Red Cone Aug 18th 2025

[grimmjeeper]

It was fortunate that we ran the trail on Sunday, as the day before there was a massive rain and hailstorm in the area; the results of which tamped down most of the dust and loose rocks on the hill which is always good. That said, the rain also made some of the sidehills a bit weaker (over time, this is how obstacles and off cambers get formed) and Don found one of the new weak spots. Fortunately Troy came to the rescue and we got Don righted about two minutes later.

The only breakage I’m aware of was Roy’s driver’s side sway bar link which popped off through the washer leaving everything else firmly attached. Looking at it as we were airing up I could honestly say I’d never seen anything like that before. Then, looking elsewhere on this very forum, seems it’s not unheard of:

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/sway-bar-link-popped-off.15322/

I did something similar on Saturday. My tires broke loose in the mud and I slipped off. I was at an angle and couldn't really get out of the Jeep. Fortunately @gek and @J.Ferreira were able to get my winch line hooked up in the rain and I was able to pull my nose back on trail in short order.

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[Remorseless]

I did something similar on Saturday. My tires broke loose in the mud and I slipped off. I was at an angle and couldn't really get out of the Jeep. Fortunately @gek and @J.Ferreira were able to get my winch line hooked up in the rain and I was able to pull my nose back on trail in short order.

Rain wheeling is fun ain't it?

 

[yokramer]

Rain wheeling is fun ain't it?

And it was only like maybe 45% of the slipperiness of that nasty clay shit back east.

 

[grimmjeeper]

Rain wheeling is fun ain't it?

 

[Remorseless]

And it was only like maybe 45% of the slipperiness of that nasty clay shit back east.

At least there's that. Those hills would be damn near impossible if it got as slick there as it does here.

 

[yokramer]

At least there's that. Those hills would be damn near impossible if it got as slick there as it does here.

Yea the narrow track and soft sides really makes it sketchy. Was one spot I was moving pretty quick and it dropped and shifted the whole Jeep toward the edge and I slowed down a good bit after that lol.

 

[Remorseless]

Live a little

 

[J.Ferreira]

Someone said yesterday that in the JL World pretty much everything was represented; out of 8 JL's we had three 2-Doors and five 4-Doors, two diesels, one 392, at least two stick shift manuals and at least one turbo 4.

Threeee manuals.

@gek @Krondor and the mile hi jeep club guy whose username/name I forget. He had the tail gunner 2 door.

 

[J.Ferreira]

Rain wheeling is fun ain't it?

Getting hailed on hooking up someone’s winch line is less fun.

 

[Remorseless]

Getting hailed on hooking up someone’s winch line is less fun.

 

[J.Ferreira]

I was wet everywhere in all the wrong ways.

 

[Remorseless]

I was wet everywhere in all the wrong ways.

That's like when I got stuck on the highway in a downpour with the doors off. Everything everywhere was wet.

 

[DonH63]

Threeee manuals.

@gek @Krondor and the mile hi jeep club guy whose username/name I forget. He had the tail gunner 2 door.

That was Joe @Powelligator, who is with the club that opens and maintains the trail, so was awesome having him with us! The whole trip was awesome, in fact, despite my SDT (Stoopid Don Trick) when I decided to not go over the boulder Gary did and follow the tracks to the left, which put me on the edge, which ungraciously collapsed under me. I tried lockers but it still slid, and fortunately after a few seconds decided it was going nowhere without a tug, which Joe confirmed when he came up to help. (Aside: going with this gang was really great; friendly guys with skills and lots of practical knowledge.) Troy @191185 got by over the rock and gave me a quick tug and off we went. If I had just gunned it, rocks under the tires would have continued to shoot out until the side dropped over a little three-foot embankment, just enough that I am certain I would have ended up on my side or top. I'll take the line over body work any day.

I think we had more issues with a few of the obstacles on the way up than Red Cone itself. The road at the top was in good shape, weather was great (warm, blue skies with a few clouds, light wind, almost no smoke haze), and being focused on the road meant you tended to ignore the steep drops on either side going up and down. Traffic was lighter than I expected, though per Joe Sunday's are usually lighter, with some Jeeps, SxSs, and motorcycles. A couple of the motorcycles were pretty aggressive, but the only jerks were a couple of side-by-sides that appeared to be there for a race and not to enjoy the scenery or anything else. Webster Pass back was uneventful, a few tight squeezes and the usual Colorado shelf road business you get used to (or not).

Ate dinner at a place Gary knew along with John, Roy, and Rusty. Food was really good even though the waitress couldn't seem to figure out drinks. I think she was paying to much attention to Carly. Oh, I met Carly, what an awesome doggo!

Definitely looking forward to getting out more, thanks for letting me tag along!

Troy -- definitely need to bring your wife and daughter back out for some more trails! And start saving for that Jeep your daughter wants...

 

[Powelligator]

Threeee manuals.

@gek @Krondor and the mile hi jeep club guy whose username/name I forget. He had the tail gunner 2 door.

That's me! That's right, there was a third third pedal in the group, I forgot one.

 

[DonH63]

That's like when I got stuck on the highway in a downpour with the doors off. Everything everywhere was wet.

The problem out here is a tiny bit of rain makes the rocks wicked slick, and adds just a bit of mud that turns an easy trail into a hard one in just a few minutes. We do have some deep mud pits here and there, but for me the usual issue is sliding off rocks that are normally easy to climb, often complicated by a huge drop a few inches away.

Rain also turns sharp rocks into knives; the two times I have lost a tire off-road, one was a tree root that stabbed into the sidewall and busted the bead, and the other was a rock I had gone over many times that in a downpour managed to slice through the sidewall.

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