 The
patrol vehicles display a yellow flag.
 The
steepest of a handfull of drops.
One of the team members of Paragon guides us throughpart of the
park.
Trying to avoid deep slimy mud.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Originally from Austria, Sven and Magdalena Schlogl
have been living in Southern California for several years. Since
they enjoy traveling, they have explored the south-western corner
of the United States intensively. After many trips over about four
years they decided to venture further and discover more of the US.
For six months they traveled through 41 states and put nearly 32,000
miles on the odometer. That was when XXXpedition was born which
stands for Xtraordinary Xciting Xpenditions. Their website www.xxxpedition.com
features reports and photographs to enable everybody to join them
on their adventures. The next XXXpedition to Alaska is in the planning
and they hope there are many more to come.
The river crossing is not the biggest water challenge.
The park hosts several events throughout the year. For more information,
visit their website at www.paragonap.com. Note: You are required
to travel in groups of at least three rigs; always display an orange
flag (so if you’ve got one in your drawer — bring it!).
 Big
parts of the park are flooded.
Park manager Kyle Ilnost welcomed us warmly and spent some time
enlightening us about the facts and features of the park. He assigned
Kyle Buchter (park patrol) to show us around. Kyle B. guided us
through a good part of the park explaining via CB-radio the different
areas. He led us through the staging area which fits about 300 rigs.
From there we followed various trails which consist mostly of black
dirt. It is called anthracite and is typical for strip mining areas.
Through the woods the dirt changes to the common beige-brown color.
There are steep inclines, drops and rocky sections. Due to unusually
high amounts of snow and the latest rains, a lot of areas are closed
because they are flooded. Even on the trails you encounter many
water crossings. Kyle showed us around through most of the western
part of the park and took us across a pretty deep river with good-size
boulders hidden underneath the waves. He also “posed” for some photos
and video shots; after about two hours he returned to his duties
as park patrol while we were allowed (big exception) to venture
around on our own to get a good idea what this 4-wheel area has
to offer. As everywhere, it is a good idea to ask about the current
conditions before heading out on the trails without a guide. While
exploring the eastern half of the park we drove along trail 11 which
is supposed to be a 2WD road. Due to the recent rainfalls this trail
offered some challenging spots. We came across a couple of stock
vehicles whose drivers decide to turn around — a wise move on their
parts!
 Even
the easy dirt roads in the forest feature obstacles.
Before we headed back to the entrance, we returned to the drop-offs
Kyle had shown us earlier to take a few pictures. Unfortunately,
the rain was unrelenting and so we left after playing around for
a little while. We checked out at the office and thanked the team
for their hospitality and flexibility.
STUCK!
Due to the flooded condition of some areas, we could only explore
a part of the park but that still kept us busy for most of the day.
The park offers 4-wheeling for every level of experience and guides
are available upon request.
Directions to Paragon
Adventure Park From I-81 exit # 143 near Hazleton, take State Route
924 south for 3 miles, make a left on Oak Ridge Road (there’s a
sign for “Humboldt Industrial Park” but beware, this is not the
first such sign!). Cross the railroad tracks and go for about 2/10ths.
of a mile — the entrance will be on your right.
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