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Red Cone, 8-27-16

Hypoid

NAXJA Member
NAXJA Member
Location
Golden, CO
Great trip! Kittrell had to cancel at the last minute, so the only attendees were Metal Monkey with his family, and myself.

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One of the first things I noticed was more campers, and more ATVs. The second thing I noticed was the trail being rougher, more dug out than I remembered.

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We had already gone through a few rough spots on the lower switchbacks before we got to one I remembered from my previous trip. I thought I could squeak through on the right, between the tree and the rock. When my first attempt was not working, Cameron had already run in front of me to see what was going on. He pointed out the only possible lines I would have with my set up, would be to run over the rock with one set of tires or the other. Yes, it made my Jeep lean quite a-ways. Yes, I wanted to cry like a little girl. Cameron's assessment, ability to communicate, and spotting, kept me from looking downhill as we followed through.

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I tell ya, that Cameron likes to run over stuff. :)

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And more stuff...

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And more stuff!

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This one finally got him! The front diff was stuck on a rock, the rear frame was stuck on a rock. All four tires were digging holes, where they could reach the ground.

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After a few tries of throwing rocks under the tires, Cameron opted for a tug. Since my only recovery point is the rear hitch, I took the XJ around on the bypass. After backing up, watching Cameron's hand signals, I looked forward to see one of his sons mimicking the old man. Off-Roading has a future!

This is the only other pic I took there, nice place to be stuck!

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A bunch of scenic shots:

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Webster Pass.

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South Park.

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First snowballs of the season.

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Point of no return. :)

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After taking lunch on Webster Pass, and conversing with people who had come down Radical Hill, we decided to give it a try.

There was more stuff to run over. Cameron's wife, Allie (?) was quick to jump out and take pictures, so I did not take as many.

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Just below the switchbacks on Radical Hill is an old mining shack. We stopped and took a bunch of pictures, while a large group of ATVs went ahead.

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Red Cone and Webster Pass in the background.

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The switchbacks at the top of Radical Hill:

Wide spot. Yes it was tippy, yes, I cried like a little girl. At least it was plenty wide, there...

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A little further up, the road narrowed. I looked in my rear view mirror to see the big Jeep up to the rock on one side, tires to the trails edge on the downhill side. I couldn't stick my camera our far enough to capture how narrow it is.

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The last leg up the hill was short and simple.

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View from the top.

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Seeing Cameron tight on the trail I'm glad I didn't go. Nooooo Bueno for me. Looks like a fun day though guys. Love the flag up top.
 
Seeing Cameron tight on the trail I'm glad I didn't go. Nooooo Bueno for me. Looks like a fun day though guys. Love the flag up top.

You're telling me. Aliy was spotting on the passenger side. She told me the right side was on top of the berm and the driver's front wanted to keep climbing the rock on the sidewall. Was very uncomfortable. Probably won't do radical again.
 
Bummed I missed out. Here are a few of my favorite pix.

It isn't that narrow. Here I am on full widths.

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Did you guys see any goats?

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Great pics, thanks for sharing! The thing with mountain goats that always fascinated me since I saw them at Glacier, was there aren't many animals that scale a rock face. They have no natural predators. They usually die of starvation when their teeth wear down to the point they can no longer chew. My neighbors used to have some. Yeah, I used to live out in the sticks.
 
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Actually a recent study says that a lot of them die due to lightning.
 
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