TurboMinivan
Still plays with cars
- Location
- Lehi, UT
While perusing this subforum, it hit me that I have a great little story to share with you all. Shortly after it happened, I posted the story in another car forum (complete with photos) but for whatever reason it never dawned on me to share it here. Today I am making up for that oversight and am copying my other post into this thread. So pop some popcorn, grab a beverage and settle in for a spell, won't ya?
In August a couple friends and I decided to run two of the local Jeep trails, Rattlesnake and Constrictor. Rattlesnake is the lesser of the two, yet it can still fold sheetmetal on a showroom stock Wrangler. Constrictor is substantially more hardcore; if you want to run the entire trail the minimum required equipment includes 35" tires, at least one locking differential (two are strongly recommended) and a winch. Suggested extra equipment includes body armor for any sheetmetal you'd like to remain intact, and perhaps seat covers if you have passengers with weak bowels.
Anyway, we headed out one Friday after everybody was off work. We were at the meeting ground by 6:00 or so, and we figured three hours would give us plenty of time to make the entire run and be back on the pavement toward home. insert ominous foreshadowing music here
The only pictures I have to share came from Mark's digital camera, so this means there aren't that many photos and, worse, his Jeep is almost never pictured.
Still, I'm happy to share what we have so you guys might enjoy it.
We disconnect our swaybars, remove some mudflaps and head in. Our order for this trip would be Ralph in his 2001 TJ, then Mark in his '93 YJ, and finally me in my '97 TJ. We all have at least 4" of lift, we're all on identical 35" Goodyear MT/R tires, and everybody has at least one locker. It's a simple five-minute drive to the first trailhead.
Rattlesnake can be entertaining in its own right, but by and large if your Jeep can handle the Con then RS is a walk in the park. One reason for this distinction are bypasses: most of the harder obstacles on RS can be avoided, but the Con has almost no ways around the big trouble spots. Naturally, we choose the difficult lines through RS to make it more challenging. Here are the only pictures from RS, all featuring me in the rock garden:
We breezed right through and continued on to the main event:
The above picture illustrates how things get off to a quick start on the Con. Immediately next to the sign is the first and only real bypass on the trail. If you look further to the left, you can see a rock wall which is part of the first obstacle. Like I said, this trail is fun.
We spent some time on that first obstacle (Mark had a particularly difficult time) but sadly I have no pictures. While going through it, Ralph and I both managed to nick our tie rods. cue more ominous music, now at louder volume We didn't realize it at the time, though, and we kept on going. Here are two pictures of me at a later rock ledge:
(Do you see my no-longer-straight tie rod in this photo? We sure didn't notice it at that time.)
There are two particularly difficult obstacles on the Con. The first is known as Radiator Rapids. It looks harmless enough--just a typical 90^ bend in the road--but the terrain makes it quite challenging. Get your line just right and you can creep your way through; get it wrong and you could spend 30 minutes or more trying to free your stuck vehicle (like we did with Mark). These two pictures don't do it justice, but they're all I have. First shown is the approach:
And then the turn itself:
Soon after that turn, we hit the highlight of the trail: the waterfall known as Eagle's Nest. What's a waterfall, you ask? A dry rock wall which is taller than your vehicle.
Since Ralph was in the lead, he got to tackle it first. This is where your winch becomes handy. You've got to grab your cable, hike up the wall and down the trail to a tree, anchor yourself (using a strap to prevent damaging the tree in the process), then return to your rig and gently ease your way up:
Remember how I said Ralph and I tweaked our tie rods? Well, coming up the waterfall Ralph had to steer hard against a rock. This was more force than his now-weak tie rod could handle, and it folded up like a pretzel near the top of the waterfall. As it was giving up the ghost, his steering stabilizer decided it didn't like the excess load now placed upon it... and it snapped clean in two.
While inspecting the carnage and trying to figure out how/why it happened, we found where he nicked the tie rod. Shortly thereafter, we discovered an identical nick (and the small bend) in the same spot on my own tie rod. Inspecting Mark's Jeep turned up nothing, which gave him opportunity to gloat. Needless to say, this put a damper on things. So now we had no choice. We spent some time just maneuvering his Jeep out of the way. Then I scooted around Mark and decided to be the second one up the waterfall. I tried to be extra careful so as to not completely destroy my tie rod as Ralph had just done.
Luck prevailed and I didn't hurt my steering system. But that doesn't mean I made it up unscathed. Look carefully at that last picture and you can see me reshaping my formerly-virgin sheet metal. (I'm the low rider of the group, which is why I drug where Ralph had clearance.) I had a lot on my mind at the time, though, and I didn't even notice.
Anyway, once at the top I turned around and used another tow strap to anchor myself to the tree. Then I used my winch to pull winchless Mark up the waterfall.
At that point, we stopped to strategize. We had one vehicle with minor damage and one which could not be driven, period... and it was pitch black out... and there was still more trail to drive. (And on a personal note, I was saddened by the fact that I had to be at work in the morning... at 8:30.) Wisdom advises against leaving a Jeep unattended on a trail, so we kept proposing different strategies about how to go fetch tools and parts from multiple houses with someone sticking around the Jeeps. Nothing really made sense, so finally I blurted out, "look--only a complete moron would come out and run this trail at night. I think the Jeeps are safe here; let's all go." The others agreed, so I parked my Jeep, we all climbed into Mark's Jeep and headed out. There were a number of difficult spots left on the trail, but with a little finesse and a lot of hammering on his Jeep we got to the end. Phwew.
We took the simple graded roads back to pavement, then went back to my house. By the time we get there it's past 11:00; we had figured we'd be home around 9:00 or so. We walk in and my wife thinks I'm home for the evening. Oh, no. I tell her I'm loaning her Jeep to Ralph so he can go to his house to get supplies, then Mark and I hop back in his Jeep and head for his house (a half hour away). There, we load his Jeep onto his trailer, hook the trailer up to his Ram 1500, grab a number of tools and every flashlight he has, and head back to my place. We get there just as Ralph returns with his own parts and tools. Everything gets thrown into the truck and off we go.
Back at the gravel parking lot near the canyon, we put all the tools and parts into Mark's Jeep, back it off the trailer and head back into the canyon. Finding the trail exit is challenging since (a) none of us have ever run the trail in reverse, (b) there are about a bazillion dirt/gravel roads crisscrossing the canyon, and (c) it's pitch dark on a clear, moonless night.
Finally we stumble upon the trail and make our way back to the top of the waterfall. We decide to fix Ralph's Jeep first. This involves removing the tie rod and straightening it by hand as best we can. Turns out the OEM rear tow hook is a perfect tie rod holder/bender!
We get it straight enough to slip a High Lift handle over it for reinforcement, then bolt it all back together. When we're done, the alignment is definitely out... but, hey--it steers! Look closely and you can see the snapped stabilizer:
Now that Ralph is all patched up, we repeat the procedure on my Jeep. Once that's done, we gather up the tools and prepare to head out. I glance at my watch. It's after 2:00am. Did I mention I have to be to work at 8:30?
Now all three vehicles finish the trail. We shuffle our order and put Mark at the rear just in case, but there are no more component failures. We carefully make our way back to the truck, then decide to load Ralph's Jeep onto the trailer since it is the most damaged. Once secure, we head back to my house. Ralph lives across town from me (read: all low speed driving) so he feels he can drive home from my place without incident. So we take his Jeep off the trailer, send him on his way, then re-load Mark's Jeep. Once that's done, Mark heads out and I go inside. As I enter the house, I glance at my watch: 3:30am. Did I mention I have to be at work at 8:30am?
So much for our three hour tour.
In August a couple friends and I decided to run two of the local Jeep trails, Rattlesnake and Constrictor. Rattlesnake is the lesser of the two, yet it can still fold sheetmetal on a showroom stock Wrangler. Constrictor is substantially more hardcore; if you want to run the entire trail the minimum required equipment includes 35" tires, at least one locking differential (two are strongly recommended) and a winch. Suggested extra equipment includes body armor for any sheetmetal you'd like to remain intact, and perhaps seat covers if you have passengers with weak bowels.
Anyway, we headed out one Friday after everybody was off work. We were at the meeting ground by 6:00 or so, and we figured three hours would give us plenty of time to make the entire run and be back on the pavement toward home. insert ominous foreshadowing music here
The only pictures I have to share came from Mark's digital camera, so this means there aren't that many photos and, worse, his Jeep is almost never pictured.
Still, I'm happy to share what we have so you guys might enjoy it.We disconnect our swaybars, remove some mudflaps and head in. Our order for this trip would be Ralph in his 2001 TJ, then Mark in his '93 YJ, and finally me in my '97 TJ. We all have at least 4" of lift, we're all on identical 35" Goodyear MT/R tires, and everybody has at least one locker. It's a simple five-minute drive to the first trailhead.
Rattlesnake can be entertaining in its own right, but by and large if your Jeep can handle the Con then RS is a walk in the park. One reason for this distinction are bypasses: most of the harder obstacles on RS can be avoided, but the Con has almost no ways around the big trouble spots. Naturally, we choose the difficult lines through RS to make it more challenging. Here are the only pictures from RS, all featuring me in the rock garden:
We breezed right through and continued on to the main event:
The above picture illustrates how things get off to a quick start on the Con. Immediately next to the sign is the first and only real bypass on the trail. If you look further to the left, you can see a rock wall which is part of the first obstacle. Like I said, this trail is fun.
We spent some time on that first obstacle (Mark had a particularly difficult time) but sadly I have no pictures. While going through it, Ralph and I both managed to nick our tie rods. cue more ominous music, now at louder volume We didn't realize it at the time, though, and we kept on going. Here are two pictures of me at a later rock ledge:
(Do you see my no-longer-straight tie rod in this photo? We sure didn't notice it at that time.)
There are two particularly difficult obstacles on the Con. The first is known as Radiator Rapids. It looks harmless enough--just a typical 90^ bend in the road--but the terrain makes it quite challenging. Get your line just right and you can creep your way through; get it wrong and you could spend 30 minutes or more trying to free your stuck vehicle (like we did with Mark). These two pictures don't do it justice, but they're all I have. First shown is the approach:
And then the turn itself:
Soon after that turn, we hit the highlight of the trail: the waterfall known as Eagle's Nest. What's a waterfall, you ask? A dry rock wall which is taller than your vehicle.
Since Ralph was in the lead, he got to tackle it first. This is where your winch becomes handy. You've got to grab your cable, hike up the wall and down the trail to a tree, anchor yourself (using a strap to prevent damaging the tree in the process), then return to your rig and gently ease your way up:
Remember how I said Ralph and I tweaked our tie rods? Well, coming up the waterfall Ralph had to steer hard against a rock. This was more force than his now-weak tie rod could handle, and it folded up like a pretzel near the top of the waterfall. As it was giving up the ghost, his steering stabilizer decided it didn't like the excess load now placed upon it... and it snapped clean in two.
While inspecting the carnage and trying to figure out how/why it happened, we found where he nicked the tie rod. Shortly thereafter, we discovered an identical nick (and the small bend) in the same spot on my own tie rod. Inspecting Mark's Jeep turned up nothing, which gave him opportunity to gloat. Needless to say, this put a damper on things. So now we had no choice. We spent some time just maneuvering his Jeep out of the way. Then I scooted around Mark and decided to be the second one up the waterfall. I tried to be extra careful so as to not completely destroy my tie rod as Ralph had just done.
Luck prevailed and I didn't hurt my steering system. But that doesn't mean I made it up unscathed. Look carefully at that last picture and you can see me reshaping my formerly-virgin sheet metal. (I'm the low rider of the group, which is why I drug where Ralph had clearance.) I had a lot on my mind at the time, though, and I didn't even notice.
Anyway, once at the top I turned around and used another tow strap to anchor myself to the tree. Then I used my winch to pull winchless Mark up the waterfall.
At that point, we stopped to strategize. We had one vehicle with minor damage and one which could not be driven, period... and it was pitch black out... and there was still more trail to drive. (And on a personal note, I was saddened by the fact that I had to be at work in the morning... at 8:30.) Wisdom advises against leaving a Jeep unattended on a trail, so we kept proposing different strategies about how to go fetch tools and parts from multiple houses with someone sticking around the Jeeps. Nothing really made sense, so finally I blurted out, "look--only a complete moron would come out and run this trail at night. I think the Jeeps are safe here; let's all go." The others agreed, so I parked my Jeep, we all climbed into Mark's Jeep and headed out. There were a number of difficult spots left on the trail, but with a little finesse and a lot of hammering on his Jeep we got to the end. Phwew.
We took the simple graded roads back to pavement, then went back to my house. By the time we get there it's past 11:00; we had figured we'd be home around 9:00 or so. We walk in and my wife thinks I'm home for the evening. Oh, no. I tell her I'm loaning her Jeep to Ralph so he can go to his house to get supplies, then Mark and I hop back in his Jeep and head for his house (a half hour away). There, we load his Jeep onto his trailer, hook the trailer up to his Ram 1500, grab a number of tools and every flashlight he has, and head back to my place. We get there just as Ralph returns with his own parts and tools. Everything gets thrown into the truck and off we go.
Back at the gravel parking lot near the canyon, we put all the tools and parts into Mark's Jeep, back it off the trailer and head back into the canyon. Finding the trail exit is challenging since (a) none of us have ever run the trail in reverse, (b) there are about a bazillion dirt/gravel roads crisscrossing the canyon, and (c) it's pitch dark on a clear, moonless night.
Finally we stumble upon the trail and make our way back to the top of the waterfall. We decide to fix Ralph's Jeep first. This involves removing the tie rod and straightening it by hand as best we can. Turns out the OEM rear tow hook is a perfect tie rod holder/bender!
We get it straight enough to slip a High Lift handle over it for reinforcement, then bolt it all back together. When we're done, the alignment is definitely out... but, hey--it steers! Look closely and you can see the snapped stabilizer:
Now that Ralph is all patched up, we repeat the procedure on my Jeep. Once that's done, we gather up the tools and prepare to head out. I glance at my watch. It's after 2:00am. Did I mention I have to be to work at 8:30?
Now all three vehicles finish the trail. We shuffle our order and put Mark at the rear just in case, but there are no more component failures. We carefully make our way back to the truck, then decide to load Ralph's Jeep onto the trailer since it is the most damaged. Once secure, we head back to my house. Ralph lives across town from me (read: all low speed driving) so he feels he can drive home from my place without incident. So we take his Jeep off the trailer, send him on his way, then re-load Mark's Jeep. Once that's done, Mark heads out and I go inside. As I enter the house, I glance at my watch: 3:30am. Did I mention I have to be at work at 8:30am?
So much for our three hour tour.
