gasiorv
I'm a new world samurai, and a redneck nonetheless
Original poster
Supporting Member
Ride of the Month Winner
I met and wheeled with Tanner from TNT Customs at an event last year and he told me about an event that TNT sponsored up in the Black Hills put on by 605 Jeeps called 605 Rockfest. He told me that with the kind of trails that I like (rock gardens and creek/ravine trails) that I would most likely like the trails up in South Dakota. Well I signed up for 605 Rockfest 2024 and attended last week and I must say that the wheeling up in the Black Hills is legit and some of my favorite that I have done up to this day. 605 Jeeps and TNT Customs also puts on a good event with some great trail guides and a few good dinners.
The event is based out of Hidden Valley Campground which is near Deadwood. Hidden Valley was completely booked last year when I went to make a reservation but their sister campground (Steel Wheel) which is right next door had a cabin available and thus we stayed at Steel Wheel. But you did not even have to drive out onto the road to get to Hidden Valley, it was basically part of the same campground.
On Monday on our way up from Memphis, we were driving through Western Missouri and Iowa and it was 100+ deg for most of the trip. Even arriving in Sioux Falls SD at 9pm the temperature was still in the 90's. Luckily, that heat wave moved out and by time we got to the Black Hills on Tuesday afternoon it was a high of 82 deg and the rest of the week was in the low 70's for the highs, perfect!!
Tuesday evening after we checked in and the mandatory tech inspection and driver's meeting we did a quick night ride. We drove out to the Camp 5 area and ran a Level 4/10 trail called Full Size and the very beginning of a trail called Calamity. It was a fun night ride, but the Full Size trail was not too technical and I wasn't too impressed.
Wed - On Wed we had a decent size trail group(I think there was 9 of us including the guide and gunner) and we headed for Fruity Pebbles. Fruity Pebbles changed my impression right away!! Fruity Pebbles is basically two rock gardens, Lower Rock Garden (or Rock Garden 1) and Upper Rock Garden (Rock Garden 2).
Here is what the rock gardens look like and the rocks are not all fixed in place, they have a tendency to roll under you and the line is constantly changing. Also, pictures don't do the size of the rocks justice.
When we arrived at Lower Rock Garden only three of us went into the Rock Garden. I ended up getting myself into a pretty good bind when a rock that I was using for a line rolled and left me in a bad spot and had to pull winch line for the first time. Since only three of us did the rock garden the Trail Guide told me that I could do it again taking different lines if I wanted and I played for a good while with the rest of the group having just as much fun watching! After I did the Lower Rock Garden a few times we headed up to the upper rock garden. The upper rock garden is much longer, probably a few hundred yards long, and the rocks are bigger and I knew it would take me a while to get through and since no one else in the group wanted to give it a go and I didn't want them to all to stand around while I was wheeling I decided to skip the upper rock garden (now I have a reason to go back!).
From Fruity Pebbles we went an did a trail called Jake which was pretty fun with maybe two big obstacles and then a trail called Cheerios which was really tight and technical through the trees. We had one XJ in our group and it was pretty tough getting him through the trees without any body or window damage but we were succesful.
Thurs - Original plan was that we were going to run Jake and Cheerio; however, we already ran it the day before so the plan changed to running Hal John. Also, the group for Thursday was only 4 including the trail guide and me as Tail Gunner. Hal John was AWESOME! May be my favorite trail ever ran, if not my favorite it is definitely in the Top 3. Hal John is a long creek trail with big rocks, my kind of trail. The trail is broke up into 12 sections (sections are determined by how many times Hal John crosses Camp 5 road). Section 1 basically has a gatekeeper which consists of a Vnotch. This picture basically shows you the Vnotch and the depth of the notch, but it doesn't show you the proper line.
Here is a video of how to do it without falling in.
Sections 1-3 then consist of big rocks and picking lines, it was awesome.
Sections 4 and 5 are known as the Buggy section and the size of the rocks and the hardness of the trail steps it up a notch or two. We entered Section 4 and the trail guide soon had an issue with his Jeep and we luckily had cell service (don't count on it, we just got lucky) and were able to call back to camp to get some parts run out. While we were waiting for parts a Buggy Group caught us and weren't going to pass, they were going to wait until we were out of the way to hit this section, it is that good! After we got the trail guide jeep fixed, the other 3 in the group decided to call it a day and head back to camp, but I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to hit this section of Hal John so I jumped in with the buggy group. Now being the small guy on a stock wheelbase TJ with 36's in a group of 43" tire size buggies that I did not know was a little intimidating and I was a little worried and flustered at first and had a hard time picking a good line, but I eventually got into a groove and started having fun again. The rocks were big and the squeezes were tight.
And the smallness of my Jeep actually helped me in a few places and I made it through where several big tired jeeps did not. Also, the trail guide on this buggy group was the best spotter that I ever had, he barely talked and only used hand signals and he mad it work. His T-shirt told the story and my wife made me get a picture of it.
When we got through Section 4 and 5, the trail gets easier to the very end and the buggies didn't want to do all the easy stuff so we skipped Sections 6-10 and headed to the end which had a pretty big waterfall climb (I had to winch up it) and then a very technical big rock exit, which I successfully made it through (at least this time).
Thurs was a great day and Hal Johns is an awesome trail!!
Friday we were put into a very large group (too large) with 14 jeeps. Two later joined us for a total of 16 jeeps. Plan was to do a trail called Flat Nasty. We drove approx 30 miles of asphalt to get to the trail head and then drove through a bunch of mud in order to get to the start of the rock trail. The last two days I have been right behind a 2 door JL and we wheeled very similarly and became friends (he was one of the three that entered the rock garden on fruity pebble). We were also the last two in the line to enter Flat Nasty and we quickly realized that it was going to take this group all day to get through this very short trail. So the two of us decided to bail and go do our own thing. We told the tail gunner our plan and he was cool with it (probably happy to loose two in the group of 16) and then we headed back out through the mud, aired back up, then headed the 30 miles of asphalt back to camp. From Camp we headed out to do a trail called Calamity and then Kong. Wise Choice!! Calamity was fun and long and then Kong (8 out of 10 trail rating) was short but it was very technical and full of obstacles the whole way up the hill, very fun day!!
On Saturday, the 4 dr JL and myself decided to keep it small again and to go hit sections 4 and 5 of Hal John since he did not get to do it the first time (he headed back with the group on Thurs when I stayed with the buggy group). We started at Section 4 and got about 1/4 the way through when he broke a rear axle shaft. We got him off the trail and out to the main road and then he headed back to camp and I headed out to find another group to wheel with. I successfully found a group at the beginning of Section 2 on Hal John and joined them. Luckily for the 4 dr JK that was running tail gunner for the group that I was now behind. Not only did I end up spotting the last few people in the group to get them through but I also had to use my winch to save the 4 dr JK's hard top from being crushed on a wall. When we were working our way through Section 3 of Hal John the leader of that group decided to take off with the front of the group and head back to camp leaving me with the three end jeeps (not a problem, he communicated it with us via radio and we agreed). I got the last three jeeps through Section 3 and we started heading back towards the main road. On the way the 4 dr JK broke the connector on one of his hydro-assist lines (I think the drag link hit the line and broke the nut right off the end of the 45 deg steel end. On his JK we couldn't get to the steering box side of the lines to remove them and cap them so I just used a hammer and chisel to crimp off the end of the broken line (which actually worked
) and we got him back to the main road. The 4 dr JL was coming back from replacing his rear shaft right as we got to the road, so I once again had someone to wheel with so we stayed out to wheel some more. We started up Kong but ran into a traffic jam, so we turned around and went down Kong and then headed to the end of Hal John so that he could see and do the waterfall.
He was successful, I was not for the 2nd time.
After I winched up the waterfall, we headed to the technical exit and we both had to winch up through it (even though I made it the previous time I could not get the line this time). I also ended up getting myself pretty vertical and to the side and while I was hooking up the winch line the jeep ran out of fuel (it was all back and to one side). When we got the jeep level again, the fuel rail was vapor locked and it would not start. Had to wait approx 20 min (which is forever when your jeep won't run) before it cleared itself up, let fuel through, and ran again. I was so happy to hear it fire up!!
If you like tight, technical, big rocks, creek trails, rock gardens, etc.... I highly recommend you get up to the Black Hills to do some wheeling. The 605 Jeeps Rockfest is also a great way to get into groups and get trail guides to show you around, they put on a good event and I recommend it.
Some nice scenery pics:
The event is based out of Hidden Valley Campground which is near Deadwood. Hidden Valley was completely booked last year when I went to make a reservation but their sister campground (Steel Wheel) which is right next door had a cabin available and thus we stayed at Steel Wheel. But you did not even have to drive out onto the road to get to Hidden Valley, it was basically part of the same campground.
On Monday on our way up from Memphis, we were driving through Western Missouri and Iowa and it was 100+ deg for most of the trip. Even arriving in Sioux Falls SD at 9pm the temperature was still in the 90's. Luckily, that heat wave moved out and by time we got to the Black Hills on Tuesday afternoon it was a high of 82 deg and the rest of the week was in the low 70's for the highs, perfect!!
Tuesday evening after we checked in and the mandatory tech inspection and driver's meeting we did a quick night ride. We drove out to the Camp 5 area and ran a Level 4/10 trail called Full Size and the very beginning of a trail called Calamity. It was a fun night ride, but the Full Size trail was not too technical and I wasn't too impressed.
Wed - On Wed we had a decent size trail group(I think there was 9 of us including the guide and gunner) and we headed for Fruity Pebbles. Fruity Pebbles changed my impression right away!! Fruity Pebbles is basically two rock gardens, Lower Rock Garden (or Rock Garden 1) and Upper Rock Garden (Rock Garden 2).
Here is what the rock gardens look like and the rocks are not all fixed in place, they have a tendency to roll under you and the line is constantly changing. Also, pictures don't do the size of the rocks justice.
When we arrived at Lower Rock Garden only three of us went into the Rock Garden. I ended up getting myself into a pretty good bind when a rock that I was using for a line rolled and left me in a bad spot and had to pull winch line for the first time. Since only three of us did the rock garden the Trail Guide told me that I could do it again taking different lines if I wanted and I played for a good while with the rest of the group having just as much fun watching! After I did the Lower Rock Garden a few times we headed up to the upper rock garden. The upper rock garden is much longer, probably a few hundred yards long, and the rocks are bigger and I knew it would take me a while to get through and since no one else in the group wanted to give it a go and I didn't want them to all to stand around while I was wheeling I decided to skip the upper rock garden (now I have a reason to go back!).
From Fruity Pebbles we went an did a trail called Jake which was pretty fun with maybe two big obstacles and then a trail called Cheerios which was really tight and technical through the trees. We had one XJ in our group and it was pretty tough getting him through the trees without any body or window damage but we were succesful.
Thurs - Original plan was that we were going to run Jake and Cheerio; however, we already ran it the day before so the plan changed to running Hal John. Also, the group for Thursday was only 4 including the trail guide and me as Tail Gunner. Hal John was AWESOME! May be my favorite trail ever ran, if not my favorite it is definitely in the Top 3. Hal John is a long creek trail with big rocks, my kind of trail. The trail is broke up into 12 sections (sections are determined by how many times Hal John crosses Camp 5 road). Section 1 basically has a gatekeeper which consists of a Vnotch. This picture basically shows you the Vnotch and the depth of the notch, but it doesn't show you the proper line.
Here is a video of how to do it without falling in.
Sections 1-3 then consist of big rocks and picking lines, it was awesome.
Sections 4 and 5 are known as the Buggy section and the size of the rocks and the hardness of the trail steps it up a notch or two. We entered Section 4 and the trail guide soon had an issue with his Jeep and we luckily had cell service (don't count on it, we just got lucky) and were able to call back to camp to get some parts run out. While we were waiting for parts a Buggy Group caught us and weren't going to pass, they were going to wait until we were out of the way to hit this section, it is that good! After we got the trail guide jeep fixed, the other 3 in the group decided to call it a day and head back to camp, but I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to hit this section of Hal John so I jumped in with the buggy group. Now being the small guy on a stock wheelbase TJ with 36's in a group of 43" tire size buggies that I did not know was a little intimidating and I was a little worried and flustered at first and had a hard time picking a good line, but I eventually got into a groove and started having fun again. The rocks were big and the squeezes were tight.
And the smallness of my Jeep actually helped me in a few places and I made it through where several big tired jeeps did not. Also, the trail guide on this buggy group was the best spotter that I ever had, he barely talked and only used hand signals and he mad it work. His T-shirt told the story and my wife made me get a picture of it.
When we got through Section 4 and 5, the trail gets easier to the very end and the buggies didn't want to do all the easy stuff so we skipped Sections 6-10 and headed to the end which had a pretty big waterfall climb (I had to winch up it) and then a very technical big rock exit, which I successfully made it through (at least this time).
Thurs was a great day and Hal Johns is an awesome trail!!
Friday we were put into a very large group (too large) with 14 jeeps. Two later joined us for a total of 16 jeeps. Plan was to do a trail called Flat Nasty. We drove approx 30 miles of asphalt to get to the trail head and then drove through a bunch of mud in order to get to the start of the rock trail. The last two days I have been right behind a 2 door JL and we wheeled very similarly and became friends (he was one of the three that entered the rock garden on fruity pebble). We were also the last two in the line to enter Flat Nasty and we quickly realized that it was going to take this group all day to get through this very short trail. So the two of us decided to bail and go do our own thing. We told the tail gunner our plan and he was cool with it (probably happy to loose two in the group of 16) and then we headed back out through the mud, aired back up, then headed the 30 miles of asphalt back to camp. From Camp we headed out to do a trail called Calamity and then Kong. Wise Choice!! Calamity was fun and long and then Kong (8 out of 10 trail rating) was short but it was very technical and full of obstacles the whole way up the hill, very fun day!!
On Saturday, the 4 dr JL and myself decided to keep it small again and to go hit sections 4 and 5 of Hal John since he did not get to do it the first time (he headed back with the group on Thurs when I stayed with the buggy group). We started at Section 4 and got about 1/4 the way through when he broke a rear axle shaft. We got him off the trail and out to the main road and then he headed back to camp and I headed out to find another group to wheel with. I successfully found a group at the beginning of Section 2 on Hal John and joined them. Luckily for the 4 dr JK that was running tail gunner for the group that I was now behind. Not only did I end up spotting the last few people in the group to get them through but I also had to use my winch to save the 4 dr JK's hard top from being crushed on a wall. When we were working our way through Section 3 of Hal John the leader of that group decided to take off with the front of the group and head back to camp leaving me with the three end jeeps (not a problem, he communicated it with us via radio and we agreed). I got the last three jeeps through Section 3 and we started heading back towards the main road. On the way the 4 dr JK broke the connector on one of his hydro-assist lines (I think the drag link hit the line and broke the nut right off the end of the 45 deg steel end. On his JK we couldn't get to the steering box side of the lines to remove them and cap them so I just used a hammer and chisel to crimp off the end of the broken line (which actually worked
) and we got him back to the main road. The 4 dr JL was coming back from replacing his rear shaft right as we got to the road, so I once again had someone to wheel with so we stayed out to wheel some more. We started up Kong but ran into a traffic jam, so we turned around and went down Kong and then headed to the end of Hal John so that he could see and do the waterfall.He was successful, I was not for the 2nd time.
After I winched up the waterfall, we headed to the technical exit and we both had to winch up through it (even though I made it the previous time I could not get the line this time). I also ended up getting myself pretty vertical and to the side and while I was hooking up the winch line the jeep ran out of fuel (it was all back and to one side). When we got the jeep level again, the fuel rail was vapor locked and it would not start. Had to wait approx 20 min (which is forever when your jeep won't run) before it cleared itself up, let fuel through, and ran again. I was so happy to hear it fire up!!
If you like tight, technical, big rocks, creek trails, rock gardens, etc.... I highly recommend you get up to the Black Hills to do some wheeling. The 605 Jeeps Rockfest is also a great way to get into groups and get trail guides to show you around, they put on a good event and I recommend it.
Some nice scenery pics:
