Our Trail Boss Steve Unwin and wife Nora know this trail better than anyone since they spent many a weekend working to reopen it. The only damage suffered by their '00 TJ was a bent tie rod and some minor body damage that resulted from Nora driving through a notch on her side. With 4.56 gears stuffed in the Lock Rite-locked Dana 30 and factory limited slip in the 8.8 rear, the 35-inch Goodyear MTRs clawed their way through the rough stuff with little trouble.
The trail was originally rediscovered and researched by Vern Britain. He discovered the trail by accident while trying to locate another old trail in the area. His '97 TJ is well equipped to run this tough route with dual high-pinion Tera 60s stuffed with ARBs and 4.56 gears. To get the low gearing he needed to motivate his 35-inch Krawlers through the tough stuff, Vern installed an Atlas 3.8:1 transfer case.
While this particular spot claimed others' sheetmetal, Ed Webster and his built '00 Jeep TJ made it through without a scratch. An Avenger supercharger feeds the beast, providing ample motivation to the Atlas 4:1 transfer case. Dual Currie high-pinion 9-inch axles stuffed with Detroit Lockers and 4.10 gears ensures that the extra power gets to the Center Line bead-locked 35-inch Pro Comp XTerrains.
Despite the giant fender-crumpling boulders, Bryan Jensen in his '97 TJ managed to make it through the day unscathed. With power running from an Atlas 5:1 transfer case to dual ARB Air Lockers wrapped in 4.56 cogs in his Dana 30 and Dynatrac Dana 44, Bryan had his Staun bead-locked 35-inch MTRs do the grunt work.