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how was your commute last night? if any were near pdx, twas quite the showing.
we made national news for 2" of snow/ice and out lack of readyness to deal with it!
Hi, we weren't home for the December 8th snow. We got to PDX late on the 9th coming home. My Lincoln was covered with ice in the Raddisson parking lot. Dentist appointment on the 14th in Albany, about 30 miles from home, and barely made it home due to traffic problems. No driving today.
Last edited by robertsunrus; 12-16-2016 at 03:01 AM.
How was that trail? It's listed as a pretty technical trail. Think a superduty could make it?
It is truly a Class IV Jeep trail in every respect. We ended up on it by mistake. My friend (in the 4Runner behind me) had been there before, so I trusted him when he answered my "does this trail look familiar?" question with a "yup!". Well, can you say "NOT". Lots of the trail was so hairy, that we promised each other that we were not going to go back down, no matter what.
We got a late start and camped at Briggs Cabin (a really nice location, btw). Next day, we walked to "Chicken Bridge". The signs, and all the trail guides/books we read said "ATVs, motorcycles and light Jeeps only". The sign at the bottom of the hill said "6000 lbs gross weight Maximum. Geared up, I was close to 7000. My friend was close to the same. But what choice did we have? Being an ironworker, I had a long look at the bridge and decided that it would hold us. (if it didn't, you can see in the pic where we'd end up). We scooted across with no issues. The real issues came on the approach. 2 outside corners where I have to fold my mirrors in, and was literally 3-4 inches away from the jagged rock cliff, while the left front tire was washing rocks and gravel over the edge of the trail. My wife evacuated the truck beforehand. It was pretty intense.
Then came fun spot #2, "Chicken Corner". On the approach, a huge 'gulp' hits your throat when you see the off-camber turn with a 24" rock in your way. So guess what a 24" rock does to a trail that is already off camber? Yeah, pucker time! I made it around ok, and so did my friend, who has ARB lockers front and rear. ***Do NOT try this trail without a locker*** - you won't make it. YouTube has plenty of vids of Chicken Rock. We found a few where Jeeps guys went over the edge (thankfully we saw these AFTER we got home!)
After that, as soon as you cross the DV park boundary, you encounter Coulter Spring. This spring, that runs across the trail, freezes in the winter. It looked like a patch of snow when I headed across it. Got 3/4 the way across, and it felt like we got sling-shotted backwards into the willow trees. Took us 3 hours to winch me out of it. I was able to take a better line and made it across. We winched my friend across just for good measure.
When we got across, some Jeep guys came from the other way (Middle Park/Rogers Point). A few seconds of glazed looks from them yielded the question: (pointing at my f150) "how'd you get THAT thing up here?"
They gave us some sound advice, that we weren't getting off the mountain that night, as the snow ahead of us was already freezing up (about 4:00pm now). Try as we might, we learned that they were right. So, we camped at 6500ft, in Middle Park Valley, with the snow and the burros. We made it out the next day. Those Jeeps guys met us at Ballarat, and told us they were going to wait for us till sundown, and come up to rescue us if we didn't come out. They earned one of my bottles of very fine wine for that gesture!
So, I told you that to tell you this: make sure you're up to the challenges of South Park Trail. It isn't a "fun" trail, it's all business. I have a 145" w.b., and I barely made those turns.
We'll be doing Goler, Mengel, Dedekera and Steel passes in February, if there are no huge washouts from flashfloods.
2014 F150 XLT. RC 2" Level with RC rear shocks and block, Bridgestone Dueler AT, Gator Mud Flaps, Upgraded stereo, Tinted , N-Fab Nerf Steps, Sprayed in Bed Liner with ARE Cap
It is truly a Class IV Jeep trail in every respect. We ended up on it by mistake. My friend (in the 4Runner behind me) had been there before, so I trusted him when he answered my "does this trail look familiar?" question with a "yup!". Well, can you say "NOT". Lots of the trail was so hairy, that we promised each other that we were not going to go back down, no matter what.
We got a late start and camped at Briggs Cabin (a really nice location, btw). Next day, we walked to "Chicken Bridge". The signs, and all the trail guides/books we read said "ATVs, motorcycles and light Jeeps only". The sign at the bottom of the hill said "6000 lbs gross weight Maximum. Geared up, I was close to 7000. My friend was close to the same. But what choice did we have? Being an ironworker, I had a long look at the bridge and decided that it would hold us. (if it didn't, you can see in the pic where we'd end up). We scooted across with no issues. The real issues came on the approach. 2 outside corners where I have to fold my mirrors in, and was literally 3-4 inches away from the jagged rock cliff, while the left front tire was washing rocks and gravel over the edge of the trail. My wife evacuated the truck beforehand. It was pretty intense.
Then came fun spot #2, "Chicken Corner". On the approach, a huge 'gulp' hits your throat when you see the off-camber turn with a 24" rock in your way. So guess what a 24" rock does to a trail that is already off camber? Yeah, pucker time! I made it around ok, and so did my friend, who has ARB lockers front and rear. ***Do NOT try this trail without a locker*** - you won't make it. YouTube has plenty of vids of Chicken Rock. We found a few where Jeeps guys went over the edge (thankfully we saw these AFTER we got home!)
After that, as soon as you cross the DV park boundary, you encounter Coulter Spring. This spring, that runs across the trail, freezes in the winter. It looked like a patch of snow when I headed across it. Got 3/4 the way across, and it felt like we got sling-shotted backwards into the willow trees. Took us 3 hours to winch me out of it. I was able to take a better line and made it across. We winched my friend across just for good measure.
When we got across, some Jeep guys came from the other way (Middle Park/Rogers Point). A few seconds of glazed looks from them yielded the question: (pointing at my f150) "how'd you get THAT thing up here?"
They gave us some sound advice, that we weren't getting off the mountain that night, as the snow ahead of us was already freezing up (about 4:00pm now). Try as we might, we learned that they were right. So, we camped at 6500ft, in Middle Park Valley, with the snow and the burros. We made it out the next day. Those Jeeps guys met us at Ballarat, and told us they were going to wait for us till sundown, and come up to rescue us if we didn't come out. They earned one of my bottles of very fine wine for that gesture!
So, I told you that to tell you this: make sure you're up to the challenges of South Park Trail. It isn't a "fun" trail, it's all business. I have a 145" w.b., and I barely made those turns.
We'll be doing Goler, Mengel, Dedekera and Steel passes in February, if there are no huge washouts from flashfloods.
Wow my hands are now sweaty just reading about that whole adventure! Very nice read, and looks like you all did a great job at it!
It is truly a Class IV Jeep trail in every respect. We ended up on it by mistake. My friend (in the 4Runner behind me) had been there before, so I trusted him when he answered my "does this trail look familiar?" question with a "yup!". Well, can you say "NOT". Lots of the trail was so hairy, that we promised each other that we were not going to go back down, no matter what.
We got a late start and camped at Briggs Cabin (a really nice location, btw). Next day, we walked to "Chicken Bridge". The signs, and all the trail guides/books we read said "ATVs, motorcycles and light Jeeps only". The sign at the bottom of the hill said "6000 lbs gross weight Maximum. Geared up, I was close to 7000. My friend was close to the same. But what choice did we have? Being an ironworker, I had a long look at the bridge and decided that it would hold us. (if it didn't, you can see in the pic where we'd end up). We scooted across with no issues. The real issues came on the approach. 2 outside corners where I have to fold my mirrors in, and was literally 3-4 inches away from the jagged rock cliff, while the left front tire was washing rocks and gravel over the edge of the trail. My wife evacuated the truck beforehand. It was pretty intense.
Then came fun spot #2, "Chicken Corner". On the approach, a huge 'gulp' hits your throat when you see the off-camber turn with a 24" rock in your way. So guess what a 24" rock does to a trail that is already off camber? Yeah, pucker time! I made it around ok, and so did my friend, who has ARB lockers front and rear. ***Do NOT try this trail without a locker*** - you won't make it. YouTube has plenty of vids of Chicken Rock. We found a few where Jeeps guys went over the edge (thankfully we saw these AFTER we got home!)
After that, as soon as you cross the DV park boundary, you encounter Coulter Spring. This spring, that runs across the trail, freezes in the winter. It looked like a patch of snow when I headed across it. Got 3/4 the way across, and it felt like we got sling-shotted backwards into the willow trees. Took us 3 hours to winch me out of it. I was able to take a better line and made it across. We winched my friend across just for good measure.
When we got across, some Jeep guys came from the other way (Middle Park/Rogers Point). A few seconds of glazed looks from them yielded the question: (pointing at my f150) "how'd you get THAT thing up here?"
They gave us some sound advice, that we weren't getting off the mountain that night, as the snow ahead of us was already freezing up (about 4:00pm now). Try as we might, we learned that they were right. So, we camped at 6500ft, in Middle Park Valley, with the snow and the burros. We made it out the next day. Those Jeeps guys met us at Ballarat, and told us they were going to wait for us till sundown, and come up to rescue us if we didn't come out. They earned one of my bottles of very fine wine for that gesture!
So, I told you that to tell you this: make sure you're up to the challenges of South Park Trail. It isn't a "fun" trail, it's all business. I have a 145" w.b., and I barely made those turns.
We'll be doing Goler, Mengel, Dedekera and Steel passes in February, if there are no huge washouts from flashfloods.
great shots.... but that is a whole lot of nope from me..... I'm okay hitting mud up to the windows, im okay with mobbing through the desert at max speeds, I'm okay with snow and ice, I'm okay with rock crawling, I am not okay with that.... I wouldnt call myself afraid of heights but im scared of that!
It is truly a Class IV Jeep trail in every respect. We ended up on it by mistake. My friend (in the 4Runner behind me) had been there before, so I trusted him when he answered my "does this trail look familiar?" question with a "yup!". Well, can you say "NOT". Lots of the trail was so hairy, that we promised each other that we were not going to go back down, no matter what.
We got a late start and camped at Briggs Cabin (a really nice location, btw). Next day, we walked to "Chicken Bridge". The signs, and all the trail guides/books we read said "ATVs, motorcycles and light Jeeps only". The sign at the bottom of the hill said "6000 lbs gross weight Maximum. Geared up, I was close to 7000. My friend was close to the same. But what choice did we have? Being an ironworker, I had a long look at the bridge and decided that it would hold us. (if it didn't, you can see in the pic where we'd end up). We scooted across with no issues. The real issues came on the approach. 2 outside corners where I have to fold my mirrors in, and was literally 3-4 inches away from the jagged rock cliff, while the left front tire was washing rocks and gravel over the edge of the trail. My wife evacuated the truck beforehand. It was pretty intense.
Then came fun spot #2, "Chicken Corner". On the approach, a huge 'gulp' hits your throat when you see the off-camber turn with a 24" rock in your way. So guess what a 24" rock does to a trail that is already off camber? Yeah, pucker time! I made it around ok, and so did my friend, who has ARB lockers front and rear. ***Do NOT try this trail without a locker*** - you won't make it. YouTube has plenty of vids of Chicken Rock. We found a few where Jeeps guys went over the edge (thankfully we saw these AFTER we got home!)
After that, as soon as you cross the DV park boundary, you encounter Coulter Spring. This spring, that runs across the trail, freezes in the winter. It looked like a patch of snow when I headed across it. Got 3/4 the way across, and it felt like we got sling-shotted backwards into the willow trees. Took us 3 hours to winch me out of it. I was able to take a better line and made it across. We winched my friend across just for good measure.
When we got across, some Jeep guys came from the other way (Middle Park/Rogers Point). A few seconds of glazed looks from them yielded the question: (pointing at my f150) "how'd you get THAT thing up here?"
They gave us some sound advice, that we weren't getting off the mountain that night, as the snow ahead of us was already freezing up (about 4:00pm now). Try as we might, we learned that they were right. So, we camped at 6500ft, in Middle Park Valley, with the snow and the burros. We made it out the next day. Those Jeeps guys met us at Ballarat, and told us they were going to wait for us till sundown, and come up to rescue us if we didn't come out. They earned one of my bottles of very fine wine for that gesture!
So, I told you that to tell you this: make sure you're up to the challenges of South Park Trail. It isn't a "fun" trail, it's all business. I have a 145" w.b., and I barely made those turns.
We'll be doing Goler, Mengel, Dedekera and Steel passes in February, if there are no huge washouts from flashfloods.
12-16-2016, 12:02 AM
Hi, we weren't home for the December 8th snow. We got to PDX late on the 9th coming home. My Lincoln was covered with ice in the Raddisson parking lot. Dentist appointment on the 14th in Albany, about 30 miles from home, and barely made it home due to traffic problems. No driving today.
