November/December 2009

Run Whatcha Brung!

By Charla Downey

"Run whatcha brung!" This is what I was instructed to do in an email I received years ago from the Rocky Mountain Land Cruiser Association (RMLCA) after I asked whether or not non-modified Cruisers were allowed on their trail runs. It turns out that nearly a decade later, that advice is still as pertinent as it was back then.

With my designated trail rig temporarily out of commission and the Canadian August Long Weekend holiday fast approaching, I remembered that advice as I loaded up my stock, 1985 BJ73 daily driver (Mr. G) with camping gear. I then set off on a ten-hour drive south to meet up with members of the RMLCA to partake in their annual “Ruby-Con” off-road adventure. This was not the first time I had been part of this trip but it promised to be something a little out of the ordinary, as it had been designated a "sight-seeing and camping trip" instead of the typical "Obliterate Your Resale Value" adventure. For me, it meant that my BJ73 would be leaving the pavement (intentionally, anyway) for the first time.

Ruby Lake and Ruby Falls are the main attractions associated with this trip, both stunning hydrological features located in West Central Alberta, near the Jasper National Park boundary of Canada. Ruby Lake is beautiful—green in color with crystal clear and very cold water. Ruby Falls is just a little further up the trail and is a perfect place to take some great photos. Together, they're part of what brings me back to the area year after year.

Along with my dog Prado, I journeyed to the Brazeau River Provincial Recreation Area, our agreed upon meeting place, just a short distance from the trailhead. We arrived just after 2:30 in the morning, only to discover that the campground was full—and full of vehicles I didn't recognize. I let Prado out for a break and as I contemplated where the Cruisers might have been hiding, I saw the obnoxiously bright lights of a familiar 1989 FJ62 beaming across the bridge I had just crossed. Curtis Lettley jumped out of the Wobble Wagon and soon told me that the rest of the group had assembled at an impromptu camping spot just up the Cardinal River Road.

A few minutes later, wired and wide-awake from the long drive, I was sitting around a campfire with a couple more familiar faces. Jim "BTW" Kelsall was there with Borg, his 1978 FJ45. He kindly offered me the use of his tent for the evening as he took refuge in the back of his pickup. Spencer Cutten, a person I had met once before at an RMLCA meeting (but I’d also read many of his posts on the RMLCA mailing list) was there as well. He had driven up in Frigid Smurf, his 1983/84 BTJ60 (with transplanted turbo 3B) after a last minute decision that he was going wheeling, no matter any other distractions. Jim trundled off to bed shortly after I arrived, happy to know the last straggler was in camp. Spencer, Curtis, Prado and I stayed up for a few more hours, listening to snoring emanating from the tents, before calling it a night at around 4:30 a.m.

Waking up to the aroma of frying bacon, eggs and pancakes coated in Bailey’s Irish Cream, I arose and set off to see who else had made Ruby-Con their August vacation destination....