We don't get back east as much as we should, so we take the opportunity when we can. Our last foray out of the SoCal urban jungle landed us in the middle of New Hampshire with a new Rubicon JK for a week, so we decided to see the local countryside. Luckily we stumbled upon Broken Road, the 4x4 shop in Croydon, which happened to have its customer appreciation run that weekend. After seeing the stash of Jeep stuff and getting to work on a real one, we knew we had to see the trails, rigs, and customers themselves!
We took off down the ancient byways from the 1600s, which started as broken pavement then quickly deteriorated to a two-track in the middle of the greenest foliage we've seen in a while. It is dark and dense like the jungles of Malaysia. We quickly came upon granite boulders, shelves, and climbs that challenged all the rigs. By the end of the day we had made it to mud pits that we all had to get through parts of. That left the deep puddles to the pros, and after a hard charge or two there wasn't much liquid slop left.
This is true down-home wheeling with friends and customers, all who appreciated the effort put forth. We'll try and get back for a hard-core run when circumstances permit. New Hampshire is known as "The Granite State," and judging from the boulders we saw, we know there has to be a bunch of world-class rock piles just waiting to be climbed over. If you're in the area and need your 4x4 doctored, contact Broken Road at 603.863.7924. Also be sure to check out our website for all of the unpublished photos from this event (www.4wheeloffroad.com).
Broken Road has a motto: Motorized Hiking. After viewing all of its treasures, we settled on AJ, the green flattie from my October 4xForward editorial. All we had to do is pull the head and unstick an exhaust valve in the 46-year-old engine. There was a bit of rust on the inside of the block, but a liberal spooging of PB Blaster and the application of the right amount of toolage worked wonders. A good amount of food and drinks helped as we toiled through the night towards success.
Somehow a 302 Ford found its...
Somehow a 302 Ford found its way into William Brown's '80 CJ-5. Fortunately that gives the Jeep the torque needed on some of the scrappy sections along the trail.
The steep granite slabs have...
The steep granite slabs have no chance against a Boggered Samurai. The foliage was so dense it made photo taking a challenge.
Even Fords and Chevys got...
Even Fords and Chevys got in on the act. Josh Boioin took his '93 Ranger up the slabs, while the 35s underneath nearly touched on some of the jumps. We still can't figure how a TTB can take so much abuse.
CJ-7s aren't common in this...
CJ-7s aren't common in this area due to the rust problem. But Jamie Lewis kept the rust bugs at bay and dropped in a 318 Dodge to make his Power Wagon happy.
When the mud pits arrived,...
When the mud pits arrived, so did the winchfest. Abe Bagoda couldn't power through with a four-cylinder '93 YJ, even with 36-inch tires. Luckily the Warn 8274 pulled him through faster than most vehicles could drive.
Our favorite Leef Jeep is...
Our favorite Leef Jeep is Curt Lively's CJ-7. He and Andy Parker own Broken Road, so of course they had to show the customers how to run the mud. While we also got a shot of Curt's Jeep near vertical, it wasn't in focus enough to use on the cover. Sorry, Curt!
Andy Parker toured around...
Andy Parker toured around with us in AJ, the company flattie we fixed the stuck exhaust valve on. It purred like a kitten all day long and made short work of the obstacles.
We say "short work," as the...
We say "short work," as the undercarriage is a bit closer to the ground than most trail rigs. However, with experienced driving by your favorite editor and a bit of momentum, the bald NDT tires pulled AJ through every flexy part of the trail. We did decide to bypass the deep mud though, as we didn't have our swim trunks along.
Thanks again to all the participants...
Thanks again to all the participants of Broken Road's motorized hiking trip. We'll come back and do it again someday!