A Day on the Trail, on the Snow

Posted: February 23, 2025 | Author: Rubicon Ronin | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: snow, winter |Leave a comment

Good news, bad news. The good news is I got out on the trail with a bunch of my friends. The bad news is that MY rig didn’t make it. The story is not worth telling. So…

We got to the trailhead, in the residential trailhead as a group of four was heading out on the trail. A half an hour later, we headed out. The trail had been driven on a lot so it was well packed, in the ruts. Out of the ruts it was quite soft and deep.

The creek crossing were the difficult spots. A steep drop in and what seemed to be a steeper climb out, going both directions. Occasionally, there was a side hill on the trail and that made it difficult to stay in the ruts.

This was one of the easier crossing at the Arizona Crossing #8:

Straps were used, winches were used, but we all got up the trail. The trouble came when we ran into that other group headed out. Not exactly sure how far they got but we meet them before we got to Miller Lake.

We started turning our group around at both ends. It took some doing but we got it done. The drive out was uneventful.

Most of the rigs on the trail were on 37s. Everyone had an issue at some point.

No breakage, no injuries, overall a great day.

And there was a lesson learned. We all stop at the “staging area” to prep our rigs for the trail. What exactly do you do while staging your rig? Air down, lock your hubs, disconnect the anti-sway bar, etc.

My suggestion would be to make sure all possible needed tools and equipment are handy if needed. That means before you drive in to the deep creek crossing, dig the winch controller out of the back of your Jeep. Maybe plug in your winch and make sure it’s hooked up to your battery. I promised no names.

Be prepared, be safe, get out and have fun.

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Rubicon Ronin

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