Pics from last weekend.......

[6.2Blazer]

This are from around Marietta, Ohio this last weekend. This rock waterfall is pretty nasty in the rain.......doesn't really look that bad but the rocks are all mossy and very slick.

78Buford - only vehicle able to make it up that weekend that I heard of, at least without stacking rocks. 42's, dual lockers, big block... Check out the guy to the right in the picture running for cover from the flying rocks and mud.

I hit it hard a few times but apparently grooved and siped 38" TSL's and dual lockers weren't quite enough (or maybe I can't drive):

A little out of shape after this try. The slimy clay mud over everything after the first vehicle tried didn't help anything:

 

[tRustyK5]

Your middle pic...I can see the rear tire spinning, but both fronts aren't moving.

Cool pic's though!

Rene

 

[6.2Blazer]

My buddy's V-6 powered Willy's gettin' it! He can drive that thing like it's an extension of his arm, but still no luck. 33's and dual lockers.

YJ with dual lockers, 8.8 rear axle swap, 34" LTB's.

 

[6.2Blazer]

Another one............this hill is very steep and has several rocky ledges to climb, pictures just don't do it justice.

 

[Leper]

2 words
air down

 

[6.2Blazer]

2 words
air down

They are.

The fronts are at 15 psi, the rears are at about 13 psi..................any lower on this type of trails without beadlocks just doesn't work. Slow technical rockcrawling type of trails I can get by with lower, but the hammer-down required driving style on these type of trails will guarantee a tire debead when you slam sideways against a muddy rut or rock ledge.

Did I also mention you have to do about 30 miles of pavement driving to, from, and in between the different trails?

 

[JK5]

Nice pics!!!!

Where's that at???? I didn't know that area had anything that challenging.
My buddy has a sweet cabin down there...we can use anytime.

LOL...2 words...Web Wheeler...
Oh...that wasn't You I'm talking about.

 

[6.2Blazer]

I really don't know my way around there very well at all, it's basically a big maze of old township roads winding through the woods. I can get directions from somebody and PM you if you want, but honestly there's not much down there unless you like playing in the mud also. The rock waterfall climb in the pics is always challenging because it's almost always wet and the rocks are mossy and slick. The big hill (on a completely different trail) has several challenging spots when wet, but when dry is just average. The smallest vehicle that weekend I saw or heard about making it was the Willy's with the V-6 screaming in 3rd gear and about a dozen attempts. I got over two of the hard spots, pulled a Jeep over the second spot, and was attempting the 3rd tough section when I heard "the CJ is on fire, the CJ is on fire" over the CB..........good thing I had my fire extinguisher handy......

I had to do a U-turn in the middle of the hill and help roll the non-running Jeep all the way down. It burnt several plug wires (350 SBC), the cap, accelerator cable, accelerator pump, etc.......and then towed him back to camp.

 

[Orange Crush]

Nice pics looks like a challenging climb

 

[JK5]

Was that the same Jeep that caught on fire at wellsville...twice???

 

[6.2Blazer]

Actually, I think it was from what I heard (his headers were catching the inner part of the painted fenders on fire??).

He's a rookie but trying to learn..........has a good start on a vehicle but needs some improvements.

 

[JK5]

ok...same guy then...he seemed nice...after a couple issues..he got off the trail...that saved our weekend. He needs to let that thing heat-up in the driveway before taking it out on the trail again. He's been lucky so far.

 

[6.2Blazer]

He drove it on the road all the way from Columbus to Marietta (2+ hour drive), so it runs fine on the road

It looks like what happened this time was that he installed an adjustable pressure regulator right before the line goes into the carb. After it stopped smoldering I was able to twist the fuel line (rubber line held on with clamps) back and forth by hand.......guessing it was loose enough to let some fuel spray out of it during heavy throttle and it ignited.

I think he built it by reading magazines and the web, but he is listening to the guys in the club and knows what he needs to do now.

 

[78Buford]

Jerry, You'd like the Grandview obstacle, and the Spyder Gear Hill obstacle that 6.2Blazer posted pictures of, but as he mentioned, there just aren't a lot of other challenging obstacles for larger well built rigs. The only reason I go to Marietta is the Grandview obstacle. I've driven my big pile up it all three times I have tried it.

The first time was May of 2004. It was damp & greasy at the time. I had 38's and was the only one in a fairly large group of moderately (but solidly) built rigs to make it.

The second time was October of 2004. I still had 38's at the time, but 35's would have done the job. It was dry and wiener rigs had stacked rocks earlier in the day.....I was kinda bummed because it ruined the challenge for me. Several rigs made it up, but it wasn't anything to get excited about.

The third time was this past Saturday. It was the greasiest that I have ever observed it to be, and the ledges are steeper than they used to be. If there were 3-4 other obstacles like it in the area, I'd go down there more than once/twice a year.

Roy

 

[JK5]

I went down there a couple years back with Southeast Buckeye's....
it was a Yawn ride...we never got close to anything like you guys just ran.

My buddy Art has a huge cabin north of Marietta..it sleeps 10 people.
He's been asking me for years to come down for the weekend...he has said my friends are welcome too. Is there any place where I can leave my trailer??

 

[78Buford]

Jerry: To get to the better two trails, there will be a significant amount of road driving. If you have tags & insurance I wouldn't really worry about getting cited for not having a street legal rig......not much traffic down there. If you don't have insurance on it, I definitely wouldn't drive it on the road.

 

[6.2Blazer]

If somebody knows the trails really well they can limit the amount of pavement miles, but I think some pavement is still required.

We basically travelled some boring dirt/mud roads that required 4wd for about a total of 30 ft. simply because it had rained for 24 hours straight, hit pavement and went to Grandview (rock waterfall) which is maybe 100 yards off a gravel road, played on it for awhile, turned around and hit pavement to the Spyder Gear hill trail. This trail is actually half-way interesting when wet, but not really challenging as you drop down into a creek valley. Making the climb back out when wet would probably be challenging for a mild vehicle. The actual Spyder Gear hill was pretty challenging this time. The last time I was there was I think '02 with 35's and a l/s front, halfway dry and I went up the entire hill without backing up and only a little wheelspin in a few areas. This time with 38's and a front locker I couldn't crawl any of it and took several tries and full-throttle at the rocky/rutted section.

The main problem is that there are still small working oil/gas wells, or the roads are through a National Forest, and therefore other people want access to the areas in stock vehicles, so the township or counties have been leveling the trails with bulldozers every so often for the last several years.