|
Post by zjeep on Dec 3, 2006 18:14:37 GMT -5
Just got back from the run and it was a great time, ended up being 4 rigs, with Slick and Doc, Scott and his dog, Robert and his wife, and myself and my two dogs. We met at the McDonalds on tanque verde and catalina highway at 9:00 headed out about 9:30 driving up the front paved side of Mt. Lemmon, saw a few patches of snow along the way but nothing to exciting. Got to our turn off and made our way down the backside of Mt. Lemmon, we took our time and played down on some side roads. We found a nice creek bed to play in on one side trail and after Scott and myself started playing on the rocks we convinced Slick and Robert to give it a try too and they joined us and had a good time. Not sure what time but close to 5 i would guess we heard James over the CB and Robert and Slick went to meet him and show him where we were playing. Of course James had to test out his new system and jumped right down in the creek bed with us, he ended up breaking a shock mount and almost got ran over by his own jeep but luckily robert threw his soda can under the tire and i threw a rock just as james was jumping inside to step on the brake, good times We left the play area and got to our camping spot located near the base of where the rice peak trail starts. Ended up being a nice spot until the morning when the wind came through hitting us from all sides, wasnt a fun morning but the night wasnt to bad. Started making our way up Rice Peak around 9:30 and it turned out to be a pretty nice trail with many forks in the road but we made it to the top for the most part.... about a mile from the top it does get pretty damn steep and loose and there was snow on the ground in some parts. Slick and Robert decided to stop and leave there vehicles parked in a corner on the switchbacks while everyone except slick loaded up into Scotts and my rigs to head to the top. We made it to the top and signed our names and put them in the glass jar. Was a nice view from the top but very windy dont ever camp up there. We made our way back down stopping to take a few group photos but made it out to the paved roads with no damage to any vehicle. Then of course heading back into Oracle my rear trac bar kinda decided to take a sh*t on me but got it taken care of and we all made it home. Was a great trip, had a lot of fun with everyone we will have to do it again.
|
|
|
Post by 7Lbar on Dec 3, 2006 18:54:00 GMT -5
Sounded like a good time. Tried to get you on the CB as you passed but kept getting walked on.
|
|
|
Post by slick1100 on Dec 3, 2006 19:08:17 GMT -5
It was a good time, with the exception of giving myself a good scare. On the climb to Rice Peak the Sun was directly in my eyes, and when I tried to hug the left side near the rock face I ran over a big rock that bounced the rear of the truck right. I could no longer see the edge, and the truck dug in when I gave it gas which unsettled it further as I pulled back straight on the trail. Went a little further, stopped, aired down to try to keep from bouncing anymore, and then proceeded to a sharp right turn that narrowed just beyond. With my nerves shaken, I decided I wasn't going any further up. We parked and I walked up to a very tight switchback that would have taken a few points to get around and decided I was done and needed to settle a bit. Robert and I moved our rigs over to allow Scott and Jason to pass us, and everyone else went up to the top. Meanwhile I walked back down to where I bounced to check the trail and figure out exactly what happened and how to tackle it coming back down. The remainder of the trip, aside from Jason's "is something burning?" followed by "I'm burning...!" was pleasantly uneventful. For those that have driven up to Rice Peak, I salute you. Not me buddy! Oh, here's a link to my pics: Mount Lemmon and Rice PeakThe first three shots are of what we picked up at one of the campsites on the approach to Rice Peak. It took about 15 minutes for 6 of us to pick up this much, and we weren't having to search too hard.
|
|
|
Post by 7Lbar on Dec 3, 2006 19:12:40 GMT -5
I have to make a three point turn to get through the switchbacks, more hairy coming back down, at least in my own mind.
|
|
|
Post by rstep on Dec 3, 2006 19:19:45 GMT -5
Sounds like a great weekend for you all.Slick add snow to the switch backs and run it. Rice is a great run and if the mt gets snow it's e-ticket.
|
|
|
Post by Archangel on Dec 3, 2006 19:29:21 GMT -5
Just got back from the run and it was a great time, ended up being 4 rigs, with Slick and Doc, Scott and his dog, Robert and his wife, and myself and my two dogs. We met at the McDonalds on tanque verde and catalina highway at 9:00 headed out about 9:30 driving up the front paved side of Mt. Lemmon, saw a few patches of snow along the way but nothing to exciting. Got to our turn off and made our way down the backside of Mt. Lemmon, we took our time and played down on some side roads. We found a nice creek bed to play in on one side trail and after Scott and myself started playing on the rocks we convinced Slick and Robert to give it a try too and they joined us and had a good time. Not sure what time but close to 5 i would guess we heard James over the CB and Robert and Slick went to meet him and show him where we were playing. Of course James had to test out his new system and jumped right down in the creek bed with us, he ended up breaking a shock mount and almost got ran over by his own jeep but luckily robert through his soda can under the tire and i through a rock just as james was jumping inside to step on the brake, good times We left the play area and got to our camping spot located near the base of where the rice peak trail starts. Ended up being a nice spot until the morning when the wind came through hitting us from all sides, wasnt a fun morning but the night wasnt to bad. Started making our way up Rice Peak around 9:30 and it turned out to be a pretty nice trail with many forks in the road but we made it to the top for the most part.... about a mile from the top it does get pretty damn steep and loose and there was snow on the ground in some parts. Slick and Robert decided to stop and leave there vehicles parked in a corner on the switchbacks while everyone except slick loaded up into Scotts and my rigs to head to the top. We made it to the top and signed our names and put them in the glass jar. Was a nice view from the top but very windy dont ever camp up there. We made our way back down stopping to take a few group photos but made it out to the paved roads with no damage to any vehicle. Then of course heading back into Oracle my rear trac bar kinda decided to take a sh*t on me but got it taken care of and we all made it home. Was a great trip, had a lot of fun with everyone we will have to do it again. WHat happened with the track bar Jason?
|
|
docchaos
Tail Gunner
TOR Member
Got cow?
Posts: 316
|
Post by docchaos on Dec 3, 2006 19:32:03 GMT -5
Guess it's time for my .02. ;D Had a great time, and must say, was quite toasty overnight in the sleeping bags. Thanks Bob for the mattress, worked great at keeping the cold out from the bottom of the truck. Always remember, if your butt is going to rest on the wheel well, put a pillow there, or your arse will freeze. Found some nice play areas coming down the back of Mt. Lemmon. Though I'll admit, my bad, caused carnage to the RC....... Walking Slick across a dry creek bed, while Scott and Jason were playing in the "mini rubicon", I was watching his front tires for a line, when he suddenly found a low spot I missed at the same time a rock gave out from under him on the rear. End result, the rear bumper is tweaked where a bigger rock decided it really liked it. Robert built an awesome rock bridge under the rear tire that was off the ground so we could get a boost up and off the wedged rock, and we managed to get Slick backed out of his prediciment. I was then informed that the spotter is not supposed to get a "Oh sh*t that looks bad!" look on their face when a vehicle takes a sudden drop. Tailgate still opens and closes fine, and that rear bumper needed to be redone anyways. ;D As far as the fun on Rice Peak; our encounter with the bounce and off camber over the edge; excluding lewd activities I haven't had that much of an adrenaline rush since the first time I went off road.
|
|
docchaos
Tail Gunner
TOR Member
Got cow?
Posts: 316
|
Post by docchaos on Dec 3, 2006 19:45:54 GMT -5
Sounds like a great weekend for you all.Slick add snow to the switch backs and run it. Rice is a great run and if the mt gets snow it's e-ticket. Dude....yer freakin crazy.
|
|
|
Post by zjeep on Dec 3, 2006 20:01:08 GMT -5
Well James to answer your question about the trac bar... the bracket broke. No not any of your welds those held up fine but a differnt part snapped clean off luckily 1 bolt was and right now is the only thing holding the bracket together and somehow the bolt going through the adjustable trac bar wiggled itself out and was allowing the back end to sway back and forth. Stopped put in a new bolt and was good to go but does need to be fixed before i go wheeln anytime soon, possible 8.8 conversion sooner ...............
|
|
|
Post by Archangel on Dec 3, 2006 20:07:54 GMT -5
Well James to answer your question about the trac bar... the bracket broke. No not any of your welds those held up fine but a differnt part snapped clean off luckily 1 bolt was and right now is the only thing holding the bracket together and somehow the bolt going through the adjustable trac bar wiggled itself out and was allowing the back end to sway back and forth. Stopped put in a new bolt and was good to go but does need to be fixed before i go wheeln anytime soon, possible 8.8 conversion sooner ............... So when are you bringing it by this week?
|
|
|
Post by zjeep on Dec 3, 2006 20:12:03 GMT -5
What about friday/saturday/sunday? any of those days work for ya
|
|
|
Post by Archangel on Dec 3, 2006 20:14:26 GMT -5
What about friday/saturday/sunday? any of those days work for ya Sunday is occupied, but perhaps Friday evening...I'm really not sure, since I don't know my schedule for the week yet.
|
|
|
Post by zjeep on Dec 3, 2006 20:21:50 GMT -5
alright well let me know if friday is gonna work, also when you gonna tackle the shock mount? I'll come by and give a hand if needed. See ya
|
|
|
Post by 2000taco on Dec 3, 2006 20:31:38 GMT -5
Looks like you guys had a good time.
|
|
|
Post by slick1100 on Dec 3, 2006 21:24:14 GMT -5
Sounds like a great weekend for you all.Slick add snow to the switch backs and run it. Rice is a great run and if the mt gets snow it's e-ticket. No thanks! I hate heights, and was pushing myself up that road. When the truck bounced closer to the edge, I was done. I know my limits, and that's it.
|
|
|
Post by rstep on Dec 4, 2006 7:30:34 GMT -5
Come on it ain't that bad,of course the book does say dangerous if snow don't do,but I can't read.
|
|
docchaos
Tail Gunner
TOR Member
Got cow?
Posts: 316
|
Post by docchaos on Dec 4, 2006 9:25:35 GMT -5
Come on it ain't that bad,of course the book does say dangerous if snow don't do,but I can't read. Sure, now he tells us it's dangerous! ;D Looking at pictures just doesn't do that trail justice. You get the pretty pics from the bottom, the awesome pics from the top, but nothing in between. I figured it's because all the drivers have their seat sucked up their arse while traversing upwards and can't detach long enough to snap a pic of the difficult parts. Maybe a dirt bike next time.....
|
|