By Luke Delk & John Raczynski
The Loonie Run 2012
We made our way to the exit point and dropped in. With the glow of the moon above and the rock lights guiding the way, we made our way to the center of “River Run”, where the huge “V-Notch” is found.Story by Clint & Becca Carter
This year is the 24th anniversary of the fall run. It was started by a hardcore group of wheelers from both sides of the border. The group would always get together the first weekend in October in various locations. The tradition continues this year at the Morning Wood Off-Road Park & the Sault Trussell Off-Road Park. The Parks are located in Northern Ontario, near Sault Ste. Marie, just 30 minutes from the International Bridge. This years' Loonie Run attracted around 40 rigs and it seems to get bigger every year.
Once action got underway, there were plenty of full throttle moments, from rollovers to layovers, with plenty of close calls. Groups started arriving as early as Wednesday night. Our group started out on Friday by heading to Sault Trussell Off-Road Park. It's comprised of 122 acres, owned by Charlene Pigeau. There, you'll find everything from boulder fields and rock ledges to deep mud and steep, eroded, tree-rooted trails. With each and every season the parks are always changing. Our first obstacle is “Helmet Hill” - a vertical rock wall that most do not succeed in topping, but many do try anyway. With plenty of encouragement from the spectators, Cory Miller and his 572 big block powered Yellow Tube Buggy made quick work of the hill. Next in line was Mike Raczynski, with his Blue Buggy, powered by a 5.3 Liter with 49” Iroks on Mog Axles. Mike gave the hill a beat down while making his way to the top. The group then headed over to “Rock n Roll” - a long rock crawl with rocks the size of VW Vans. Once everyone pushed through, we made our way back before dark for some food. When we got there, the bonfire was already going. We ate some dinner and during the feast caught rumour that there may be a night run in store. With record warm temperatures and the stars sparkling brightly in the sky, it was the perfect evening for it.
We headed through some of the trails and then someone came up with a great idea: do the “River Run” backwards (we had not yet done it forwards - that was the plan for tomorrow morning). We made our way to the exit point and dropped in. With the glow of the moon above and the rock lights guiding the way, we made our way to the center of “River Run”, where the huge “V-Notch” is found. Some of the full-body rigs took the bypass around, but the buggies headed right on in. There is nothing cooler then the sparks flying off the tube of a buggy dragging fast down the rock wall of the “V-Notch”. We finished making our way out and back to the campfire for a few beers & a few short hours of sleep.
Saturday thru Sunday, our hosts for the weekend were Curly Watts & Chelsea Ballargeon. They are the owners of Morning Wood Off-Road Park. It's 157 acres of awesomeness.
From the rock river runs straight on up to the rock climbs, drivers were challenged at every turn. Both parks are situated side by side, so you can go from park to park with out having to move the truck & trailer.
We awoke the following day to a sunny sky and expected highs around 25 degrees Celsius. For those of you not familiar with the normal temp for this area it's usually -1degree Celsius, with rain and snow thrown in, and maybe one day of sun.
We started our day at the “River Run” (done in the right direction this time), a ravine full of rock, with a little stream of water running through it and the whole thing completely surrounded by trees. Our group crawled and winched our way right to the end. Of course, we'd made a few attempts at the “V-Notch” before making our way out. We then made our way over to “S**t Creek” - Curly's new river run. This one had more water and some good rock formations to navigate in order to reach the end of the run. Once we reached the end and were out of the river, we encountered a mud hole with a straight up stair-step rock wall. Here you had your choice: you could climb if you wanted, but if you did, you're gonna get very dirty. Luke Delk was the first of us to try it. After his first few attempts trying to get the right line, he finally made his way to the top. Chris Vanzee looked at me with a smile and said, “Well, it's time to get dirty” and dirty we got. Chris took the wheel, sped up, and sent plenty of mud flying as we gave those hills a beat down. Eventually we all decided to call it quits and head back to camp. Everyone was ready for some food and needed to get ready for a night run. We made our way back to camp, taking some of Morning Wood's easier trails back to camp. After getting our grub on, while telling a few tall tails of the day's victories around the bonfire, we all headed back to prepare for our night run. This was going to be another good night: the temp was still in the 20's, the stars were out and the moon was shining.
We repeated the tradition that was started during Friday's night run: we were to run “S**t Creek” backwards this time as well. There were no “V-Notchs”, but the trade-off was that there were many rocks to get over. It was going well until one of the drivers tore his upper link mount off the frame when he landed hard. Of course, once the mount came off, the front axle just did not want to stay put. The welder came out for a much needed trail fix. They tried to get it back together, but it lay in a foot of water, hampering the welding efforts. After a while, we got the rig out - and everyone else for that matter - with only minor issues, and limped back to camp for some much needed beer and leftovers.
Sunday morning started slowly. Most packed up to head home, but a few headed out for some last minute fun before calling it quits. And, just like that, another Loonie Run was over.
Anytime I'm in the woods I'm happy, but wheeling during the Loonie Run always seems special. There is the fresh scent of the wilderness and the woods just seem to be on fire with the vibrant fall colours. And when you are on top of one of the Sault Trussell Off-Road Park's obstacles – namely “View Rock” - you have a perfect look-out point, like no other on the Trussell train tracks.
If you're looking to plan a trip and are worried about where to put your head for the night, don't be. There are campgrounds and hotels just 15 minutes from the parks. So, set a date for next years' Loonie Run. If you can't make it, try setting a date to hit the parks during the summer months - when the trails are a little bit dryer - for some good crawlin’. Just be ready for a great time with friends old and new out on the trail. To see some video of the parks search for Loonie Run on www.youtube.com.
Contact Information:
Morning Wood Off-Road Park
Owners: Curly Watts & Chealsea Ballargeon
Gps Coordinates: 46°41'51.08N 84°13'12.11W
JustSouthOfSanity@hotmail.com (Curly's Email)
Sault Trussel Off-Road Park
Owner: Charlene Pigeau
Close Places to Stay
Glen View Cottages & Campgrounds
www.GlenViewCottages.com