It was another great trail day. We had a good turnout all total eight rigs. There were three FJ40's, two 4runners, one pickup, one FJ80, and a.........Lexus?
who let that guy in? Ha ha. Just kidding Leon. Things started out as usual, we all gathered and talked about how we should have brought extra clothes. It was chili!! We left the western station just after 9 and headed for the air down / hub locking station.
Some of us talked about chaining up as the trail in was an alternating mix of icy spots followed by dirt road. Those icy spots were pretty damn slick, and caused us to lock in the hubs before we got to the air down spot.
Once on the trail, I volunteered for the lead, and just when I thought I knew everything, I got us all lost. I was headed for the end of the trail, where we were going to run the 313 loop and then do all the other trails on the way out. Somehow we managed to run the trail in reverse of last year, and ended up somewhere on an unmarked trail. Thanks to Vic for getting me straight again. We headed for 313 and made it through some mild snow, past the spot where Gary tried to take out a forked tree with his fender last year. I know this because Vic promptly pointed it out to everyone as we passed.
The group stopped and played on the large outcropping of rocks a couple miles in, I let the dog run around and we got some great pictures of rigs posing on rocks. Most of us ate lunch there.
After that we headed up the trail to find a spur trail that usually has a pretty good amount of snow. Leon and Eric decided to call it a day at that point, and headed on the way out. I made the turn onto the spur road first, and since my rig is kind of long......I used a tree to slide my front end back on the trail. Later on, I was accused of joining the "I hit a tree on the trail club" because Dustin spotted my telltale bark smudge on the bumper. I did it on purpose! sheesh. Had a little fun on that trail, Charlie almost tested the strength of his roof on a rock pile, and most of us were hard on the skinny pedal to get to the top of the trail. (without damaging the trail, of course)
Once out of that, we got a call on the radio that Eric and Leon had found a frozen over creek that looked sketchy at best for crossing. Eric attempted a turn around and got held up in the snow next to the trail. The rest of the group came to investigate, and we all talked about the best route to get across that ice. It was decided the left line around a tree was best, but there was a risk of falling through the ice. We did fall through, but everyone made it driving like professional stunt men, some bumpers dragged falling off the ice shelf, but no damage done. Rui was the only crazy person to take the right line, which risked sliding off camber into the bushes. Nice driving Rui! At the end of that trail, we said goodby to Leon and Eric, Eric was off to meet his new trail rig in Pueblo.
The rest of the group headed up to the overlook at the end of 311, took pictures of the Air Force Academy and walked around a bit. Said our farewells to Charlie and Dustin. After that I was surrounded by FJ40's, But I was determined to keep up.......especially after vic dubbed my rig the "luxo barge" earlier in the day.........
(hey, four seats, quiet comfort, power windows, no wind coming in through my body seams, and XM radio?)
Yeah. We headed down a winding side trail with a steep hill, narrow trail, and overall great scenery.......then headed out for the main trail where we were thinking about running 307A.
We did go down 307A, and I was glad we did. There were some great rock formations to play on, I have never been down that trail, so I was pretty excited. This is the first real trail ride I have been on with the new springs and 37's. I may have gotten carried away, but had a great time testing the flex. We shot through that trail kid of quick, Vic did a lot of playing on the rocks too. It was getting late in the day, so we headed out to air up. There were some great washed out spots on 307A that tested the driving skills of those without lockers. Rui had to back up to get another stab in a couple places, after he was through, Gary uncorked the v8 in his 40 and shot up the trail with authority. I have never seen a 40 move that fast.
We aired up and headed for the homesteads, with smiles on all faces and no real damage to any rigs. If I missed anything, feel free to add it in. See everyone next trip!
(my wife read this and says I did a good job. I told her it is because I'm the secretary - lol)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2726/4298775913_cc9b401879_o.jpg
They worked great as you can tell from the pic!!!
That was a 
moment... great 
over all...
Frozen creek (0) blue 40 (1)...
