It’s always a treat when we get out to Chaos Off Road Park (ORP). This trip was no exception. It was the season opener event, the Spring Stompede, and I’m happy to report I think just north of 30 vehicles attended the event this year! I was happy to see this park is gaining traction and drawing more and more good people out. This is key to any new business venture, and I’m glad to see Chaos ORP seems to be growing. Cherie and I were making it a day trip, but several new and old friends were also there.
- Andrew & Cherie – Silver Nissan Xterra
- Shane ONeil – Black Nissan Xterra
- Nathan Locke (Freedom Offroad) – Yellow JK “Short Bus”
- Preston Ott (Freedom Offroad) – Black JKU
Driver’s Meeting
The rain for the preceding few days, and the morning drizzle, made sure the registration/camping field was plenty wet. The field just in front of the registration tent was turned into 6in deep slop that was hard to walk across! There was serious concern that the mountain would be super slippery as we headed out. After a quick driver’s meeting, we assigned groups and headed up on to the mountain.
We made it up the first hill and were pleasantly surprised to find it really wasn’t that muddy. Throughout the day we really learned to appreciate just how well this mountain sheds water as the conditions were surprisingly not a total mess! With Preston leading the group we did a tour of the mountain loop appropriate for our group level. That included trails such as Rubencon,Glory, Eckoh Rock Garden, Titanic, and Rat Shack. We had a great group and moved well together. We got back down to the main field around 1pm and many folks took advantage of the freshly cooked burgers being sold on-site.
A subset of our group headed back up onto the mountain around 2pm and had some more fun. Some of the same trails, some different ones. While earlier in the day Nathan had tackled one of the more difficult sink holes while driving forward, on this loop he decided to try it in reverse! The effort was there, but the traction was not, but it was entertaining to watch!
We continued on and enjoyed Upper and Lower Sandy Ridge trail, and stuck our noses into a few others. Shane was happy to finally conquer the big moguls near Glory Hole which had stopped him in the past. Overall we had a great day largely due to having a great group. To everyone at Chaos ORP, thanks again for getting this great park started, with great trails for all levels of build and driver experience, and attracting the right crowd! We’ll be back soon.
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Trail report by Andrew Taylor. Pictures courtesy of Andrew & Cherie.