Once again the McGrew Trailride has come and gone. And I have to say if you weren’t there you missed out on another great long weekend. The small group of Jefferson State Cruisers put on another great run since they have taken over the sponsorship of this annual run.
Like all the years before we drove down for the Friday run the day before as we come from quite a ways from the trailhead. The weather was in a word, HOT. Both for the drive down and at the store in Obrien. And for a bit of additional excitement, the sky 
clouded up Thursday night and treated us to some good old fashioned dry lightning. It did rain a bit but only for about 5 minutes. And this resulted in numerous lightning fires in the general vicinity of the trail we would be on but more on that later.
This years run looked a little thin amongst those of us planning to spend the night behind the Obrien general store but that all changed Friday morning as rig after rig showed up until we had 
something around 28 rigs to head in with. Day started out well getting to say Hi to friends I haven’t seen since last year and meeting some new ones. Quite the mix of rigs as usual, from pretty much stock rigs all the way to borderline rock buggies but all Toyotas…. 60’s, 40’s, 80’s, FJ cruisers, Chad and Brittney’s pink panty mobile (a Lexus), mini trucks and 4runners. And people drove from quite a ways to get here, we had Josh’s parents all the way 
from Arizona, someone from Ventura, CA, folks from Central CA, others from all over Oregon and we came down from WA, near the Canadian border. The run into the campground went really smooth and we made really good time considering the number of rigs we had with us.
For the most part the McGrew Trail is just a really bumpy rock covered track through southern Oregon. But at just over 20 miles according to my GPS it makes for an all day adventure. A couple of slightly tricky corners and a few short sections that require a bit of attention on the drivers part and maybe a bit of spotting for the less experienced. 
All in all a pretty mild trail for a fairly relaxing day. There are a few short challenging sections for those so inclined and the hardest section of the trail happens to fall near the end of the day when you are hot and tired after spending the day in your rig…. The final part of the trail also has bit of a side lean that is not my favorite section (nor my wife’s) but just drive slow and you won’t have a problem. As always if you have a bit of trouble on one section or another or just want some spotting there are plenty of experienced guys to help you out, all it takes is to ask.
Sourdough and the Smith River
This is the real reason for coming on this run. Sourdough is the name of the campground next to the river. Sitting around in camp or at the river talking to old and new friends is what this run is all about. The only bad 
part is that I never have enough time to talk to everyone as much as I would like to…. Did have a great time talking to Eric Agee and wife Karen, Eric happens to be the Chairman of Rubithon and also spent some time talking with Ross Woody, the president of the TLCA.
And thank god for that river as if it was not there I never would have come back! 
The river just might be the best part of this run. Not ice cold and not warm, just perfect for the weather we had this time around. This year we got to all 3 of the swimming holes and just about lived in the water for 2 days we were at camp. My long haired Border Collie, Aki, was more than grateful for the water. One of my friends even set up a zip line into the water, thank you Kief!
Friday night also had a bit of a surprise as the guys from Jefferson decided to try out roasting a whole pig to see if they wanted to add that to next years potluck, it was fairly small this year but I think everyone got to try it and I loved the cooking job done on it by Garret’s dad. There was even some left over for the potluck on Saturday. So if it works out there just may be a roast hog on the menu next year on Saturday night, I hope so….
The main meal was Saturday night after the last guys to come in got to camp. While the Friday group only had one torn tire to deal with, the Saturday run had a bit of a problem with one of the 40’s 
and they were pulling in at the start of dinner. I myself was really thankful no one broke on the Friday run this year, I knocked on a lot of wood…
I am still amazed just how well a potluck works out in the middle of nowhere. Always tons to eat, and something for everyone. If you leave hungry you must be an alien from some other planet.
As usual the guys from Jefferson came up with a ton of stuff for the raffle after dinner. The laughter at the raffle made it even better.
Sunday morning meant time to pack up for us as we had a long drive home, sadly a bunch of my friends were still asleep when we had to leave so sorry if I didn’t say see ya later.
3 days being roasted in the wilderness, one long 15 hour day to drive 567 miles to get home, worth every minute and can’t wait to 
go again next year!
