Lance had better run at least one trail with me.

 

As of right now, that's not scheduled to happen, assuming you stick with Iron Chest and ding up your purty truck that day and not take Wheeler Lake with us.

 

Woooohoooo - 30 vehicles!

 

I would like that too but remember I need to make sure my 4Runner can get me back to North Carolina after we are done. Iron Chest and Chinaman's pictures gave me the willies.

See you next week Steve.

 

Darren, where are you meeting Saturday morning and what time. I don't think I can make it out there Friday night but can be there Saturday morning early.

 

Chinaman's isn't anything to be afraid of. (But there's one place you need sliders to avoid rocker panel damage.)

Iron Chest will give your undercarriage a beating. I wouldn't recommend it unless you have good skidplates and are comfortable slamming down on boulders a lot. I rode as passenger with Marmot last year, and even his rig was hitting bottom dozens of times.

 

As trip leader, I have a proposal for those going on the Wheeler Lake run:

Would anyone object to us planning to start at 8:00 or 8:30 instead of 7:30 as scheduled? Our camp will be about an hour drive from the trail, which would put us at the trail head around 9:30 or 10:00 at the latest. I did the trail a couple weeks ago with 13 vehicles, and it took us 5 hours, which included a flat tire along the way.

I'm proposing this in part because my family has 3 kids to get fed and dressed each morning, and getting up painfully early when we're on vacation isn't my favorite brew -- especially if it's not necessary.

Last year we had more reason to get rolling early because the trail runs were very long. That isn't the case this year (at least not on the difficult runs, I don't know about the others). Even leaving a little later, if we actually run into major trouble on the trail, there'll still be plenty of daylight.

 

Richard,

The plan as it stands right now is departing the campground (Nathrop) at 8:30. That is about 60 miles south of the trailhead at Camp Hale. It could be difficult to arrange meeting at the trailhead, but don't want you to make a 120 mile round trip to it as well. Not sure if you have a cell phone at all, but if so, perhaps we could communicate our where abouts to you if so. I don't own a cell phone myself.

I ran this loop a couple weeks back and it took 3.5 hours.

There is an awsome panorama view on the crest of the McCallister side from a spur road up Resolution Mountain for those who have not been. It offers a great view of Mt. of the Holy Cross (14,005') and most of the Sawatch Range all the way down to Mt. Princeton. You can see most of the Gore Range as well N, NE of Vail in addition to the mountains to the east. The trail itself is pretty uneventful and has a few shallow stream crossings on the north end.

CB Channel 4 for this run.

 

Mike,

Go for the later start on Wheeler. I don't think anyone will object. You call all the shots!

 

No objection here!!! I hadn't looked too hard at the start times - but 7:30 - ouch, that's early.

John

 

Darren, I can PM you my cell phone if you want it. I also have a CB, just need a channel to monitor for when you get close. Judging the distance I'd probably meet you at the trail head around 9:00 and wait for the group to show up. Let me know if this works for the group. Also, is there a link to a trail description? Might try to talk the g.f. to come along if the trail isn't too rough or intimidating.

 

Here's a link from 4x4Trails.net.

The road isn't difficult at all. You'll have to trust me on that. There isn't any off-camber stuff either except for the Resolution Mountain spur which has a spot that is about 15-20*, but it isn't that bad at all. Hey, if it didn't scare me, it won't scare you. I really have a strong dislike for the tippy stuff. :chicken:

I will send you a PM as I learn more about when and where we meet.

 

Sounds good. Looks like a good easy run. Should be able to talk the g.f. into coming along. Are you going to do the return over Ptarmigan Pass or just head straight back to Leadville?

 

We will do the Ptarmigan Pass trail as well to complete the loop, so we will start and finish at Camp Hale.

I'm still undecided as to which direction we'll run it though. I'd like to do it couter-clockwise so as to have lunch from atop Resolution Mountain. However, there isn't that much parking room up there and I really don't want to block other travelers from going up and enjoing themselves either for an extended period of time. Perhaps we'll go clockwise and have lunch on Ptarmigan Pass where there is a huge area to park and still has a good overlook, but just not as good. We'll see.

 

I would not count on any dings. 252 to 1 will make Iron Chest look like a Nordstrom Parking lot.

Piece-O-Cake.

 

Have fun!

 

I think the key component on that trail is clearance and protection. However, I suppose if you're in a super low gear (as you will be), you may not be bouncing down onto rocks so much. My recollection is that going down hill on this trail was more of an issue in this regard than going up.

 

Going down is always more of an issue, you're right. Clearance and protection is the name of the game on this trail. The crawler will definitely prevent the bouncing, hard hits, but he will scrape and he will drag, and he will scrape and he will drag some more, and . . .

I would really like to see how 4Runners negotiate that trail, but I'm not sure I'll get to. I'm thinking someone will need to take me on a night run so I can see it!

 

In my opinion, Iron Chest is more for mega-lifted Wrangglers with 35 or 37" tires, where clearance is no issue. If I'm on a trail and I'm hitting bottom a lot, I figure I may be on a trail beyond the capabilities of my vehicle set-up. I don't feel bad about that. Heck, there's some places on earth only passable by construction equipment with 6' tires! I have no desire to risk bending my frame.

[Paid for by Friends of Wheeler Lake Run, Mike Brown treasurer]

 

Mike, that post was funny.

Y'all are making me nervous with all this talk of rocks and dings, will anyone be there to hold my hand if I start crying???

Seriously though, the part that Darren and Alan posted looks like part of Martinez, but not as gnarly as the Spring Creek rock garden. That being said, I added some reinforcement to my bellyskid from where it got tweaked in Moab and then tweaked a little more the rest of the summer.

I made need to use that thong at the end of Iron Chest so I hope I remember it...