[Larston]

Advance apology: I REALLY suck at remembering peoples names. Please forgive me and post up if you were on this trip!! I started out hoping to get pics of everyone on the trip, but we got split up before I could get them all. Sincerest apologies to everyone who I did not include!

About 14 members of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Fullsize Bronco list met at Denny's in Boulder for a meet and greet and to run Carnage Canyon in the Lefthand Canyon recreation area near Boulder, CO. After a leisurely breakfast, we all headed up to the canyon and got ready to run. There were about 10 vehicles that actually ran the canyon including a couple Jeeps (glad you guys came along!) and an early Bronco. Things were looking pretty dicey for a bit as just as our group was firing up the engines to hit the trail, about 20 other rigs scrambled to start ahead of us.

We all filed into the canyon and immediately ran into a parking lot. Seems a Jeep was trying to climb a monster boulder right at the start of the trail and pulled apart his front driveshaft. Once that rig was pulled out of the way, the rest of us could get by. Progress was short, though, as aobut 50 yards later everyone stopped again for some reason. After waiting a few minutes, the whole group ahead of us pulled to the side and let us by.

Start of the canyon

The parking lot

We quickly ran into ice that made an otherwise passable trail a highly technical challenge. Eventually, the lesser built rigs and those not wanting body damage turned around and went to play on the Lefthand trails which were dry and in fantastic shape for some rock crawling. Bones033, Crackhead, myself, and the two Jeeps continued up the canyon and ran into a nonstop skating rink of slick ice and big rocks. Bones did an incredible job of taking on every extreme challenge and conquered most despite starting from ice on almost every one. Crackhead showed what a little determination, a little analysis, and a WHOLE lot of throttle can do on an icy trail. The Jeeps finessed their way through with a lot of sliding. Everyone beat the ice in the end and I think everyone learned a little more about how to find traction in a bad situation.

Zoso

Crackhead

Bones033

The only serious carnage on the trip was when I decided to take on what is considered to be a Jeep/Toy line between a couple huge boulders. After wedging my rig solidly in the crack, and almost losing a passenger window, out came the winch. Bones served as anchor and my 12K winch slowly pulled me through to where the tires could again find traction and I drove the rest of the way out.

Now this is a wedgee!

On the way back to the parking area, we found the group who had turned back earlier taking on one of the knarliest hill climbs I've ever seen. When I pulled up, I was looking at the roof of the early Bronco as he was taking on a ledge about 150 feet above the trail. If he'd gone over, it wouldn't have been pretty, but the little Bronco pulled itself up and he continued to the top of the ridge.

This was a great trip and everyone seemed to have a great time. Fullsizes on the trail, gotta love it!! :thumbup :beer :drinkbud

 

[badass1tonf100]

awesome pics larry

 

[ToddACimer]

That looks like fun

 

[Ptack1]

very cool. Makes me want go offroadin again. I need to find more people with stock rigs that want to go in this area.

 

[crackhead]

These are my pics from the trip.. It was one of the best trips ive ever done.. Great people and a great day.. I only got a bit of body damage and i think i lost the bottom of one of my rad arm mounts on a rock.. I noticed it in one of the pics.. Ill go out and look later.. Thanks for a great day..

This was us lining up for the first obsiticle..

This was the gnarliest line i've ever seen a truck take.. He had a cheering section to egg him on as well..

A little damage.. Damn trees..

Yep.. Those are 3/8..

The new DOM tie rods held up awesome to a little bit of abuse.. Althought i dont think my radius arm mount fared as well..

 

[GreyStrawberry]

good pix :twotu:

 

[dblue351]

crackhead is running two different size tires in 4wd? I bet that was fun......

 

[crackhead]

Nope, they are all 35's.. ill post up my pics in a bit.. gotta do mid-terms real quick.. Brian

 

[Dangling_Dave]

Looks like you guys had a great time, wish that I had gone...

dc

 

[Sway]

Sweet:thumbup

 

[dogonmut]

I haven't run that trail in years. It's pretty fun. Is the trail head still full of trash left behind from shooters?

 

[Larston]

I haven't run that trail in years. It's pretty fun. Is the trail head still full of trash left behind from shooters?

The FS is really clamping down on the shooting. It's still a mess, but not as bad as I've seen it in the past. The trail itself has changed dramatically in the last two years. The effects of tripling the number of users in a short time are really stacking up.

 

[ZOSO]

Yeah that was a blast. When we got split up we had to turn around. one of the buggys broke the front driveshaft and the front leaf spring on the pass side. He got stuck. We had turned around. When we met up with you guys and you saw my dad climbing that hill. He was on the edge of going over. his driver front tire was about 6ft in the air. It was really close. I didn't get a vid of the first attempt but I did of the second one. That hill was ****in steep. When I tried that same line all I could see was the sky. it was teetering real bad. I too thought I was gonna go over. Then at the top of that hill was a short road that had a rock cliff. we all climbed up it with no problems. But coming down was different. us fullsize rigs were able to do it some what easy. But my dad in his EB almost went into the trees. it stalled and he lost power steering. He was able to save it. I talked to a guy in a jeep that was watching us and he said that was the most controlled and gracefull decent of those rocks he has ever seen.



So once the ice melts we are gonna have to try that again. I didn't want body damage and neither did dad. We were warned by a few of the buggies to not take our rides thru there if we wanted to keep em pretty.

 

[Zach94]

what are your plans for the shackles larry? i', thinking of making some that extend past the rear of the spring bushing and tieing the sides together with a peice of plate. i'm thinking that because i don't want to take up much space between the spring and frame for clearance reasons.

cool pictures all

 

[dogonmut]

The FS is really clamping down on the shooting. It's still a mess, but not as bad as I've seen it in the past. The trail itself has changed dramatically in the last two years. The effects of tripling the number of users in a short time are really stacking up.

It's been 5+ years since I ran that trail. I was still ttb and 8.8 then.

I love that trail. I've broken and bent many a ttb and 10 bolt parts there. When I lived in Colorado I ran a Chevy K10 pick up. When I was in high school we used to go to Left Hand Canyon almost every other week end durring the summer.

Some of the spur trails at the top of the mountain can get pretty hairy...especially the one's with obsticles on the shelf roads. There's one shelf road that's about 6" wider then a full size on 35 x 12.50's. It's got a rock obsticle that lean's the body of your rig over off the shelf road and then into a tree. It's pretty white knuckle. I can't imagine doing that one with ice covering the rocks.

This looks like it happened on the squeeze between the trees at the top of the hill.

 

[JahWarrior]

what are your plans for the shackles larry? i', thinking of making some that extend past the rear of the spring bushing and tieing the sides together with a peice of plate. i'm thinking that because i don't want to take up much space between the spring and frame for clearance reasons.

cool pictures all

Seems like a small piece of box tube to make kind of an "H", with enough room for the shackle to have full motion, probably would have helped prevent that bend?

 

[Andy351]

Seems like a small piece of box tube to make kind of an "H", with enough room for the shackle to have full motion, probably would have helped prevent that bend?

thats what i would do, even tho they are 3/8" plate. shackles see a lot of lateral load and in front they will get bashed against rocks which doesn't help.

pics look awesome, i am digging cab only look larry.:rockon

 

[Ubermich]

very cool. Makes me want go offroadin again. I need to find more people with stock rigs that want to go in this area.

Screw that. Get the heck out of California and head out this way and we'll go weekly. :thumbup

 

[Damager]

WOW! .. that's AWESOME .. I used to go back there all time riding my YZ250 .. and wheeling my S10 ZR2 .. pretty cool when you up top and then come back down the back way through the stream .... man some memories there.

Used to Mt Bike and shoot there too .. Nice to hear that it is cleaned up .. used to be a friggin mess 10 yrs ago and you never really ever saw any wheelers in there

 

[83rustbucket]

Great pics, I hope my SAS is done soon so I can go on the next trip.