New jeep in the family

[Darrell C]

Well, sort of.

I was under the Jeep a few days back trying to figure out where the red fluid was coming from, when I look up and see this TJ pull into the driveway.

Turns out it's my step-son showing up in newly aquired '01 Wrangler Sport.

He was grinning from ear to ear at finally having gotten a Jeep. Fully loaded with a hard top. I ask him what rear end it has, and he just looks at me and says "Huh?". So I look under the back and see it's a D44 (w/ 3.73 and track lock). It's a stick and it came with an aftermarket rear bumper with integrated receiver. It's got 30K miles and he picked it up for 15K. Best of all, he got it on his own (he's 24) with no co-signer.

Now he's picking my brain about what mods to do, in what order. I completely shocked him when I said the first things should be:

Front tow hooks (these were gone), fire extinguisher, first aid kit and tow strap. We can go from there.

Oh, BTW, it came with a Warn XD9000i.

Another Jeeper joins the ranks...

[Robert J. Yates]

Lucky on the D44. Good for him though.

[Joe Dillard]

Cool! Nice going with the winch included too.

[Darrell C]

He's in a rush for the mods/upgrades, but I'm cautioning him to get the basics done first and drive it to get some experience. He went with a friend and I on Monday for a quick day trip to Niagra Rim.

Got him thru with careful line following, some rock stacking, and using the strap once. It was a good learning experience for him...especially Heartbrake Hill, which he refused to drive down (once he saw it) and instead rode down as someone else drove his rig.

[Robert J. Yates]

I Keep reading of that trail in the Cal 4 Wheel newsletter - where is it and whats it like? Any pix?

Having been born in Niagara Falls New York, the name has always interested me

[John]

Anza Borrego.
It's just a long steep hill of silt like dirt. You could stand on the brake pedal (might as well since you'll feel like you're standing on the firewall anyway) and no slow down on it.
You line up without being able to see the drop off, go down in a little hole, and then "fall" to the bottom of it.

almost forgot a pic

[John]

Here's the where

[TObject]

The Heart Attack hill on the Pinyon Mtn trail?

http://www.jeepbbs.net/tobject/Runs/...5_13_00map.htm

[Darrell C]

John, I'm not sure where that picture was of, since I'm not familiar with that area.

Robert,

The Niagra Rim Trail is near Eagle Meadows off Highway 108 about 40 minutes east of Sonora. It's a 5 1/2 mile long trail that starts at 7800 foot elevation and ends about 7400...with a lot of up and down in between. A few mandatory tough spots to get through, and a couple optional obstacles. It's maintained by the 4x4 In Motion club based out of Modesto, CA.

Here's a pic of the landmark called PeckerHead Rock. It's near Heartbrake Hill. This pic provides a decent view of the surrounding country.


And this is Heartbrake Hill.

You can makeout the Jeep near the center of the photo...sorry the pic isn't of any better quality. Heartbrake Hill is very soft and very steep. You will slide a little, regardless of gearing. A couple years back someone was decending this hill, got a little nervous and hit the brakes. He starting sliding, got sideways and rolled eight times. The pic is of my stepson's Jeep with him as passenger.

And here's one of my stepson starting up an optional obstacle called Lion's Butt.

Lions Butt is a rather large granite playground area with numerous shelfs.

Hope that helps...

Darrell

Edit: When Chuck Well's comes out with his new book, Trails of Northern California, this trail will be featured. We took Chuck through this trail, Deer Creek, Slickrock and the Rubicon over the last couple weeks.

[John]

Ahh. Names were so close I thought you meant the other one... I'll go back to sleep now

[Robert J. Yates]

Hey Thanx Darrell, that trail looks like a nice ride. Now, where is Sonora

Speaking of more coincidences, I too had an opportunity to wheel with Chuck Wells a couple years back when I was out in Arizona wheeling with Stu on the Charleau Gap Trail outside of Tucson. Nice guy and prepared. He smoked a u-joint on the ledge obstacle but had it fixed inside of a 1/2 hour. Its certainly an interesting experience reading about your trail ride a year or so later in a book

[Darrell C]

Originally posted by Robert J. Yates
Hey Thanx Darrell, that trail looks like a nice ride. Now, where is Sonora

Sonora is one hour east of Manteca on Highway 108 (take 120 east to Oakdale then 108 east to Sonora)...and to head off another question: Manteca is one hour south of Sacramento and found right on Highway 99.

Chuck is a very nice guy, a good driver and still comes well prepared. We didn't have any major problems and only used his winch once (he got high-centered on a rock on the Rubicon).

He brought his Jeep dog Chevy who got along well with our Jeep dog Blackie.

BTW, there are some local landmarks that sound similar to areas you've posted down there. For instance, Niagra Rim Trail (which is found in a general area called Eagle Meadows) is about 10 minutes west of Kennedy Meadows resort and pack station. Seems to me I remember you mentioning a Kennedy Meadows down there??

If you're ever up in this neck of the woods, I'd be happy to show you around some trails you might not be familiar with.