topjimmy
02-02-2004, 10:46 PM
A really fun day.
We had 1 TJ, 1 YJ, 1 CJ, 2 XJs and 1 Toyota 4runner.
We ran upper Sycamore to lower, had lunch at the granite mine, played on the nearby hills, went up to Squeeze Rock, and then down to the Widowmaker. Had a day full of steep hill climbs, tight turns, and tippy spots. We got a real cool show from a low flying Apache helicopter. We also got a good gas and go show from my buddy in his stock 4runner at the sandstone slab... but everyone made it up.
Everyone also made it up to the top of the Widowmaker too, although some took more difficult paths than others.
It was here that we almost saw a Darwin award winner. A nimrod on a quad (wearing a bicycle helmet no less) tried to climb the steepest part of the Widowmaker (very far left side). He got 3/4 of the way up and dumped it (with his kids at the bottom of the hill watching). He was off the quad but still holding on and it started dragging him down. I thought for sure we were going to watch this guy get crushed by his quad, this was by far the scariest situation I have ever personally witnessed while on a wheeling trip. Fortunately he let go of the quad before he was pulled down the hill. His quad barrel rolled all the way to the bottom. It did not look pretty, but apparently Suzuki quads are pretty tough because with the exception of a few bent parts, the quad didn't appear to be badly damaged. He was able to start it up and give it another go and made it up the second time. One of our trip participants had video rolling most the trip, but missed out on capturing this harrowing incident on film.
Pictures at
http://members.cox.net/topjimmy/jeep/syc22/index.htm
As always if you want the full size high res versions send me an e-mail and let me know which ones...
We had 1 TJ, 1 YJ, 1 CJ, 2 XJs and 1 Toyota 4runner.
We ran upper Sycamore to lower, had lunch at the granite mine, played on the nearby hills, went up to Squeeze Rock, and then down to the Widowmaker. Had a day full of steep hill climbs, tight turns, and tippy spots. We got a real cool show from a low flying Apache helicopter. We also got a good gas and go show from my buddy in his stock 4runner at the sandstone slab... but everyone made it up.
Everyone also made it up to the top of the Widowmaker too, although some took more difficult paths than others.
It was here that we almost saw a Darwin award winner. A nimrod on a quad (wearing a bicycle helmet no less) tried to climb the steepest part of the Widowmaker (very far left side). He got 3/4 of the way up and dumped it (with his kids at the bottom of the hill watching). He was off the quad but still holding on and it started dragging him down. I thought for sure we were going to watch this guy get crushed by his quad, this was by far the scariest situation I have ever personally witnessed while on a wheeling trip. Fortunately he let go of the quad before he was pulled down the hill. His quad barrel rolled all the way to the bottom. It did not look pretty, but apparently Suzuki quads are pretty tough because with the exception of a few bent parts, the quad didn't appear to be badly damaged. He was able to start it up and give it another go and made it up the second time. One of our trip participants had video rolling most the trip, but missed out on capturing this harrowing incident on film.
Pictures at
http://members.cox.net/topjimmy/jeep/syc22/index.htm
As always if you want the full size high res versions send me an e-mail and let me know which ones...