I think it's time for another trip. This will be a joint trip, with members from the New England Xterra Club, Bay State Rover Owners Association, New Jersey Area Xterras, and the Mid Atlantic Xterra club invited. I know it will be monsoon season, but I was thinking we could plan a trip to the Pine Barrens in New Jersey. There are lots of places to play in the Pine Barrens, and last year, we have found a good campground that does group campgrounds -- Each campsite is for up to 20 people, and there are 3 campgrounds together (60 people). The Pine Barrens is a big section of the New Jersey "shelf" that is basically a big sandpit. It has unique terrain, and often has a lot of water, but most of it is clear -- as it's sandy, not dirt ground, sediment settles quickly. And there are lots of areas where there are challenging rutted hills to climb and descend, steep pitches, off camber hills, soft sand, and even wide open fire roads. And there are places where there's mud, lots of mud. So really, it's just a matter of what kind of wheeling you want to do. I am thinking we do a camp Friday night, ride saturday, camp dinner saturday night, with drinks and pool at the local dive (they have the world's largest rattle snake on the wall) and then a possible night run for those who want to skip the drinks, camp saturday night, then wheel in the morning on Sunday and head home in the afternoon.

There are no fees, and a great deal of the area is legal (except a few fun pits), you just have to obey the signage. There is easily enough trails in the area for 3-4 different groups of different abilities, from the tame to the "plan to get stuck". The water level, and hence the trail wetness is based on the amount of rain over the past 3 to 6 months. if it has a chance to get dry, it will be, but if it has just rained, it may be very wet.

Equipment needed: tow points front and rear, tow rope (without hooks), first aid kit (Xterras have these!), and a SPARE TIRE hopefully that matches your other tires, you can end up a long way from camp. Bug spray - sometimes, cell phone - you actually get good service here, think it's because it's so flat, tools, and knowledge on how to remove your spark plugs to dry your engine out if it gets water'logged, Xterras may want to bring a spare alternator.
Additional items: Some type of spray to dry your ignition wires if they get wet, and enough oil to do an oil change in case your engine drinks some water (be sure to take something to bring the used oil out in too).

I expect this to be a pretty popular ride (as it's for beginners and above), and families are welcome. Email me at matt@xterrier.com to let me know if you are interested.

It's going to be the weekend of April 12-14th. This trip is actually going to be sponsored! Skytop Rover ( http://www.skytoprover.com ) is going to help with planning, shirts, and support (finding skilled trail leaders), who knows, maybe we can even have a raffle!

More info on the pine barrens. http://landroverds2.com/pb042901.htm http://www.axelfiles.com/pb1099/pb1099.html http://www.4x4now.com/trnjpb.htm

If I have forgotten anything, let me know.
To sign up, go to http://www.4x4destinations.org/signup.asp?ID=njpinebarrens02&date=041202&cap=25 and sign up. add details like (stock) or any mods you have in the vehicle field.

Matt Peckham