On Sunday we went to a place called Evans Creek. It is an OHV area in the foot hills on the NW corner of MT Rainier here in Washington. It was a good day. There were a lot of people there. Lots of Jeeps, some beat up Yotas, an old Pathfinder, and a couple of heavily modded rock rig used-to-be Jeeps. We ran one trail called the 311. It was pretty tight with the big rig, there were a few spots where I had no more than an inch between the side and a tree, but we made it through without any damage. Well, I take that back. I cracked a center cap, but they are the long center caps that stick way out. And I opted to crack it on purpose instead of jockeying for five minutes to gain a half an inch. They will be coming off anyway as soon as I get the stock set I have painted with bed liner.
Anyway, we followed the two modded rock rigs into the staging area. They were towed on trailers. They both parked to unload, and we slowly cruised through the parking lot. There were a lot of Jeep sneers and smirks, and everyone stared. The 311 starts right out of the parking lot. I stopped and put it in 4-low, and just headed right up the trail. I looked in my mirror and virtually everyone in the parking lot was literally running to watch and point as we started up into the trees. We ran into a beat up Pathfinder and Yota coming out, and they were like "You really going to take that thing up there?" I said we would go as far as we could and they said "Maybe you should bring a backpack and do some hiking. We just about smashed out our back window back there." They said they really didn't think I should keep going but wished us luck.
When we got to a spot called slick rock there was a guy on a quad who just shook his head and said "I really suggest you turn back now. How much is that thing worth to you?" Well, I walked the rock and picked a line, and, well, the beast just walked right up it. I later heard a group of three Jeepers talking while waiting in the air line at the gas station about how one of them had to be pulled up the rock.
I was hoping someone would ask, but I didn't say anything.
This trail is apparently rated "most difficult."
Really though, why all the hate? I just don't get it. We're all there doing the same thing. I would love to have a Rubicon some time. The outright sneering was just plain as day. Sad! Ok, here are a few pics.
This is an off camber corner leading up to the slick rock. This is where I cracked the center cap. There was a root sticking out on the low side, and one sticking out on the high side keeping me from going any wider. I could have probably jockeyed around a little, but there was Questoning Quad Man behind me, and these wheels are gone in a week or so anyway.
Here is a video off youtbe of a Jeep going up the line I took.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0B9am7Lx3f0
My first try I was just about a foot too far left. There was an angled smooth rock on my LR that slid my back end over to the left. I had to back down and try again. Backing down I was crossing a washout/rut, and maxxed out the articulation!
After backing down I got moved way over and it crawled right up. My son has a tendency to tilt the camera to align with the truck on hills. We rotated the pictures with photoshop to put them back in line with vertical so it showes how steep it really was. It was steep!
After this the trail was easy. There was one rock right after this hill where I could not fit around either side and had to slide on the frame a little bit to get over it. The rest was gravy! Sorry the pics are a little blurry. Son was kind of rushing on this one and couldn't hold still! Too much fun I guess!