Prologue
It had been a while since I
visited Green Ridge State Park. I went a
couple
times in July 2001 and found it really interesting but hadn't been back
since. This time, it attracted me because it was close by
and was a break from Peter's Mill and the other nearby trails that could be reached in a
couple hours, and traveled without a trail buddy. Check the Maryland Department of
Natural Resources ORV Trails page for more info. Even though I would not
have a traveling companion in the form of another Jeep, I was
prepared for just about anything. I always
promise myself not to go off into the unknown or risk tricky obstacles when I am just out
solo like this.
Muster
Muster was nothing more or
less complicated than packing some trail snacks, water, extra clothes, and cameras, along
with Maria and the kids, and then hitting the trail. We fueled up and then made the
~1.5 hour trip out to the trail entrance.
Trail
It's been a while since the
kids went out with me. And they snoozed for the last 1/2 hour of the trip to the
trail. But they were ready to get out and help me air down and disconnect.
This went really fast, done in maybe 5 minutes. We loaded back up and hit the
trail.
This is the first trip with
my new Old Man EMU springs, and gas shocks. As an aside, I must say that the Old
Man EMU shocks will be on order just as soon as I can scrape together the extra dough.
The factory gas shocks that I installed and that come as part of the 30" wheel
package are probably better than the shocks that came with my Jeep (the ones that come
with Good Year GS/A 225-70 x 15's and Grizzly wheels), but they are a little smushy for
these springs. Also, it's clear that I need to get my toe-in and camber adjusted
since the springs were installed. The front end was a little twitchy on the highway
and nowhere near as relaxing to drive as it was before the springs went in. No doubt
if I left the adjustments undone the tires would wear out unevenly.
On the trail these
subtleties are invisible. All I can feel is the plush depth of the spring travel and
how nicely they smooth out the trail, and gobble up the ruts and rocks. At a couple
spots I had to stop and take pictures to show how nicely these springs behave.
First, on a moderate hill with about 5 degrees of off-camber terrain, I stopped and
took this picture (below).
Note how the Jeep is still
pretty flat, with the rear end no lower in height above the chassis compared to the front
end. Keep in mind that this is with the Jeep pointed uphill and loaded with all my
stuff, two kids, and my wife! The springs made a big improvement. It's too bad
I don't have a picture in the same spot from before to show the difference.
The other shot
(above) is a
typical "pose" shot showing flex. The thing to notice in this shot is the
way the front has dropped, with some reserve still left, and how level the rear stayed.
I probably could have stuffed the passenger side front wheel and still kept the
rear level. Not long after I finished this shot, another Jeep went by, with a wave.
I found a couple side trails
that led off into the woods, but they were clearly ATV trails. They just kept
getting narrower and lower. Eventually it became clear that to continue on these
trails would be difficult. At any rate, Teddy was not really comfortable with it and
made it clear that he wanted to go back to the main trail... My son, the voice of
reason.
So we rode along on the main
trail, coming to Mertens Road, where we stopped for a cookie break. We decided that
since it was getting dark, we'd go home from here. So I aired up and took a couple
more photos. I left the disconnects for when we returned to pavement.
We loaded the kids back into
the Jeep and drove out to pavement. Once there, I reconnected the sway bar and drove
out to Route 68, and on home.
It was a good shake down for
the new springs, and a nice ride with Maria and the kids. This place may not be
extreme, but it is a beautiful place with a couple nice little hills that would be fun
when you need some easy wheeling, maybe even a good place for someone just getting
started.
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