Any co-ar15 members into "wheeling"?

[Skully]

Those Jenny Creek pictures and videos must not be very recent. Last year that same spot was way worse. We were coming down on the ATVs and stopped and watched two lifted suburbans trying to come up it. One made it (barely) and one got some kind of double high centered on the rear diff and a rocker panel an then got I to a large boulder on the drivers door and then it was pretty much game over.

No way my truck could have made it through there on stock tires with no lift.

That means it has gotten better.

Clarify my post / video, that video was from 2010, it was too easy, took the fun out of the trail, meaning I like a little challenge and I walked right over it.

I also had wanted revenge on the obstacle as the previous year I think, '09 or '08 I had 31's and it was rutted out and wet, I slipped off the rocks and got hung up on my belly pan, I had to winch off of it.

Went back in 2010 someone cut down the tree on the right and it filled in with dirt so my re-match, I felt robbed.

[hurley842002]

Spring Creek is also the most difficult trail I've ever done. That was in the lifted Tacoma on 33's with the e-locker though.

I've always wanted to do spring creek, its probably the most difficult relatively close trail around.

Most difficult trail I've done was saran wrap down by the Springs. 31" a/t's, some armor, and a rear locker are all I had, did the "low road" too. Took some excellent spotting and some finesse, but I made it will only minor rear quarter panel damage. I'll have to dig out some pics.

http://www.traildamage.com/trails/index.php?id=69

[Irving]

I did Spring Creek the first time with spotting and no damage. I did it a second time and got lazy and dented a rocker panel.
I almost forgot! I did NOT do the huge boulder in the beginning of the trail. My friend with the same vehicle (minus the supercharger) did it though. He had a lot more body armor on his rig and was a lot more experienced. I had made maybe one payment on my truck at the time.

ETA: Checked out the link for the Empire loop. Surely easy for Skully, but I'm interested. It'd be nice to do something that needs some spotting. My wife doesn't really know how to spot me on stuff except, "Am I on a rock?!" "Yep!" lol.

[JMBD2112]

Here's mine, I would love to meet up with you guys sometime, but she's getting really tired and getting a motorswap and long arms soon.

[hurley842002]

Here's mine, I would love to meet up with you guys sometime, but she's getting really tired and getting a motorswap and long arms soon.

Very nice, another XJ wheeler, I'll surely miss mine, but love the taco lol.

[hurley842002]

ETA: Checked out the link for the Empire loop. Surely easy for Skully, but I'm interested. It'd be nice to do something that needs some spotting. My wife doesn't really know how to spot me on stuff except, "Am I on a rock?!" "Yep!" lol.

Lol sounds like she's about the same level as my wife. First time mine spotted for me, she was doing all these funky hand signals lol. Needless to say we had a brief lesson afterwards.

[Skully]

I did Spring Creek the first time with spotting and no damage. I did it a second time and got lazy and dented a rocker panel.
I almost forgot! I did NOT do the huge boulder in the beginning of the trail. My friend with the same vehicle (minus the supercharger) did it though. He had a lot more body armor on his rig and was a lot more experienced. I had made maybe one payment on my truck at the time.

ETA: Checked out the link for the Empire loop. Surely easy for Skully, but I'm interested. It'd be nice to do something that needs some spotting. My wife doesn't really know how to spot me on stuff except, "Am I on a rock?!" "Yep!" lol.

Last time I did Spring Creek the Rock Garden a WJ mildly lifted went up the bypass, they got stuck worse as it was narrow and rutted out. The rock Garden at least it is wide and can take many different lines and zig zag through.

Lol sounds like she's about the same level as my wife. First time mine spotted for me, she was doing all these funky hand signals lol. Needless to say we had a brief lesson afterwards.

I love the 3 trails up there Red Elephant/MIll Crek/Bill Moore (Empire loop), spend all day doing them, beautiful area, lots of different things to crawl over etc. I just fall back on them so much if I cant figure out where to go that I realized I need to find some new fall backs. They are also SUPER busy on holiday Weekends.

Directions with taking Red Elephant;
Go up Red Elephant (say hello to the rude angry looking residents that live off the first part of the trail.) Go up this narrow steep hill and watch out for the rutted out area with rocks/boulders and the 500 steep roll off hill. Make your way up the 3-4 tight switchbacks. When you get to the top and go through the dense tree area, you will come to a meadow open area with the first Y, take a right if you want to go the easy way (counter clockwise) on Mill Creek (going down the hills with the rocks/cliffs) or pass that Y and come to the second Y and take a right to the funner way (clockwise) make sure you stop at the "Empire Hilton" either direction you take and gander at the bug infested beds you would never sleep on and say hello to "Rudy" the bear. Either direction you go when you come back to main road after completing Mill creek head west (right) until you come down a hill and another Y take a right to Bill Moore Lake. Pose in the old barely there cabins near the lake.

I have down this trail so many times I can do it half blind.


(BTW Irving I have never seen anyone get spotted on the Empire loop even in a stock XJ. Your should be good. )

[Skully]

Here's mine, I would love to meet up with you guys sometime, but she's getting really tired and getting a motorswap and long arms soon.

Looks good, what size tires?

Trying to find one for my wife and get me another one, mine is cosmetically falling apart. Motor still good and drivetrain only 3-4 years old. Just looks Fugly.

BTW (my opinion here) Long arms are overrated for the cost to benefit ration. Unless you need TONS of lift for 35's and up, 33's work just fine, you need a balance of lift and cut out/bump stopped areas, armor and lockers. Been there and done that with long arms and coilovers, 37's yadda yadda, I found myself working on the Jeep more than driving it and it sucked on the highway. Mine now is perfect height 4-5" and 33's, short arms and the thing rides smooth in my book. Gone everywhere I have pointed it, just like Hurley, I got older and realized I needed more of a utilitarian vehicle for camping/exploring/wheeling.

[Irving]

I think we did Spring Creek back in 2006. My buddy with a stock '04(?) Rubicon did it. I'll dig out my old pictures again.

[Irving]

Kingston Peak:


Dave_L smashing his leaf springs into every rock on Middle St. Vrain:



These are all at Slaughter House before they nerfed it. T-giv, 10mmMan, and I went to Slaughter House this year and they could have slept through the whole trail with their rigs.









This is Spring Creek 09/2006. This first picture is the truck that did the boulder in the beginning of the trail. This first picture is where I dented my passenger rocker panel when I wasn't careful and went through without a spotter.


This girl had a double cab Tacoma on 35's with a 6" lift. Later that year her boyfriend got drunk and nose dived it off of Lion's Back in Moab. They did about a 50' drop into a head on collision with the ground according to what people were posting in the thread at the time.


While that same rig and the main group was doing this in the rock garden, my bud put his tire up on a rock and one of the guys came down the trail to lecture him about breaking his rig and having to get towed out. We were like, "Um, I think you need to direct your lecture back over there."