It's always an adventure when FJCruzer123 head out for a trail run. This is also the first time we've seen a Brick Red FJ out on the trails

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Left Hand Canyon

Eric Ross, Contributor

Wednesday, November 27, 2007

That morning I swapped out street tires for MT's and loaded up the off-road gear.  I topped off the tank at Boulder Gas, snack at Taco Bell, buy topo maps (it has been 15 years since I’ve been up there…)  I air down at the trail head.  Put it in 4LO, note indicator light does not come on... hmm… press A-Trac button, no joy…  press rear locker button, no joy...  stop, conduct preliminary electronics diagnostics, no apparent issues, no codes.  Mechanical test indicates 4LO engaged, but no indicator.  I decide to drive to Five-points on the main trail rated “easy.”   When I get there I try a hard reset disconnecting the battery, check engine bay fuse box, discover the switched connector to the relay for the new supercharger coolant pump is not connected – reconnect (note dealer installed connector sucks...)  I decide to head back down the trail, air up at the trail head, and drive back to the mechanic.

Friday, November 30, 2007

I meet a March and his 05 Tacoma in Boulder and we gas up and get some food (see above for locations…)  We then cruise up to the trailhead and meet Ksp and his Tacoma.  It’s cold and dark already at 5:30pm, maybe 30 degrees, but upon checking, its 22 degrees.  We wait a bit and hook up with RedRunnertc and his 93 4Runner, Lysmachia in her 90’s Beast 4Runner and TowerRigger in his Tacoma.  In case you were wondering why all of this is documented on an FJ Cruiser forum, I have one!  Gotta represent!

We head up the main trail, passing the left hairpin that leads to the main trail rated “easy” and continue straight to the entrance to 286A, Boulder Carnage Canyon, rated “extreme”.  We all pause and take a look at the first obstacle, Guardian.  Noting the bypass, those of us with a car payment watch the others play on Guardian.  Ksp crawls over it with a little slider action and Lysmachia gets a bit hung up, but all in good fun!  I was going to pass on a poser shot, but fell prey to peer pressure and did a nice wheel stand, if I do say so.  TowerRigger climbed the rocks too.  So far the trail is dirt and rock, but that will only last so long.

As we make our way up the canyon, we play on some obstacles, one of which caused Lysmachia and TowerRigger to become “kissing cousins” momentarily, and TowerRigger sacrificed a fender (which he would have sacrificed again later anyway…)  As we approached the The Waterfall, the trail became one part rocks and two parts ice flow.  It was entertaining trying to gain purchase on the rocks, often finding ones rig slipping sideways and back and forth, tires spinning waiting for that tire patch to find a rock, then hopping up onto it unexpectedly.  At some point lockers and A-Trac only do so much and it’s all about finding a rock with the tire patch along with just enough momentum.

There are three upstream lines on The Waterfall: left, center and, “Are you kidding me?” on the right.  RedRunnertc took the left approach, punched through the ice and climbed the rocks around the center line obstacle.  Ksp decided to try the center line, but after several attempts had to back off.  This sheet of ice at the base of the rocks, along with a little moisture proved too slick to get any initial traction or momentum.  The rest of the group finessed and hammered their way around the left line.  The ice, rocks and camber proved too much for March’s open differential and we yanked him up the last little bit after he got hung up on his passenger slider.

Past the waterfall, the trail mellowed and we made our way to Five Points, then back down the main trail and then to the trailhead, arriving there at about 10:30pm.  We had some social time while we aired up and met a couple of other forum folks who were just on their way up (and you thought we were crazy…)

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

I met RockyMtnHigh and his passenger, Jim, at my house.  We were supposed to run down to Hidden Valley Road, but on December 1^st, USFS shut down most of their unmaintained roads.  So we drove around Boulder and hit the Left Hand Canyon trailhead around 1pm.  RockyMtnHigh was popping the cherry in his new red brick FJ, so we took it easy at first, but as he got used to the capability of his FJ, we went further up the trail than he had intended (no peer pressure or anything…)

We took the main trail up to Five Points, and then decided to take one of the continuing forks of 286 and went up a ways to see what the terrain looked like.  At first RockyMtnHigh was skeptical, but after seeing how my rig cruised along, he followed adeptly.  When we got to The Squeeze, we went on foot to check it out.  I decided to give it shot and then perhaps we would continue further.  I squeezed my way through, but RockyMtnHigh opted out after seeing why it’s called The Squeeze.  So I squeezed my way back down again, which was way more entertaining than going up.

On the way back down we stopped and explored a couple of the small mines along the side of the trail and played around Five Points so RockyMtnHigh could try out the A-Trac, locker and some wheel stands.   I can’t wait to get back up there and check out 286C and 286E, both rated difficult, but look like they would be fun with appropriately equipped rigs and support.