My Dad, a buddy of mine and myself arrived at Los Coyotes at 9:45 am today, and we were the first to arrive. After paying the $15 entrance fee we tooled around on the main roads, checking out the area until everyone else arrived.
We met up with all the Turners and their various affiliates around 11am at the main campground. I soon learned that I had by far the smallest Jeep there. Every Jeep there was better equipped than mine, but it ended up not mattering as everyone went out of their way to lend the newb (myself) a hand. Dan and I were the only people with XJ's.
While they were settting up camp, we drove up "Ridge Road" to "Fire Hill". "Ridge Road" is a really steep and rutted fire road that winds up a couple of hills before dropping into a valley. The view from the top of the hills was great, as we were able to see Lake Henshaw and pretty much all of Los Coyotes from up there. "Fire Hill" was just a rutted overgrown road that was pretty boring.
After we got back to the camp, everyone left to go out on "Rough Road". The first obstacle that we came across was "Left Turn Hill". Everyone made it look easy until I got past the left turn and then promptly got stuck. After having my Jeep teeter-totter back and forth on two wheels a couple of times it took alot of spotting from Dan and Dennis and several attempts before I made it up to the top. Definitely not something I would want to try alone.
After that obstacle we headed to "Jeep Squeeze". I ended up taking the bypass here after watching Dan go down the steep hill. I will give it a shot when I have some decent skids and rocker protection.
"Jeep Squeeze" begins with a steep descent. At the bottom you will find a large ledge that Dan had no trouble with in the longer wheelbase XJ, but a couple of the smaller Jeeps had to make a few attempts to get over the 4+ foot high ledge (see pictures at my Webshots page).
After "Jeep Squeeze" we somehow ended up on "Dangerous Road". It did not seem too dangerous until I realized that the trail just turned to rocks, stumps and one flattened car. Again, with excellent spotting from the others, I was able to make it down the trail without any damage to my Jeep. Rocker skids are definitely next on my list of must-do items.
Anyways, I finally got to pop the cherry on my new Jeep and lift, and I was really glad that I was around people who knew what the heck they were doing - as I had no clue. Thanks again for a great time guys!
The pictures are not that great, I was too busy driving and my Dad and Buddy were too busy watching everything to take alot of pictures. I will just bring a camcorder next time...
Josh H
http://community.webshots.com/user/twcguy2