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TSF 2016 New Year's Run

TORX

NAXJA Forum User
NAXJA Member
Location
NWC
What better way to bring in a new year than with a little trail time with the Jeep. My plan was to roll out Saturday for a day trip with those who were up there already camping (Joe, Nick, and Scott).

Rendezvoused with Karl (Los Lobos) and his Machine in the morning.
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Bitterly cold, but clear morning.
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We rolled into camp 0830 to find everyone still snoozing. After some morning chores of airing down, and BS'ing we rolled out for the trails.
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Lots of snow even on the lower elevation trails.
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We hit Powerline over to University Firepower, where we discovered a nice hidden layer of ice under the dusting of snow. This first hill climb turned into a backwards Jeep luge for Nick. Four tire fire going forward, while the Jeep slid back. This was going to be an interesting day.
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Once Joe crested the first hill, we heard Karl on the radio, "I got a hole in my oil pan..."
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Major bummer only being a half hour into the day, but sh!t happens. The cold temperatures and low pressure in his air shocks killed his uptravel, and sent a track bar through the pan. Doh! I rallied him back to the truck and trailer, where we also ran into PaddlerNate, and Jaydubya. The beast loaded up, and heading home.
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The rest of the group continued on, and hit up Firebreak 5.
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Snow covered the trail, but we pulled through the first rock face.
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Jaydubya coming up the first section.
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NateDawg.
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Joe in his rental.
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The BroKee bringing up the tail.
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We hit the second hill climb on the first section and found some nice ice pack on the rocks, and powder snow in between. I tried to hold a line, but in the it just took some commitment with the skinny pedal.

Nick's run after me.
 
The rest of the group chose to bypass it, and we continued on up the second and third sections.
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Happy Birthday Dustin!
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Started on the fourth section only to find a group ahead of us trying to break trail with little luck. We were aware of the sub par snow conditions, and chose to take the main road up top.
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Lots of snow!
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Dog was the best snow wheeler of the day.
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FB5 and the Crushers were snowed in. No attempts were made to break through.
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Trees looked cold.
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Nick giving a seminar on my Jeep.
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While the rest of the group hung out and had some lunch, I got bored and decided to see the conditions up top. Bad choice. Whoever broke trail up there didn't get very far and ended up winching themselves out. I got to the end of their tracks, and poked my nose into the uncut snow only to find myself inching downhill as the powder underneath provided no stability. Nick followed suit, and also found himself succumbing to gravity. Joe was called in to offer some assistance.
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We both ended up having a winch fest to get turned around. The conditions were horrible, a thick icy crust covering 2-3 feet of unpackable powder underneath.

After we were done with amateur hour, we continued on down Saddle Mountain Road in hopes of crossing over toward Hood Raiser. Conditions weren't getting better the further we went, so we chose to turn around before we got too far in. This by itself would be a chore.
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Pressures were further adjusted.
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The group worked together though, and eventually we all made it back to the more packed main road. We had encountered two guys earlier in the day who got their XJ stuck in the snow the night before, and broke above Crushers. For those who have read my rant on going prepared, and venturing out responsibly, probably know which category these two fall under. Nevertheless, Nick made a proposal to the group that we help them get their Jeep fixed and recovered before calling it a day. NWC!
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A day in crappy snow is still better than a day at work.
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On the way out DirtyD Dustin and I parted ways from the group, and headed out through Rogers. Little air in the tires, and we were heading home after a fun kickoff to the new year.
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