Butt-Stomper Run 2000 -Don Schultz
Don “Junior” Queen is known for organizing some great 4×4 events. Hes also well known for his staunch promotion of the Suzuki Samurai. So it was just natural that he would put together an event that would bring some of this areas best known Samurai owner-enthusiasts together with a couple of its premier Samurai builders. On June 17th & 18th , thirteen fine specimens of the Suzuki Samurai from all over the Pacific Northwest gathered to meet and experience several of Washington States finest trails.
The key to a successful trail run is good planning and organization, and an important part of that is selecting the right people to assist as guides.
The guides need to know the territory and trails well, almost intimately, to avoid getting the group lost or in trouble. Even though there were others in the party familiar with these trails, Junior selected Brian to be our forward guide for the next 2 days. Not only was Brian extremely familiar with the trails but he was also a good driver who, with his competitive nature (and superiority complex), was sure to keep the group moving. And with his sidekick Andy riding shotgun we were sure to never have a dull moment.
Bringing up the rear was an equal, if not more important, post and we needed someone with patience. Someone who was willing to be the last one through every trail and able to keep others from falling behind. He needed a shepherds mentality, capable of watching the flock and keeping track of all the vehicles. He also needed to be equally familiar with the territory, be a seasoned driver and maintain good communication with the forward guide on the CB radio. Fortunately we had Skip and Uncle T, the Geritol Twins* to handle this task. Skip had originally volunteered for the job but with Uncle T in the vehicle ahead of him we were assured of few problems. (* Junior affectionately refers to Skip and Uncle T as the Geritol Twins. Sorry, not related.) 
Keep the group moving you say? Yes, a common problem when traveling on the trail in large groups are the delays caused by everything from broken equipment to potty breaks. As the size of the group increases so too does the number of delays until you reach “critical mass” and all progress seems to stop. When your plans are as ambitious as Juniors (over 100 miles in 2 days) you just cant afford very many delays. So, to at least minimize this phenomenon the group was limited to 13 well maintained, well equipped vehicles. But, as you will see, that is still no guarantee of a trouble free weekend.
