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What run is the next hardest above the scenic run?

livewire

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Burbank CA
What run is the next hardest above the scenic run, that will be run on Saturday at Johnson Valley?
 
What run is the next hardest above the scenic run, that will be run on Saturday at Johnson Valley?

There's only three ratings at Johnson Valley.

1. Scenic.

4. OH MY FREAKING GOD!!!

5+. ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND???
 
I know its sad. I read the post almost every day, but I cant post because LAUSD blocks any out going posts. I have been to 4 of the last 5 goatfests and always had a great time. I try to get out as much as I can but with two kids in sports and me coaching I dont have many free days. I still have 3 xj's
the one in my signature, my daily driver and, an 89 I am building in my garage. So yes I have earned the title of web wheele,r but it does not mean I have to like it.
 
There's only three ratings at Johnson Valley.

1. Scenic.

4. OH MY FREAKING GOD!!!

5+. ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND???
jesus christ Andy, you sure make it sound like mildly built rigs are not welcome in JV. i wonder how many people were on the fence about going or not going, and decided not to because of your posts in the past couple weeks. im still going, but i know im deciding not to bring my XJ because of what you've said. you make it sound like its either the stocker run, or you need 35s double locked to go anywhere but camp. :dunno:
 
jesus christ Andy, you sure make it sound like mildly built rigs are not welcome in JV. i wonder how many people were on the fence about going or not going, and decided not to because of your posts in the past couple weeks. im still going, but i know im deciding not to bring my XJ because of what you've said. you make it sound like its either the stocker run, or you need 35s double locked to go anywhere but camp. :dunno:
lol:shhh:
 
Come on LiveWire.. You can hit 100 posts tonight. I'm rooting for you.. :D

Anywho.. Sounds like you know us better than we know you....

I think Andy S. is right..

E

EDIT - Not quite. Don't worry Mike. That's the way Andy is. He's on the verge of being a Drama Queen.
 
jesus christ Andy, you sure make it sound like mildly built rigs are not welcome in JV. i wonder how many people were on the fence about going or not going, and decided not to because of your posts in the past couple weeks. im still going, but i know im deciding not to bring my XJ because of what you've said. you make it sound like its either the stocker run, or you need 35s double locked to go anywhere but camp. :dunno:

John (livewire) built a great rig on the cheap. Less than 5K for 33s, locked and geared, bumpers, armor and a 3" lift. Even he was having problems because of the limited ground clearance under the body. Admittedly, John doesn't to wheel all that often and wouldn't be what most might call an experienced driver. That doesn't stop him from wheeling The Hammers, but he knows the risks.

I know I'm a broken record and I apologize. I spent five years as a course instructor for Cal4Wheel and taught people how to safely wheel off road. It's in my blood to teach. In fact, John was one of the guys I met while teaching the course and we became fast friends.

I feel strongly that JV is a world unto itself and newbies who have never been out there should be well informed. After all the posts I made on the subject, one guy asked if he could run a moderate trail without risk of body damage. After reading that, I came to the conclusion that my message was lost in the ether. Here's my new message:

Go to Johnson Valley. Bring lots of firewood and plenty of your favorite beverage. If you feel like driving a trail, have at it and have fun. Be safe. If you don't want to drive, hitch a seat and offer to take photos.

Enjoy the weekend and the great camaraderie.
 
jesus christ Andy, you sure make it sound like mildly built rigs are not welcome in JV. i wonder how many people were on the fence about going or not going, and decided not to because of your posts in the past couple weeks. im still going, but i know im deciding not to bring my XJ because of what you've said. you make it sound like its either the stocker run, or you need 35s double locked to go anywhere but camp. :dunno:
x2...
 
There's only three ratings at Johnson Valley.

1. Scenic.

4. OH MY FREAKING GOD!!!

5+. ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND???


Andy, to remind you and others, my motivation for doing the Rockin' XJ Jamboree has been to provide an opportunity for folks to get acquainted with Johnson Valley that are not regulars out there. And then to raise a little money for various causes, and to help folks have a good time. I've been running JV trails regularly for 13 years. I've been pretty consistant telling folks what they can handle and what they can't. This event isn't just us guys running trails in JV, hell, when we go to JV to do our thing we don't tell anybody because we don't want anyone that's not super built to show up. We'll run 2 or 3 trails, head back to camp to have lunch, then run 2 or 3 more trails. This weekend is for folks that don't normally run JV to get a chance to do it.

Your information, besides being somewhat inflamatory, just isn't correct. None of us can say with any accuracy what is hard or moderate, or easy, without qualifying what level of build we're dealing with. Want to talk hard or easy? I can run Sledge in under 10 min, I ran Wrecking Ball in 12 min, and I've run Resulution a couple times in 5 min. Doesn't sound too hard to me. Yet a guy with no rockcrawling experience on 35's can have a hard time on any of those trails.

I ran JV regularly in my XJ, first on 32's, then on 33's (wore out two sets of 33's), then on 35's, then on 37's, and now on 40's. Andy Couch has run JV regularly for years with 33's and no body damage, then 35's, now he has a buggy. Nearly all of us who have been JV regulars for years started out running out there in our full bodied XJ's on 33" tires. We learned. Those who haven't done it much also need to learn, and this run is the perfect opportunity for them to do that. We don't want to stack rocks or spot someone every foot of trail that they drive, so it's in all of our best interest to see that folks get on a trail that they can handle and will have fun running.

BTW, Tackhammer is not a hard trail, just a few rocks. The route to Aftershock can be very challenging for a totally stock rig, and fun for a slightly built rig when you run it back up. Lower Big Johnson isn't tight at all, and is a good starter trail for someone on 33's and one locker, they'll have to work at it, and is fun and good practice for rigs with 2 lockers (we can run it in 2 min). It's all relative.

Like you've said, just come out and have a good time. No one has to do anything they're not comfortable doing.

See you all out there, :wave:
 
What run is the next hardest above the scenic run, that will be run on Saturday at Johnson Valley?

Tackhammer and Lower Big Johnson.
 
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