Good run today.

Had a lot of pics, so I'll break up this post a bit.

Axle Alley is a tough trail even if it is very short. There are two good sized waterfall obstacles in the middle, with a few more thrown in here and there for good measure. Westy, Schaefer, Kent and I all headed out to see what we could get away with.

Can you see the trail smiling... waiting to give us all a hard time:



Schaefer already being effected by the propane fumes:



The buggy then went on to get wedged pretty good in some brutal boulder field. Westy was undeterred, and decided to give it a shot with a slightly different line.

The approach (big rocks):



Wow... right up and on line :



Now a little turn to the passenger side... little more.... little more...



Uhmmmm, to much!!



My girlfriend's face has the reaction we all had :



"Hey guys... does my wheel look like it's off the ground? Sure feels off the ground....?":



Amazingly, it didn't go over and he drove through clean. Very nice.

Random shot of me on a random rock:



On to the waterfalls....

 

So, now we are at the beginning of the first waterfall section. I walked up ahead and kinda thought it didn't look that bad... until I saw the next one around the corner!!

The buggy heads in... no problem:



Westy rolls through and out... this is going to be so simple:





Elvota steps up, and has plenty of room:



Well, I might have needed a little help :



Kent went through so fast I didn't even get a pic.

But now it was time for the main attraction....

 

Nice pics...

 

I think we all were a bit intimidated by this obstacle... so we sent the buggy up first. Good thing Schaefer is a certified stunt pilot.

That's more like a wall than a trail... don't ya think?



Once the winch cleared, it was straight up:



Very straight up...:



All smiles:



Cresting the top:



After grinding a bit here and there and searching for traction, the magnificent BBQ cleared it proper... no assist.

That was good for us, cause now we had a winch point.

Westy was next:



A bit of effort to clear the winch as well:



So close now....



Even closer....



But after a good deal of rubber wear and some metal scrapes... Westy was denied. Cable pulled, and he zipped right up. Only fatality was one LED tail light.

Now the Mighty Tacoma was up to bat (that's me in the background wondering what the heck am I doing here ):



Kent just went right up:



Almost like it was nothing:



Front axle over... and then...



DENIED!! So very, very close. The line was pulled, and winch number two got a workout.

Now "little" Elvota had to make it.

 

Wait... there's more!! (Probably to many )

 

I don't usually feel small being 6'4" with a SAS 4Runner on 35's... but this was an exception. Seeing all three bigger rigs in front of me struggle and drag and bump up this obstacle, I guessed myself to be surely doomed.

But, what the heck... didn't have much else to do today.

Out of the first waterfall. Much easier than expected:



Setting up:



Schaefer says, "Hey man... don't look at me. I drive a dang BBQ!!"



Now tell me that doesn't look steep...



Of course... I was happy to use the winch at this point :



Over and out:



Now that the "hard part" was over, it was just a matter of lunch and an easy drive home.

 

First "easy part" after the waterfalls:



"Buns of Steel" Schaefer pulls me through... even with my brakes on!! :



Finally, after a few more technical sections we had a steep climb out to the ridge line and then back down to the start.

Follow the leader:



As flat as the Tilt-O-Meter got all day:



Scenic view:



Doesn't my GF just glow?



Then Schaefer decided we might as well throw in a little Lower Woodpecker... since we were in the area and all. He was leading, so no pics for him. I had the camera, so no pics for me.

But, Westy gave it a valiant try:



And then another:



Then it was time for the Tacoma to lay down the law. :





That thing seems monsterous sometimes....





And that was that. 2WD dirt back out to the air up spot.

All in all a great day on a hard trail. I got a little scuff on the front bumper, we lost a tail light and Schaefer made it home before dark.

Thanks for the good run guys. Until next time.

 

That last picture is awesome! I grew up in AZ and have never been to Axle ally...

 

Very nice pictures, I wish my 4runner could handle all that fun.

 

Damn nice pictures and trip report. Danica and I felt like we just did that trail reading along. Woohoo! NO body damage either! We rock!

 

Great pics! I guess I wasn't paying attention... I wanted to ride along for this one but didn't realize it was today. Maybe next time.

 

I need to get out to AZ if not to hit up a few trails but just to see the scenery!!!

Great pics!!

 

Nice wrtie up Steve. Those are some nice photo's. That second waterfall looked a little crazy.

I need to get myself over there and ride along with you guys for one of those trails.

 

Those last few Tacoma pictures definitely seem calendar quality.

 

hey i didnt know Kent drove a taco. what happend to the 4runner? did i miss something??? very nice lookin taco though. and the pics are great. wish i was there.

 

You missed a few things.

1. The 4Runner got sold to some guy in Texas.
2. The Tacoma is his main trail rig now.
3. The Tacoma does very, very well.

Check out the upcoming runs listed here:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f66/...hedule-134303/

Plus AZRocks:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f66/...l-runs-134883/

Hopefully you can make it down for some of those.

 

ohhhhhh ok. geez. did he buy that taco like that from someone or did he start from scratch? it looks very familiar.

 

Kent might chime in here... but I believe he bought it built from someone in Vegas.

However, Schaefer really went through it and refined the suspension as well as various gussets. It's a sweet ride now. Even has a factory installed supercharger on the 4CYL.

 

nice. im in the works of finlly geting mine fixed up too. was thinkin bout going with coilovers instead of leaf springs. the next run says its a hard one. im going to try and head out there for it and probabaly jump with one you guys. hopefully Kent. haha.

 

Swapped... yes. Built....no. A lot of time and money was put into it to get right.