March - Spring Creek run with Mark Shelton of TJoutfitters.com.
Both of us are also members of TX4WD Tomball Chapter.
Spring, Texas - March 21st, 2004

I met up with Mark Shelton at the usual place. (Mickey D's in Spring). We were expecting two more but we all know how it goes. Mark needed to try out his front end that he had just rebuilt after some recent carnage. Mark's 88 Cherokee is equipped with a 4.0L HO and Detroit Lockers front and rear.  It's a nice Cherokee and is very trail ready. I guess I would expect that from the parts guy.

Mark's XJ	Mark's XJ	Mark's XJ	Mark's XJ
Mark's XJ	Mark's XJ	Mark's XJ	Mark's XJ

The first couple of obstacles I wouldn't attempt. You can see in the pictures above the deep mud hole that Mark was determined to make it through. It was deep and nasty. After three or four attempts Mark gave up and put his sights on this tiny four wheeler trail between two trees. That's when we realized how wet that puddle had made the engine compartment. It was just a wet disributor cap and didn't give us trouble for long. He took his mirror off trying to maneuver between the two trees but it just clipped back on.

Tank's YJ	Tank's YJ	Tank's YJ	Tank's YJ
Tank's YJ	Mark's XJ	Mark's XJ	Mark's XJ

Mark offered to take my picture on this steep hill obstacle, so I graciuosly accepted. You can't ever have enough pictures of good times. We followed the trail to 1st beach. The creek was probably crossable but Law SB155 prevented us from crossing. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the creek can change.

1st Beach	Mark's XJ	Mark's XJ	Mark's XJ
Mark's XJ	Mark's XJ	Tank's YJ	Tank's YJ

We had a good time on the dune area right before first beach.  At one point I was very off-camber on these dunes but I didn't get any pictures in lieu of the crisis. With some expert help from Mark, we were able to get me through the obstacle unscathed.

Tank's YJ	Tank's YJ	Tank's YJ	Tank's YJ
Mark's XJ	Mark's XJ	Mark's XJ	Mark's XJ

I thought I could make this one rut but ended up getting stuck. I got a slight pull from Mark and was able to back out and take a different trail to the top. Of course Mark had to try this obstacle and made it. I can't say that he made it look easy.

Mark's XJ	Mark's XJ	Mark's XJ

We took a break right after this to let Mark's Cherokee cool down some and then worked our way through the trails to the exit. We had planned a short trip and we had accomplished our goal. Thanks to Mark Shelton for showing me a few new obstacles and helping me get unstuck.