Xtremluck
New member
People used to write up trail reports in the early days of T4R but I haven’t seen much of that recently. So I thought I would try to revive that trend by doing a quick write up of my last adventure. 
Two years ago a group of friends decided to try running a difficult Jeep trail we have here in Northern California called Slickrock. If you look it up on OnX or Trailsoffroad it is rated 7 (Severe). It definitely lived up to that as we got about 25% through and one of the trucks decided to grenade it’s aluminum driveshaft on a rock ledge. Forcing the group to turn around and drag a 2WD truck off the trail over very technical terrain.
After that experience we knew we wanted to come back for a second shot and last weekend that is what we did.Our group this time around consisted of a first gen Tacoma, 2nd gen Xterra, an FJ80, a freshly built Jeep XJ and my 5th gen. Everyone was on 35s and at least locked in the rear with the FJ80 being locked up front as well.
We started the trail with a nice chunky descent that acts as a gatekeeper keeping the uninformed from getting into trouble.
After crossing a bridge we were at our first rock wall with multiple lines. We all decided to take the fun line which meant climbing some smaller sized rock walls. As usual I was lacking in departure clearance and had to drag my rear bumper through.
Now it was onto one of the more sketchier parts of the trail, the descent down “The Stairs”. As usual the pictures don’t really tell the tale of how steep and chunky this thing really is. It is also a place where you can get REAL tippy once you get past the first rock chute. I had a former work colleague roll his Land Cruiser here a few years ago. Everyone in the group did a great job navigating this obstacle and most of us made it down with no issue.
The exception was the FJ80. Unfortunately the driver made an error and moved forward when he thought he was in reverse. This made him go right into a large rock with a ton of force. We knew we had to pay for that mistake and a few feet after finishing the first major obstacle we soon realized we had a damaged truck.
After examination we determined the problem was a severely bent tie rod. What we didn’t know until later was that he also cracked his axle housing. Which was a pretty impressive feat given how beefy FJ80 axles are. After about an hour we were able to repair the tie rod and do a quick field alignment to get him going again.
The rest of the trail had miles of fun rock gardens, open slickrock sections and V-notches leading up to the final obstacle.
A few years ago a land dispute required the trail to be rerouted up a pretty steep and chunky ascent that was aptly named “The Gauntlet”. I knew this would be the hardest part of our day. After a few attempts it was clear that my truck’s weight and low clearance was really working against me. So I decided to pull some line and winch myself up the hardest rock wall.
The other rigs in my group all got up unassisted which was pretty impressive. I’ll make it back there again one day when my setup is a little lighter.
Once we got to the top we decided to do an optional section of the trail called “Rock Pile”. It definitely lived up to its name and had a nice tight gatekeeper in the beginning.
We finished the day with some cold beers at a nice campsite and continued on the next day to the Deer Valley trail for one last run before heading home.
The trail was definitely a little easier than Slickrock but ironically it damaged the majority of our trucks. The FJ80 was first when it bashed in a door after its passenger slider slid off a rock.
We did a nice lateral winch recovery to pull it off the rock safely.
I was next when I slammed into a rock that was underwater in a mud bog. Bent my steering knuckle real good on that one.
At some point I also landed on a rock ledge that bent my stock rear lower control arms and mangled the frame mounts even more.
It was all worth it thought. I can’t think of a better way to spend a weekend. Tough trails, great teamwork, amazing problem solving and really putting our setups to the test. One thing I was a bit disappointed about was how my KO2s gripped the rocks. I knew there was a trade off when running these things but the loss in off-road traction was really evident on this trip. I’ll have to look at something a bit more aggressive next time around. I'm also using these trail repairs as an opportunity to upgrade my rear lower control arms and frame mounting points.
Next up is the Rubicon in a couple of weeks! I'll be sure to do a write up on that as well.
Two years ago a group of friends decided to try running a difficult Jeep trail we have here in Northern California called Slickrock. If you look it up on OnX or Trailsoffroad it is rated 7 (Severe). It definitely lived up to that as we got about 25% through and one of the trucks decided to grenade it’s aluminum driveshaft on a rock ledge. Forcing the group to turn around and drag a 2WD truck off the trail over very technical terrain.
After that experience we knew we wanted to come back for a second shot and last weekend that is what we did.Our group this time around consisted of a first gen Tacoma, 2nd gen Xterra, an FJ80, a freshly built Jeep XJ and my 5th gen. Everyone was on 35s and at least locked in the rear with the FJ80 being locked up front as well.
We started the trail with a nice chunky descent that acts as a gatekeeper keeping the uninformed from getting into trouble.
After crossing a bridge we were at our first rock wall with multiple lines. We all decided to take the fun line which meant climbing some smaller sized rock walls. As usual I was lacking in departure clearance and had to drag my rear bumper through.
Now it was onto one of the more sketchier parts of the trail, the descent down “The Stairs”. As usual the pictures don’t really tell the tale of how steep and chunky this thing really is. It is also a place where you can get REAL tippy once you get past the first rock chute. I had a former work colleague roll his Land Cruiser here a few years ago. Everyone in the group did a great job navigating this obstacle and most of us made it down with no issue.
The exception was the FJ80. Unfortunately the driver made an error and moved forward when he thought he was in reverse. This made him go right into a large rock with a ton of force. We knew we had to pay for that mistake and a few feet after finishing the first major obstacle we soon realized we had a damaged truck.
After examination we determined the problem was a severely bent tie rod. What we didn’t know until later was that he also cracked his axle housing. Which was a pretty impressive feat given how beefy FJ80 axles are. After about an hour we were able to repair the tie rod and do a quick field alignment to get him going again.
The rest of the trail had miles of fun rock gardens, open slickrock sections and V-notches leading up to the final obstacle.
A few years ago a land dispute required the trail to be rerouted up a pretty steep and chunky ascent that was aptly named “The Gauntlet”. I knew this would be the hardest part of our day. After a few attempts it was clear that my truck’s weight and low clearance was really working against me. So I decided to pull some line and winch myself up the hardest rock wall.
The other rigs in my group all got up unassisted which was pretty impressive. I’ll make it back there again one day when my setup is a little lighter.
Once we got to the top we decided to do an optional section of the trail called “Rock Pile”. It definitely lived up to its name and had a nice tight gatekeeper in the beginning.
We finished the day with some cold beers at a nice campsite and continued on the next day to the Deer Valley trail for one last run before heading home.
The trail was definitely a little easier than Slickrock but ironically it damaged the majority of our trucks. The FJ80 was first when it bashed in a door after its passenger slider slid off a rock.
We did a nice lateral winch recovery to pull it off the rock safely.
I was next when I slammed into a rock that was underwater in a mud bog. Bent my steering knuckle real good on that one.
At some point I also landed on a rock ledge that bent my stock rear lower control arms and mangled the frame mounts even more.
It was all worth it thought. I can’t think of a better way to spend a weekend. Tough trails, great teamwork, amazing problem solving and really putting our setups to the test. One thing I was a bit disappointed about was how my KO2s gripped the rocks. I knew there was a trade off when running these things but the loss in off-road traction was really evident on this trip. I’ll have to look at something a bit more aggressive next time around. I'm also using these trail repairs as an opportunity to upgrade my rear lower control arms and frame mounting points.
Next up is the Rubicon in a couple of weeks! I'll be sure to do a write up on that as well.
Last edited:
