our
hotel. We watched people spit their teeth in and out and ate our food with a lot of laughs and a few Rolling rock's..
Back at the hotel "corn hole" was played in the parking lot.. but the US players didn't want the "ringer" from Canada to play
them so I wasn't informed of the game until the next day.
Saturday morning we all convoyed to the Park, Breaking into groups Todd and the rest of the Canada crew decided to do the intermediate run,
Pat and I decide to go on the Modified Aggressive trails led by Bob Huff (and Michelle) and Jamie Paine from 4WD.com in Big Red.. The photographers
from Low Range magazine came out with us as well great guys...We had a lot of rock and great obstacles and a great bunch of people it made for a
great first day out.
http://rides.webshots.com/album/567941360YcGPVw (day 1)
Saturday night we arrived back at the hotel around 7 pm. We dropped off Peter Loretto (David's Dad who came down from BC for the weekend) at the
Hampton Inn as he was going to crash for the night. Mike,Pat,Crystal,Jordan and I decided to try the O'Neal's pub in town while the rest of the
Canada crew stayed behind at the park.
Just before leaving our room for the Pub Peter called and decided to join us. We headed out and had a blast the food was great
and I don't think I have ever laughed so much in my life. That night I showed my expertise in "Corn Hole" against the US with my fellow Canadian teammate
Danielle.. crushing all records set before in the history of the game..(lowest points ever) We had fun though. Crystal and Sheri played very well but where
defeated by the the professionals Brian and Jamie.Mike thought it would be fun to use his assorted body parts as a way to redirect the bags into the hole
this was very funny but proved useless.. USA 5 Canada 0..
Next day Sunday..We all head back for day 2.. Pat Mike and I wanted to stay with the Modified group from Saturday..Todd, Dave and Peter,Art, Wayne and
Danielle decide to join us as well. Today being led by Brian from 4wd.com in his CJ .We headed to some more Black,Blue Black trails. Everything was going
well until one of the JK's decided to back out due to the potential for damage (understandable) then at the bottom of one of the trails a exploding snap
resounded through the forest it was the front right axel shaft on Brian's CJ.. After much spotting we got him out in 3 wheel drive and he was able to
continue for the day. Art we had to get turned around as well as he was right behind Brian..
We continued to the Christy Lake where Bob and I went through the water to the other side and as a joke I headed up the right side slope to scare Crystal
(she hates steep inclines).. Bob however decided that this slope was worth trying .... for real.. He did get to the top but was so off camber he couldn't
continue. I grabbed my straps from the jeep and headed to the top.. We where joined by some other wheelers that had one more strap we needed for tieing off
Bob so he could bump over the top of the hill.. All of us hanging on to the straps and it turned around a tree we where able to safltey get
him down.The rest of the day was very technical and fun for all.. I came down quite hard on a large boulder but thought nothing of it at the time..
We made it back and took some group shots ..
http://rides.webshots.com/album/567948975LJOtqA (day 2)
On the way back to the hotel on the 81 I noticed a shake in the JK between 60 kph and 110 My fear was drive shaft.. Back at the hotel upon inspecting the
rear shaft it was discovered that I had done severe and unrepairable damage. At this point the JK not driveable realistically. Unless I could find a
driveshaft.. This is where the story gets better...
Bob Huff offered to give me his spare one from home since he was running an aftermarket for his lift.. but would have to overnight it to me arriving
Tuesday morning and I could swap it out in the parking lot.. ( What a very nice offer ..many Thanks to Bob and Michelle ) Then Brian got on his cell phone
and called Craig from Quadratec to see if he still had the stock rear driveshaft sitting in the shop from Quadratec's "Show Rig" Unlimited X that they built
last year and fortunatley it was still sitting on the shelf.
There was some concern regarding the model numbers being completetly different but a few calls into Jack at All American Jeep/Crysler in Tamaqua solved
the issue. He was able to do a comparison on the computer and found the diamensions to be the same along with the cv joints being of equal size as well.
(great customer service). Jack also checked new inventory accross the US and there where only three shafts in the whole Country all needing two to three days
to ship.This was not a great option since Jordan had school Tuesday morning and it was election day as well...
The Canada crew left the hotel at around 8:30 am as they all had to get home. I warned them to ensure their rigs where mud free crossing the border then we
all said our goodbyes...but thankfully Pat and Mike stayed behind with us to make sure we made it home too. Pat was willing to drive me to Westchester to
pick up the shaft and bring it back to my rig but I thought the Red Rock would pull through. So we took a leap of faith and I decided to try and drive the
JK as far as possible to Westchester PA near Phillidelphia Quadratec's main office.. Pat and Mike lead the way there and we drove carefully without any
problems (Thanks God).
Craig met us at the main office and gave us a tour of the inner sanctom of Quadratec.. I felt as if I had died and gone to heaven... not only seeing the
warehouse full of "jeep everything" but the studio with all the built rigs including the donor vehicle..I wish I had more cash and time that day but Pat and
I where able to spend a few $$$ whilst there.
Craig handed me the transplant and Mike and I went to work under the Rubi removing and replaceing the shaft.. Mike finished by setting the torque.
First Bob now Craig..Between them and Pat and Mike, Brian, Jamie...
Crystal teared up.The kindness shown to us while wheeling down in Raush.. What a great community we have and great people.
http://rides.webshots.com/album/568004667IddhgM (Day 3) The Drive Home
The drive home was great the shake was gone so we headed to the border. We got there just before 11pm only to be pulled off to the side at customs where
"the Frenchmen" (he called himself he looked like captain Ahab) turned us around sending us back to the States to clean our Jeeps ( we forgot to clean even
after giving the advice ) We washed up in Alexandria Bay then went back to the border only to have me sent to the side now for my "stolen" /Jeep/License
Plate" or it could be just a lost plate... ya I am not kidding .
Turns out that last year wheeling with Dad, My sister Lareina and Scott "wraithyjeep' I had lost my front plate. I reported it lost so I could reorder a
new one..
The MTO issued a new plate for me but CPIC doesn't update there system so at the border it flags as "Lost or Stolen"... guess which way the border gaurds
look at it..? You guessed it "stolen" yep I tried to explain I had not stolen the 2007 JK Rubicon registered in my name ROD ETIENNE.. and that my Drivers
Licence and Passport in my name ROD ETIENNE was the same as my "personalized licence plate" which is "ROD 8CN" which is my flippin name.. What are the odds
of me stealing a License plate with my name on it..? 1000000000000000000000000000000 to 1?
Home by 1:15am
All The Best
Rod
P.S if the photo link doesn't work use this one and hit the "continue to webshots) button
http://community.webshots.com/user/zebco99
I'm happy to hear you got your driveshaft fixed and you made it home. 
Thread Starter
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 372
Likes: 0
From: Kingston, Ontario
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Rod