There was A LOT more water than the last time we went, with a light dusting of snow in some spots. Our mission was to explore the southern half of the 4x4 loop. On our last trip we inadvertantly bypassed most of the loop after getting a little disoriented.
Let's just say the southern loop is MUCH more difficult to navigate. There was deep standing water...large roots...large rocks...washed out sections of trail with creeks running through them...steep...slippery...FUN! We also added some Jeep Forest Green (from Jeff's rig) and grey (from mine) to the landscape in a rutted steep washed out section of trail. The rock garden (not pictured) claimed some of my red paint as well:(
We started the trail at 2:00 pm and finally exited about 6:45. This was much later than we had planned, but we also hadn't planned on the southern part of the loop being so gnarly. Unfortunately there aren't many pictures of the southern part, as the sun had gone down, but you will see some at the end where I left some of my grey fender flares behind on the side of a rutted wash.
As usual the pictures don't do anything justice, and the best parts were largely unphotographed because it was dark or I was too busy driving. I'm waiting for Jeff's pictures from his camera. Maybe there will be some good ones. Evan's Creek is definitely in the future but we are going to wait until the snow melts a bit. We want to spend time driving, not winching! That's it until next time!
And it begins...
Did I mention that Jeff likes to go through water?
Korvettenkapitän Jeff Scott and his green U-boat...those are 35" tires, by the way.
A blurry picture of the XJ in the woods.
An easy part of the trail with a small creek running down the middle...we had no idea what we were in for later!
XJ on the rocks with a twist.
15 psi in the tires makes for a nice sidewall bulge.
Sure flexes better than when it was stock. The JKS quick disconnects really add some articulation to the Skyjacker lift in the front. The next project is to remove the rear anti-sway bar completely. It's also time to trim the fenderwells...:)
Nice articulation but nowhere near what this Jeep Unlimited Rubicon is capable of.
Note the chunks of ice on the front bumper. They were scooped from the surface of a "puddle" we had just navigated through.
Twisted up and getting dark FAST. This is what the south loop looked like in the easier parts.
Ooops! The pictures just don't do the angle justice but I was worried that the scraping was from the door. Turns out it was just the rear fender flare.
No, I am not tilting the camera. The gouges blend in beautifully with the scraped and peeling paint on the rest of the Jeep. I don't think anyone will even notice. It could have been a lot worse!
2 comments:
Looks like a good time, sorry we couldn't make it!
It must feel great accomplishing two things in a day. The Tahuya ride must be an awesome reward for a successful meeting.
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