Gauging interest in a club offroad 101 course?

I noticed that many clubs such as New Jersey Jeep Association periodically offer an offroad 101 course for their members. I didn't see anything similar on our event schedule, but we have some new members and I'm curious if anyone would be interested?

I am by no means an expert, but I have been through 101 and 201 courses with OffRoad Consulting, I've driven hundreds of miles at Rausch and AOAA, and I'm willing to share what I've learned along the way.

If anyone is interested you can reply in this thread, and we can set up a date. I tend to go wheeling 2 or 3 times a month, so I'd probably be going anyhow. Weekends are fine providing I don't have to work an OT shift, but a weekday is not necessarily off limits because I go wheeling at the drop of a hat.

During our club's last trail ride the members more or less remained in one group, and that group spent the majority of the time doing blue trails. If anyone wants to dip a toe in the shallow end of the pool first, I'm willing to guide a green group if necessary. It would be my pleasure to introduce new people to the sport we love.

Quote from MGCullen

this sounds interesting, I'll definitely keep it in mind. I really haven't been offloading in like 20 years n it was in my truck, haven't been anywhere really in my Jeep other than my uncles farm up in the mountains of Va. It be kinda fun to see whats what.

I'm in my late 50's now. When I was in my teens and 20's I would offroad my truck every weekend, often in the woods along powerline trails. But, as we are all well aware, there is no place to legally offroad in Delaware without permission of a landowner. Small state, high property values, so there is basically no chance of ever having an offroad park here.

As I became an adult, I became less inclined to trespass and as a result basically gave up off roading. I shifted my attention to riding motorcycles, and began riding at east coast motocross and road racing tracks.

So in other words, I stopped wheeling for almost 30 years. It wasn't until 3 years ago when I bought a JLUR, and discovered the Badge of Honor app. Suddenly I realized that there are so many places to go provided that you're willing to drive for a few hours. Found out that there were 4 badge trails in PA, and that was when I started wheeling again. It hit me like an addiction. I took 101 and 201 courses simply because I don't like to assume that I know everything, then I started going on guided rides with Offroad Consulting at Rausch and AOAA.

Then I decided to earn myself some BOH badges, and decided to start with the easiest. The easiest happens to be Peters Mill Run in the George Washington State Forest in VA. Approximately 1.5 hours NE of there is Wolf Den Run State Park in Maryland, which added Trail 2103 to the BOH program last year. I did both trails in one day, solo. A few months later I went to AOAA with ORC, and obtained Fern Ridge and Barney Rubble. A short while after that, I went to Rausch with AOAA and obtained Crawler Ridge and Crawl Daddy.

Most trail systems in the US are rated using a 4 color system which is similar in nature to ski slopes. Most trails in the US also have a numerical difficulty rating ranging from 1 through 10.

Green trails are rated level 1 - 3. They have wide paths with few obstacles, and if they do have obstacles those obstacles are easily navigated. Often they are wide enough for passing. 4 wheel drive is typically not required unless weather conditions are considered severe. There is virtually no risk of body or undercarriage damage, and even the most inexperienced driver should experience no difficulty. Stock ride height is perfectly acceptable. Basically a scenic drive through a forest, but very engaging none the less.

Blue trails are rated 4-6. They are moderately challenging and are often referred to as intermediate trails. This is the point where driver skills begin to be emphasized and they can be challenging to novice drivers. A vehicle with 4-lo range is necessary. Obstacles on the trail will range from small rocks to boulders, streams, mud, and moderately steep climbs and descents. The paths are more narrow and can get rather tight at places like AOAA which have a lot of trees. Picking a good line becomes crucial at times. Expect areas of uneven terrain, rutted terrain, loose rock, sand, erosion, washed out areas, downed logs, small ledges, short drop offs. There may be few places to pass, or no places to pass. To me, this is where it begins to feel like a game of chess. It can be extremely mentally engaging.

Black trails are rated 7-8. They can have deep holes and rocks which exceed axle height, ledges up to 5 or 6 feet at times, steep grades which are often littered with obstacles, and very deep water crossings. I find some of them to be easy, but some black trails throw all of the above at you at one time.

Red trails are rated 9 -10. Vehicle damage and rollovers become highly likely, and obstacles can be downright huge. They are intended for highly built jeeps or buggies only. It's not if you're going to bang and scrape, it's when.

Sometimes a trail can be defined by a single obstacle. For instance, there are black trails which look like blue trails but have one big obstacle.

I guess I can be a weird person at times, but it actually makes me sad when jeeps and jeepers never see dirt under their wheels. Being on the side of a mountain surrounded by the most greenest green you'll ever see is like medicine. When it rains, you hear that rain hitting your top and you hear the water cascading down the mountain side like a babbling brook. It's like an all day moment of Zen just being out there on green trails.

But the blues really start to trigger your endorphins and adrenaline. It's extremely engaging, like good game of chess that you can't take your eyes away from. I'd say it was addicting. It's crazy how deeply you can focus for a long period of time without realizing it, and you get a sense of victory when you ace an obstacle or run a trail you've never been on.

So that's mostly why I decided to offer my time to people who have never been offroad, or basically anyone else. Because all there is to fear is fear itself. Parks like Rausch and AOAA have some to offer anyone, or any vehicle. I really enjoy the challenge of blues and easy blacks, but spending a day on easy greens with a good people is still worthy.

This video is from the last event at Rausch. You can see a mix of terrain types, but the coolest thing that happened that day was the last segment when one of our members climbed "Walk in the Park", which is a 7 rated black trail. I had to nope out of that one.

I guess people might like to know what they are getting into.

Rausch Creek Offroad Park and Anthracite Offroad Adventure Area are the closest parks. Rausch is approximately 10-15 miles closer to Delaware than AOAA is. Roughly 2.5 hours NE of Northern DE.

Rausch Creek is in the town of Pine Grove, PA and it's privately owned. AOAA is in City of Shamokin, PA and it's owned by Northumberland County. Because Rausch is privately owned, their insurer mandates a two vehicle minimum for safety purposes. Because AOAA's property is publicly owned, they encourage a two vehicle minimum but it's not a requirement. For instance, I will occasionally explore AOAA solo vehicle.

Both parks are in the Appalachian Mountains. The elevation at AOAA ranges from approximately 940 feet to 1,780 feet ASL. It sits on 8000 acres. It's home to a stunning geological syncline which is called "the whale back".

Rausch Creek varies in elevation from 1,145 feet to 1,624 feet ASL. It sits on 3000+ acres. It's feels a lot larger than 3000 acres.

Both parks have hundreds of miles of trails ranging from 1 to 10 rating. Both parks truly offer trails for every skill level, and every vehicle including fully stock vehicles.

Both parks are the sites of former coal mining operations. A major portion of Rausch Creek has been mined in the past, but I'd say that the majority of AOAA had been heavily mined for over a 100 years. There are literally thousand of miles of tunnels under AOAA, maybe tens of thousands. When you dig miles of tunnel, you have to do something with all that rock you move. So the old timers piled it up, everywhere. Because of this, the landscape of both places are a mix of natural and man made. Lots of funky trails, hollows, hills, etc. Big piles of slag everywhere. In the summer it's so green that it can be hard to tell at times, but in the winter you can start to read that landscape and see how much rock those old timers moved. Some of the slag pile are hundreds of feet high.

There is active coal mining along the norther proximity of AOAA's Western Reserve, and also along the southern proximity of Rausch's Western Reserve.

The PA department of Environmental Resources maintains an online database of mine maps. It doesn't matter where you look at the map on AOAA's property, you'll find a mine map. AOAA had something like 6 or 7 major colliery's on it's land. https://www.minemaps.psu.edu/

AOAA's daily fee is $40 per full sized vehicle, and $20 for each additional passenger. Passes can be purchased at AOAA, or online at https://www.aoaatrails.com/ Children 7-15 years are $15 per day.

Rausch's fee is $82 for non members, and $60 for members. Membership is $60. This is due to their higher insurance costs as a private entity compared to AOAA. Passengers are $20 each for members, and $30 each for non-members. 15 and younger are free. Passes must be purchased at the office, no online sales.

There are no restaurant's in Rausch or AOAA. There is a good food truck at AOAA, but typically they are gone for the winter months. There is a Burger King a few miles south of Rausch, it's part of a truck stop. There are good places to dine in the city of Shamokin, such as the Heritage Restaurant. Imo it's best to pack a lunch and eat on the trails.

Both parks have porta potties in the parking lot, none on the trails. Both parks have free air stations so you can air up.

On a personal note, I kind of like Rausch better. It's closer, and it feels more like natural terrain you'd see in a forest. It has some extremely cool rock formations that you can drive on. At Rausch, you can be on a blue trail or a black trail 500 feet from the parking lot. AOAA on the other hand, is spread out over a long distance east to west. You have to drive a half mile or so to get to a blue, and even farther to find a black. Don't get me wrong, I like both parks for different reasons.

Both parks are mapped in the onX GPS app, which makes them easy to navigate.

Side note: the geology of the Appalachian Mountain Range is incredible to me. It's literally the result of two continents colliding over the course of 120 million years beginning 360 million years ago. The Whale Back is one of the rare formations where you can see with your own eyes how that collision formed that entire region into massive anticlines and synclines. There's a geologist named Myron Cook who really puts this all in context,

Quote from Gary

I am interested. My gladiator is more capable than I am so I would love to learn more to be comfortable on blues.

Offroad Consulting holds green rides and blue rides. They also offer "hard green / easy blue" rides.

A hard green / easy blue ride uses green and blue trails, but the difference is on hard green / easy blue rides they only go DOWN blue trails, not up blue trails. Their belief is that it's much easier for someone trying to learn to find your way down a hill or trail, than work your way up it. I cannot say that I disagree.

As part of the 201 course I took with them, we went to the top of a blue trail and parked. At the top of the hill my instructor, Peter, handed me a dozen small orange "traffic" cones like you'd see in a skateboard park. He asked me what I saw. I began to analyze the trail, telling him what I'd avoid. I looked for giant rocks that could snag my diff, or scrape the undercarriage, I looked for big holes or ledges. I looked for trees and tree routes. I looked for mud, for loose rock. He asked me where I would put my tires as I made my descent.

I started talking about what I'd avoid, where I'd place my tires, and he told me to walk down that hill and use the cones to mark all the things I wanted to avoid and the rocks I needed to put my tires on. I walked down the hill pointing out my markers, and telling him why I made each decision.

He then pointed out things which I had missed, and he pointed out some alternate lines that I did not see. By that time I had walked my way down to the base of the hill. He then asked me if I saw anything that I hadn't seen from the top, and asked me what looked different. I have to admit, that hill looked completely different standing at the top verses looking back up from the bottom. It was a really valuable way to make someone begin thinking about lines and obstacles, and instill confidence in their own decision making process. We could do something similar if you want.

This is the hill we used, I already drove to the bottom and my Peter was following me.

So, here are some things you might expect to find in an offroad 101 syllabus. (I'd appreciate if some of the seasoned members would like to chime in and offer the benefit of their opinions and experiences.)

The vehicle, it's systems, it's capabilities

2H, 4H, and 4-Lo ranges

BLD or Brake Lock Differential

Hill Descent Control and it's use descending and ascending grades

Front or rear lockers

Understanding ground clearance, break-over, approach, and departure angles

Identifying low hanging parts of the vehicle and factory skid plate protection

Location of transfer case and front and rear differential breather tubes

Location of engine air intake

Tires, when to air down for traction and comfort, how to air down safely, characteristics of different tire types

Vehicle preparation

Pre and post trip inspections

Safety

why we wheel in 4-lo, why we keep each other in site, why we wear seatbelts, why we keep hands and feet inside the vehicle.

Fundamental Driving Techniques

Lines selection, tire placement, and maximizing ground clearance

Understanding following distance

Ascending and descending steep grades safely using manual gear selection and engine braking (this applies to automatic and manual transmissions)

Using momentum judiciously

Navigating obstacles like rocks, loose dirt, mud, sand, water crossings

Understanding off camber or uneven terrain

Navigation

Navigating trails using trail markers and maps

Understanding numerical and color based trail difficulty ratings

Communications

GMRS radio communications, hand signals, use of the horn

The role of a spotter

Essential Gear

Extinguisher, first aid kit, a plastic bag to contain spilled liquids or contaminated soil, a bag for trash or waste

Trail etiquette

Tread lightly

Stay on designated trails

Packing out more trash than you brought in

respecting wildlife

Yielding rules and right of way on single tracks, hill climbs, and descents

Basic Recovery

Identifying a vehicle's recovery points

Use of tow straps, Kinetic recovery straps, traction boards

BASIC winch safety and use

The only black trails I really do are easy blacks that look like blues to me. Often what makes a trail black is one or two big obstacles, or a steep descent or climb. Hard blacks like walk in the park are high stakes when you have to drive it home, too high stakes for me. If I had a trail only rig, then yeah.

Give a shout when you're ready.

This Saturday I'm doing the Jeep Enthusiasts of Eastern PA fall trail ride at AOAA.

Next Saturday I'm doing the Mount Zion Offroad monthly ride at Rausch.

Next Sunday there is a DEJA trail ride at Rausch. Are you going on that ride?

I'm going to AOAA on Saturday, and possibly on Sunday. If anyone wants to wheel some greens (or if someone wants to 101), I'm in. If nobody is interested in greens, I'm game for blues and easy blacks.

Otherwise, it's going to be a hard green / easy blue ride with Offroad Consulting on Saturday, and maybe the New Jersey Jeep Association blue ride on Sunday. NJJA's rides are members only. On October 31st they are doing a "Ghosts of Wharton" night ride, which sounds like a blast in theory.