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It takes about an hour to get to the trail
head. We got to "big falls" and took a break to grab a snack
and shift into 4 Lo.
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This is a popular spot for swimmers.
There's a swimmin' hole with a nice big waterfall and deep pool at the
bottom. There's been someone there everytime we've come up here. But
we rarely ever see anyone any further on the trail. It gets pretty tough
after this point.
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Speaking of getting pretty tough, this is the
hill from hell. It had thwarted our every past attempt to conquer it.
It's really difficult to see in this picture just how uneven and difficult
it really is. By the time anyone got there in a camera, our Jeep train
leader, Jen, had already made it up. She's a very capable driver in a very
capable machine. She made every obstacle look easy.
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Karl was next up in is Rubicon. He made it
look easy too. Even though is spare tire is a Mickey Thompson Baja Claw, he
was running some A/Ts that day. Even with the A/Ts, that Rubicon handled the
hill with little trouble.
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Ned was next in his old Scrambler. This is one
slick rig! He's fitted two bench seats in the back, so he can Jeep with a
total of six people in there! Now that's a family trail rig! Our good
buddy Brett made it up after Ned. Unfortunately, no one got a picture of it.
Sorry, Brett! This is the first time he's made it up that hill, despite many
past runs on this trail and attempts at climbing it.
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Manuel was next. He really had more trouble
than we expected... something had to be wrong. We noticed he was spinning his
rear tires, and the front tires weren't moving. He was in 4 Lo, and his front
driveshaft was spinning, so something was definitely wrong. He backed up and
Brett went down to help him take a look at what wasn't working.
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I started my initial attempt to make it up the
Hill from Hell, but the first 10 feet of it was almost too much for my
stock Cherokee to handle. After three attempts, most folks had put their
cameras away. Doubters! Ok, I admit it. I didn't think I'd
make it up either!
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Once I got over the first hump, I stood on the
gas and spun my street tires all the way up! Aspen was white-knuckle-grippin'
her booster seat the whole way! I still can't believe I made it up!!
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Brett and Manuel found the vacuum lines
disconnected on his hubs, which explained why his front tires weren't pulling
up the hill.
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With the vacuum lines reconnected, Manuel
bounced up the hill and joined the rest of us at the top.
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Nice rig, Manuel!
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This is a good shot looking up the hill. It
shows some of the deep ruts and articulation on the way up. It also puts the
size of it into perspective.
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We took another short break at the top of the
hill to revel in our victory! For some of us, this was the first time to make
it up this hill after many unsuccessfull past attempts.
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Just on the other side of this hill was a nice
spot for all the kids to go play in the water for a bit. Nice break... but let's
get back to wheelin'!
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The tag on Jen's Jeep says it all. Any questions?
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Later on the trail, we found a nice big open
spot with some challenging, and totally unnecessary, hills to climb. I took one
of the easier routes with my XJ. I didn't stop when I got to the crest of the
first hill. I kept climbing until a tree made me stop!
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Coming down, I took a much tougher route. It's
really a lot steeper than it looks in this picture. This was the
only time Aspen was silent on the whole trip. When we got to the bottom
she whispered to me "Dat was scawy, Daddy."
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We parked the Jeeps by this mud whole while
each of us took a turn having a bit of fun in the mud and on the hills.
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Jen took a few passes through the mud hole.
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I half expected to see Jen's Jeep starting
shaking and twisting its body like a dog to get all the grime off! That's one
happy Jeep! Look at the clean spots under the windshield wipers. That gives
you an idea of how thick that goop is. It stinks too!
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Karl took a shot at the most difficult hill in
his Rubicon. He made three attempts in all - none successful. This really is
a very nasty climb.
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On his last attempt, Karl went front wheels
high - almost rolling him end-o down the hill. (I think his pucker-factor was
high enough that it sucked in part of his seat.) When his tires made it back
down to Earth, he was sideways between the two trees at the top of the hill.
Despite his attempts to cut the wheels and straighten out, he had a close
encounter of the worst kind.
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CRUNCH Nicy dent, Karl! I hope your
couch is comfy!
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Ned took a few shots at the hardest climb too.
Even with the longer wheel base, he had a tough time getting up.
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He rolled back down and disconnected his sway
bar. He made it a bit further up, but his carbeurator just couldn't keep gas
in the motor at that steep angle. If he hadn't stalled, he might have made
it up. He made one more attempt, standing on the gas the whole way. In the
end, no one made it up, but we made the climb even harder for the next poor
sucker that tries!
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Back on the trail, we went deeper back
into the woods. Jen was the first (again) to make it to this log. This time,
though, she was nice enough to wait for someone to get a picture of her! She
used her starter to gently carry her over this log. Nice technique!
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Once again, Ned made a tough obstacle look easy.
He was actually worried that he might not make it because of his longer wheel
base. I told him that he's not nearly as bad off as some of us! I've
got a long wheel base and no lift!
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Manuel made a bunch of attempts to get over the
log. He tried every angle possible, and we stacked as many rocks as we could
find to help him over. Without lockers, though, he was done every time a front
and rear tire came off the ground. With a relatively stiff suspension, he had
a tough time keeping 3 or 4 tires on the ground.
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Just for giggles, I gave it a shot. At this
point, I'd made it through some really tough stuff. Everyone was pretty
surprised that I'd even made it back this far. I figured it was worth a shot,
even though I knew I'd get stuck.
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Sure enough... As soon as those front tires
came down on the other side of that log, I was done. Good thing I was out with
some able-bodied friends! Thanks, guys!!
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At this point, some of us needed to start heading
back. And since some of us simply couldn't make it over that log, we decided to
start heading back. So Jen came back over the log and starting the train heading
back the other way.
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This is a great shot of Ned's Jeep flexin'.
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Nice stuffed tire, Ned!
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I took this shot of my Jeep dwarfed behind the
big log that stopped me. Its days are numbered. I will pass it.
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A really good shot of our group. Not everyone
was in it, but it's still a good shot.
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On the way back, I took the opportunity to take
this "flex shot." The suspension on a stock Cherokee really doesn't
have a lot of flex. It's still pretty amazing just what that XJ can handle,
though.
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I was happy to see that Brett actually got his
Jeep dirty this time! "Hey, Brett! The car wash is that way!"
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Nice shot of all the Wranglers line up before we
all split up to head home.
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