Roadkill
New member
Today was the last day of the Chile Challenge in Las Cruces, NM. I went on the "Spectators Run" today, so I don't have much to say except that I saw some really cool rides doing impossible stuff. Here is how day 2 and 3 went:
DAY 2 (Box Canyon/Posado Trails)
Day two I was in a larger group than day one, with a total of 19 vehicles. This time, I was not the only non-jeep, but the crowd was still very "jeep heavy" here is a photo of the group:
As the name of the first trail suggests, we spent most of the day in a canyon that ended at the place in the photo. I have no idea how they got that earth-mover tire (the round thing with water) in that place. Although that turnaround part was wide, much of the canyon looked like this:
It was pretty tight for us full size guys (although nothing compared to day 3) Eventually we went back down the canyon and entered an area of sand dunes:
The last part of the day was spent tackling a very tall and steep sand hill:
The stock jeeps were getting stuck just short of the top (second photo) but both the K5 Blazer and my Bronco went up and over with no problem. I think our longer wheelbase had a lot to do with it. The remainder of the day was spent making our way back to pavement and then back to the fair-grounds to check out the vendors displays.
DAY 3 (Dona Anna Mountains-Easy trail)
The Dona Anna Mountains is more of a "play ground" area than a trail. The area is criss-crossed with trails ranging from mild to extreme. This day I was with a small group again. 11 vehicles, still Jeep heavy but this time I was not the only big Bronco on the run.
I got a chance to meet Tommy from over at FSB.com forum. Here is a picture of Tommy, his Bronco and our guide, Monte Hoover of the Las Cruces FWD Club:
He was a pretty cool guy and came with a group of guys in 3 jeeps from the Austin, TX area.(about 45 minutes from my house) It's kind of funny that I had to go all the way to NM to meet some brother off-roaders from my own neighborhood.
Anyway, Day 3 was by far the best even though there were parts of the trail that were no where near the "easy" rating given by the Las Cruces club. One the big lessons learned was that if you are worried about the paint on your Bronco, don't let a Jeep be trail leader:
The two highlights of the day were "Hamburger Hill" and "Crack in the Rock". Hamburger Hill is a very steep climb similar to "Linebacker" at Moab. This one however, is not quite so high and does not have the steep drop-offs on the sides:
My favorite of the day was "Crack in the Rock" which is a rush to do from either side. When aproached from the top, you come through a very tight crack and see nothing but sky and the valley floor way below as you break over:
Once you are on the way down, you are standing on the firewall as you ride a controlled skid down the other side. Here is what it looks like from a few spots on the bottom side:
This one is taken from near the top of the rock looking down to the stopping area below:
Once at the bottom, a you can try to go back up, I could not make it becaus of my locker problem and the loose shale rock near the top. But Tommy was nice enough to let me ride with him as he showed the Jeeps how its done. I have no still photos of Tommy going up, but I do have video that I will post at Supermotors.net when I get back home.
Overall I had the time of my life these last three days. If you ever get the chance, I highly recomend attending this event in the future. I will definately be back next year if I can get leave. Just keep in mind when signing up, that the Las Cruces 4WD club really under rates their trails. "Easy" was quite a challenge for everyone involved.
I have a lot more pictures posted here:
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
When I get the chance, I will also put some video clips in those folders. If you are still reading this far into this post, thanks for listening to me babble!
DAY 2 (Box Canyon/Posado Trails)
Day two I was in a larger group than day one, with a total of 19 vehicles. This time, I was not the only non-jeep, but the crowd was still very "jeep heavy" here is a photo of the group:
As the name of the first trail suggests, we spent most of the day in a canyon that ended at the place in the photo. I have no idea how they got that earth-mover tire (the round thing with water) in that place. Although that turnaround part was wide, much of the canyon looked like this:
It was pretty tight for us full size guys (although nothing compared to day 3) Eventually we went back down the canyon and entered an area of sand dunes:
The last part of the day was spent tackling a very tall and steep sand hill:
The stock jeeps were getting stuck just short of the top (second photo) but both the K5 Blazer and my Bronco went up and over with no problem. I think our longer wheelbase had a lot to do with it. The remainder of the day was spent making our way back to pavement and then back to the fair-grounds to check out the vendors displays.
DAY 3 (Dona Anna Mountains-Easy trail)
The Dona Anna Mountains is more of a "play ground" area than a trail. The area is criss-crossed with trails ranging from mild to extreme. This day I was with a small group again. 11 vehicles, still Jeep heavy but this time I was not the only big Bronco on the run.
I got a chance to meet Tommy from over at FSB.com forum. Here is a picture of Tommy, his Bronco and our guide, Monte Hoover of the Las Cruces FWD Club:
He was a pretty cool guy and came with a group of guys in 3 jeeps from the Austin, TX area.(about 45 minutes from my house) It's kind of funny that I had to go all the way to NM to meet some brother off-roaders from my own neighborhood.
Anyway, Day 3 was by far the best even though there were parts of the trail that were no where near the "easy" rating given by the Las Cruces club. One the big lessons learned was that if you are worried about the paint on your Bronco, don't let a Jeep be trail leader:
The two highlights of the day were "Hamburger Hill" and "Crack in the Rock". Hamburger Hill is a very steep climb similar to "Linebacker" at Moab. This one however, is not quite so high and does not have the steep drop-offs on the sides:
My favorite of the day was "Crack in the Rock" which is a rush to do from either side. When aproached from the top, you come through a very tight crack and see nothing but sky and the valley floor way below as you break over:
Once you are on the way down, you are standing on the firewall as you ride a controlled skid down the other side. Here is what it looks like from a few spots on the bottom side:
This one is taken from near the top of the rock looking down to the stopping area below:
Once at the bottom, a you can try to go back up, I could not make it becaus of my locker problem and the loose shale rock near the top. But Tommy was nice enough to let me ride with him as he showed the Jeeps how its done. I have no still photos of Tommy going up, but I do have video that I will post at Supermotors.net when I get back home.
Overall I had the time of my life these last three days. If you ever get the chance, I highly recomend attending this event in the future. I will definately be back next year if I can get leave. Just keep in mind when signing up, that the Las Cruces 4WD club really under rates their trails. "Easy" was quite a challenge for everyone involved.
I have a lot more pictures posted here:
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
When I get the chance, I will also put some video clips in those folders. If you are still reading this far into this post, thanks for listening to me babble!
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/emoticons/
