A Slushy Half-day OTR with JeepThrills

The JeepThrills team had planned a day event at the Bidaraguppe lake near Sarjapur. The lake bed presents quite a challenging obstacle course for the 4x4s while the risk of breakage is relatively lower since it's all mud. This time around it was a smaller group with about 7-8 vehicles with a healthy mix of Jeeps and Gypsies.



I had done a similar OTR in 2013 and you can read up on it here (Sunday Morning OTR - Bidaraguppe Lake).



However, if you look at the picture above, the last time we came here, it was summer and everything was dry. But this time it was very different. The whole place had transformed into a green shrub forest with slushy tracks all around.



There were small water bodies all across and we had a good time with this one where it was only a few gypsies that made it through with their high revving engines and light weight bodies.





All the jeeps just sank in the mud at the exit, including mine!



There was a lot of recovery that had to happen and the winch came in good use.





The next obstacle was a climb through a slushy incline and this is where the Jeeps could do it more easily than the Gypsies because of the low range torque.



The gypsies needed to be revved hard and taken through without losing momentum and that means there's a lot more tossing around that happens as compared to the jeeps.



Overall it was quite a fun day with a challenging trail and a lot of recoveries. Good thing was that there were no breakdowns and everyone made home safely. The weather too was cloudy and cool all through the afternoon which made it a pleasure to be outdoors. 

PS: Unfortunately, I hadn't carried my camera for this event so all I got was some phone camera pics. All images used in this post are shot by Caleb Shireesh Jacobs and are reproduced/reprocessed with his permission.

Offroading with the Jeep Thrills team

It was around mid-September and there was a half day event organized by the Jeep Thrills group. Now, I'd never say no for an offroad get together and the half day events are the most non-disruptive events from a weekend perspective. The only thing I have to take care is to get home before evening and take the two lovely ladies out.



Unlike most of the other events, the meeting spot for this one was quite close by for me since we were all meeting up at Marathahalli bridge and then heading towards Hoskote. The spot we finally found was beyond Hoskote, somewhere near Tekal. The only issue was that it was almost past 11.30 by the time we started the trail and that meant I had to wrap up early to get back home and avoid trouble.



The terrain was all rocks and that meant that I had to make sure there's no underbody damage at the end of the event. The first obstacle was a nice 4ft climb on a boulder that was nearly vertical. There was a small ramp at the bottom that assisted the launch, but post that it was only about holding your nerves and not letting go of the throttle until you are on top. Once at the top, there was just enough place for a jeep before hitting the rocks at the front so one had to be careful not to roll it forward once the climbing was done.



The gypsies are always the more dramatic ones in such obstacles since they can only climb with a good amount of throttle to build the torque, unlike the jeeps which can crawl up at fairly slower speeds.



The longer wheel base Bolero Invader had a bit of a struggle to get up but he finally made it with a few attempts. I also needed a second attempt to make it since the initial line of approach wasn't proper and the jeep was skidding to the left instead of climbing up.





The next obstacle was even more tricky as it required careful negotiation through the rocky steps and then exit towards right with an awkwardly tilted jeep for about 10 meters. Underbody scrapes were unavoidable, but I just didn't want to hit anything too hard. Looking at everyone else's attempt, there wasn't a soul who came through without any clanking noises but thankfully there were no breakages.



Again the gypsies made it out, but the lack of articulation makes them very vulnerable to a rollover. Add to that the fact that they have to always throttle their way out makes it even more scarier. But although it seemed dangerous, we didn't have any incidents.



I had initially gotten my wheel stuck as I got down the first rocky step, but then with a little bit of cajoling and reversing I managed to squeeze the jeep out from the obstacle. There were surely some thuds that could be heard, but nothing serious.



The right turn exit was quite tricky and most of the guys got an extra helping hand to shift the center of gravity and make it through.



By the time everyone made it though this obstacle, it was already past 2PM and given that we had to stop for lunch before we get home, it was time for us to pack up. The JeepThrills team with Dwarak, Vivek and MP Sreenivas continued ahead for a little more I guess while we took leave and headed back home after a quick photoshoot.



PS: Images that are not watermarked are sourced from the JoB and JT facebook group. Copyrights belong to their respective owners.

Jeepers of Bangalore OTR at Hoskote

It was more than a month since the Yercaud trip and quite a few folks were eager to go out for a day OTR. So when the announcement came for it, the attendee list was already quite long. The venue was going to be somewhere around Hoskote which is hardly 20-25 kms from my place. One of the JoB guys had done a recce and had promised us a good mud trail for about half a day, and what a day it was!



Although it was a weekend, Gozu was out for some offsite meeting, and that meant Pozu had to come along with me for the event. The little one was all excited about going offroad after a relatively long break and was eagerly looking forward to the day.



The turnout was quite good for the event and we had over 15 jeeps in the convoy. Within 10 mins of reaching the spot, we had finalized our first obstacle. The first part was an entry into a ditch and then a sharp right turn with a two-step climb to reach the top. There were a couple of tree stumps at the top which had to be avoided to prevent any underbody damage.

Part 1 - Getting into the ditch



The stock T-fort needed some help to make sure the foot boards don't get bent while going into the ditch.



Part 2 - Coming out of it





The SUVs made it up without a fuss, most of the jeeps made it fairly easy with the low range torque at hand



Some had a bit of drama although nothing sensational



The gypsies needed a bit of hard revving to get past



Pozu was strapped in her seat and we were ready for our turn. She was initially nervous but soon that changed into excitement and thereon it was only about what next obstacle were we going to try.



Next up was a small water crossing through a grassy patch.



This was a pretty easy obstacle and nobody seemed to be having any trouble getting through. So to make matters interesting, once I reached the end, I did the obstacle in reverse and again forward. The thought was to dig it up a bit and make it more challenging. And, it worked. The next jeep after mine had his wheels spinning and eventually had to be winched out - my first recovery of the day.



A little ahead we had a small technical problem with a jeep and a tree stump. Now Sidhu's jeep has a bit of history of getting stuck on tree stumps, so this wasn't anything very unusual.



The recovery team took some time to get his jeep out of the mess and soon we were on to our third obstacle. It was a reasonably steep decline with a 2 feet drop at the end. It wasn't going to be too difficult for the jeeps because of the reasonably good breakover angles but the long wheel base SUVs wouldn't have made it without risking underbody damage.

A view of the obstacle with the Jonga



The jeep guys ofcourse had quite a bit of fun with a good test for articulation (or the lack of it) as they got down. I had the right rear wheel in the air as usual and that made for some good photo opportunity.





Good thing was that there was another way out which wasn't as dramatic, so the SUV guys could take that for a safe exit. But Santy's Pajero can even make the safe exits equally interesting.



Pozu was enjoying herself thoroughly all this while, she had made friends with Tejas who was now nicknamed "naughty uncle". He did a splendid job of babysitting her while I was busy with other things.



Being a lake bed, we were all wanting to try our hands with some slush and it didn't take time to get a couple of jeeps swimming in a small pond as soon as we spotted it. But it wasn't going to be easy, the lake bed has been mined for clay for quite some years. So what they had gotten themselves into was a clay pit and there was no way that they were going to make it out by themselves.



First it was Teju's Thar that got stuck and the mighty Pajero went in for a rescue only to realize that he himself was stuck. Both of them had to be winched out to safety.



Next it was me who got stuck while trying to be a little ambitious through the slush and had to winch myself out with help from the Jonga for an anchor. But the favor was returned quickly as he got stuck while attempting to cross that clay pond and had to be winched out.



Not learning from any of our ordeals, KVK got his MM550 in as well, only to get helplessly stuck right in the middle of the pond. That's the thing about Jeepers, they just won't give up trying until they've had  a go...LOL!

Anyway, the getting stuck and being recovered cycle was finally put to an end and it was time for some refreshments before heading back home. Lunch was at our favorite Sher-e-Punjab dhaba and we were back home just in time for a birthday party that Pozu was invited to. Overall, it was quite an eventful day with loads of fun! 

PS: Images that aren't watermarked are sourced from the JoB facebook group, copyrights belong to the original owners.

Wayanad Monsoon OTR - July 2014

It was July and although the monsoon was delayed, it was slowly catching up. The Wayanad Monsoon OTR event was announced and having missed it last year, I wasn't going to let this one go easily. Anish had been wanting to accompany me for an OTR and he was eager to fly down from Mumbai for this one. Ramesh had confirmed his entry too, so it was going to be the three of us, the more the merrier.



We were accompanied with Santy's Pajero and Pradeep's Gypsy from the JoB group. When the day arrived, it was like preparing for the first day of school. We were out on the road on time and comfortably cruising on the highway doing good speeds.



Vythiri can be accessed either from Mysore-Gundlupet-SultanBathery-Vythiri or Mysore-Kabini-Mananthvady-Vythiri. We chose the latter route since that would give us a chance to go through Kabini even if it meant just transiting. The monsoon feel in the jungle is just awesome and I'd anyday prefer Kabini in the rains over the dry forest cover in the summers.



After a good lunch at a mess in Vythiri, we proceeded to reach the Vythiri Resorts and finished the registration process etc. Evening was at leisure, catching up with a lot of other folks who had come down from various places in their 4x4s. The Vythiri Resorts property was really good and kind of justified the high participation fees for the event.



Next day morning, post the flag off we were on our way to the trail. There were a good 70-80 vehicles participating in the event, Jeeps, Gypsies, SUVs et al. It took about 3 hours for the trail to be completed, even though there were no major breakdowns to be attended. It was a beautifully designed trail with some really long inclines and deep slush pits, it was all we expected from a monsoon trail. The only grouse was that it seemed to have gotten over too soon, but soon we got to know why. When we exited the trail, we figured that there were supposed to be another trail which was canceled out due to some last minute issues.



The trail we did couldn't have accommodated all the vehicles and hence half the guys were made to wait at the entry point and they began their drive only post 2PM. But as fate would have it, they were rewarded aptly for all the waiting they did. It was about 3.30PM when it started raining and that made the trail even more challenging. The O-team had anticipated the spots where recovery would be needed, especially for the long wheel base SUVs and there were tractor winches and JCBs planted at those spots. Overall, it was a brilliant trail and we were content with what we experienced, although deep down I wished that the second trail shouldn't have been canceled.



There was a nice celebration dinner arranged at the resort with an open bar and a group drumming event. Next day it was going to be the competition event arranged at one of the open grounds with a man-made track. It was a timed event which meant that you had to throw the vehicle around quite a bit to be quick. The obstacles weren't too tough, but its the time pressure that kills you in this format and risk of breakage goes up. I'm not too worried about the competition stuff, because I know I have to preserve my vehicle and avoid any major damage to be able to return back safely. But it's fun to watch such events, especially for the Gypsy guys who make their machines fly.

Here's a video of my run at the track. Funny thing about my drive was that I happened to crush some guy's helmet which he had dropped in the first slush pit (watch the first 10 secs carefully). So after we finished the guy walked up to me to let me know that it was his helmet that was in there, looking at the plight of the poor fellow I offered him one of my helmets to keep. The smile on his face was priceless!



We wrapped up pretty quickly after our run at the competition track and enjoyed our way back through the forest. I was hoping to make it for one of the evening safaris, but that was not meant to be. Once we hit the Mysore-Bangalore highway, we were dodging the returning traffic and made it home safely a little closer to midnight.