Midwest Summer K5 Thing Trip Report
Article and photo's courtesy of Neil Pickett
Disney Oklahoma
– August 3rd - 5th
Disney Oklahoma is home to some of the best wheeling in
the Midwest. The Grand Lake
of the Cherokees is held back by three Dam’s and below these huge hunks
of concrete are natural rock Spillways.
These spillways have solid rock waterfalls, chutes and hills which
make for a challenging wheeling spot, even for most tricked out rigs.
August in Oklahoma is particularly hot with temperatures hovering
close to 100 degrees. There
were many K5 owners who braved the heat in order to have some fun.
This “Event” was semi-organized by Steve Frisbie and friends.
Steve recently installed a new front suspension on his 85 K5 and
needed a good place to test it. We
posted information about the event on ColoradoK5
in order to get some people together.
The turnout was great and fun was had by all.
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| Spillway #1 |
Spillway #2 |
Spillway #3 |
Friday August 3rd
I met Steve and some friends in Disney late Thursday evening, we stayed at
Rogers Cabins. One note on
Disney, if you are going wheeling, there is no better place to stay than
Rogers Cabins. The cabins
have a lot of character and are very reasonably priced.
They have plenty of parking for trailers and are located less than
a minute from the trails leading into the Spillways.
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| Rogers Cabins |
View of the
Shade |
The Honeymoon
Suite |
We
got started early Friday in order to beat the heat.
We started out at the upper shelf of Spillway #2, we checked out
the waterfall from the topside and decided to wait till Saturday to try
it. We climbed some of the
steps on the hill near the waterfall.
This hill seems to be quite challenging.
Locking Differentials are a minimum requirement if you plan to
traverse these steps and crevasses. Heading
up to the upper portion of Spillway #2, we noticed a trail leading into
the woods to the East and decided to come back later to it later.
Near the Dam at Spillway #2, there are many rock ledges and
waterfalls to try. We played
around here and climbed our way to the Dam.
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| Steve Frisbie
climbing a ledge |
Neil climbing
the same ledge |
At
the top, we turned around and could not believe the view!
Heading down the spillway, you can’t help but notice how the
water has eroded away the rock and cut a deep path all the way to the
lower shelf, or “Playground”. We
headed back to the trail that we saw earlier.
This trail led us to Spillway #3, which is named Little Blue.
Before heading into the main portion of Little Blue, we took a
small spur trail down the East side.
We drove down this small water chute only to find a large drop-off
waterfall at the bottom. We
turned around and headed back up the chute.
This is a fairly easy drive if you have a spotter.
We drove onto the upper shelf of Little Blue, took a quick gander
at the very narrow chute carved into the rock.
This appeared to be too narrow for a full-size, more on that later.
We wanted to find a trail leading to the Playground, which is
actually Summerfield Creek.
This
creek connects all three Spillways. The
only ways to the Playground at either Spillway #2 or #3 is to drive down
the waterfalls or take a trial just to the west of Spillway #2 at Highway
28, just about 500 feet East of Rogers Cabins on the South side of the
Highway. This trail either
leads you to the upper shelf at Spillway #2 or if you continue to the
South, you will come out below Spillway #2 into Summerfield Creek.
You can enter the Playground from Spillway #1 as well, so we
decided enter this way. It is
not recommended that you enter the Playground from the Campgrounds near
Spillway #3.
To enter here,
you would be required to cross Summerfield Creek, and this is not a
designated crossing, meaning it is Illegal.
After taking a break for lunch and meeting up with Adam and his
friends, we headed to Spillway #1 below Pensacola Dam.
We drove to the Rock Garden and checked it out.
We continued past the Rock Garden and found a trail with a
designated stream crossing. We
crossed and headed for the Playground.
The Playground is fairly flat with many crevasses and another rock
garden. We drove around this
area and found the trail leading back to Hwy 28.
We passed this trail for a bit and crossed the rock garden.
Continuing Northeast, we followed Summerfield Creek to the lower
portion of the Waterfall at Spillway #2 and from there we went on to the
Waterfall at Spillway #3. We were basically on a pre-run of the area to
find out which way to travel between the Spillways.
We returned to the trail we saw earlier and showed Adam the upper
portion of Spillway #2. Adam
and Jared both tried some of the rock ledges without problems.
At one point, Adam showed us how strong a Dana 60 and 14 bolt
really are, by applying ample throttle to climb a rock ledge.
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| Adam's K5 Buggy |
Jared in his
"Heep" |
We
spent the day wheeling around, taking photos and testing our rigs out.
Steve’s 3 link worked well. The end of the day was getting near
so we headed back to Rogers Cabins and relaxed in the A/C.
Later we met up with Steve and Deana Sharp and we all headed to
Goldie’s for dinner. After
dinner, Adam and crew headed out to find a hotel.
We all anticipated the wheeling tomorrow was going to bring.
Saturday
August 4th
Everyone showed up by 6:30 am and we had a quick meet
and greet, then headed to the upper shelf at Spillway #2.
Arriving at the waterfall, Steve Sharp decided to be the first one
to try. He had an open seat
so I jumped in. Steve was
driving his 1972 K5 Blazer which has been Bobbed 18”, 6” lift, 2.5 ton
Rockwells with 6.72 gears, lockers and 44” Super Swampers.
This rig has literally a ton of other mods as well.
We strapped in and drove to the edge of the waterfall.
This fall has about an 8 foot elevation change and is near
vertical. To add to the
excitement, the water flows enough to wet the rocks so that Moss grows.
Steve creeped down the waterfall and to my surprise the 2.5 ton
Rockwell’s with inboard braking system stop this rig well.
He turned around the rig and pretty much drove straight up without
hesitation.
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| Steve Sharp on
the Waterfall |
Up the Waterfall |
Next Tim decided to give it a try in his 86
Chevy K10 short bed with 1 ton running gear, ORD Doubler, NV4500
tranny, and 38” Super Swampers. Tim
lined up the K10, put the Gen2 Doubler in low range and proceeded up the
waterfall. He didn’t find
the correct line the first time so he backed down and attacked it from a
different angle. He started
up the fall again and began to loose traction and forward momentum.
To our surprise, Tim hammered the throttle and jumped to the top
without a problem. That’s
the advantage to having 1 ton running gear!
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| Tim going down
the Waterfall |
Going up |
Next on the list – also sporting 1 ton ‘gear was Adam
in his bobbed K5. Adam lined
up same as Tim had before him. He
also found the waterfall to be difficult and required a little
re-adjustment along the way. After
a second try, he also hammered the throttle and jumped to the top.
Adam has gotten happy with the sawzall after a major rollover a
while back in his K5. The
only K5 body left is the front flooring, dash, firewall, rockers and
partial bedsides. While I watched Adam’s rig on the waterfall, I
realized he did not have rocker skids.
The only sheetmetal left on Adam’s rig was now mangled, his
rockers were both pushed upward about 6”!
My rig and many of the other attendees are without rocker skids, so
we opted not to try it.
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| Adam getting
ready |
Adam climbing
the Waterfall |
Layne was the next person to try the waterfall.
We crept to the edge in Layne’s 88 K5 with ¾ ton axles, 700R4
“Awfulmatic”, NP205 case, 8” of total lift, and 35” SSR Radials.
When the front-end drops over this ledge, you are pretty much
committed (or should be committed). Layne’s
5-gallon jug of Lemonade started leaking out the top so we had to take a
minute to re-adjust it. Actually,
I reached back and pulled the lid off making even more of a mess!
We finally dropped off the ledge and the front bumper scraped from
the intense angle. The K5
continued downward and the rear bumper caught the rock ledge with a loud,
teeth chattering crash. It’s
a good thing Layne’s bumpers are built strong;
it would have made a pretzel out of a lesser bumper.
Layne turned around and aimed the K5 skyward.
We partially climbed the waterfall only to find out his front Track
Lock was no longer working. After
a couple of tries, Layne graciously backed down and we went around to the
trail leading to the top of the waterfall.
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| Layne going down
the Waterfall |
Going up |
When we arrived at the top, Steve Frisbie of Missouri
Offroad Outfitters was already going down the waterfall in his 85
M1009 with 3 link front suspension, Gen1 Doubler, and numerous mods.
This is the cover truck for the September issue of Fourwheeler
magazine. When the front of
Steve’s truck dropped off the ledge, his front suspension unloaded to
full droop on the driver’s side. This
made for some awesome flex pictures.
Steve continued down and turned his rig around for the climb back
up the waterfall. He lined up
and started climbing. The
truck was near vertical and the rear bumper decided to be a limiting
factor. He could not get the
rear tires close enough to the waterfall in order to make the climb.
He was wise and didn’t want to back off the waterfall so Tim
gladly strapped him up to where is rear tires would grab.
The K5 climbed the rest of the way.
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| Steve going down |
Climbing the
Waterfall |
With all that excitement over, we
headed to the upper Spillway #2. Some
of the trucks climbed the rock “steps” just Northeast of the
waterfall. In the background of the photo below, you can see Layne
in his 88, Brian in the 72, Black newer Blazer (didn't get your
info-sorry) , and Ross Beach in his 88 K5 Jimmy.
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| Tim climbing a crevasse |
We
made our way to a deep washout in the slick rock where several hillclimbs
were. Some people opted to
pass these by while others tried them.
The hillclimbs are marked by rubber from tires where others have
tried before. One particular
climb was very steep. Chad
tried the climb in his 95
Z71 Equipped with 14-bolt semi-floater, Dana 44 front axle conversion and
38” Swampers. This truck looks like a factory done job. Chad
also found some rock ledges around the base of Spillway #2.
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| Chad climbing a
steep hill |
Flexing it up |
I
made my way up the hillclimbs and saw the rest of the group.
We all took turns trying some of the rock ledges around the area.
Steve Sharp was our trail leader for the weekend and he showed us
how to climb just about every obstacle there.
Ken was on hand with his 72 K5 Blazer sporting half ton running
gear equipped with Warn shafts up front and Warn Full Floater kit in the
rear, Lockers, 3.73 gears, TPI 400, NV4500, ORD Doubler and 35”
Geolanders. Ken tested out
his 4.0:1 gearing on most of the rock ledges and climbed right up.
This rig is one of the easiest vehicles to drive on the rocks.
Put it in super low range and relax, it will go just about
anywhere. Ken’s wife Katia
also took over the wheel and tried some of the rock ledges, without a
problem.
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| Ken at Spillway
#2 |
Climbing a rock
ledge |
Chad tested his Z71 out on a
lot of the rock ledges and climbed without a problem.
Brian
Forrester was there in his pristine Orange
1972 K5 Blazer equipped with 4” lift, rollcage, 33” tires and Weld
Super Single II rims. This rig looks very nice and is very
functional. Brian
crawled to the upper shelf and played around on the rock shelves and hill
climbs.
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| Brian Forrester's 72 K5 |
Ross, in his stock 88 K5 Jimmy climbed to the upper
area of Spillway #2. He opted
to watch all the crazies try to break parts.
Neil had “Mudzer” ready for the rocks.
I climbed some of the hill climbs near the upper Spillway #2.
I made my way up to the rock steps on the right hand side of the
spillway and climbed them – to my surprise.
I later tried a very tough rock wall and only made it half way up
before my skid plate made contact and ceased progress.
I graciously backed down and spent the rest of the morning
successfully climbing rock shelves and ledges, which are abundant in
Spillway #2.
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| Neil trying a
rock ledge |
Another rock
ledge |
Brett Cox
was along with his White 91 K5 equipped with 33” tires and stock
suspension. He cruised
around on the slick rock and provided a fine example of a slightly
modified K5.
Deana
cruised around in her Burban with ¾ ton running gear and lockers.
This truck is no slouch, as I found out later during the night run.
More on that later.
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| Deana's Burban on the Rocks |
The rest of the group spent the morning trying every
challenge the upper portion of Spillway #2 could offer.
Some of us took a break for Breakfast at Crossroads Café in Langly,
OK. After breakfast Brett
decided to hit the water in his Ski-Boat, Tim and Jeff followed.
Ken jumped in with me for a quick run to the parts store.
We later met up with Steve in his 72 K5 and Deana in
her Burban. We were trying to
meet up with the group at Spillway #1.
Steve and Deana both know this area well.
We took a shortcut near the golf course, which led us directly
south of the rock garden in Spillway #1.
We all spent the afternoon crawling around on the rocks.
I sustained my first trail damage of the weekend as my passenger
bedside made contact with a large rock.
It bent my rear bumper in a 90-degree angle and caved in the ¼
panel. Frisbie tried to copy
my damage on his K5, until Layne picked the correct line and spotted him
out of danger. Steve returned
the favor to Layne by picking the correct line; but the Detroit Locker
decided it would take a different course and put the K5 into a boulder.
Layne worked the K5 away from the boulder only to find minimal
damage.
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| Layne getting crunched! |
Brian
climbed a rock ledge in his 72, smoking the tires all the way up!
Ken’s wife Katia had been out, driving the 72 K5 around looking
for us. She showed up and
drove around in the K5. Ken took
over and crawled around in the rock garden.
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| Ken in the rock garden |
We
decided to head to the Playground, which is on the lower shelf of #2 and
#3 Spillways. We followed the
Sharp’s and took in the scenery. Several
of the “stockers” had a blast flexing and testing their driving skills
in the rock gardens. Later in
the day, the group split up and we returned to Rogers Cabins for a late
lunch. We loaded up and
headed to the natural spring fed creek near Spillway #3.
On the way, Jared pretzeled his front draglink in the rocks.
Layne stayed back to help. Frisbie,
Ken and I climbed our K5’s onto a shelf of rock and took pictures.
We all eventually took a dip in the spring fed creek.
The weather was terribly hot so the cool water felt great!
Brian
and Ross were already there. Layne
made it finally after working on Jared’s Jeep.
We walked back to the rock ledge at Spillway #3 and Adam said he
was ready to try the narrow chute named “Lil Blue”.
He crawled into the chute and it was very apparent a fullsize would
have some difficulty.
Adam’s
K5 has been chopped and readied for this type of terrain so he continued
to make his way up the chute. He
was battling the ever-popular GM steering problems.
His truck just could not turn in such tight quarters.
On several occasions, Adam’s K5 was near vertical.
Adam trusted our spotting abilities and kept trying. After several
very intense tries, we decided to give him a little boost with the winch
cable. We connected it up
front on the roll cage and gave him a slight tug.
This straightened his truck, and he was able to continue the climb
up the waterfall. You have to
give this guy credit, this was definitely not child’s play.
This climb is gnarly; even for a smaller 4x4. With the day
coming to an end, we traveled back to Rogers Cabins and rested for the
night run. Some of the group
said their good-byes and headed out.
Night Run
After Dark, we met up with Russ Hogan of Russ Hogan’s Off-Road RV
Park and Campground. Russ is
a Disney native and knows the trails well.
Russ readied his 1970 Mercedes Uni-Mog and we headed to the
Playground. Steve Sharp was
trail leader for the evening and Russ would help out with providing
assistance as needed. Russ
cruised to the end of the trail and waited.
We started out by crossing Summerfield Creek.
We followed the bluff edge to the south and entered the wooded
area. We followed a creek bed
to our first hill climb. The
hill was very loose powder dirt and rocks.
The group headed up the hill one at a time.
Tim had trouble with his D60 front hubs.
Both hubs blew at the same time, leaving him in 2wd.
The hill was very steep, so Tim grabbed the cable and winched his
truck to the top. He drove
the remaining trail in 2wd. This
trail was very narrow with trees scraping the sides of trucks.
I received some damage while trying to squeeze between two trees on
a major downhill.
Frisbie had
similar results on his K5. Deana
managed to keep the Suburban clear of trees – this simply amazed me!
We came to a very steep hill climb with an off camber turn near the
top. Ken was in front of me
and I watched as he crawled up the hill.
Each person would call out on the CB after successfully climbing
each hill. Ken called out and
I headed up the hill. After
reaching the top, we could see tail lights slowly disappearing down the
other side. I climbed out of
my K5 for a quick peek as Ken crawled down the hill.
I was shocked to see I was nearly looking straight down!
The trees were pretty close to the trail, plus halfway down
revealed some slick rock. On
my turn, I crawled down the hill only to find out granny low was just too
fast for crawling down this hill. I
opted to clutch it and let the brakes do their job.
That worked well for a few seconds, but getting near to the slick
rock, the brakes locked up and started skidding.
I released the clutch to slow skidding, and down the hill we went
– sliding and dodging trees! I
am not sure if others experienced the same phenomenon, but it sure gave me
the pucker factor! My
passenger Lara cheered loudly as we made it down the hill.
We continued with the group on another creek bed.
This led us back to the Playground.
We all headed back to Rogers Cabins and talked about the day’s
events. Tim made it back and
showed his damage from the trails. He
peeled up the inner fender well, cracked the frame at the famous GM frame
breaking spot, and destroyed his hubs.
He still had fun, regardless.
On another note
I talked to Steve Sharp who lives in Tulsa. Steve and his wife
Deana wheel this area pretty frequently. They both were keen on
telling us about the latest happenings in the Disney area. There
have been some talks about closing Disney. Some locals would agree
with this proposal, while others strongly disagree. "Fourwheeling
in Disney helps the community" is among many quotes from locals.
Here is some information Steve Sharp provided me with.
In
Disney Oklahoma we have a unique place to four wheel like non other in the
Midwest. But like most places that are open for four wheeling we have come
under fire by a small group of local people that would rather the four
wheelers not be there. They have filled a petition with GRDA (Grand River
Dam Authority), the power company who owns the property that we use - to
close our access to this property. We have filled an opposing petition
with GRDA to keep the area open.
Some of the complaints that are being used are noise, dangerous traffic,
trash and disrupted wild life. Some of these complaints can be reduced in
merit by the four wheelers doing their part and tread lightly. That is
probably the single most important thing for us to do to preserve our
sport not only in Disney but every where else in the country. By not doing
our part we give the opposition ammunition against our sport.
If you would like more information on our quest to keep this area open
please e-mail me at ssharp@clarksprinkler.com
That
about sums it up... See ya on the trails!
By Neil Pickett
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