SCAMPER ZJ
11-05-2007, 09:46 PM
Thanks first of all to Keith for checking trail status and setting up the run.
A total of 5 Grands met at The Fort restaurant around 8:30 Sunday morning, driven by Keith, Scott, Stan, Jim, and Josh. After checking out the setups on everyone's rigs for about an hour, we made our way onto Hwy 285 and headed towards the higher elevations.
A little bit of snow could be seen on some of the mountains along the way. Once we made it to the top of Kenosha Pass, we made the turn off for the campground entrance. We couldn't have asked for better weather - the skies were sunny, and there was a cool steady breeze at the trailhead. The trail was quite dry for the most part, and very dusty - with the occasional patch of snow and small amount of standing water.
After passing through the two gates bordering private property, we navigated several winding switchbacks and came upon the first series of small obstacles. Since most of the rigs were fairly built, it was mostly "point and shoot." Scott and Keith opted for the more difficult and off-camber approaches, while the less-modified rigs had to choose their lines more carefully. Stan's front locker chose to not cooperate once again, which in combination with the unusually dry and loose dirt, resulted in some almost embarassing slippage at an otherwise unremarkable obstacle.
Not too much further up, we came to the steep hill just below timberline. We all agreed that this was the most washed-out that we had ever seen it, and there were a couple of well-placed boulders which made it a bit too challenging for Jim's ZJ which is open front and rear. After several brave attempts, a loud crack heralded some breakage and a peek underneath revealed a broken CV drive shaft. We carefully backed his rig down the hill and parked it to work on later.
The remaining four Grands then headed up the hill. Josh wisely chose to take the bypass, which still required skillful driving and spotting as there were several large rocks mixed in with the occasional patch of snow. Not far from the top of the hill it seemed the land just opened up, and we were surrounded by boulder fields and tundra with majestic snowy peaks and rocky outcrops in the background. Without the protection of the trees, a chill wind now blew hard enough to almost lean against. Even though most of the "obstacles" had now been conquered, the remaining trail still presented some challenge. With one eye on the trail and one on the beautiful panoramic vistas, we made our way to the relay tower atop of North Twin Cone. We all enjoyed the view for a few minutes before scurrying back into our nice warm Grands and heading back down the mountain.
Once back at Jim's rig, Josh and Jim quickly set to work removing the broken front drive shaft, with the rest of us functioning as advisors and "tool gophers." There was even the obligatory "well, the reason you broke it was. . ." but Jim was very good-natured about it. Jim was a little concerned that the trip back down the trail with just rear-wheel drive would be difficult, but it really didn't slow him down, other than in a couple of twisty spots where we had to stand on the sliders and rock it back-and-forth to help regain traction.
We arrived back at the trailhead at a reasonable hour, with plenty of light left from the setting sun to connect, air up, and inspect our rigs before getting back on the highway. It ended up being a much longer day than any of us had expected, but fun was had by all, and we all made it back safely with rigs relatively unscathed.
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010205small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010207small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010212small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010220small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010224small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010227small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010231small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010232small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010235small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010238small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010244small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010249small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010252small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010259small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010263small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010007small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010015small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010024small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010027small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010037small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010043small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010047small.jpg
A total of 5 Grands met at The Fort restaurant around 8:30 Sunday morning, driven by Keith, Scott, Stan, Jim, and Josh. After checking out the setups on everyone's rigs for about an hour, we made our way onto Hwy 285 and headed towards the higher elevations.
A little bit of snow could be seen on some of the mountains along the way. Once we made it to the top of Kenosha Pass, we made the turn off for the campground entrance. We couldn't have asked for better weather - the skies were sunny, and there was a cool steady breeze at the trailhead. The trail was quite dry for the most part, and very dusty - with the occasional patch of snow and small amount of standing water.
After passing through the two gates bordering private property, we navigated several winding switchbacks and came upon the first series of small obstacles. Since most of the rigs were fairly built, it was mostly "point and shoot." Scott and Keith opted for the more difficult and off-camber approaches, while the less-modified rigs had to choose their lines more carefully. Stan's front locker chose to not cooperate once again, which in combination with the unusually dry and loose dirt, resulted in some almost embarassing slippage at an otherwise unremarkable obstacle.
Not too much further up, we came to the steep hill just below timberline. We all agreed that this was the most washed-out that we had ever seen it, and there were a couple of well-placed boulders which made it a bit too challenging for Jim's ZJ which is open front and rear. After several brave attempts, a loud crack heralded some breakage and a peek underneath revealed a broken CV drive shaft. We carefully backed his rig down the hill and parked it to work on later.
The remaining four Grands then headed up the hill. Josh wisely chose to take the bypass, which still required skillful driving and spotting as there were several large rocks mixed in with the occasional patch of snow. Not far from the top of the hill it seemed the land just opened up, and we were surrounded by boulder fields and tundra with majestic snowy peaks and rocky outcrops in the background. Without the protection of the trees, a chill wind now blew hard enough to almost lean against. Even though most of the "obstacles" had now been conquered, the remaining trail still presented some challenge. With one eye on the trail and one on the beautiful panoramic vistas, we made our way to the relay tower atop of North Twin Cone. We all enjoyed the view for a few minutes before scurrying back into our nice warm Grands and heading back down the mountain.
Once back at Jim's rig, Josh and Jim quickly set to work removing the broken front drive shaft, with the rest of us functioning as advisors and "tool gophers." There was even the obligatory "well, the reason you broke it was. . ." but Jim was very good-natured about it. Jim was a little concerned that the trip back down the trail with just rear-wheel drive would be difficult, but it really didn't slow him down, other than in a couple of twisty spots where we had to stand on the sliders and rock it back-and-forth to help regain traction.
We arrived back at the trailhead at a reasonable hour, with plenty of light left from the setting sun to connect, air up, and inspect our rigs before getting back on the highway. It ended up being a much longer day than any of us had expected, but fun was had by all, and we all made it back safely with rigs relatively unscathed.
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010205small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010207small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010212small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010220small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010224small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010227small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010231small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010232small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010235small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010238small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010244small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010249small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010252small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010259small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010263small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010007small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010015small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010024small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010027small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010037small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010043small.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/TwinConeNov07/P1010047small.jpg