My son and I went to Johnson Valley this weekend and ran a few trails. Last time I was there I broke an axle on Resolution which prompted me to build a larger more resilient vehicle. Keep in mind that we drive our Jeeps (not trailered) so they need to be drivable at the end of the weekend. My son is running a 2003 Rubicon and 37s and I'm running my modified 2003 Rubicon on 1 tons and 40s. Here a few shots of our activities.
Hit Chocolate Thunder after setting up camp.
After stopping briefly at Backdoor (only to look) we took the bypass to run Resolution. I'm glad to announce that my modifications worked great and didn't have any issues with the trail this time. It was actually a lot of fun.
We were greeted with a sunset shot at the top of the trail.
The sunrises in Johnson Valley are just as good. We just happened to spent most of our day on the mountain where the sun was coming up.
We were going to attempt Jack Hammer but there were a few rigs in front of us and one was severely overheating half way through and had to turn around. We decided to save the hours in the day and jump over to Sledge Hammer instead. I hadn't done this train before but I will say that it is tough especially using a manual. This is at plaque rock and in hindsight we didn't take the best line. We got through it without damage but it was a pain.
Have to take a pic at the mailbox.
At the top before heading back down.
Had to leave on Sunday and decided to run Turkey Claw before packing up. Took a little longer than expected but it was a very fun trail. Many only do the lower section but we took it until the end.
We had a great time this weekend outside of the noise at night. Tenting sucks when you are hanging out next to large groups. it doesn't get quiet until 3 or 4 in the morning so you need to expect no sleep. We did rescue a few others while out there including a group of young guys (17 year olds) who broke a spindle while thinking they were Ricky racer. Between 3 trucks they didn't have a jack between them or any tools. We helped them lash the tie rod to the spindle with a strap then told them to take it slow to get to the main road. It those learning experiences that hopefully will make them a little bit wiser.
I've been going to JV for over 20 years but mostly on dirt bikes but there always things to learn from the experiences you get. I had to bend my tie back after Sledge Hammer and my rear control arm mount had been a pain all weekend. I have a little bit of redesigning to do to make the next trip easier on myself but overall the Jeep performed great.
Hit Chocolate Thunder after setting up camp.
After stopping briefly at Backdoor (only to look) we took the bypass to run Resolution. I'm glad to announce that my modifications worked great and didn't have any issues with the trail this time. It was actually a lot of fun.
We were greeted with a sunset shot at the top of the trail.
The sunrises in Johnson Valley are just as good. We just happened to spent most of our day on the mountain where the sun was coming up.
We were going to attempt Jack Hammer but there were a few rigs in front of us and one was severely overheating half way through and had to turn around. We decided to save the hours in the day and jump over to Sledge Hammer instead. I hadn't done this train before but I will say that it is tough especially using a manual. This is at plaque rock and in hindsight we didn't take the best line. We got through it without damage but it was a pain.
Have to take a pic at the mailbox.
At the top before heading back down.
Had to leave on Sunday and decided to run Turkey Claw before packing up. Took a little longer than expected but it was a very fun trail. Many only do the lower section but we took it until the end.
We had a great time this weekend outside of the noise at night. Tenting sucks when you are hanging out next to large groups. it doesn't get quiet until 3 or 4 in the morning so you need to expect no sleep. We did rescue a few others while out there including a group of young guys (17 year olds) who broke a spindle while thinking they were Ricky racer. Between 3 trucks they didn't have a jack between them or any tools. We helped them lash the tie rod to the spindle with a strap then told them to take it slow to get to the main road. It those learning experiences that hopefully will make them a little bit wiser.
I've been going to JV for over 20 years but mostly on dirt bikes but there always things to learn from the experiences you get. I had to bend my tie back after Sledge Hammer and my rear control arm mount had been a pain all weekend. I have a little bit of redesigning to do to make the next trip easier on myself but overall the Jeep performed great.
