Uwharrie 2002 Review

This year's Uwharrie fun run was expected to be a crowded one. We planned the event several months back, and since then got word that the 2002 Land Rover Uwharrie event was planned for the same weekend. They expected 100+ trucks to show up. Then we found out that a NC Jeep club had also planned a run for that weekend. We expected to find a crowded campsite and gridlock on the trails.

Mike (2000 Trooper), Nick (2001 Wrangler) and I (1989 Trooper RS) arrived at 2am on Friday morning and setup camp. We had our pick of the campsites. After breakfast we headed to Troy to pick up a little food for the rest of the weekend. When we came back we found a reserved sign on our campsite. I'm only telling this part of the story because I found out that campsites can now be reserved via phone. This will help us in the future.

Friday afternoon Mike, Nick and I set out. We ran every trail except Daniel, and Dickey Bell. Slab pile, Rocky Mountain Loop, Falls Dam, Sawmill, and Wolf den were all banged out one by one. The trails were empty. We didn't plan on running Rocky Mountain Loop, but the otherw went so quick we just continued on. We got to the obstacle on RM and found that the bypass had been fenced off. Not being the types to turn around, and without anyone behind us, we proceeded to march up the hill. With some careful spotting and a little patience, none of us had to use the bypass at the far left.

The "Westfalia" edition Trooper (when we moved campsites):

Mike and myself "dusting" our way up Rocky Mount

Friday night Mike cooked up some of his Mom's meatballs and some wonderful spagetti. By then several other people had arived including Ryan (1997 Trooper), DonB (1991 Trooper), and Derek (1998 Tacoma). Derek and Geoff made quick work of the wood for the fire (with some careful scavenging by Don). James Woods (1991 Amigo) and Rusty (1998 Amigo) arrived sometime that night and just parked their trucks and slept next to the road.

Saturday we awoke to some more NY Bagels. RobG (SAS Rodeo), Erik (96 Trooper) and Chris (Rodeo) arrived that morning. We split into 2 groups and headed out. Our group did some of the same trails. Ryan showed that a stock Trooper could handle all of the Trails, with some care. We decided to head up Rocky Mount again. This time at the obstacle we encountered a traffic jam. We lined up and headed to the top to watch the goings-on. There was a group of Jeeps, and a group of Rovers there. One by one they were making their ascent. One of the Jeeps was running on Methonol. They had a Kaiser Jeep and there was a Series II Land Rover as well.

It all went well until one of the Jeeps broke a driveshaft. This effectively blocked the line that we had taken up the previous day. I was first in our line, and after watching the Kaiser struggle up, spinning tires, moving backwards and taking input from all of the onlookers. I decided to try that line. The RS walked right up it. On one rock I slammed the rock slider down, but that is what I have them for. At the top the Kaiser driver told me to do it slower next time, that I was making him look bad.

After the traffic jam cleared out, we finished the trail and headed back for lunch. Some meatball sandwitches and cold soft drinks prepared us for the afternoon run. The group that RobG was leading had already headed out, so I let Mike, Ryan, Nick and DonB through Dickey Bell. This was by far the most technical trail, even though there wasn't a large single "Obstacle." We had a great time and nobody had any problems navigating the steep or narrow spots.

RobG led a group as well. They ended up playing on rocky mount, and amount other things ended up blowing a tire and getting Rob stuck against a tree.

That night Don's wife Linda created what she dubbed the "Planetisuzoo Uwharrie Burger" ingredients include a burger, cheese, NY meatballs, tomato sauce, chili and catchup. We had those and talked around the campfire. James' dogs followed Scout (Ryan's dog) around until they finally fell asleep, and Scout continued to retrieve sticks from in the woods late into the night.

I want to thank everyone from coming out again, and hope to see you all again soon.
-Tad

My Full set of Pictures
Mike's Pictures
Chris' Pictures