Feature > Events/Trail Rides
Jolly Jeepers' Back-To-Basics
You Meet the Nicest People in a Jeep (...and Toyotas and Rovers and Broncos...)
by Mike Zoormajian
Aired-down and gassed-up, these wheelers are ready to “Get ‘er Done.” Toyotas were well represented at this Jeepers rally.
The lights of Portland, Oregon, fade in our mirrors as we blast out of the city. Winding our way into the mountains, we hit the steady line of rigs heading off to the Jolly Jeepers’ Back-to-Basics event, a two-day dirtfest held each year off Highway 6 in the Tillamook Forest.
Tillamook Forest - Oregon’s Playground
Despite being a Jeepers’ event, all brands were well represented.
Oregon’s Highway 6 slashes through Oregon’s Coast Range, a huge forest that separates the Willamette Valley from the Pacific Ocean. The Coast Range is a monument to land use and land restoration. The lush forest, now shared by off-roaders, hunters, loggers, and campers, was not so long ago a blackened and burned-out moonscape.
The Tillamook Burn, as it’s now known, was a series of fires that occurred from 1933 to 1945 and burned a total of 355,000 acres of old growth timber. The causes of these fires ranged from logging operations to an incendiary balloon launched by the Japanese during WWII. The most important part is that it left us with over 100 miles of the West’s best-kept four-wheeling secret.
Broncos always run strong in the woods, and this one was no exception. Shown here powering over the top of Archer’s Firebreak, one of the trails rated more difficult.
Jay “Barney” Lawhon shows the Jolly Jeeper spirit, having a good time even when he’s at the wrong end of the tow strap. This hill is Rock Garden, which takes a special combination of traction, throttle, and luck to get over.
But we weren’t here for a history lesson; we were here to run trails. We arrived Saturday morning and met our host Jay Lawhon. When he isn’t modifying his trick coil-sprung DJ Jeep, Lawhon (club nickname “Barney”) runs JBL productions, a full-service DJ/entertainment company.
Despite being a Jeepers’ event, hosted by Jeep club, Back-to-Basics features every type of short-wheelbase rig imaginable: Blazers, Broncos, Land Cruisers, and Rovers — you name it, it’s here. Wheelbase is key as the Coast Range is filled with trees, and many full-size vehicles won’t fit through them or risk severe damage trying.
More Than Just a Jeep Club
Andy Telford of Portland, Oregon, shows off his Cruiser for the camera. This rig sports a custom coil suspension, Chevy 400 motor with a TH350 tranny, and factory axles with dual Detroit Lockers. Despite being a regular on the trails, Andy’s winch appears to have never been used.
Founded in 1962, the Jolly Jeepers is Oregon’s oldest Jeep club. It’s active in land-use rights, Tread Lightly!, and works with the U.S. Forest Service on trail maintenance. The club is also active in community service; its signature event, participating along with the Portland Fire Bureau, is delivering Christmas toys and clothing to needy children.
The event features over 100 vehicles and a dozen runs. A Run Board is posted to see which trails are available. The board lists each run by description, difficulty, and route. Runs range in difficulty from “winches and lockers required, probable body damage” to “OK in your mom’s Wrangler.” Each run listed has a stack of tickets with it. Pull a ticket for the run you want. When the tickets are gone, the run is full. The ticket also indicates in which of the four staging areas to meet.
Hittin’ the Trails!
This beautiful Land Rover is no trailer queen. Its off-road performance proved just how capable it is in stock form.
At the appointed time, we met our group and found a wide variety of vehicles and abilities. Our group included experienced off-roaders in full custom rigs to two girls in a stock Wrangler. The girls had never been off-road but found a flyer for the event at a Jeep dealer and thought it would be “fun to try.”
We had some pavement time before we hit the dirt, which our trail leader put to good use. We introduced ourselves over a CB radio, while our trail leader advised us on safety. At the beginning of the day, our group consisted of strangers and included doctors, students, and everything in between. By the end of the day, we were laughing and joking like old friends, united by our off-road adventure.
Locked-up Toyota powers up Canopener. Straddle the rut in the middle to make it up clean, or the rocks on the sidewall (left side of pic) will tear into your rig like a can opener.
The Tillamook Forest trail system was designed by off-roaders for off-roaders and guarantees a good time. Trails are marked easy, moderate, or difficult. The moderate and difficult trails are optional, and there are easy bypasses around them. This means that all participants can do the whole run and challenge themselves as they wish. The weather was dry for this event, but it does rain often in the Pacific Northwest — a downpour can turn an easy trail into difficult or impossible.
We ran the easy to more difficult trails — with names such as Canopener (rips sheetmetal like a can), Hood Raiser, Buzzards Peak, Sidewinder (major side hill), and Airplane Hill. The experts had a good time playing on the obstacles, while beginners sat gap-jawed watching trucks do the seemingly impossible.
Evening Fun
Jay DeAngelis of Mulino, Oregon, brought this 1977 Blazer, one of the nicest rigs at the event. Just back from a frame-off rebuild, it features a TPI motor from a 1986 Camaro with a 700R4, Dana 44 front/12-bolt rear with 4.10 Detroits, 35-inch Mud-Terrains, Rancho suspension, and a custom powder-coated rollcage/subframe.
The Jolly Jeepers did a great job of combining trails with off-roaders’ other loves: food, drink, and free stuff. The event came with full-service barbecue and a raffle with over 300 prizes, like gift certificates from 4 Wheel Parts and local businesses, T-shirts, and truck parts.
At evening’s end, we said goodbye to our new friends with promises to get out to run the trails again. With such a great event in our own backyard, one can’t miss the chance to get Back-to-Basics.
Traction, skill, and luck all come together, and this YJ-one of only a handful not needing a strap to get over-cleans the Rock Garden. Notice the nice work on the custom spring-over.
If You Go
The Tillamook Forest is about an hour’s drive from Portland, Oregon. You’ll need an off-highway vehicle sticker, which is available at gas stations and quickie marts along the way. Back-to-Basics happens in mid-July every year, but you should sign up early.
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