Paper Cut Trail
LIOR September 25, 1999
By Bob Blair

The Long Island Off Road club September run was supposed to be the Old Chester trail. It turns out that the navigable section there is just too short to make it worth the drive from LI. So we stole the next scheduled run, Paper Cut. We advertised the run via email as suitable for all club 4x4's, but threatened that a tug or two might be needed by some. Here's the hardy (foolhardy?) group that showed up:

Doug Abrams & Bark	Cherokee
John Acconi & Eric	Wrangler
Ruark Behan	4Runner
Bob Blair & Steve O'Connell	Scout
Mike Ciaio	Wrangler
Ed O'Brian	Wrangler
Jay Reed & April	Toyota p/u
Marc Roseman	Land Cruiser
Evan Silverman	CJ-7
Mark Silverman	Wrangler
Greg Tellone & Amy & Digger	Grand Wagoneer
Glen Teplica	Bronco II

Since we changed trails, it seems fitting that we left from a different spot and at a substantially different time than planned as well. After a long transit we aired down in the factory lot and crossed the train tracks about 30 seconds before a giant freight train blocked the crossing.

The first obstacle comes up quickly, an overly cambered cut through the dirt with a sharp turn to the low side. In years past you could just drive slowly through this one, leaning way over to the passenger side, but no problem. Now, however, that approach will get some body damage because the cut is much deeper on the wall side.

What to do? Well we had some very creative solutions! Marc Roseman banged his way through, loosing a taillight. The rear bumper on the Tan Whale is a trail-scraper; take a torch to it Marc!

With some nice spotting from Steve, I was able to keep the Scout's right side Swampers into the wall and drive right through.

John Acconi tried to put his right side tires on top of the wall. That put the left side way down in the ditch, which was OK until it started to roll. Since his life wasn't threatened, he could only lean over another couple of inches, everyone took the opportunity to look, point, gasp, laugh, etc. while John sat pinned in the driver's seat. A little wrong way winching, which almost flipped him, then a quick pull in the right direction got him going again. Too close for comfort, but no damage.

Ruark had trouble getting up to the cut, the water running through had wet the rocks tumbled at the entrance. That kind of loose rock is funny. One guy will sail right through, maybe moving a couple of rocks as he passes. The next poor soul is faced with a completely different layout and has to fight through what appeared to be an easy section. That starts the thinking about more lift, bigger meaner tires, lockers!

Mark Silverman drove his Wrangler right through, no fuss, no muss. You may not hear much about Marc here. He drove through everything the Paper Cut had to offer with no problems, no difficulties. Didn't even get dirty.

Mike Ciaio drove right through also, very impressive here. He almost had a smooth, easy day like Mark. Almost, but not quite. Him you'll hear more about. Bark made it through amazingly well, thanks to the Cherokee's supple suspension and Doug's deft aim and footwork.

After the cut there's a nice uphill section with lots of boulders and a couple of stairsteps. This didn't present much of a problem for most of us, just some fun. And the promised tug or two for the less extreme vehicles.

Next up was another hillclimb. This one was steeper, mostly dirt with a rock step in the middle and an eroded cut at the top. Greg's giant Grand had some trouble with the step, so did Doug's little 'kee. I watched the open Cherokee struggle with the topside cut, so I took a conservative line and walked right up. I stopped with the rear tires just barely on top, so the Scout's substantial rear overhang stuck out over the hill. Taking advantage of the easy view underneath, I looked for the source of the latest squeal emanating from the Howler's old bones. I still don't know what caused the squeal, but I found one rear wheel bathed in an mixture of muddy water and what? brake fluid? 90 weight? Uh oh.

As I pulled up the trail to make room, I heard lots of yelling. Mike Ciaio had tried an off-camber approach to the top cut. Three-quarters of the way through, a dip on the low side and a bump on the high side combined to lift his right front tire way up. He eased back a bit and the raised tire came back to earth. Now a crowd had gathered, attracted by the hoots and guttural grunts of the LIOR wheelers.


Now remember, he's only two or three feet short of hitting the crest. A locked 4x4 like Mike's can climb from here very easily by following the two-track. Was it the well known effect of the testosterone in the air from the gathered crowd? Or simply the lure of the challenge? Only Mike knows for sure, but he stayed his course. He was rewarded with an easy roll to the left, scattering his belongings across the trailside.


The crowd quickly righted the toppled Wrangler by hand. Mike modified his approach a bit and drove on. Next through was Evan, whose spring-over CJ gained some giant air using a line very close to the one that had pitched the Wrangler over.

Next we approached another deep cut, this one leaning left and turning slightly to the right. Not quite as deep as the one below, this one had a rock jutting out about six inches from the wall at doorhandle height. At least there is a go-around here, you don't have to mash your sheetmetal. Greg did though, the left quarter panel on his Grand Wagoneer took a beating and temporarily left some red glass behind.

Having witnessed the carnage inflicted on the similarly sized Grand, I eyed the go-around for my Scout. "Hmmm, go-around or" ... my contemplation was interrupted by a sudden roar from the 345! All four barrels open, the beast lunged forward towards the gaping hole, flinging dirt and child-sized rocks behind in an insane ... Actually I eased the poor old girl into the cut and bashed the left quarter just like Greg had showed me would happen. Sheesh, at least Mike could blame the effect of the crowd.

Following me, Ruark wisely chose the go-around. This wasn't an easy go-around though, and he got hung up. I had to back diagonally across the deep rut that is the trailing end of the cut, risking a roll to the right. I took a peek at the layout and ignored the advise of the few witnesses. Somehow, I still had some confidence in my own abilities. Howler leaned over a good bit, but gained traction in the soft clay and jumped back as I asked her. She even pulled the 4Runner through safely.

The trail continued through some pretty vales, winding up and down, but not much challenge until we neared the peak. The last obstacle is a sluice cut steeply through rock. A gouge through the center makes it interesting. Riding a narrow fin with the passenger side tires makes it challenging. Doug somehow wound up with his right rear tire up on the fin and his left front in a low spot. Sensing danger, he slowly eased it down, having shown off his undercarriage.

It was getting late, so rather than bunch up and watch each other, most of us headed for the end of the trail. A few steps beyond the turnaround, the cliff offered a spectacular view of the river valley. We could even see the suspension bridge and factory where we entered the trail down below us, and trace the path of the railroad tracks eastward from our crossing.

It was about 4:00, we had run the trail and conquered it's obstacles. We were ready to go home. Unfortunately, this is a dead-end trail. We were only half done. We still had to backtrack the entire distance. The first challenge on the way out is to climb the rocky sluice. We were all well practiced by this time. Everyone knew how much to expect from their 4x4, so we made pretty quick work of what can be a time consuming obstacle.

After that, going back was easier than the trip in for the most part. Gravity was with us and we didn't take any unnecessary chances. For instance, I did not see anyone go through the upper dirt cut. We wanted to get out before dark.

The smooth downhill run stopped abruptly at the lower cut. The difficulty was not in making it through, but in keeping off the wall, now on the left. The Grand Wagoneer pushed it's left front tire off the rim here. We could not see the wheel, let alone change it, because Greg was hard against the wall. The wall reached almost to the roof.

The only apparent solution was to winch him backwards, about two car lengths, to where the trail leveled and widened enough to give access. With the flat tire adding to the pitch of the trail, the AMC 360 had trouble sucking enough oil to maintain pressure. Of course the open diff sent all front axle power to the uninflated tire; the wheel spun uselessly inside the tire. This meant that Greg could not help the winch effort very much. Ed O'Brian had sized his winch for a Wrangler, not for Greg's behemoth, so it was slow going. We waited for the winch to cool a bit and continued reeling the disabled monster up the hill in what had now become total darkness. Eventually we were able to Hi-Lift the front end. Remarkably the jack took a set on a well placed rock in the slick, sloped mud.

Perhaps this was not the best time to discover that Greg's new lug nuts didn't fit his lug wrench. But this is one reason why we run in a group; Jay brought his air wrench and assorted sockets over and quickly swapped the spare into place. We overcame the dark, the mud, the hill and a host of mechanical problems by working together, gently teasing each other to keep the grins and spirits up. Wheeling seems to provide the challenge many of us miss in day-to-day life in modern society.

Those with unlocked frontends may have had an advantage here. I know I had no problem maintaining forward motion here, but could not steer with any accuracy. At one point the engine stumbled because I had forgotten to set the fuel pressure regulator to trail pressure. That broke my grip and the Scout lurched to the left. Banging into the wall caused the driver's door to open, leaving me hanging off the seatbelt while the accumulated junk on the floor slid leftward. The abnormally low RPM let the headlights go dim. I couldn't steer, go forward, sit up or see! Aaarrgh! I gathered it together, shut the door, etc. and drove around the corner.

We gathered in the factory lot to air up, fix some new leaks, and just hang out. Tired, bonded by the travails of the day and relieved to have made it, we delayed parting as long as possible.

See more Papercut action in the Photo Gallery

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