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2016 Hagerty Fall Classic – Day Two

I awoke for Day 2 of the Hagerty Fall Classic at about 5:15am, roughly two and a half hours before my alarm. The anticipation for today’s route was too much, suddenly I was awake and the next moment I was reviewing each road for the day in my mind. While we’ve done remote routes and destinations in previous events, today’s roads put a whole new meaning into “out there”. Fuel and food was widely spaced, and careful planning had gone into working out a route that would ensure cars, and their person contents, wouldn’t run out of fuel. Despite weeks of going over the timing in my office, here I was lying in bed at 5:30am doing the math all over again

By our 8:45am driver’s meeting, I had nothing but pure anticipation and excitement in my head. Often, when creating a route for Classic Car Adventures, the process begins with a single road, or destination in mind. When we find brilliant road, the puzzle becomes whether or not we can mix that road into a three day event, and do it at just the right moment. Leave the road too late in the day, and your entrants could be too tired to appreciate it. Start the event off with the best road, and you’ve potentially wasted the ‘wow’ moment before there could be any buildup. For us, designing the perfect event is far from simply booking a few hotels and drawing a squiggly line through the map. As the moment of the ‘perfect road’ nears, the anticipation of having it all work out is like a big adrenalin rush. And so, with that rush in my head I opened the drivers meeting…

Together as a group, the route book map was consulted, and the suggested lunch location was highlighted. We worked out the vast areas of “nothing” we would travel, so fuel and snack plans could be roughed in before departure. With a promise of good food in a remote town you might not find on a traditional map, we hit the road. Rarely does a drivers meeting get backed up so perfectly in the first hour of driving. As we made our way North we turned off onto a short winding road to warm the group up. The winding road is fantastic in it’s own right, a short six mile jaunt the twists and turns before dropping you down into the valley through a series of switchbacks. In a curious case of coincidence, the road was littered with tumbleweeds. Nothing says ‘you’re leaving civilization’ better than dodging tumbleweeds on a forgotten highway!

At one point this morning, I was looking out the windshield of my ’58 Beetle, following a pack of Mini’s and a ’58 Alfa Romeo Spider. I was being passed by a Mercedes 280SL working it’s way up the pack, and as I looked in my rear view mirror a Jaguar XK120 had just come into view. You simply can’t spend a Saturday in any better way!

The route today traveled up the Methow Valley, across the Okanogan Valley and into the Kettle Mountains, where we turned North towards the Okanogan highlands. As we traveled into the Kettle mountains the temperature dropped, and a touch of rain fell here are there. Chilly enough that convertible tops went up, wet enough that the wipers were turned on, but mild enough on both accounts that the driving and enjoyment wasn’t dampened. We arrived for lunch, having passed through the rain, in the small town of Republic. Here the group overwhelmed a local BBQ joint, and in true Classic Car Adventures fashion simply rolled with the punches and helped the staff to see the humour in being so swamped for lunch. One entrant was heard explaining that he would have called ahead, but until this morning had no idea even where he was going!

With lunch over, the time for our chosen road had come. We’d be heading West, through the highland mountains back into the Okanogan Valley. To find the turn the route book simply described a ghost town, gave a mileage estimate and then marked the lone road sign you hoped your co-driver didn’t miss! Fortunately, everyone seems to have made the turn. Our signature road combined every element of the “perfect adventure” into one road. There were mountain passes, tight twisting sections, open flowing sections, lake side driving with cliffs right next to you…this road had it all.

I can hear you now, saying to your computer screen, “What road was it?!”, “Where could they have gone?”. I would love to tell you, but now you can appreciate the level of anticipation I had about how much everyone would enjoy it. That burning question which cannot yet be answered. That, my dear friends, was what my morning felt like.

…and besides, this particular road is just as good in the opposite direction but for a whole different reason. It slowly builds, as you travel West to East. Tempting the driver first with a corner set here, a corner set there. But as it nears the Kettle mountains the driving experience becomes like a symphony racing towards the crescendo. It tightens and twists into a brilliant mountain pass before crashing down alongside a lake in a ribbon of turns to the finish. And that, will one day be a feature road of a future Hagerty Fall Classic.

Today’s images are once again provided by the talented Mr. Andrew Holliday.

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2016 Hagerty Fall Classic – Day One

Typically for me, when a CCA event starts all of the stress (or worry) of organizing disappears the moment the first driver’s meeting starts. At that point all of the planning, spreadsheets, bookings and selections are done and finalized. I find that moment to be a relief, I am as much participant as organizer, ready to see if people enjoy the details as much as I hoped they would all through the planning stages. Why then, was this event different? Why, after the driver’s meeting, did I still feel the worry and stress of wondering if it would all go well?

It could be the car. Yes, we could blame the car. My 1958 Beetle is fresh from a restoration, hitting the road for it’s first extended road trip. The furthest the car has travelled in a single trip is to the start of the event…not typically the way you want to ‘test’ it. I shouldn’t be worried, the restoration was completed with the help of RWM&Co and Airspeed Custom Werks, and it appears to be simply brilliant. Outside of a slightly more powerful engine (60hp over the original 36), it’s basically stock. But it’s been a long time since I drove a stock Beetle, can I keep up with the group? The organizer can’t be the last one to the hotel at night. Truthfully, though, the new car only counted for part of my worries. On today’s route, we chose a road which some might think was a little questionable.

But, I think we should start at the beginning…

We met this morning at DirtFish Rally School, for the registration and the start of The Hagerty Fall Classic. A Rally School, where they go sliding around on gravel all day, might seem like an odd choice for a classic car gathering…but DirtFish lives and breathes cars. The office is decorated with a collection of driver’s racing suits from F1, rally and other series. inside the main lobby there is a genuine Ford RS200, a genuine Audi Sport Quattro, and Colin McRae’s actual Ford WRC car. It’s a car enthusiasts dream office, and we were excited to have our group invited to explore it.

Once the driver’s meeting was over, we hit the road exploring back streets and highways up to the Steven’s Pass Highway, where we turned East and went up over the pass towards Leavenworth. The group took a quick detour through Plain and Chumstick, before arriving in Leavenworth for a lunch stop. Following lunch, the route book devoted a whole page to explaining the ominous road choice which lay ahead.

Heading south on highway 97 towards the Blewett Pass, the route book described the Gold-Rush history of the area, and the original pass cut through mountains. Entrants to our event were given two choices, follow the route book up and over the original pass, or “chicken out” and head south along the newer pass. The original pass offered a road which has become mostly one lane, either taken over by the forest or having simply slid down the mountain side. The pavement was rough, the bumps and dips plentiful, but in the end one would have the badge of honour in being able to say that they had indeed driven their car over (what’s left) of the original pass.

Apparently I shouldn’t have worried. We don’t call it Classic Car Adventures without a reason, and every single one of our entrants took the old pass! At times you needed to be doing 5mph, mostly you could be doing 20-35mph. At the end of the day, the smiles and words of approval were clear. “It wasn’t too rough!”, some cars exclaimed, while other simply said “that road was incredible.”

The rest of today’s roads were what we would class as “touring roads”. Not the twistiest roads in the state, but the type of roads where you can cruise at a good clip, enjoying fantastic scenery, with enough curves and hills to keep you interested. We explored the Northern Cascade Mountains, dropping into just a bit of interior desert before heading back into the last of the Cascades. We finished the day, arriving in Wenatchee, for our overnight and a group dinner.

I can’t say whether it was the great roads, fantastic time spent with classic car friends or a flawless drive in a car that reminded me just how much fun ‘stock’ can be..but whatever it was, by the end of the day I felt my usual stress-free self, with nothing but a weekend of great driving with my closest car-nut buddies and friends ahead of me. You can’t dream up anything better!

We’re back at it tomorrow morning, the number plates suggest we’re staying in a town just 45min away…but the route book says we’re going to take seven and half hours to get there…I think the entrants are going to enjoy the route we have planned.

Awesome photography this weekend is provided by Andrew Holliday, and a preview of his shots are available in the gallery below.

-Dave

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Fall Event Entries Opened!

Are you looking for another driving adventure? Good news! Our Fall Driving experiences are ready to go, and the entry forms are now live! Don’t miss your chance to join one of our September Driving events, spaces can fill up quickly and entry lists are limited.

The Hagerty Fall Classic is our Washington/Oregon event, starting September 16th 2016 and ending three days later on September 18th, 2016. This year we’ll be starting in Snoqualmie Washington, and we’ve cooked up roughly 700 miles of twisty, mountain backroads and highways for you to enjoy. This year marks our fifth year for a West-Coast Fall driving adventure, so you can be sure we’ve got some celebration plans in store for the event. Full event information, including entry forms are now posted on the Hagerty Fall Classic Event Page!

Our second September Event happens on the other side of North America, in beautiful Ontario Canada. The Hagerty Maple Mille is running September 23rd to 25th 2016, and explores all new new roads in the Ontario countryside. This year we’ll be starting in Peterborough Ontario, and our three day adventure has roughly 900km of phenomenal backroads and byways for our guests to explore. This year’s route book is being planned with optional road additions, which will bring the total mileage up to 1200km for guests who absolutely love the twisties. This late fall event is late enough for quiet roads without tourist traffic, but just in time for the early fall colours. Full event details, including the entry forms, are now posted on the Hagerty Maple Mille Event Page!

2016 Hagerty Silver Summit – Day Three Photos

Day Three of the Hagerty Silver Summit opened with sunshine, a fantastic breakfast, and a slightly stressed organizer. The clutch cable, you see, had snapped just as I arrived the night before in Mt Crested Butte. With no spare on board, there was only one option…drive without. Park the car? Trailer the car? These are not valid options, where is the adventure!?! At home, which is sea level, the car will roll on the starter in first and get going without any issues. Up at 8,000+ feet, however, was going to be an adventure indeed.

With the Driver’s meeting concluded, some of our group stood with cameras and video cameras. The whole group waited for my car to leave first, so as to give me the best chance of getting going without impediment. As I reached down to turn the key and see if it would go, the real reason for my stress was finally here. I wasn’t worried about driving without a clutch, but I was worried about getting it going the first try with an audience! We rolled for a moment, it coughed and sputtered and then suddenly the rally bug came alive and day three began in earnest!

Soon we were traveling along, below the posted speed limit so the rest of the group could catch up. We drove from Crested Butte to Gunnison with Erik and Andy in the Oldsmobile 442, another car which was not expected to arrive at the finish. Coming out of Gunnison, West along Highway 50, we lead a pack of Porsches and a Pontiac GTO before letting them pass for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

The route book took us along the North Rim of the Canyon on CO-92. As the road winds and twists its way along the Canyon edge, you get the unique opportunity to see your fellow enthusiasts as they motor along ahead and behind you. With almost zero traffic, and the sounds of our classic machinery around us, it was very easy to imagine a time when the roads were only filled with classic cars.

With the tight twists for the sports cars taken care of, it was North through Crawford, Hotchkiss and Paonia on touring roads best suited for big engines. We then wound our way through Bowie and Somerset, literally driving underneath the Coal-Mining equipment on the highway. We then wound through red canyons cut by rivers, and finally broke through the West Elk mountains via the 8,755 ft high McLure Pass.

Our group gathered to end the day just shy of Glenwood Springs, at the Ironbridge Golf Course. Our parking lot party, and following lunch was no longer a gathering of entrants, but rather a gathering of friends. Following lunch, we awarded the traditional Classic Car Adventures awards. The Macgyver award, for best fix on the event, was awarded to Jacob and Ross for their record fuel filter swap times. The Hard Luck Award was given to Kevin Lewis, as he had to switch from his gorgeous Bug-Eye Sprite to a rather modern looking S2000 when the transmission in the Sprite died. And the Hagerty Spirit of the Summit award? That was given to Nathan York, of Oklahoma City. Nathan heard about the event from Randy Kaplin (Spirit runner-up!), and promptly began roping a whole crew of cars from Oklahoma into joining him. Sharing a love of driving and adventure is a sure way to earn a nomination for a Spirit Award!

Sadly though, it seems all good things must come to an end. After an amazing weekend of great cars, amazing roads, brilliant weather and fantastic friends…it was time to say goodbye. The 2016 Hagerty Silver Summit was complete, but not before we were asked for the 2017 dates. It would seem our Colorado Family is all ready to gather again next year, and hopefully introduce a whole new wave of enthusiasts to our brand of adventure. We can’t wait, it’s only been a few hours and we miss our friends already.

Andrew Snucins and Dan Evans were able to snag some amazing early Day Three photos before rushing to the airport for their flights home. A preview of today’s work: [print_gllr id=3733]

2016 Hagerty Silver Summit – Day Two Preview

Day one of the Hagerty Silver Summit was dominated by tight, twisting roads with multiple switchbacks going back and forth. With fantastic weather and new driving friends, the group awoke excited for what day two would bring. The Driver’s meeting was held outside in the sunshine, with a promise of perfect driving weather ahead…

Normally, when we dismiss the driver’s meeting there is a small version of a LeMans start as driver’s and co-driver’s try not to look like they are running for first position on the road. Our group today, however, was interestingly different. Despite cars being warmed up before the driver’s meeting, despite bags packed and washroom breaks taken, the group wasn’t jockeying for first spot on the road. No, instead it seemed road-groups were forming, everyone making sure each car was ready before heading out.

Today’s route was designed with the ‘bigger’ cars, in both size and engine, in mind. We looked for highways and byways which we consider to be great ‘touring roads’. They meander through the countryside, offering elevation changes and sweeping corners. Rather than rowing between 2nd and 3rd gear in the switchbacks, driver’s were predominantly moving between 4th and 5th gear throughout the day.

We certainly didn’t forget about the twisties though! Each hour of faster touring brought a section of twisting corners or a mountain pass to challenge both car and driver alike. Whether it was carving corners through the canyons on CO-114, or climbing one of the many mountain passes…the route found something for everyone to enjoy.

Especially enjoyable today was the way in which the whole event seemed to spend time hanging out with each other. The first group stop I came upon in the Rally Beetle was at the summit of Monarch Pass. Here, over 11,000ft up, a group of cars were building snowmen from the snow on the side of the road. We had our usual meet ups at the Petrol Stations, but it was in the town of Del Norte that the group really found a bond.

The first cars to arrive at Del Norte decided on an outdoor patio and wood fired pizza for lunch. Just as they were finishing their meal, the next wave of cars arrived. A third wave arrived, just in time to see the first set of cars off. Just as the 2nd and 3rd wave were preparing to leave, the final set of cars from our group pulled in. Throughout the course of an hour the entire event enjoyed a well organized, but completely spontaneous, lunch together.

The afternoon continued our mix of touring roads and mountain passes, climbing to over 10,000 feet on Spring Creek Pass, and then over 11,000 feet on Slumgullion Pass. In the late afternoon, climbing through one of the passes, the view suddenly opens up and the West Elk Mountains, completely snow capped, suddenly dominate the horizon. For the rest of the day we drove towards them, eventually arriving in Mt. Crested Butte for the finish of day two.

A preview gallery of photos from Andrew Snucins Photography is available below:

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2016 Spring Thaw Registration

The registration opening date has been set! If you’re interested in being one of our guests on the 8th running of the Hagerty Spring Thaw, you’ll want to mark your calendar! Registration forms will be posted on the website in the early (wee) hours of Sunday January 10th. Registration officially opens at 10am. Please be sure you’ve read the event supplementary regulations before submitting an application.

As per previous years, applications are accepted via mail, courier and in-person at the CCA Squamish office. A number of spots have been reserved for guests using mail or courier to submit their application.

The Hagerty Spring Thaw sells out every year, so we definitely encourage applying early. So far, in eight years, we’ve managed to get every guest on the waiting list an open space…so don’t be scared to enter if you see things filling up. It’s never surprising to hear a restoration isn’t going as quickly as planned, and a space subsequently becomes available.

2015 Hagerty Maple Mille – Day Three Photo Preview

Whew! What a weekend! The weather was simply stunning. I’m thoroughly sunburnt from driving in a Convertible most of the weekend…and deaf from from driving the ’65 Mustang. The deaf part is probably my fault, it’s hard not to continually romp on the ‘loud pedal’, when the car sounds so good!

Day Three began, as per usual, with a driver’s meeting outside the parking lot. After sharing jokes and thank you’s, we got down to the nitty gritty; Construction and road paving had played havoc with our plans for day three. The day’s route map (found in the route book) was pulled out, and the problems highlighted. Just as the co-driver’s were readying their pens for a tonne of note taking, Dave pulled out a ‘route book supplement’ for all the participants. The route book supplement included a new map, new route and our usual style of notes and directions. Sleep? Organizer’s don’t need sleep! All kidding aside, we tossed a coffee between the front seats and embarked South towards the finish.

Today’s route, a touch shortened due to construction, wound it’s way down highway 11 with views of the Canadian Shield and the fall colours starting to emerge. Secondary roads and strategic loops took our group off the main highway for some great touring roads. As the finish loomed closer, one final road surprise was waiting. The summer camp Dave worked at in his youth was located next to a highlight in Muskoka’s road collection. Tight turns, elevation changes, lakeside views and not another car in sight. Just as the road straightened out, we turned into Golf Course and parked for our finish.

The golf-course fairway, concour d’elegance, style of parking was a first for Classic Car Adventures…and a fitting way to finish our first event in Ontario Canada.

Here are some Day Three photo previews, courtesy of Ralph Saulnier Photography:

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