Cow Mtn Trip: breaking in the new SAS springs

OK you ready? Spent a two-day camping trip @ cow mountain south, doing the trails & whatnot. Got back home tonight, and here's the beef:

1) Truck did not flop over. Came close once! I still need to figure out a way to anchor it and actually get it to the point without totaling the bitch.
2) Cow Mountain sucks. Trail 7, Pebble point, which is rated as Not Recommended for trucks, is/was the only spot that was worth visiting. So for me it was a 2hr drive to a hot mess of HOT and dusty.
3) Cow Mtn is really not for trucks. "Difficult" translates to "skinny just enough room for an ATV." See #2 above. It looks like my truck was keyed by an ARMY of Harlem Globetrotters (you've seen how tall it is, right?). A whole army of them. I have more scratches than I have paint.
4) Did I mention not that awesome for trucks? yeah? oh. Well, I don't think I'll be making the trek back. Glad we went, but...
5) the trip was a success, however! I wanted a road trip that would allow me to test the road-worthiness, plus be able to break in the front springs on stuff that was challenging but not too much too soon. I am pretty darned sure I have taken an inch out of the front, which is about what I wanted plus or minus. Also they are riding a bit smoother now. And I have gained a bit of confidence overall as well.

and, here's the diary with pics. Pretty much all of these shots came from Pebble Point:










All of the obstacles were easy enough, except for this one below:

It would have been easy-enough-but-challenging, except for the entrance. so many people have failed, that the dirt had been scalloped from in front and underneath. So much so that even with 37s the rears always started from UNDERNEATH the log. I could not get her to pull from below then up then over, at least not since I was the only person there, in case I bucked into a bad spot… So I left it as it was. I tried a couple different angles of entry, but… the thing is really steep too, so I didn't want to come in too sideways and then end up rolling down the hill as I got some wheels on some stuff.


The bugs were really big around here:


So big in fact I had to go back to go back and squish it a 2nd time:



Oops turns out I might have brought that particular bug from home.