3rd Official Utah Meet and Greet/Trail Run

I'm going to call him today and make an appointment.

 

Good work buddy

 

Well, hopefully Jesse will post up some pics of the run we made today to Forest Lake. My camera batteries were dead for some reason so I couldn't get any, but I can tell about my experience.

First thing, the road we'll be traveling on for the meet will be just fine for 2wd. I specifically kept it in 2wd, but unless it gets more difficult further in, even a car could drive it. Its really rocky/bumpy, but its really nothing to worry about. He drove it a bit faster that I probably would've, but I kept up and just about drove myself crazy (had a styrofoam cooler in the cab with me... It sat in the bed on the way out). Pictures really weren't necessary for this part, as its really not anything bad. I'd give it a 1.5 - 2 out of 10 for difficulty. It wasn't quite as dusty as the Farmington trail, but was still a bit.

In seeing how fast we'll be able to go through the trail, what I would suggest we do is have a late lunch in Heber, like one of the restaurants someone posted earlier. Then people can either head back home via Park City or Provo Canyon, or do the Forest Lake trail.



Now, the Forest Lake trail. That thing was a blast. That is about the limit I'm willing to take my truck. It is not for the faint of heart, but for someone serious about wanting to go off road, I think this is a good start.

If you go by http://www.4x4now.com/tr.htm, I would rate it a very high 3.5, but probably a 4. Guess it depends what the stock vehicle is. Stock Tacoma would get eaten up. I'd think a stock Jeep with offroad package should be able to do it (is that still considered stock?), but Jeeps have a tendency to have higher clearance that we do. If going by the 10 rating system (http://www.utah.com/offroad/moab_trail_ratings.htm), I would have to put it at a 5, as its definitely not a 6. Maybe a 5.5 because there really isn't any deep water (maybe 6" on crossing the stream) and are some pretty large rocks, but I dont think reaching up to 24". I had always planned/built the truck to handle trails around this level of difficulty, so I'm pretty happy with it.

4WD is a must going up. Maybe not so much going back out. Even with 4WD, there are many times that you just have to retry a few times to get over the rocks.

I'll put it this way. I'm very glad I installed my skid plate for the trail. I hit it a few times, once pretty hard falling off a rock (sounded hard). I pretty much followed Jesse's line and he had to get his friend to guide him a few times. I had to get Jesse to help me up one very difficult spot near the beginning, which made me question the trail all together, but after that point, it toned down a bit. There was an easier way around, but you'd definitely be rubbing trees.

Jesse is running 285 width tires and he was aired down, but I think my newer tires did a little bit better than his did since he said he had to drop down to low a few times. I didn't air down and was able to keep it in 4 High the whole time. I think his truck did better on clearance than I did though, so I'm going to up my shocks a bit I think. It really didn't help adding an extra 100 lbs of armor (skid plate) in front.

For the most part, not really anything to worry about for scratches, but more for under body damage, or if you dont have much of a lift, I could see someone smashing up a panel or door frame pretty easy. Of course I'm running a 1st gen, which a 2nd gen is a good deal wider, and I think a bit more ground clearance. Just as a guide, if anything hangs lower than 12", you're going to want a helper on some of the obstacles.

Time wise, it took about 15 min from Cabelas to the entrance (pretty much a straight shot). It took about 30 min to get to Forest Lake trail head, and about that same time to get to the lake.

So, in conclusion for Forest Lake, this is a no bullshit trail. If you want a challenging trail or just to test your truck, I highly recommend it. I plan on doing it again after the run. If you're afraid of damage, a 4 wheeler or bike could probably make it up pretty good.

Here's the aftermath damage to the skid plate (sorry, a bit muddy). Just for reference, the highest point on the mark is 15". The skid plate lowest point is 12". The two high marks were more my fault for taking a bad line (the place I needed help), and the one in the center was from on the way out and took it a bit too fast, thinking I could clear it. (The scratches aren't bad, just scraped off some undercarrage spray that wasn't quite fully dried. Primer is still in tact and no dents.)

For my first real trail, I dont think I did too bad, and didn't walk away with any damage. If I could get more people to do this type of rail more often, I'd be happy.

 

Oh, one more thing for Forest Lake. The hardest place is just right after the river (river is the trail head), so if you think you might want to try it but just not sure until you see some others do it, there's plenty of space to turn around if you change your mind. Maybe we could even walk up to the first obstacle on the main run.

 

I'm pretty excited to give this a try.

 

sorry Friday was kinda a long day for me.... didn't have time to post the pictures. there's near 60 of them but hey i figure the more picture the more better... I'm uploading them to image shack now so give it a few and pictures will arive... my buddy kinda went wild with the camera so bear with it and all the pictures

 

Before the canyon and tibble fork ( still pavel roads )

 

the MAIN RUN PIC's , well what we drove of it







SORRY not alot we mainly saved the battery for forest lake

 

--- FOREST LAKE PIC"S
pic's NOT in order sorry
































THERE IS MORE TRAIL TO SEE... but then my camera's batery died

 

Well everyone I was in Salt Lake today and picked up Matt to go and grab my new bike!!! Well its a 2008 so its used. It is a Honda CRF 250R 4-stroke. Matt was the one that inspected it and checked it out along with his buddy on the phone. THANKS MATT!!! I still need to learn to ride it.

 

Awesome pics, thanks for posting. It clears up a lot of questions I had.

That is a sweet bike, you are going to love it. I sense a trip to the Knolls in the very near future.

 

Thanks Jas!!! Knolls some time soon for sure!!!

 

Nice!!! Now i need to get one!

 

Great looking bike. I think I'll have to stick to something with 4 wheels. 4 wheelers are still fun though.

Glad I didn't scare off everyone for the Forest Lake Trail. It really will be a fun trip and good practice for Moab.

I did figure out my clunk for certain today. Definitely in my sway bar as I thought, so I finished unhooking it completely and no more noise. Now to decide if I want to just keep it off or replace the ends... Also raised the front end about an inch, so I should be good to go for the next run.

 

Hey! Any of you guys like cheese steaks?

 

Dude, who doesnt like cheese steaks!!!! Why whats up???

 

Love a good cheesesteak. Why what's up?

 

Theres a place called dp cheesesteaks.. started here in utah, ive been going to the one out in south jordan since it opened. They have three locations and ones in american fork if we wanna get authentic cheese steaks.. i prefer a whiz steak .. before the run

 

Sounds good to me!!! Yeah authentic cheese steaks are made with cheese whiz!!! Dang now I'm hungry!!

 

Oh, Nevermind

They open at 11:00am.. Theres always a next time.

They have buildings in South Jordan, American Fork, and Salt Lake City.