Citrus Trailride

The Ocala Jeep Club of Florida

This month’s trailride was held in the Citrus Wildlife Management Area in the Withlacoochee State Forest. Our trailleader Jason “Inverness” Johnson met us all at the rendezvous point in Inverness (where else?) driving Jason Thomas’ Unlimited and muttering some excuse about how he had to lend his trail jeep to someone else. The ride offered us a great contrast to what we’ve grown accustomed to in the Ocala National Forest. The trails there were well marked—no ATV’s allowed—and some where even pristine trails carpeted by fresh pine needles and fine grass! We never saw another group of vehicles there, let alone ATV’s, dirt bikes, Rainbow People, or abandoned campsites.
We stopped a played a bit in a sandy hill area adjacent to an old railbed, and stopped to egg Ron Pearce as he tried to claw his Rubicon up one of the sandy slopes. Jason was even able to remember where some of the trails ran through some low land...nothing too rough, but I did manage to sink my XJ (again) in a deceptively shallow muddy rut. (note to self: it’s your own fault if you spent two weeks drying out your 31” equipped Jeep, then succumbing to peer pressure as you blindly follow Jesse Thompson in his 35” MT– equipped YJ through a mud hole!)

Jason then took us to a trail where water erosion had carved out a long V-shaped washout down a gentle slope. Everyone took their time playing in the soft clay and sand. We were all impressed by how Dawn Taylor managed to high center the Taylor family XJ enough to pick 3 tires off the ground, and how Debby McCoy steered Steve Tyler’s TJ at crazy angles through the gully without fully rolling it over.

After a late lunch break at McDonalds most of the group left for home, but Jason took the rest to another play area with another deep gully. I wasn’t there, but from the pictures that Ron Pearce sent, this area should be called “Trailstand Alley” or “See-Dan-Tallman-mouth-obscenities -as-Jill-gives-the-TJ-too-much-gas-and-stands-it-Sky-High!”

It was a great time at a location that was new to many of us. A big thanks to Inverness Jason for leading us, and a bigger thanks to Unlimited Jason for letting his buddy flog his new rig all day!