Here is some of the email I received.
There’s a $10 membership for everyone 16 and up, passengers as well.. Passengers who are joining that day do not pay $15 to ride, they pay the $10 membership (the $5 passenger fee is waived). So a husband/wife driving one vehicle the first day would pay $45. The second day would be $30.
If you can guarantee 25 vehicles or more for a 2 or more day event, we can reduce the $25 vehicle fee to $20 each day. The membership and passenger fees would remain the same. Since this event is not until next year, I can’t say for certain our rates will be the same next year. I doubt they will change, I just don’t want to quote a price in June of 06 for an event 10 months later, when we have no control over our insurance and lease rates.
Bolt makes dash plaques and other engraving items. If you see the one he made for MAW ride, you will get a good idea of what he can do. You’d have to come up with a graphic design.
The 101 trail is open, as of right now it needs some more trees cut. There will be a second trail opened up this year yet.
As far as mine shafts and such, yes there are numerous holes in the property. Holes aside, it’s best to keep an eye on the kids out on the trail. Last year we had a high incident of wasp nests both on the trails and in the forest, that lasted for a couple months. It was just a strange weather pattern that caused it. Otherwise, just the routine Pennsylvania bugs are out there. I’ve never had to use bug spray yet out there.
Re: Four Wheeler’s article, I think you get a good idea from someone like FireWitch. They’ve been wheeling at the park for two years now and they really enjoy the no-hassle atmosphere and member service.
It’s mostly Jeeps out there that go off-road, but we’ve had everything there from VW Toureg, Land Rover and other fancy SUV’s, Hummers, Toyota’s, Fords, Nissans, Chevys, Suburbans. We’ve even had a Ford Excursion and a Ford F350 dually at the park. It’s just that jeeps are more actively wheeled and thus get more photo ops. My opinion is, if it’s got 4wd, you are good to go.
Trees: we are trying to widen the trails which I explained in the forum. Rocks, well that’s another story. Members have to decide for themselves how much rocks they can handle. Or how much mud, etc. Spotting and good trail selection, and some common sense as to vehicle capability and driver skill, there’s no reason for anyone to bash their vehicle unnecessarily. Unfortunately, most of the trail stories you read and see pics of are of the carnage variety.
There are several tow services in the area. If you call AAA, they send the first available. If you don’t have AAA, we have the names and numbers of two local tow services in the area. There’s always Pete from TrailRigOutfitters. He’s got a rollback and routinely attends large events to help out.
The local wildlife includes chipmunks, squirrels, frogs, birds chirping all over the property. Bears have been seen every year, just recently saw a momma and 3 cubs. Plenty of deer and bird-type game, turkeys, pheasants, etc. Box turtles too.
As far as people getting dirty or greasy, I always keep water jugs and orange cleaner on hand. If they are camping on site and need to get an emergency shower, the truck stop and campground 5 minutes down the road you can get a shower for a fee. There’s no creeks or rivers on the property to get cleaned up out on the trail. Dirty vehicles can be washed up in either Tremont or Pine Grove.
The camping areas have both wide-open group areas and smaller individual sites, all of which seem to hold pretty big tents. Chris Shontz brought a tent to the OK 4wd ride that he could have sub-letted rooms out of it, it was that big.
There are 3 full-service campgrounds in the area. The closest one, Echo Valley, has hosted a large gathering of Xterras 4 years in a row. We're talking 80 to 100 vehicles all camping in a group area, but it's set up so your tent is in the forest line. I was amazed last year how much they expanded the group area primarily because of the business from our park. If I understand correctly, Echo will work out a per person rate as opposed to someone paying $22 for a tent site, while a husband, wife and kids pay $22 for a tent site, which I never found fair. I think the Xterras may have paid $10 an adult or something like that.
Other things to do other than wheeling? Cabela’s is about 45 minutes away and although I don’t hunt or fish, I know I can kill half a day there. Hershey is about 45 minutes away as well. Jim Thorpe is a scenic historic town with boating, fishing, hiking, shopping, that’s about an hour away. There’s Renninger’s Market (flea market-auction type place) in the vicinity of Cabela’s as well. Speaking of Cabela’s, the local business community for the Hamburg area puts out a monthly newspaper of things to do in the area of Cabela’s, which can be picked up down at the local gas station.
All the local hotels, motels, campgrounds are listed on our website. Click on Directions and you’ll see a sub-link for motels and camping.
All drivers are given a business list of local auto parts, beer, food, etc. everything that you would need to know about in the local area, along with directions.
We accept cash or check. No credit cards.
There’s a grocery store in both Tremont and Pine Grove (listed on the Business List). There’s a K-Mart about 20 miles north, and another 8 miles or more beyond that is a Lowe’s and Wal-Mart
Radio stations from Harrisburg area can be reached up at the park (country, rock, Nascar, etc.). Most people have good cell coverage. I’ve found Nextel is the worst. Once in a while I get a crappy signal from someone, but not bad enough you can’t start talking louder and get the message across.
The reason we require 16 and older to be members, is because based on PA law anyway, they can legally drive. We’ve had plenty of groups come visit that were made up of primarily 16, 17 year olds with no parent in sight, so I don’t see any problem with the VA kid being on a permit. If the parents aren’t along on the trip, the kid should get a parental waiver signed at home and bring it along.
To sum up, it looks like the trails will be more than fine for this event. The cost most likely would be $20 per day for the vehicle. So a husband/wife driving one vehicle for two days, and camping at the park which is free BTW, would pay $40 for the first day (with the memberships) and $25 the second day ($20 vehicle plus $5 passenger). So $65 for two days. Kids 15 and under are free as well.
Another subject not mentioned. We do keep parts on stock, but they are mostly all Jeep parts. Our trail builder, Witter, just got a K5 Blazer himself and another truck as a parts truck, so I imagine our inventory will start to shift to Chevy stuff. We also have a welder on-site (it’s electric so you have to get the broken rig back to the office to use it). We have tools and misc items like fluids, goopy products, etc. We have some tires and wheels that were donated as well.
Other common answers are: yes dogs are welcome. Yes, alcohol is allowed at the camping area as long as it's enjoyed after you're done driving for the night.
Yet another question I get is, if you're bringing that many vehicles to the park, can the park be closed to other traffic? The answer is no, primarily because once we open full-time in April each year, people do not need to make a reservation unless they are camping, and it's impossible to get the word out to everyone that we might be closed. Usually what happens is word gets out there's a huge event, and most folks stay away. So you're looking at maybe 10-20 vehicles of smaller groups showing up that weekend, which would not interfere with a huge event. We've had as many as 140 in the park unorganized (that is, no official guided groups), they all went out in groups on their own. At the end of the day there were no complaints about traffic or tie-ups on the trails. Oh, and this is without considering the South property which should be in full swing by next spring.
Again, thank you. Any other questions come up let me know.
Crap I thought of another question. Let's say you're planning on having the event to wheel Fri-Sat. And using Thursday-Sun as travel days, then yes, folks can arrive at the park Thursday to set up camp and hang out before the Friday wheeling. All we'd need to do is have a contact person for the group (you or someone else) who can get the instructions to the people who are arriving a day early (that is, the gate combo, signing the check-in sheet, etc.). I"m going on the assumption there'd be a lot of on-site camping since it's convenient and free (and fun too!).
Ok that's it, now I'm done. I think.
Lynn
