Bill wrote:
I ran Potato on Mar. 8th but I stayed in the washes .
So I really can't tell you how the actual trail was . I do know there was a bone stock Tj with a newbie behind the wheel that made it through after I replaced his tie rod . ( he was in the wash where he didn't belong )
This is where I make my trade off with my truck. Sometimes, because of the way my back end is extented on my Tahoe, I have trouble where stock jeeps go. This is why I am so fortunate to have this group, because Brad was able to advise me knowing what I drive. It makes me wish I had a jeep, until I want to go camping, and I can load that big old back end down with my gear.
Ricky and I went down and ran a couple of trails in Joshua Tree recently, and one of the Jeep trails like to caused me some trouble because the turns were so tight and narrow that I had to rock my way through one "Z" turn and still had to half climb a rock to get out. It was a little scary knowing I could get stuck, but I had at least been smart enough to check in with the back country office and let them know we were running alone. And it was good experience. It took me a little time, but I managed to work it out and get out with out any damage (to me or the big rock--lol).
By the way, I'm sure you guys have all been down there, but in case someone hasn't, Joshua Tree National Park is a FANTASTIC place to go! The camping sites are great, the rock climbing is fun for the kids, and we did two of the 6 or 8 trails down there and had a lot of fun. Stock capable (even with my big-butt truck), but we met up with a little challenge on the first trail (and the running boards said "scraaaape") and the turn I was talking about above on the second trail. Enough challenge for me to have fun!