Friday, April 6, 2018

Illinois Gulch - March 24th

Patrol 14 headed for Rainbow Falls (aka Illinois Gulch) on March 24th. Bill, Gary, Daryl & RoxeAn, Dave & Kim,  and Sam & Elaine made the trip down. Also on this trip, we had some guests. Jamie & Cecilia and Joe were great additions on the trail, and it was awesome to get to know them throughout the day. We met at Deckers around 9:30am. We discovered several other 4x4 groups also meeting there, so we decided to quickly get underway to avoid any trailhead traffic jams. The weather was fantastic.

Of course, the main highlight of this trail is Moab Hill. Here, we made the descent down the hill, and then people took the line back up as they felt comfortable.



The first one up the hill was Gary.


Next up was Daryl, and after a couple times of backing up and taking another go at it, made it up the hill without any issues.


...and, Joe made quick work of the same line. That might make a good endorsement for the KO2's both Joe and Daryl have on their Jeeps.



Jaime headed up the same line as Daryl, Joe and Sam; but, he discovered some issues with his transfer case. Unfortunately, he had to back down and take an easier line.


Next up, Dave and Kim found a line perfect for them.


Sam picked a line similar to Joe and Daryl, but after bouncing off a rock he ended up heading up a line similar to Gary.


Bill headed up next, taking the same line as Daryl, Joe and Sam.


Unfortunately, the YJ slipped off a rock and found itself jammed pretty good (below). We ended up winching him back, and then Joe assisted him up the hill successfully.


After having fun on Moab Hill, we headed on up the trail and found a scenic spot for lunch. We had a great view of Pikes Peak.


Besides a few issues with Jaime's transfer case, we had a great day getting out to wheel and spend time with good friends.