Log Corral w/ Verde River crossing 9/14

[aribelin]

A smashed and leaking brake caliper, three cut tires, and a severely dented skid plate...typical stuff for Log Corral. All ten of us attempted the climb at the rock garden, but in the end the rock garden won 7-3. All but one of those rejected were locked/locked. The sidewall cut on the waterfall was the third tire that I've seen the waterfall eat.



Where LO PHAT is sitting was the trail before the summer storms.




I was the first to make the rock garden climb:


Even though LO PHAT has made this on previous trips, it was not to be on this one:










On about his 20th attempt LO PHAT was pretty hung up, he got out to check it out:


TJ Bobby ran made the obstacle so fast I didn't get photo, sorry Bobby. Sometimes it all about the momentum (probably where the bent skid plate cam from).

[aribelin]

TreeKiller rejected on this trip too: (it was great getting to meet hang with his mom, she is great)


On to the waterfall: (most made it on this run, even though this is where we cut the first tire)




The cut tire repaired and ready for more action:






DesertDog clearing the waterfall:




The peanut gallery:


Our tail gunner clearing the waterfall (he was also one of us that made the rock garden)

[aribelin]

Out of the canyon and onto the crack:










Hard to see in this photo, but I laid into the bank in the crack and slid against my flare and the top corner of my tub: (good thing it is covered in armor)


Picked up a little friend along the way: (it was still there when I got home)

[aribelin]

Our tail gunner makes it to the top, we are all regrouped: off to the lake for lunch:




The lake is so full, that we were left with just a few feet to park for lunch: (the passenger side was in the water)


A vote was taken at lunch about which return to make, even though the flow chart indicated the release was 300 cfs, that is the option taken:




This is actually on the trail, the lake is so full that the trail is under about 2' of water:

You have to really pay attention here, with the trail under water it would be easy to cut the corner and end up in 5' of water, leading it is obvious where the trail is but after I go through the water becomes muddy.

[Locked & Loaded]

Awesome Pics. THANKS for sharin. In drier conditions would you consider Log Corral harder than Hackberry?

[aribelin]

On to the Verde River crossing:
















Rhino was the lowest rig in the group and at one point had water over his marker lights:


Our tail gunner makes it across: (last photo I took, we aired up at the Barlett Lake parking lot)


We had a fun experience on the way out the pavement, five of us were leaving together with me tail gunning (my normal practice on the way home) and we see a Audi SUV on the side of the road with its hazards on. I pull up alongside and ask if they are okay, a couple of nice young ladies said that they had a flat and were waiting for AAA and had been for over an hour. So...I turn around to put my tools/CO2 by their car and the rest of the group circles the wagons. We get the funky collapsed spare out (it had no air in it, the car has a little compressor that you run for 12 minutes to fill it up), we get the jack out and then assign LO PHAT to read the manual. In the end we plugged the tire and I aired it up (we figured that was easier than trying to figure out the funky spare); we then escorted them back to town. The scary part was how fast everyone drove by us, we had Jeeps on both sides of the road and I had my amber LED's turned on. A great ending to a fun day.

[aribelin]

Awesome Pics. THANKS for sharin. In drier conditions would you consider Log Corral harder than Hackberry?

No, I would still give Hackberry the nod as being more difficult. The issue with Log Corral is (especially this time of year) that it changes so drastically with the erosion, what were boulders last trip are sometimes almost gone covered in gravel/sand this trip. Both the rock garden and the waterfall have spring fed water so they are always a challenge. If I were to attempt to rate the two, I would give Log Corral a 3 (but this trip 7 locked/locked Jeeps were rejected in the rock garden) and Hackberry Creek a 3.25 unless it is raining/snowing then Hackberry easily moves up to a good 3.5. To put those numbers in perspective, those of you that ran Crown King, I would rate that trail as a 2.0-2.25 and the 2.25 only if you ran every obstacle.

[Locked & Loaded]

Who makes the reverse wound springs on the blue YJ?

[aribelin]

Found another hitchhiker when I got home:



He was about 3" across! With all the trees that you have to drive through on this trail I always figured that someday "something" would end up in the Jeep. I'm glad I didn't see it when I was cruising down the freeway at 65, or that it didn't fall in my lap when I brushed by its former residence in the trees. Many, many new pinstripes after this run yesterday.

(sorry about the crappy cell phone photo)

[autograph3]

I have done Log Corral many times, as well as Hackberry. Log Corral changes more than Cardinals Qbs. Once the rains come, it changes dramatically. Sometimes it fills the rock garden with sand, and there is no problem whatsoever, other times the rains wash all the sand out of there, and it really becomes fun again. To me, Hackberry does not change that much, and its a constant, and you know what to expect. Log Corral after serious rains is a crapshoot until you get up to it. 2 years ago I led our BOZO group through after monstrous rains, and the creek had been running in a HUGE way, the water had been hill to hill at its widest point heading through the wash to get to the gate. It was remarkable how much everything had changed, to the point where it was a crapshoot to even find the gate. The rockgarden then was really really fun. It had washed all the sand out, and you had some fun obstacles to get over. So in answer to the original question, it's hard to answer whether one is harder than the other. it all depends on the recent weather conditions for each trail. I would give them both about a 3.3 on the wheeling scale though.

[aribelin]

Who makes the reverse wound springs on the blue YJ?

Those are on TreeKiller's YJ. Edit: I stand corrected, those are on Roger's YJ.

[aribelin]

So in answer to the original question, it's hard to answer whether one is harder than the other. it all depends on the recent weather conditions for each trail. I would give them both about a 3.3 on the wheeling scale though.

Close enough for me.

[autograph3]

Wow, we must have been typing that report at the same time, LOL

[Chili]

I've got some video editing to do, but I did verify that I got TJBobby's run up the first rock. Stay tuned, and remember...

BUMP IT LIKE BOBBY!

[aribelin]

Wow, we must have been typing that report at the same time, LOL

That is almost a "snap"