Lack of good winter Jeeping destinations got you down? Well if you’re located anywhere near the Western United States, Florence, Oregon is well worth considering. AEV has long known this and on February 28th we rendezvoused with several of our customers for two days of Jeeping at the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. This spectacular park offers Jeep owners unique access to miles of towering dunes, evergreen forests and spectacular coastal panoramas!
AEV’s group was comprised of guests from around the Northwest. Each guest was driving an AEV-equipped Jeep JK Wrangler and a few of the vehicles even sported AEV’s HEMI V8 conversion. Overall the group was well equipped and indifferent to the forecast of bad weather. For most of the guests this was to be their first time to the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area and their expectations were high. They wouldn’t be disappointed.
On the morning of the 28th, AEV got the tour underway with an introduction to sand driving that included a variety of exercises designed to build skill. Among them was the “popular” failed hill-climb exercise which required that each student back down a very steep sand dune – estimated to be 5 or 6 stories in height! This activity provided the guests with an early-morning reality check and it helped build the kind of confidence that would come in handy throughout the tour.
Following this sobering introduction, AEV got the first day of dune touring officially underway. Over the next few hours the group snaked over miles of dunes arriving at one panorama after another. The guests were beginning to get a sense for just how vast and varied the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area is. In places the dunes appear like a barren lunar landscape while in others they are lush with coastal forest and dotted with emerald lakes. And regardless of the immediate surroundings, the roar of the Pacific Ocean is always on the breeze.
The guests were also beginning to get a sense for the unique demands the dunes place on driver and vehicle. While many areas can be toured at a slow, comfortable idle, other areas require aggressive use of speed and every ounce of available power. Further, the dunes demand considerable finesse and focus from the drivers. Mastery of momentum, throttle application and approach and departure angles is paramount. Deficiencies in any of these areas can be costly.
By early afternoon the guests arrived near the south end of the park and eventually emerged from the dunes heading west toward the coast. To make the transition to the oceanfront more interesting, AEV decided that the group would navigate a half-mile of flooded sand track through dense, low-lying coastal forest. Massive rainfall has flooded the forest giving it an everglade quality. As the Jeeps entered the forest a canopy of thick, black pines leaned in over them. Gradually the water rose up toward the doors and hissed on the hot mufflers causing steam to billow.
Once clear of the forest, the group rose up across the saddle of a dune and spilled down onto the beach. Here they were met by the full impact of a turbulent Pacific Ocean that churned under the weight of ongoing winter storms. From this point AEV led the guests north along the shore for a number of miles, eventually turning inland. Then it was back into the throttles as the Jeeps climbed a final range of massive dunes to eventually arrive back at the park’s northern exit. That evening over pizza and beer there was much excitement and reflection over the day.
On the morning of Wednesday the 29th, AEV got the second day of touring underway beneath a shower of hail, but the guests took it in stride. Once the storm moved past, AEV took the opportunity to conduct an introduction to winching and vehicle recovery. Equipment and technique were discussed and AEV even demonstrated a Pull-Pal winch anchor while extracting a stuck Jeep. This was particularly interesting to the guests who in some cases had never heard of a Pull-Pal, let alone seen one in action.
Following this demonstration AEV decided to take the group back to a few of the nastier dunes for a little playtime. While the previous day had given the guests a nice overview of the park, the second day would be more about “unleashing the beast” on some of the taller, more technical dunes. With this playtime would come a unique opportunity to develop more advanced driving skills like crab-walking and high-lining – something HEMI V8 owners are particularly fond of!
In deciding on a place to play, one particular dune stood out in the minds of the guests. Some estimated that it approached eight stories, but regardless of the height, it was flat-out intimidating. Getting a serious run at the dune was vital. Get it right and even the V6-powered Jeeps could keep just enough momentum to crest the top. Get it wrong and it meant a steep, dicey reverse – all the way to the bottom. A couple of the guests got to experience the “fun” of getting it wrong and no doubt it left a special memory.
As the day progressed, AEV began to choose more and more severe paths through the tall dunes. Climbs continued to require speed while descents became so steep that the drivers operated in controlled slides. Up on the ridgelines the dunes became so jagged and technical that drivers strained their necks to see if they were still following the ridge or getting dangerously close to the edges. In Jeep parlance we call this fun!
Depending on how you look at things, the fun continued when one of the guests finally lost the correct path along a ridgeline and slid perilously sideways off the dune. Thanks in no small part to the wide track of the Jeep JK, the vehicle slid but did not roll. Additionally, sand piled up on the low side of the tires as the Jeep slid and this helped bring the vehicle to a precarious, but reassuring stop. Next came the recovery!
Thanks to the topography, AEV was able to safely position another Jeep on the high side of the stuck one. A winch line was then used to secure the stuck Jeep and sand was then excavated from beneath its high-sided tires. This allowed the stuck Jeep to gradually return to a more level angle. Meanwhile, a channel was dug for the high-sided tires that went out ahead of the Jeep and gradually curved down hill. With the winch cable slowly paying out, the Jeep was allowed to pull forward following the channel until its nose was eventually pointing safely down hill.
Fortunately this whole recovery turned out to be a high point for the trip rather than a low one. The victims of the slide displayed a level of excitement that could have been due to still being alive, but they made it clear they were very much looking forward to the next outing. And that really seemed to sum up the overall sentiment of the group as we headed toward the exit. Two days of Jeeping on the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area had allowed the guests to discover the many layers of enjoyment the park provides. They all agreed that the scenery, the solitude (this time of year) and the driving challenges were simply incredible.
That evening we made Mo’s on the wharf our dinner destination and like the evening before there was great excitement and reflection over the day. That’s the great thing about Jeeping, it keeps on delivering long after you’ve left the trail.
“Karen & I would like to thank you & your crew for a couple of great days on the Oregon coast. We’re grateful for your hospitality, patience and expertise! Your original invite was titled Oregon Dune Tour, but is was so much more. Hopefully we can hook up again. We had a blast!!”
Karen & Tony
“Thanks for the trip last week! We had a great time and learned a lot – including more must haves for the jeep (ordered differential skid, pull-pal, jack and jack carrier from AEV last night.) My only complaint is that I seem to be unable to focus, because my mind keeps drifting off to thought about when I can get back to the dunes.”
-Mike
Note: If you own an AEV-equipped vehicle and would like to join AEV on a future outing, contact Chris Wood at [email protected]
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