My favorite place.

[Darkman]

     I have been going off roading my whole life. It has always been the greatest thrill I ever knew. But it wasn't until 1999 that I bought my first "Wheelin' Rig". I bought it one night when I was drunk for $1,100. The next morning I quickly realized I had been rooked, bad. It was a 1984 Ford Ranger 4x4, 2.8L V6, automatic. It was turd colored light brown and every body panel was outlined with yellow pin striping. The motor knocked SO BAD that you'd think it was a diesel and it leaked and burned every single fluid except windshield washer fluid! The floor was rotted completely out, as were the wheel wells. It has 31" Goodyear Wranglers on 8" wide wheels, a black roll bar and brush guard, those little cages that covered the headlights and tail lights, and 4 KC Daylighters. First thing I did to it was add fluid, then went out and stole a couple street signs and pop riveted them to what was remaining of the rusty floorboard. That stopped the water from splashing me and kept out most of the fumes form the various burning fluids. So there it was, my very own wheelin' rig! it was a P.O.S. but it was mine and if it blew up F-it. So I went looking for a place to go wheeling.
 
     I found a few easy trails that weren't very long, just little cut through trails, not what I was looking for. I wanted to push it to the limit. I was looking for the perfect place, somewhere that had it all, I wanted rocks, mud bogs, sand, long trails, lots of other people, and good times. That's a tall order! Well one late spring Sunday morning I was aimlessly cruising around with a buddy of mine and we're talking about places we've wheeled and he said he use to go to this cool place that wasn't far from where we were. Obviously we were immediately on our way to that place. I wanted to see it. We pull off the main road onto a two lane dirt road and head up it. We went in about three or four hundred yards and there was an open gate on the left side an a sign that said "Wheeled Vehicles Welcome"! (Awesome sign) He said to go in there so I did.

     It opens up to a sand pit area with a small cliff on the far side. It's a sand pit but not like you would think, its grey stamp sand (stone dust) and its everywhere! There was a few dirt bikes rippin' around the area so I went slow. I was pleased with what I saw, I mean sand pits can be cool places to mess around right? So my buddy points off to the far side of the open pit and tells me to go that way, and I do. We come up on the far left side of the cliff area and there is two ways that head up around to the top, one is gravel with small rocks mixed in, and the other is bedrock steps. I went up the easy way. We get up to the top and the view wasn't spectacular but it was cool, you could see for a decent ways off. He then points towards the backside and to a trail that leads off into the woods and we head down it. It wasn't really a tough trail. It was really wide open and had a sandy/gravel surface. A little ways in the trail forked and he pointed right and said not to go that way unless I was serious. I took his word for it and veered left. We went up a small wet rocky climb and emerged into an intersection. So my buddy said if I went straight it goes out for a few miles and it was pretty much like what we just came through. Then he said if I went left he couldn't guarantee we'd make it out alive and then went on to tell how he and someone went that way and drove for hours before they got stuck in the middle of a huge wet area and got lost trying to walk out to get help. Anyways he said to go right that he wanted to show me something, so I did.

     I heard the sound before I could see anything. It was loud! Not the loud like your neighbor's Honda Civic with the five inch fart can, oh no, this was the type of loud you feel in your chest. That rattles your teeth like an earth quake. We came up around the corner and the tree line opened up wide to reveal a drop in mud bog that ended in a hill climb! The sound I heard was the coming from the BIGGEST Chevy I had ever laid eyes on getting ready to make his attempt at victory over the hundred foot long soupy slop hole and subsequent hill climb. The motor revved again and all the hair on my body stood straight up on end, I knew this was going to be a wild show! I looked around the open area and estimated there to be at least fifteen to twenty other rigs there of varying makes and sizes. The Chevy motor barked again and its driver was ready to let it eat. He eased onto the gas, the rpms climbed higher and higher, the truck seemed to lift and lean slightly forward without moving as if it were a dragster waiting for the green light. The sound was outrageous! And then like a hellfire missile he shot straight up into the air out of the mud as he released the trans brake and simultaneously jammed the two hundred fifty shot of NOS! What I later found out to be over 1400 horsepower hit the soup with an extreme vengeance! It was like nothing I had ever seen before or again. My jaw hit the ground as I watched the truck disappear in a complete hurricane of flying mud chunks. I was awestruck. The truck cleared 44" Swampers and they were nearly submerged as he came clawing past where I was crapping my pants, and then he tore right up the hill climb at the end. It wasn't even a challenge for this unbelievable example of badass custom workmanship. The crowd of onlookers cheered and clapped and then began trying to get one another to be the next one to try.

     As the day wore on people came and went, going to this area or that climb or these rocks. Then it hit me. I had found it, the place that had existed only in my dreams. A place where tons of rigs could get together and have a blast on tons of different terrain options. And to top it all off the property that stretched out for over eight hundred and eighty acres was at one time an enormous rock and sand mining operation, now a debunked gravel pit it was all private property that public was welcome to use at their own risk. I would go back every Saturday and Sunday for the next three years and each day there would always be tons of others out there and NEVER did I see someone get left behind. Everyone helped each other out even if they were complete strangers. It was sort of an unwritten rule to take care of everyone else. I have stories about wheeling trips at this place that could fill this forum! It was awesome.

     My life went down other paths that lead me away from this place and this hobby/ sport that I love so much and it was not until years later I tried to return to the off road Heaven that I once enjoyed so much. When I arrived I found the old rusty gate closed and locked. The welcome sign that greeted me years before was now so faded you couldn't read it and was peppered with bullet holes. I started asking around about what happened here and why was the gate closed? I was told that the property was donated to the town and come to find out it became the "cool" thing to do to jump burning cars off the top of the cliff area, watch them explode, and leave them in a burning pile at the bottom for the local Fire Department to worry about. The town went in and removed twelve of these vehicles and on their way out they closed and locked the gate for what was believed to be forever...

     I almost cried. This was the most unbelievable off road dreamland that you could ever want and it was closed. It wasn't closed because of bon fires, parties, mud bogging, or any of the other typical reasons people blame trail closures on. It was closed because of the ultimate miss use, people trashing it. Having no respect for the land use privilege ruined it for everyone for what could be forever. This is a tragedy! Not only did I lose a place I loved to go and have a great time, meet new friends, and challenge myself and my vehicle, but the off road community as a whole lost access to an amazing place that had so much to offer.

     Over ten years has passed since those days. I now very rarely get to go out off roading. When I do get to go it is also very rare that I get to go in my own vehicle. So I ride along with others sometimes and get my fix that way. On one of these such occasions I was riding as a passenger with a member of another forum and we were out scouting Class Six Roads. We went up this one road that looked like it was in serious need of some trail maintenance and something struck me as familiar, like I had been there before. It didn't look familiar, it felt familiar. It felt as if I had come home after a long time of being away. The kind of time that takes forever to pass and when it finally does you seem to forget what came before it. As we progressed up the very overgrown C6 we came upon an old rusty gate on the left side... ... and it was...













Open.

[burl]

Sounds like a pretty sweet place!

[Bigdaddy]

[BIG DOG]

thats cool   

[Cannaert]

That is so cool and I am glad to see you found your old place again and that THAT GATE was open again. 

[gator82]

I AM BEING HONEST WHEN I SAY THIS, THIS STORY, AS I STARTED READING IT, HIT ME WITH LAUGHTER, SADNESS, THEN HAPPINESS. THIS IS VERY TOUCHING AND I LOVE IT AND AM GLAD THAT IT ENDED WITH THE GATE BEING OPEN. ALMOST FELT A TEAR   

[bmwallace_88]

good story, glad you shared it with us!

[Darkman]

I AM BEING HONEST WHEN I SAY THIS, THIS STORY, AS I STARTED READING IT, HIT ME WITH LAUGHTER, SADNESS, THEN HAPPINESS. THIS IS VERY TOUCHING AND I LOVE IT AND AM GLAD THAT IT ENDED WITH THE GATE BEING OPEN. ALMOST FELT A TEAR   

Thanks for the positive feed back.

I am practicing to be a writer and it is good to know that you felt all the emotions I was feeling.


The place is accessible again but it isn't the same place it once was. First off it is VERY overgrown now and area's that use to be wide open trails are now handing out custom pin striping. Also not many people go out there anymore, whether its due to lack of knowing it's open or, what I fear, the NH off road community's HATRED for mud bogging. This place has more to offer then just mud but that was the primary attraction. I have ventured out there a few times alone in my Rocky and explored a little but it is completely different now. There use to be an area about 100 yards down hill form the mud hole mentioned in this story called the "Lower Hole" (cuz it was down hill) and when I went out there last I tried to find it and all I found was a pond! The whole area had completely flooded making the "Lower Hole" under about 30+ feet of water.


But I'll save all that for another story...

[gator82]

THAT SUCKS IT WAS FLOODED HOWEVER I CANT WAIT FOR ANOTHER STORY. 

[85cHeavyMetalBogger]

im supprised no one has asked, where is this magical place, so we might be able to go there and write r own stories..

[gator82]

im supprised no one has asked, where is this magical place, so we might be able to go there and write r own stories..

X2 I THOUGHT ABOUT ASKING BUT WAS WAITING TO SEE IF HE TOLD US, IT MIGHT BE A SECRET LOL

[Darkman]

Most of the forums I go on frown upon public disclosure of trail names and locations so I'll be general about it...


It does actually have an official name but the locals have nic-named it "Little Arizona" or "Little A- Zee"  because of the sheer size and terrain variety it provides. It is located in Southern New Hampshire, about 20 minutes from where I live. If you're ever in my neck of the woods look me up and I'll be happy to take you there.


More stories to come...

[Darkman]

I was out on a foliage ride today and I found myself in the area of this place so I figured I go in and snap a few pictures for you guys...

This is heading in past the gate looking toward the little cliff.



This is the bedrock climb up to the top of the little cliff.



Here's my rocky up at the top.



On our way out to the Upper hole.





The upper hole looked pretty dry today but I tried walking in it and my feet were sinking. So there is no water in it but the mud is soft.











This is what use to be the trail down  to the Lower Hole.

[390JOE]

got any more pics that looks like a  sweet place, it will just make us want to plan a big convoy over there.

[Darkman]

I could only snap a couple pics. Next time I'll explore more of the trail system and post up pictures of that.

[Cannaert]

Wow that is one beautiful place. Looks so peaceful.

[Darkman]

The trail from the cliff area to the Upper Hole use to be wide open. All the little pine and birch trees along the sides weren't there. It was probably about 30 feet wide through there, there is a deep rock quarry hole off to the side  that you can't even find anymore unless you know where it is. None of the little trees along the side of the bedrock climb were there, basically every tree under eight inches in diameter was not there before. Its all grown in within the last ten years. The place was wide open before, you could just turn the steering wheel and find a new obstacle anywhere. I see it as a new canvas in which to go out and make new trails where old obstacles have been long forgotten.

It is a beautiful place and every time I go out there I feel serene like it's my "happy place" (LOL)

[gator82]

Wow that is one beautiful place. Looks so peaceful.

X2

[wideopen]

ok so convoy of wgm.ers to "NH" sounds like a good idea SOOOOO WHEN WE GOING??....

[Darkman]

ok so convoy of wgm.ers to "NH" sounds like a good idea SOOOOO WHEN WE GOING??....

Better off going in the spring after the snow run off, holes get DEEP and soupy.