NWC spectator instead

I had worked with Don MacDonald on the organizing of the NWC this year, but Don kept my activities to ordering Tshirts, buying prizes and keeping the news up on the website. He didn't let me in on the actual event because he wanted me to drive in it.
But now that I was out, he told me where the next meeting point would be — Lodestone Lake. There is the hard way — through Whipsaw Creek trail, which everyone else took, or the easy way — through Coalmont, Blakeburn and a light duty forest service road. Well, for a front wheel drive truck, the light duty forest road served as its own challenge, requiring me to winch up in two spots. Both places I was on the lookout for other off-roaders as I would have been rather embarrassed to be winching up spots like these if I'd been seen. Thankfully no one saw me. I arrived at Lodestone Lake around 5:30 to a warm fire and Rick and Alisha getting dinner ready for the rest of the participants. They were a bit dismayed that the ETA for the rest of the group was not until around 9 PM, since they were just getting ready to start cooking and had already been waiting several hours.
But sure enough the demand for their cooking was huge when the trucks rolled in around 9 PM. Everyone had several bowls of chili and crusty rolls and cake. The result of which could be heard all night long eminating from the tents around the campsite!
Next morning Greg and I encouraged the front wheel drive Rover up the hills from the campsite back to the forestry road and back down into Coalmont. We set up a prize table at the Granite city monument and awaited the return of the rest of the participants who had taken the much more rigorous Badger Trail to get back down.
Everyone was back by noon for prize presentations, tshirts, photos air and a bit more socializing.
The group then broke up with several trucks heading back through Princeton and the rest heading up the Tulameen and over Lawless Road to the Coquihalla.
Although I was disappointed to become a spectator so early in the event, I had a great weekend in one of the nicest spots in BC with a great bunch of people — and I can't wait till next year.