Dave SweetappleAnd just like that, summer nears its end; it seems like I just sat down to write the Spring Vermont Rovers column.
Since then, we accomplished all of the travel described in our Winter/Spring Issue. I made it over to Australia for a few performances with my band, but sadly didn’t see one single Series Land Rover on the entire trip. Granted, I was mainly in the city environs of Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart, but I thought I would encounter at least a handful of trucks in each location. There were several newer (pre-2016) Defender sightings; most were in pristine condition with Puma parts. I know the countryside is flush with older trucks, but it seems that random strays are more easily spotted here in America than Down Under.
The stressful search for a new, permanent shop space continues. My storage space, just over the border in Massachusetts, serves as a Band-Aid, but it has proven extremely difficult to work on vehicles there. It is incredible how many trips I’ve made down there for a random tool that I just don’t have at home. The Series IIA 109” build is essentially a kit car in my home garage.
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Back in June, a convoy of five Series Rovers left my house in Brattleboro, VT, for the 75th Anniversary Diamond Jubilee at the Greek Peak Mountain Resort in Cortland, NY. [See article on p. 6 -ed.] We made it out there in seven hours with no issues whatsoever. It was great to see so many good friends and familiar faces, and to finally meet a lot of people I’d only corresponded with over the Internet. The Jubilee had most of the key elements that make a great event — off-roading, massive vehicle display, retail/information booths, and most importantly, socializing.
When I heard that the Jubilee’s location was a ski resort and would include an off-roading element, I honestly didn’t expect it would be as fun as it turned out to be. There were guided tours of the hill, or you could go off on your own or in groups to explore at will. Our first run of the day had a row of ten Land Rovers, including three Series I’s! Rain had left the ground as slick as a trout. When trying to cross the main ski runs onto the smaller cross-access trails, most often the Land Rover would start sliding down the run rather than going straight up the trail. There was no major damage in our group; however, one Defender 90 in another group ended up on its side. It was quickly righted and made it back to base camp without any trouble.
Rovers North was the Title Sponsor of the event. Their large booth had quite a few intriguing items, specifically Calef Letorney’s Defender digital dash module system. Just when I think I don’t need anything else for one of my Land Rovers, something like this comes along. “You mean I can actually have every gauge working with lights, and more gauges if I want them?” Incredible. [See p. 74 for the new Defender digital gauges -ed.]
On the way back from Greek Peak, I convoyed home with Bryan Wittler and Kyle Madigan, with Glenn Parent’s Series I 107” pickup close behind. About two hours into the trip across upstate New York, I noticed a high-pitched screeching sound coming from between the seats of my Series III 88”. Suspecting it was low on gear oil in the Fairey overdrive, I pulled over onto a small gravel lot on the side of the road. At this point, Bryan, Kyle, and my wife Robin started removing seats and the center seat box panel; Glenn caught up with us and offered a hand. All of a sudden, I could hear a low rumble and as I glanced to my left, I saw a massive military 18-wheel Freightliner barreling over the crest of the hill. As it got closer, I recognized it as Howard Smith’s military transport truck, carrying his Forward Control 101 and his Air Portable Lightweight. Howard is the host of the annual, invitation-only Guy Fawkes event in upstate New York. When I say he came in hot, I mean blazing hot. I thought he was going to keep cruising on by, but at the last second, he yanked the big rig over onto the gravel shoulder, screeching to a halt with dust flying up around all of the wheels. With a blast of the air brake, he opened the driver-side door, poked his head up over the cab, and yelled, “Are you guys alright?”
It felt like a scene from a classic adventure comedy. He crawled down from his perch to offer help. He quickly spotted the shovel mounted to the back of Bryan’s ex-Mod Series III. He told Bryan it was backward and brought him over to his trailered Lightweight to show him the correct method of mounting. After a few more exchanges, we were back on the road to Vermont.
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Local off-roading for our little group has been scaled back slightly this season due to several surgeries, or shall I say, “bone improvements.” Hip, shoulder, and ankle surgeries put three regulars out of commission for much of the summer. If you have driven a Series Land Rover, you know that operating one requires full-body motion. That said, we have managed to get in a few small trail rides. Due to the massive flooding in certain areas of Vermont, some of the Class 4 roads and legal trails have been deemed temporarily off-limits — others have been closed permanently.
On one of our jaunts, we attempted to climb the Turkey Mountain trail in Jamaica, VT, only to discover a massive boulder in the middle of the trailhead. We immediately assumed it was a disgruntled landowner whose property may have bordered the trail. Upon getting out of the truck, we noticed a small yellow sign nailed to a tree by the VT Agency of Natural Resources. It stated, “No Wheeled Off-Road Vehicles.” We could not argue with that. Upon getting home and researching the matter, we found it had to do with trail erosion. The problem had been highlighted by someone who rode a horse down the trail and the horse broke its leg. That got the wheels in motion to shut the trail down. Preservation of legal trails is paramount. Working with communities to help maintain safe thoroughfares should be the goal of every off-roader, especially in areas where local residents see motorized wheeled vehicles as a destructive nuisance.
Last week, I rode along with a group down to Western Massachusetts to traverse the legendary Old Florida Road. It is one of the gnarliest trails in the northeast. It took us eight hours to go approximately three miles. Old Florida Road is a legal trail but has landowners on both sides, so taking a bypass route is not allowed. Mike Kenney and I rode with Rob Wollschlager in his ‘93 Range Rover Classic. Tom Blair had Jesse Ackerman co-piloting in his ‘95 Range Rover Classic. Greg Boshart and his son Devin were in their ‘91 Defender 90, and Anthony Nelson took his friend Jeremy Barbour up from New York in his ‘97 NAS Defender 90. There are two extreme obstacles, which are more akin to rock climbing than driving, and the rest of the trail is just a lot of bouncing around as you climb the western side of the Berkshire Mountain Range. On the first major obstacle, Rob blew a high-pressure power steering line, which was quickly fixed by trimming back the frayed hose and re-clamping it. That happened at least six more times along the route, with the last one blowing off during a torrential downpour. We were all soaked to the skin. Greg straddled the last obstacle with his D90 coming down on the front axle and shattering the CV joint at the half shaft. Triage was performed and he limped out with the missing bits. By the time we pulled back onto the maintained road, it felt like we had all survived something akin to a military operation. Great day all around.
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Right now, prep is underway for the second annual Maine Misfits and Rover Bits event from August 18-21 to be held at John Vallerand’s property in Greene, ME. For quite a few of us, this proved to be a Land Rover gathering highlight for 2022. Many new folks have expressed interest in attending this year, so I’ll report on this in the next issue. Maine Misfits will be followed by the British Invasion in Stowe, Vermont in mid-September. Metal Dash in Petersham, MA happens on the weekend after Stowe. Until then, Rover On.