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 As a follow up to the very successful 2013 “Snowball Express”, we planned and carried out another enjoyable jeep trail ride.  This event took on the name of “Big Flat Forest Part 1” simply because we did not have enough day light to finish the route.  A late start due to some freezing rain and a minor mishap at the BarkShed creek crossing allowed nightfall to arrive sooner than we had hoped.

The date of the event was November 23, 2013.  Dave and I along with our boys arrived at BJ’s place near Marshall, Arkansas Friday afternoon.   We managed to get in a good jeep ride on BJ’s land Friday evening as the sun went down.   We rode through some rough country as we followed BJ.  4 wheel drive in low range was required.  By the time we finished up, it was dark.  

Dave brought along his 1944 MB.  BJ’s MB was suffering from an unknown ailment so he was stuck in the 1976 CJ5 and I brought along a new trail ride, a 1946 CJ2A.  The soft top was a handy item on this event!  For the first time, we were not all in military jeeps.  That was OK.  The variety kind of added to the flavor.

Friday Night Trail Ride

Back at BJ’s place a big pot of stew waited to warm our bones.  Sitting around BJ’s living room, polishing off the stew, and visiting with good friends was great.  We were excited about our trail ride the next day, but not too sure how the weather was going to treat us.  The forecast was for upper 20’s, sleet, and freezing rain.  By the time we bedded down, there was already something frozen falling.  Dave and Tom camped out in the pickup camper.  Nick, Luke, Nathan, Daniel and myself slept on cots in BJ’s shop.  It is kind of cool sleeping so close to vintage jeeps!  We were comfortable and warm.

Nick, Nathan, Daniel, and Luke camping in BJ’s shop!  Home sweet home!

 

 

We awoke Saturday morning to a thick glaze of ice on everything.  Freezing rain had fallen all night.  We had to use salt to melt the ice off of my trailer so we could load the jeep up.  Breakfast was great and we did kind of poke along getting everything ready.  By the time we got the jeeps loaded up and arrived at the trail head, it was 10 AM.

Saturday morning’s slow start and freezing rain

Our destination was the Ozark National Forest in the area near Big Flat, Arkansas.  We planned to visit the area between Big Flat and Blanchard Springs.

We quickly unloaded the jeeps and after a short drive down the highway, we found our Forest Road.  Off we went exploring every road and trail.  We were careful to stick to marked roads.  Most of the trails that we followed led to wildlife feed plots and it was clear by dirt birms where we needed to turn around.

As we were finding our way down one jeep road, Daniel called from the back seat of the jeep, “I see fire”.  What are you talking about I said.  Daniel replied, “I want out of here”. One of the other boys confirmed, I see fire too.  By now, I was concerned and noticed some very bright sparks visible through the floor by the transfer case shift levers.  We were not in a good spot to stop.  We were in thick forest on a very steep incline.  I let the jeep roll down a few feet so it would come to rest on a log and I shut the engine off.

Dave and BJ walked up the hill to see why I was out with the hood up.  A bit of inspection revealed a metal rod from the battery hold down had slipped loose and fallen over against the positive terminal of the alternator.  It had been producing a very nice arc as it tried to weld itself together.  We patched it back up with a zip tie and all was OK.  I can still remember Daniel saying “I see fire, I wan’t out of here!”.

Lunch time came quickly since we had gotten a late start.  I folded down the tailgate of the CJ2A and we had a true “tailgating” lunch.  Dave had hotdogs or some such lunch which he once again prepared on the manifold of the jeep as we had been driving along.

Before we knew it, we were at the Barkshed recreation area, deep in the National Forest.  There is a neat old bridge there.  This bridge and the road that crossed it have been closed to vehicles now, but we explored the area and enjoyed the Ozark Beauty.  The water there is crystal clear and just amazing.  We did our part to keep the area and the water pristine and clean.

At this stop, Dave’s Willys MB experienced some mechanical problems.  I suspect it was flooded.  It was clear after about an hour that we were not going to be able to get the jeep started and it would be dark soon.  We decided that the best plan was for BJ to run Dave back to our starting point and pickup Dave’s truck.  By the time they returned it was nearly dark and our Big Flat Forest trail ride was over.

We had not explored all that we planned to see.  There were lots of trails left to drive and more Ozark beauty to take in.  It was decided that we would have to save the rest of the trail for part 2 of the Big Flat Forest trail ride.  With any luck, we will be able to pull off part 2 sometime in late February or early March.  Maybe we can make it a dogwood blooming event as well.

We got Dave’s wounded MB hooked up to his pickup and finished up the trail ride with a group picture.  Yes, it was a cold event, and yest we did have one mechanical breakdown, but it was an event we will talk about around campfires for a long time to come.

Thanks BJ and Lacy for allowing us to bunk at your place Friday night and thanks for the great stew that I can still taste!  There is nothing better than good friends, old jeeps, and a bit of winter weather.  I will think of this event quite often next summer when it is hot and humid.

Until next time……  Come join us!

Dan Sharon  12/25/13

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