finally did some wheeling this weekend

well i finally got to do some off roading this past Saturday. Went with a group of friends to the El Paso mountains where we did some jawbone canyon and last chance canyon trails. Went to the Burro Schmidt tunnel, checked out an old mine that is still kept up today by some guy (the name of the mine escapes me) and just did a full day of wheeling. here are a few pics of the trip:
Stopping for breakfast


stopping at the Jawbone canyon visitor center
the whole group minus a TJ and a Tacoma:


the wind was so strong it blew this cardboard up against my friends XJ:


Fred (Explorer1) 1st try going up a steep rock obstacle(there was a way around it):


made it most of the way up:



my XJ along with the FJ:


2nd try, made it a little further. because of the angle there wasnt enough tranny fluid getting to the TC.


Jeff in his Tacoma decides to try it out:



hung up on the crossmember:



2nd try


something snapped...


i wonder what everyones looking at?

:roll:

wouldnt go forward, couldnt go back because of the spare, so we used the winch to get him over the rocks:







poser shot



had some trouble getting the FJ over the rocks


our group all lined up:

total of 5 XJs, 1 TJ, an FJ cruiser and a Tacoma

we were getting ready to tackle this nice looking hill.











and i did the hill as well, it was pretty steep but i had no issues. the 31s gripped very well.

the mine we visited:






into the mine shaft to walk 1500 ft. where it exited the other side of the mountain



'nother hill climb:


nice looking XJ behind me
(and im representing Socal )



nice looking Tacoma in my mirror


just thought this shot looked cool


yeah, another poser shot. i could've gone futher up the hill but i didnt...oh well


narrowest part of the canyon:


aired up, sway bar connected and reluctantly ready to head home (i wanted to do some more wheeling)


i had a blast and really enjoyed finding out what my XJ is capable of (still havent discovered its full capabilities). i just need to get more ballsy, and still be able to drive the thing home when im done

speaking of driving, i HATED driving that thing on the highway. with the 31s i have to run in 3 almost all the time just to maintain 60 MPH+. going 65 in 3rd it would run about 3100 RPM, if i put it in D it'd obviously shift and go to 2300 RPM and slowly bog down. i could really only use over drive going down hill. it also ran hotter than usual (not overheating). everything in my cooling system has been replaced and it runs fine with my street 29" tires, so i suspect that my engine is just getting old and tired (it has 208k miles) hence the extra heat and lack of power. gears are now at the top of my upgrade list.

ok, rant over. i hope you enjoyed my pics

Where is this at? I did a google search and two places came up. Looks fun.

Looks like a fun place to go wheelin!

From my trip in January. Took the wife's bone stock '06 Pilot there, on Kumho street tires. Came in off of the 14, made a very wrong turn down Bonanza Gulch Trail. Got to Burro Schmidt's and then exited out to Randsburg Road via Mesquite Canyon road. Also made it all the way up through the soft gulch sand, until the rock gardens begin in Last Chance Canyon from the Ransburg Road side. This was the trip that got me to decide to get rid of my fast toy for a dirt toy as my boy had too much fun..

Playing in the ash mines



Inside Burro Scmidts



Made it out!



View at the end



Made it out of the El Pasos with no damage! Bonus!



Next Stop



Darwin Gas?



Fire!



South Side of Darwin



Darwin Library



Heading Home

Looks like a lot of fun good pics.

seeing the pics of your boy along with you is awsome. cool kid. when i get my jeep done i would really like to hook up with these type of runs. thanks for sharing.

Nice pictures and place.

thanks for sharing! never been out that a way

Does my heart good!

It always does my heart good to see a Jeep winching out a stuck Toyota. Jeff won't live that down for a while! :yelclap:

Thanks for sharing Matt,

Fred
Explorer 1

P.S. My daughter followed me down Last Chance several years ago in her Honda CRV in the rain!

Re: Does my heart good!

Explorer 1 said:

It always does my heart good to see a Jeep winching out a stuck Toyota. Jeff won't live that down for a while! :yelclap:

Click to expand...

Yep....winching out Jeff was a fine moment for us XJ guys :greensmok
those toyota guys just need to learn that its call a SOLID axle


thanks for all the compliments guys, im glad you all enjoyed the pics!

Explorer 1 said:

P.S. My daughter followed me down Last Chance several years ago in her Honda CRV in the rain!

Click to expand...

in a CRV!?:shocked:

this had to have been when she had the mud terrains on, although i guess its got pretty decent ground clearance and its narrow enough to fit through most places.

Pilots on the other hand dont do so well :rof: