Quick Links to Patrol Websites

2nd Annual Daisy Mae Ladies Run

Girls Gone Wheelin’ II

By Dale Znamenacek

On June 19^th, Patrol 14ers Christine Taft and I led the 2^nd Annual Daisy Mae Ladies Jeep Run. The only requirement was that each driver had to be female. The group represented drivers of all experience levels and Jeeps ranging from stock to heavily modified. The morning started off cloudy and cold, but we warmed our bellies with a little breakfast from IHOP. Our group of fourteen lady jeepers departed from IHOP at 9:15 am for Jenny Creek. Not far up Clear Creek Canyon, we were treated to some long-awaited sunshine.

After leaving the pavement, we soon stopped to air down to make the gravel Rollins Pass road a little more tolerable. Four more lady jeepers met us there. We were soon on our way again and stopped one more time to lock in the hubs and have a quick driver’s meeting at the trailhead. From there, we made quick progress to our first challenge, the creek crossing. Leading the group, Christine quickly demonstrated how it was done. With careful spotting thanks to several of the men temporarily displaced from their usual driver’s seat position, each jeep was soon across the creek and up the next hill, no tow straps required.

Once across the creek, we made careful progress along the trail. We witnessed a few of the men walking alongside the group. Were they nervous about their wives’ driving? Or maybe their wives gave them the opportunity to get a little exercise after making a few too many “helpful” comments? We won’t say! Arriving at our lunch spot, each driver received a visor and plaque commemorating the event. Although the lunch spot was not far from the end of the trail where it hooks back up with the Rollins Pass road, from here we turned around. There were large snowdrifts still blocking the end of the trail, which we decided would be a little too much for our large group. Sherri Dillon, Pam Beisner, Laurie Carson, Hannah Roberts, and Lisa Antill couldn’t resist the challenge and decided to split off from the group to have a go at the snow. Jill Schwab also decided to take a look, but elected to rejoin the main group upon seeing the others resort to winch-power. We haven’t gotten the official report, but it was reported that the Dillon’s Commando was later seen at Yankee Doodle Lake, so we think they made it through.

The main group continued our backtracking and we were soon at the creek crossing again. Everyone did a fantastic job getting back across the creek. Kristin Mobley got to practice proper tow strap use when Cheryl Minardi’s YJ got hung up on a boulder that had been kicked up in the creek. All in all, it was a great day of 4-wheeling with a great group. We hope to see everyone back next year!