A few of us went out exploring an untraveled wash of the Upper Sycamore creek drainage yesterday. The 'gatekeeper' got the best of us. No broken parts, but plenty of stucks. We all pulled winch cable, along with hi lifting plenty of times.



I went first and tried to go through the middle. That was not happening.


Wisely, Elvota took a different line but still had to tangle with the same big, sharp rock that I couldnt get around. Elvota was dealt the same...




The rest of the trail was relatively tame in comparison and we weren't able to connect to the other trail that dropped into the wash like we had hoped. The upper part of this wash turned out to be extremely rugged with 8-15' tall waterfalls and rocks the size of small cars - SUVs. So we had to turn around and come back through.

Kent tries a different approach -














Elvota lines up to come back through - these photos put the rocks in a better perspective...

 

Thanks for posting Westy.

I like this one.



Makes me look like I know what I am doing.

I still have to work a lot on my line selection. Always enjoy heading out with you guys and learning every time.

So.... how many compressors do we have left for Sandy Beach???

 

nice pictures

 

Wow those rocks are big. Great pics! Guess I missed out - I was planning to ride along but then failed to set my alarm. I tried calling Steve's cell at 7:30 but it went straight to VM. Oh well, there's always next time...

 

Sorry we missed you.... I need to get a more reliable phone. I didn't get Kent's text saying he'd be late until he was in the parking lot.

There is still at least one canyon left with potential in the area. You and Tim help me scope out the beginning a while back. Maybe when temps drop we can create another scouting party.

 

Wow. Looks pretty cool.
I changed my oil and rewired some crap in the 4runner. Not as fun.

See you next time.

 

You drove that line and nailed it! You were the only one with enough sense to go that way to begin with too...

That was definitely the most practical line to get through those rocks and that photo sure did come out good too. The other lines that Kent and I tried do not look that much worse but wow I've never been so awkwardly stuck before. It was reassuring to know my winch still worked

Those new BFGs seem to hold a line fairly well too. I think if you aired down more you would be able to get some more performance out of them in the rocks.

Optima = 2 / Compressor = 0

I can't believe both those compressors died. I will be returning mine this week and getting my cash back. Those things are too unreliable or maybe the one I had was a complete dud.

Thank you Kent for the air. I've been shopping for a new compressor but I am not sure I want to drop $250 for a good one. Viair has a couple nice portable units and there is also an Extreme air expedition portable setup too.

 

We'll be out this weekend (Saturday) if you want to join. We are running another, similar type of trail near Four Peaks/Sycamore area. Right now I have an open seat.

 

very nice pics where are you guys located would like to take a ride sometime to see new trails

 

Must be those Trail Gear Leaf Springs.....

I have the buggy fixed or should we say improved for this next one.

I also cut up the tow dolly and am re-building that now that I know it works and I am going to keep it. See you guys on Saturday.

 

 

We are all in Phoenix.

 

I must say they do seem to be working very well. I like the KM2's also. My main hangup for the day seemed to be my 35's instead of the 36's and 37's I was following. I kept just nicking a boulder and had to find another line.

Cool... will be interesting to see what adjustments have been made.

 

y'all are making me want to make a road trip! Great pics, nice looking rigs.

 

Toyota OEM (Stock) FJ80 Steering stabilizer with full blown ball joints on both ends with FJ62 mounting brackets.

It's up way higher and runs alot smoother than the FJ80 Old Man Emu unit I was running that got destroyed.

The more stock parts the better.



Next up this week is the dolly re-build.

 

Problems on the last run?

 

No the steering works fine, the rocks keep getting bigger. OME stabilizer got nailed, it is huge, the stock one is tiny.

 

Thanks for the invite, Brian, but I'll be down south this weekend.

BTW, is the fall schedule in the works?

 

I was going to work on that this week and send it around.

 

Let me know when it posts and I'll sticky it again in the AZ section.