Wheeler Lake/ Twin Cone

[WINKY]

OH MY FREAKIN GOD im tired been up since 3pm yesterday then 15 hours in the saddle....WHEW got pics ill post up. Had a blast and a bit of excitement ill let the person tell the story who deserves to tell it from their standpoint :)

Over all Great run and can be done in a fullsize 9000lb RIG!!!!!

[Funrover]

TELL TELL.... Pics.. dangit man come on already LOL

[Haku]

TELL TELL.... Pics.. dangit man come on already LOL

A few teasers........took a bunch more.........but these were a few of the "event" of the day...

http://r6stqg.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pdiVBUBInS3PQTmTp7znD2eNwu3Na9R8gksGY6eN7mRcejX3 1HSx52zJ__l3UEobQ4EsPzgIfS7C2_qRi_GmOQbmpnQLLUqn8/2.jpg

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More to come....

JH

[4Runninfun]

:eek: pete flopped? c'mon man you gotta spill it! thats not a spot i would expect a flop form pete.

[Ric]

sweet. one of my fav. trails, looks like both are ok, thats a plus

[Haku]

hehee........look a little closer on who's in the drivers seat. Uploading pics now, will have more up in bit.

JH

[4Runninfun]

well that explains why she looks a little more shook up.

[Haku]

A for real trip report...

So as per the calender, 4 rigs plus a couple passengers showed up. Dave, Randy, Pete and Myself, plus LaDawn and a lady friend(Evilyn?) that Randy brought along for the ride.

Meeting up wasn't too bad nor was the drive up, despite some issues I was having with my carbs. Lets just say they either need to be rebuilt or replaced, and till one of those things happens, my motor runs like crap with no power, and I get horrible gas mileage. Still managed to make it to the trail, and though I had some issues with some of the steeper stuff with it, the day was still a lot of fun.

We got to the trailhead around 10:30 or so, and the fun stuff starts almost immediately. Its definitely quite scenic there too, so its a double whammy. I didn't get any pics of the us going up the obstacles since my camera battery was dead, but the other guys got plenty. The first obstacle is easy on one side, and super tippy on the other. The more flex you have here the easier it will be, and big tires (at least 35's) are a huge help. My little 31's would let me get up it and still feel like I was gonna be on my wheels by the time it was done. I did stick my nose in though. Dave took a few tries linining it up, but once he was, didn't have any troubles. Pete walked up it like its wasn't there, and Randy and I took the easier but still fun "bypass".

Not much further up, you come to where the wedge is. This provided some "fun" on the way back down, but we'll get to that in a bit. This obstacle has the Wedge part on the left going up, which is notorious for putting rigs on their side, a steep and technical section on the right, and an easyish bypass in the middle. Only Pete tried the wedge, and made it look smooth and easy. Dave was the first to head up though, and after a bunch of tries made it up the steep section on the other side. While its not as hairy as the Wedge, its still pretty stout, made hard by a pile of mud at the bottom, and lots of vertical rocks to stop you in your tracks. Dave and his 37" tires and front locker still had to try a bunch of times to get the right line and figure out just how much power was needed not to stall but also not be too much. Really easy to slide into a place you don't want to be on this one. I tried for at least 10 minutes on that one, but my smaller tires, a really thick coating of mud, and only a rear locker (not to mention my engine would bog and die due to the messed up carb) made it a no go for me. I think I would have made it if the area was dry, but there was mud everywhere by the time I was done and I just couldn't get enough traction to get over the bigger rocks. This meant I was taking the easy center line, along with Randy. Still a fun and challenging way to go up it, but not as hair raising as the stuff to either side.

From here it mellows out and you can take in the views. Its a bit on the rough and jumbly side, but there isn't a rig on here that couldn't handle it. It goes up for a few miles to, where I am told, it goes to Bowling Ball Hill (a steep and slippy hill). Alas, a large snow avalanche came down about a quarter mile before BBH, blocking our way. We played in the snow a bit (which though packed, varied between 4 and 10 foot deep). I don't think we would have broked through, but there was one section where it got a bit off camber, and if you started sliding there would be nothing to stop you from going over a 6 foot snow ledge and landing on your roof in willowy marsh land. Needless to say, we turned around there.

Now for the fun part....

JH

[Haku]

I'll let Pete tell it in a bit more detail, but from my perspective and how he explained it to me, LaDawn was only off line by a few inches to half a foot. Seems like she just went a bit too high on the flat ledge on the right side looking up (where the drivers side tire in this picture was)...

http://r6stqg.bay.livefilestore.com/y1p6rXbDHiMCxn0goDaP3fqJFC3cdQJQY7nCaFPQylZA66f-OFh1zpyOplVO_CZueyPQ5yLNBA2sHddgo0AXwfv9Q/3.jpg

Essentially, both front tires were pretty much down (with the drivers side being up on the rock a bit still) and essentially the passenger rear wheel went down, but the drivers side stayed up, and it was done. It was a slow flop, and Pete even had enough time to stick his arm out and try to stop the car from tipping as it went over ( or maybe he was stopping himself from falling out).

http://r6stqg.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pDGVGCoPmZRXz1Bh5zsl5MtG0FTg8RnrH-_IV0TjnGD4xLNun5ks2FYwkKCG-QzJG5kRErcEk60iUp8S9eI-5mg/2.jpg

Anyways, no harm no foul. Truck was still trying to crawl along afterward, and the only real casualty was the tube door got bent, and side view mirror is toast. A few scrapes in the exo cage, but otherwise its good to go. A few more shots for ya....

http://r6stqg.bay.livefilestore.com/y1p3whGq2qjaRe8hzFdInNXGtQwO4_lAp27oe_C1Xy6YZMMH_E RCxs6iELV6xU39PYGj_D1JxAFTbz5KKGYSW5bWQ/4.jpg

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JH

[Haku]

Randy got his truck in place to pull it back on its feet (using a snatch block mounted to a tree) and Dave got his Jeep in place to make sure it didn't happen to quickly and to add stability.

http://r6stqg.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pLRuGTr7CvI9B5ec0pY_ZMCS_lGXrYGc3D9zH0_qAvp6l28J 9XzOH31yQ25vD-z00WbWtl-rGZHilQl4EAo2TiA/10.jpg

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From here it was pretty easy. Got it back to a flatish orientation, Pete fired it up, we kept the winches on to make sure it didn't fall back over, and he drove it out. Easy Peasy. It belched some blue smoke right when it fired up, but other then that nothing seemed wrong with it. No oil anywhere or such. Just a bit of leaked gas. Ah, the joys of an exo cage and a rig designed to be in weird angles.

Dave and I took the steeper side opposite to wedge down with no issues. Randy was already down off the obstacle, and took the center easier line. The next obstacle down was no problem, with everyone but LaDawn (back in the saddle again after the "incident", the only way it should be) took the easier side down, seen here with Randy coming down...


http://r6stqg.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pC_J_wFcFuOKOoyJHFm2enkvxhY2P1WMO6iFOl4DhfE90CEs x2xrJhtS3xVGnqB-6JSijPVU5iiAo-bKdapyfjA/12.jpg

In this one you can see the easy side on the left, with the tippy weird section on the right

http://r6stqg.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pBdU5LWr9FwD0IAIE33Nx3bddOp-CwqkNOa2P1ajHjOTxhyG2tRVzj_dOGahEeRvrrkR7dSG-gNqZ79tR6eXRrw/13.jpg

Randy being a poser

http://r6stqg.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pWRDztcyoDwitxYK9p7on8-E5WhaKdEeIQC42FczHzuqZgGsXSU04baNsxcc4BuFyizHZlTjg R_P1hWaNjxMVBQ/14.jpg

Ladawn getting ready to come down the tippy section (Brody's truck has a ton of flex and big tires and makes this obstacle look easy)

http://r6stqg.bay.livefilestore.com/y1p3x49KXNdUQjnxn6iuEr334ZHj0GQmD3dOjbGhGylmeCp8Qo F_r42xABlRjLXKxcWEQqbjGuEiXg7A35Ck9JtCw/17.jpg

JH

[Haku]

Once past here it was an easy rest of the ride down to the trailhead, where we stopped for lunch, aired up, and took in the views a bit more. Dave decided to head home, and the rest of us headed off to do Twin Cone trail (with a brief potty break in Fairplay of course). As we were headed through Johnstown Steve (SCRubicon) came on and said he was hanging out at the top waiting for us.

Twin Cone is a neat trail that starts at the top of Kenosha Pass (go south towards the Colorado Trail Head campground). It starts out pretty tame, with my Subaru WRX being fully capable of driving a lot of it. After a couple miles of twisting throught he forest, it starts to get a tiny bit rougher going up a series of many switchbacks (still in the woods though). From there, you see a sign saying "Road becomes 4 wheel drive" and it ain't kidding. There are easy and hard ways (and a few in between). This section is characterized by large boulders with loose dirt in between. Like I said, there are clear easy ways to go, but for those wanting a bit more a challenge, there are some pretty difficult sections to try out. The whole time its a fairly steep incline, and alot of the obstacles really seem to need bigger tires (lots of big boulders with flat vertical sides to get up over). Add to this that most of the medium and small sized rocks aren't really solid in the ground, so stuff is moving around alot. Definitely a rough and tumble section with lots of jouncing.

The hardest part of this trail was a very steep hill that had two options. One side that was steeper but had alot more traction and less loose rock, and one that was essentially a scree hill with small to medium boulders mixed in. Randy's truck proved to be too heavy for that section, but both Pete and I made it up it. I know I had to give it full throttle at High RPM to be able to keep my speed up enough to get over some of the bigger rocks. First couple times I tried it, I'd hit a rock, loose traction, and the engine would bog down and stall. You also have loose rock shift under you all the time, and a few of the times it literally threw me a foot to the side. Finally frustrated with it, I just revved the crap out of it and got up past the hardest part.

By the top of that hill, you are pretty much above tree line and have a clear view of the top of the Western Cone of the "Twin Cones". We could Steve up there watching. He said he could hear us before he saw us, which I imagine was me giving it the throttle necessary to get up the hill. More jouncy trail awaited the last mile or so to the top of the mountain. There are a couple different lines going up from here, with the easy ones being no problem. The harder ones were just a whole slew of loose medium to large sized boulders that just looked like no fun whatsoever. Pete said he spent over an hour getting up one of them on a previous trip. Definitely bouncy and rough on the easier stuff, but no problem.

The view at the top (12,270 feet according to my GPS, Topo maps say its a bit higher) is breathtaking, with views in excess of 100 miles (probably more on a clear day).

http://r6stqg.bay.livefilestore.com/y1p2PlutQCL9t_jU1g6hmQ_eZJvInrDNHKKrIVTujIHAmK8yEs NkF31mhuqIoW-0wwj4vkC5nH6KOYjR0TSsIQ4FA/20.jpg

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[itsjustdan23]

How is LaDawn holding up? She doin ok after the flop? Personally it would scare the livin crap outta me the very first time.

[Haku]

The trip down was pretty much a reverse of going up. A bit easier, but nothing too hard. Did get some pics though.

http://r6stqg.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pR6mPWSHu8-SCZdL1PVjId3HmNmzDM1ck1TttYJPUH3fHKvRd-UOi4o0-nbWYCSDDz2i4gPLnOGco_iB3fzTC_A/25.jpg

Randy coming down the easier side of the steep part (its way steep then it looks here, Randy actually lost oil pressure and ended up coasting down with engine off)

http://r6stqg.bay.livefilestore.com/y1puHplhFE65PXXeC50kUMYwc913ksqSWXaR64nHvRZ956sLc5 SvU3wg6fs4i0vDZl2hQ6ENX4H8pXBYO8hIsuMCppQTY4h2cto/28.jpg

Pete and Steve coming down the scrably part (again not nearly as steep looking as it was)

http://r6stqg.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pnT2Y9xzKBsOUO7O4pXp86GQrD1rhenKUyPUg3t7da41C92G jcgjupJ1ATTBz4-M_QfMOW6L7OpTAH5bEQNYswt8tv8Bxzg_X/27.jpg

Steve coming down

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Typical terrain for the last quarter (distance wise at least, probably halfway or more time wise) of the trail

http://r6stqg.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pxQgY-9FQl2yzi_r6nFJ52qX-bsGD62WhSeqRPnWbrOeouacCNreudecE213MVH3mDBFGoTPNsh xu2ZCRiXMtzTkXw1oWkCh0/30.jpg

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Everyone made it down with no problems and the usual post trail run BS started with War stories, unlocking of hubs, and inflating of tires. Just an FYI on that subject, the Connoco in Bailey has a really nice free air compressor found behind the store next to the port o poties and car wash. Overall it was great day and everyone had fun. Some good stories to tell and some loopy people from the altitude. Hope you enjoyed my report. My literary brain turned on tonight, so there ya go.

Josh

[Haku]

How is LaDawn holding up? She doin ok after the flop? Personally it would scare the livin crap outta me the very first time.

She was/is fine. Got right back in and kept driving. Both she and Pete were laughing as the thing went over, so that gives you an idea. Pete said it wasn't the first time its happened, though it was the first with Ladawn at the wheel (but not the first while she was in the vehicle). That rig is super safe and designed for that kind of thing to happen, so if there was someone who it had to happen to today it was Pete's rig.

JH

[1freaky1]

Sounds like you all had a good time minus the carb frustrations. Good to see everyone made it ok.

[4Runninfun]

Great writeup! I will be looking to do this trail this summer. I love the close-up pic of ladawn after the flop her expression says it all... " well that didn't go as planned" lol!

[Roostercruiser]

Haku you are the trail report master. once again very good . looked like fun

[Chris]

Great write-up Josh, thanks! I'm glad everyone had a good time, especially LaDawn and Pete and that nothing of significance was damaged in the flop.

One thing that occurred to me was that we probably juts found a leader for the Ladies Run - how about it LaDawn! ;)

[Brody]

Well, I can't beat Josh's report which was great, so I'll just add to it a little.

Great day even though some sun would've been fine. We got father into Wheeler than we expected, but stopped at the area where there is a big drift every year. Off camber at the very end which is about 1/4 mile from Bowling Ball Hill with a bad slide if you blew the line or started sliding, so we turned around.

LaDawn started driving at this point and when we can to the V notch wondered about a spotter. I asked her if she wanted a spot as she had driven this line before up and down and it was a 'maybe, but...' I just told her that she needed to watch her driver side tire and make sure that it stayed on the wall of the V. Little did I know that she had taken a dislike to the passenger side mirror, had decided that I needed to get a closer look at the rock on my side, and by 'watching the driver's side tire' she was planning on watching it go up in the air.

Anyway, we start going down the slot and she missed her line by all of 4-8". The passenger side tire dropped into the hole and the rig went over. Nice to have the exo and the tube doors as otherwise we would have been looking at a front fender, crumpled hood, cratered door and rear quarter panel!

Surprisingly, this was the very first accident that that LaDawn had ever been in in her life! I turned the key off and got my seat belt off so that I could start to get LaDawn out of the rig. It was easy on my side as I was able to keep myself in place by sticking my hand down on the ground when I undid my seat belt. LaDawn had nothing to brace herself against and was holding onto the tube door to keep herself in place. It took both Randy and me to get LaDawn up and out of the rig. No one was hurt, not even shaken up really, as the flop was so slow.

We got straps on the rig so that we could get it rubber side down again. Randy positioned himself so that he could snatch black me off of a tree and Dave positioned himself so that he could keep tension on the winch so that the return to rubber side down was slow and easy. FYI, if we had been by ourselves, the return to rubber side would have been hard as we would have only been able to snatch off of one tree.

Anyway, back to rubber side down again, everyone smiling, minor damage to the heap...bent hinges and major ding on the tube door and trashed out mirror...there is a reason I use the cheapest mirrors I can get my hands on...and a reminder to ourselves than maybe we should use the shoulder harnesses...even on obstacles we have done a bunch of times..LaDawn back in the driver's seat and we headed back down. Little oil in the cylinder heads and a few scattered items: camera, notepad and pens tossed out of the rig. Everything else was strapped or lashed down..

Thanks for the stellar winch work work on both Randy's and Dave's part and thanks for the concern from everyone that we were ok! Like was mentioned...the rig was built for this kind of stuff, so it is a little hard to get hurt or even to get any 'real' damage...

Oh...the hand/arm came out of the rig when we were stopped and I did that only to get my belt off. Never ever try to stop a rig from flopping with a body part! I have set, so far, a broken ankle, a broken wrist, and a broken arm when people have done this. Drummer from Def Leppard lost his arm in a 4x accident...easy to do...and you have to live with the results for a long time..Also keep everything strapped down, especially if it is big enough to do some harm...

Here are some of LaDawn's and my pictures

[Brody]

More pictures...and LaDawn agrees providing she isn't working...

[Brody]

And some more:

[Brody]

The pictures of Twin Cone do not do it justice. We were watching Randy and Josh do these hills and they were having issues. We went 'what's up? those don't look hard'. So even visually, they don't look too bad. It is only when you get on them and realize that they are essentially chewed up sand with big rocks in them and way steeper than what they looked like, that you get the real feel...Not easy, even for a set up rig, simply due to the looseness of the terrain. Luckily there were bypasses for most of these...

Great watching the big Dodge do these as well as the tight rocky stuff. Great watching Josh tackle these things, too, fighting the carb problems from the get go...like all day long...

Good day, good people, great run....once more! We love this site and the great folks we have met....and all of the friends we have made!

[Chris]

Great photo Pete, a prototype for the "women of fr4x4"

[Brody]

I liked that one and the one that Jon commented on...where LaDawn has this 'Well, that didn't go as planned' expression on her face....

She told me on the way home that she has never been in any kind of accident in anything before...

[Gecko Cycles]

Great photo Pete, a prototype for the "women of fr4x4"This is the best!!!! You're a lucky man Pete to have such a wife.
http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=3606&stc=1&d=1244901381
Bet you didn't expect to use your climbing experience on this run. :lol:

This is the spot I thought you (Randy) would have the most trouble with and might high center on.
http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=3592&stc=1&d=1244898658

[Gecko Cycles]

Oh...the hand/arm came out of the rig when we were stopped and I did that only to get my belt off. Never ever try to stop a rig from flopping with a body part! I have set, so far, a broken ankle, a broken wrist, and a broken arm when people have done this. Drummer from Def Leppard lost his arm in a 4x accident...easy to do...and you have to live with the results for a long time..Also keep everything strapped down, especially if it is big enough to do some harm...


I knew you were too experienced to try to hold the car up and figured you were just unbuckling the harness. You poor out of the car catastrophically as soon as you unstrap. It is amazing how fast you fall out. Glad LaDawn waited till you could help before she unbuckled.
I have seen some really horrible results first hand and almost lost a friend due to blood loss at Dumont Dunes by holding on to the top cage when he rolled my buggy. It was the most ugly, sickening thing I have ever seen. You couldn't have done more damage to a hand with a 5# sledge.

So please don't hold onto a roll bar ever. It is just bad practice and you don't want that learned experience when it really counts. Death grip that steering wheel or O-Sh!t bar!!

That right line up the loose hill towards the top of Twin Cone kicked my butt too. I was stubborn and kept trying determined to not have that hill have it's way with me. Alass after loosing $50 worth of rubber on it I took the left line. A couple of 4Runners spun right up it after my feeble attempts. You can't build a rig for everything.

[white collar redneck dad]

JOSH!!!!

Thank you so much for your narrative of the trip!!! Very cool!!! :thunb:

I have been on Twin Cone trail several times..I lost my full exhaust system from the front of the cat back on the upper section of Twin Cone!!! I love the sound of a 4x4 with no exhaust from front of the cat back...:D Theres nothing liking hearing your 4x4 buds hop on the cb and say "charlie your exhaust is wrapped around your axle"...:) we were above timberline in a hail / lighting storm taking out my exhaust :wrench: and putting it in the bed of a comanche!!

What a fun trip!!!

Charlie

[Gecko Cycles]

LOL. When is it not hailing and storming up there at the wrong time?

Yea Josh is becoming quite the writer. Good job!

[WINKY]

So here is my versions, Josh wrote up everything pretty good so not much to add. But here it was at the vnotch from my point of view....


When we turned around i though pete hopped back in to drive, unbenounced to me that LaDawn was in the pilot seat. So we get down to the vnotch and i stop to take pics and still thinking Pete was driving, i would give minimal spotting as i figured he knew how to take the line and i would advise of any bad things i see. Well they were going normal slow speed no sweat, and right at the spot where the right tire starts going down i start pointing big passenger side turn now but it was too late, as soon as the pass tire touched the ground the drive side was too high and it looked like a dog slowly flopping onto its side and came to a soft (as soft as can be for a rig) thud on the rock. Eline my passenger was freaking out when it started to roll and i calmy said "crap" in a normal tone. I did get a perfect "OH SH!!T" shot on LaDawns face though right as the tire dropped and she knew it was going over, but i got a good vantage shot for the whole thing and recovery. Wheeler lake was doable with the left line on first obstacle, and middle line on the vnotch, just got to get lined up right on that one. I managed not to scrape a single thing on it. Just got to take your time. Going down is the same. Prewalk your line to see any hidden stuff and a spotter is a welcome! thanks to everyone for spotting as well!!!!!:thunb:

Twin cone is a PITA with a heavy truck but doable with alot of effor in some places. Being 9000lb of A$$ i have to be cautious of bouncing the truck on anything as the weight coming down is what causes any damage to the undercarriage. ALso not getting into a crabbing motion with a diesel ill end up prezeling my driveline. I just stop get a small bit of momentum up and use the torque to power over stuff safely. I am learning to gradually increase power and momentum when needed and not slam into stuff breaking things, which could easily be done with this rig. For me all the lines appeared to be challenging, so i just picked a detailed line through stuff putting tires ON rocks and not around them. Seemed to work fairly well. There are no easy lines on twincone they rather are all moderate to hard lines when going through the boulder field before the steep hill. Take your time in this area. I did get some carnage too a hubcap sacrificed its life for the rim and i heard it, stopped, opened the door reached down and retrieved the fallen soldier and tossed him in the back. The steep hill could be done if i was on setting 3, 2nd gear and had momentum but i was just digging corn rows half way up on stock setting 2nd gear 4low and after 3 tries i backed down and took the bypass that had traction. The rest of the way up to twin was rough but fun, some nice semi tippy areas to enjoy as well. And the views from there.................

The inclination of the terrain would be a severe challenge if it was wet or snowy as sliding off camber would be a bad risk.

Overall for a big rig:
wheeler: take easier lines with a spotter in case. expect damage if you get off line on the harder lines. Line yourself up properly to get good aproach. Go slow when returning and you shouldnt drag much if anything. (i scraped my towbar on one but it hangs a good 8 inches lower then the bed.

Twin cone (dry):
the boulder field, take your time CAREFULLY choose your lines as there really isnt any easy line through this. you gotta pretty much pick the easiest way to get through medium stuff. build your power up instead of slamming head on with these rocks, i couldnt move em myself. you can attempt the hill, just make sure everyone behind stays clear in case you need to back down and take the left side easy line.

Over fun level: 10

here is the pic of the day right as LaDawn rolls over see the look on her face, but it was a easy roll but Her and Pete were ok. The recovery went well and im glad i got all my gear and winch as it is worth every penny! (pulled petes rig and Daves rig at the same time...)

here are my pics of the day
http://s482.photobucket.com/albums/rr189/randyrandy77/twin%20cone_wheeler%20lake/

and here is the pic to put on the wall.

[WINKY]

Oh one thing to advise for everyone as this happened, if you change drivers it might be a good idea to tell whomever will be spotting, as i though pete was driving and i couldnt see into the rig with the light. LaDawn told me she was watching me and the tires but me thinking pete was driving i didnt give much spotting. I take some responsibility for the roll. :(

[WINKY]

here is a zoomed in shot of the roll, Notice LaDawns expression as she realizes, and petes hand starting to pull in expecting gravity to take full grasp and invite them to the rock face for lunch. Also the white knuckles, LaDawn you did great no matter what and congrats on your first roll! You are now one up on me!!!!

[Brody]

Well, like I said, I asked LaDawn if she wanted a spotter and it was 'so,so' so I figured that LaDawn has driven this up and down about 4-5 times, no big deal. "Keep your eye on the driver's side tire and hold it about 1/2 on the V". Well a bit of a communication breakdown, I guess, she kept trying to see over the hood and I was saying "watch the tire...watch the tire..." Then woopsie doodle...

Good practice for her as doing this is like taking your first climbing fall. You end up with it over, no harm, no foul...and go..."Gee....I guess all this stuff actually works...."

Yeah...and we were both laughing...

Great pictures! Especially the 'oh **** one'.....

[WINKY]

lol just happy that you both are ok. I saw that ps tire droop and i was like..."crap"....

[WINKY]

I want my 7" lift with 37's i will be able to do so much more then.... hmmm bonus for next year i suppose...

[WINKY]

Hey, I seem to remember saying you needed some 37's on that thing a couple months ago and you said "no way, it's a not a crawler". I love how the trail changes everything :D

shut up....:rolleyes: lol

[Brody]

That's a classic shot of LaDawn, boy that rear seems to have gotten up and over to the side in a hurry. Pete, do you think it would have been possible to throttle out of it, or was it a roll no matter what once the front tires dropped? :D:thunb:

That would've have been my first inclination and what I would have tried. I think a quick goose would've done it, but it might not have, either, cause She was in low low range and a goose of the gas really doesn't do too much there...

She was pretty cool about it, but I was the one that reached over and turned the key off...She doesn't have quite the experience under her belt yet no matter how well she drives...and it isn't the kind of thing thing where you can shout 'Hit it" and have the person just react...She did kind of the same thing on the Ladies Run when the truck stalled in a bad uphill. She tagged the brakes for sure, but pushed the clutch in at the same time. We were starting to go back at a pretty good clip (ask Aaron) and I stabbed the E brake and shouted at her to dump the clutch all at the same time. Worked and I don't think that she will do that same thing again...Merely a learning curve..

[WINKY]

its all good. part of the fun!

I also found that i dumped about 3 quarts of oil out the vent tube on the engine going down hill from twin cone.... filling it back up. :oops:


i will have to find a solution to that not happening again as i run about 12 quarts in the engine....

[Brody]

[QUOTE=DEEZLPWR;45019]

Going down is the same. Prewalk your line to see any hidden stuff and a spotter is a welcome! thanks to everyone for spotting as well!!!!!:thunb:

About 36 years ago, I was wheeling my Scout in the backwoods north of Seattle. I was having a gas and cutting around the logging roads a little too fast. I almost sped up this hill, but something made me stop, get out of the rig and walk to the top. There was easily a 50 foot drop off to the ground. The road went up the hill, no sign, no gate, no fence, then dropped off vertically. What was going on was they were grading the land on the other side for development and had carved the whole hillside away. I probably wouldn't have walked away..

Another time, also north of Seattle and also in the same Scout, I was wheeling at night with my girlfriend and another friend of hers. We were in a slightly altered state of mind, it was 2AM and we were again having a gas. The road we were on (no maps, no extra clothes, no emergency supplies...my learning curve:D) got pretty bad and we were a long way in. I went to turn around on what looked like a green field. It turned out to be algae covering a marsh and the front of the Scout went nose down very fast. We had to crawl out of the tail gate.. The Scout was nose down in the marsh with the A pillar even with the water line. Woops...and bigger woops cause both the ladies had dresses and street shoes on...just a little drive in the country...Right...We had to walk for about 4 hours just to get to a paved road, then call someone in Seattle to pick us up. I wasn't the flavor of the month...The wrecker bill was astronomical and he ended up having to pull the rig across the marsh to the road on the other side. The truck was finally clean and running again after about 4 days constant work. It smelled like marsh even a year later when I sold it and I ended up giving a $$ discount cause it stunk...

Another time (like in the mid 80s) I was by myself, this time in my 69 Bronco with a Ramsay 8k on it. I was set up for emergency stuff..clothes, Hi lift, tow straps, etc, etc, much like I am now. I was pre walking all the blind curves, there was about 10 inches of snow on the ground and I had gotten shut down rock climbing, so I was driving around exploring. This was somewhere off of south Rampart Range. I got on this old two track and was steadily going downhill at a fairly steep angle. I kept getting out and looking around the blind corners, then getting back in and driving to the next one. Well, I didn't walk far enough and the road at the bottom of the valley looked like it just turned right. I started down it and as I got farther down, realized that the road dead ended. I tried to back up the hill, but with my lockers, all I was doing was sliding off the hil. I tried strapping to trees, etc, but the downhill side was calling me big time. I ended up using my winch to literally stand the Bronco on it's rear bumper and the Hi Lift and Come A Long to turn it around so that it was facing back uphill. I didn't think it was going to work, but everything else I tried wasn't working...and it was snowing...and getting colder...and darker...It took me about 5 hours of ball busting work to do this and when I was facing uphill again, I was able to easily drive back out...exhausted, wet and cold...More learning curve...When I got back to camp, I made one of those fires that registers on satelites...

So...like Randy said...prewalk the damn trail, either up or down, walk around blind curves, etc, etc. May save a bit of grief and even a relationship...

[Funrover]

WOW!! I wish I could have made it!

[1freaky1]

After seeing the scratches on there that cage held up great Pete.

[Gecko Cycles]

[QUOTE=DEEZLPWR;45019]

Going down is the same. Prewalk your line to see any hidden stuff and a spotter is a welcome! thanks to everyone for spotting as well!!!!!:thunb:

About 36 years ago, I was wheeling my Scout in the backwoods north of Seattle. I was having a gas and cutting around the logging roads a little too fast. I almost sped up this hill, but something made me stop, get out of the rig and walk to the top. There was easily a 50 foot drop off to the ground. The road went up the hill, no sign, no gate, no fence, then dropped off vertically. What was going on was they were grading the land on the other side for development and had carved the whole hillside away. I probably wouldn't have walked away..

Another time, also north of Seattle and also in the same Scout, I was wheeling at night with my girlfriend and another friend of hers. We were in a slightly altered state of mind, it was 2AM and we were again having a gas. The road we were on (no maps, no extra clothes, no emergency supplies...my learning curve:D) got pretty bad and we were a long way in. I went to turn around on what looked like a green field. It turned out to be algae covering a marsh and the front of the Scout went nose down very fast. We had to crawl out of the tail gate.. The Scout was nose down in the marsh with the A pillar even with the water line. Woops...and bigger woops cause both the ladies had dresses and street shoes on...just a little drive in the country...Right...We had to walk for about 4 hours just to get to a paved road, then call someone in Seattle to pick us up. I wasn't the flavor of the month...The wrecker bill was astronomical and he ended up having to pull the rig across the marsh to the road on the other side. The truck was finally clean and running again after about 4 days constant work. It smelled like marsh even a year later when I sold it and I ended up giving a $$ discount cause it stunk...

Another time (like in the mid 80s) I was by myself, this time in my 69 Bronco with a Ramsay 8k on it. I was set up for emergency stuff..clothes, Hi lift, tow straps, etc, etc, much like I am now. I was pre walking all the blind curves, there was about 10 inches of snow on the ground and I had gotten shut down rock climbing, so I was driving around exploring. This was somewhere off of south Rampart Range. I got on this old two track and was steadily going downhill at a fairly steep angle. I kept getting out and looking around the blind corners, then getting back in and driving to the next one. Well, I didn't walk far enough and the road at the bottom of the valley looked like it just turned right. I started down it and as I got farther down, realized that the road dead ended. I tried to back up the hill, but with my lockers, all I was doing was sliding off the hil. I tried strapping to trees, etc, but the downhill side was calling me big time. I ended up using my winch to literally stand the Bronco on it's rear bumper and the Hi Lift and Come A Long to turn it around so that it was facing back uphill. I didn't think it was going to work, but everything else I tried wasn't working...and it was snowing...and getting colder...and darker...It took me about 5 hours of ball busting work to do this and when I was facing uphill again, I was able to easily drive back out...exhausted, wet and cold...More learning curve...When I got back to camp, I made one of those fires that registers on satelites...

So...like Randy said...prewalk the damn trail, either up or down, walk around blind curves, etc, etc. May save a bit of grief and even a relationship...

Cool stories. Felt like I was there. Got any picts? :lol:

I need to dig into the old photo crate and so some scanning. Wonder where it is?

[Brody]

Wish I had some pictures of all this. I lost about 10,000 slides when a basement flooded many years ago...a lot of family, old rock climbing, early wheeling. Now all I have are memories and stories. I can't even find pictures of the 69 Bronco that I had or the Scout. In fact, I lost pictures of so much stuff it makes me sad...

My buddy had some cool pictures of my Bronco and the truck I rolled, but his wife threw them out along with his climbing gear when they were in the process of splitting up. One of those things...Also lost a huge old blues collection that I had in Seattle when I split up with the lady in the Seattle story...she got those for some reason...

[Gecko Cycles]

Wish I had some pictures of all this. I lost about 10,000 slides when a basement flooded many years ago...a lot of family, old rock climbing, early wheeling. Now all I have are memories and stories. I can't even find pictures of the 69 Bronco that I had or the Scout. In fact, I lost pictures of so much stuff it makes me sad...

My buddy had some cool pictures of my Bronco and the truck I rolled, but his wife threw them out along with his climbing gear when they were in the process of splitting up. One of those things...Also lost a huge old blues collection that I had in Seattle when I split up with the lady in the Seattle story...she got those for some reason...I understand completly and feel for you.

Life's a ***** and then you die.

[WINKY]

I understand completly and feel for you.

Life's a ***** and then you die.

or you marry/divorce one sometimes....

[itsjustdan23]

Wow, Glad LaDawn is doin great. Looks like ya'll had a lil fun for sure! The exo cage sure did save alot of damage from the sounds of it. Randy, if you lift your truck any more and toss some 37's under, your arse is goin to need a step ladder lol. Looks like it sits pretty high already.

[WINKY]

im tall ill make it work... make a running start to jump into it...:lol:

[Aaron]

Any chance of one of you guys adding the Wheeler or Twin Cone to the Trails section?

http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/vbglossar.php?do=showcat&catid=1

[WINKY]

yep, ill get to it through the week, been a long weekend. thanks for the reminder sir :)

[Pathrat]

Great write ups and pictures everyone.

Brody, glad you and LaDawn did a slow tip and no one was injured. Bonus that you got it back on the tires and were able to just continue on.

Twin Cone was the first trail I ran with this group, IIRC and I liked it. It didn't seem too hard at the time but I also don't recall going up some steep hill. I like the boulder fields and picking your route; loads of fun.