For almost 10 years now, Cindy and I have been doing newbie runs up in the El Paso Mountains on a trail called Last Chance Canyon and without question, it is one of our favorite runs that we do each year. Nothing beats seeing the expressions of people who are new to the world of off-roading, take on terrain that seemed otherwise impassible and then conquer it with their Jeep. The smiles and laughter that we see and hear are as sincere as they get and it is in times like these that we truly get to remember what it is about the Jeep WAYALIFE that we love so much.
I apologize for the lack of photos but here are a just a handful of photos that we were able to take from the run and I hope you enjoy them.
Topping off with gas that's a dollar cheaper than California for the last time.
Making a stop along the Walker River to take in the view.
Checking out the old iron at the world famous Erik Schats Bakkery in Bishop.
Home for the night before the run.
And look what we have here - some friends to join in on the fun!
Because it's never too late to celebrate a good time - CHEERS!!
Everyone starting to show up at the trailhead.
It's always a pleasure to see some old iron show up for a run like this.
Time to let some air out of the tires.
Here's a shot of Moochie and JeepFan helping to disconnect sway bar links on a stock 2-door.
OverlanderJK and Irish JK helping out as well while Tessa supervises their work.
Heading into the canyon and ready to have some fun!
What we love about Last Chance Canyon is that the obstacles are big enough to give a stock Jeep a hard time yet can still be tough enough to give a modified Jeep a challenge as well. A perfect trail to learn on.
A minor hiccup. The sway bar on this Jeep wasn't tied up properly and so it got caught up under the spring perch after flexing it's way on the trail. Fortunately, there was a rock nearby where we could get it flexed out again and get things fixed.
Back on the move again and on to some ledge climbs.
Making our way out of the canyon and onto the last obstacle.
Lining up at the bottom of what we call Graduation Hill. Unfortunately, I don't have any pics of anyone going up because we were filming this.
Here's a shot of us at the famous Burro Schmidt Tunnel where we stopped to make the half mile hike through the tunnel and have some lunch.
Crazy to think that some guy spent 38 years to dig out this half mile long tunnel and all by hand.
Out on the other side.
Home for the night - couldn't have asked for a better day.
To all my friends old and new - CHEERS!!
A shot of camp the next morning.
The air smelled like you were in a flower shop.
Heading out in a sea of gold.
Working our way off the trail through the Goler Gulch Narrows.
Cindy and I would like to give a BIG THANKS to JeepFan, OverlanderJK, Moochie and Irish JK for all their help in making this run possible. We'd also like to thank everyone who came out for the run as we had a great time with all of you. It is our hope that you were able to learn a few things about your Jeep and that you had a good time as well. Until the next time, keep the shiny side up, all four on the floor and with any luck, we'll see you on the trail!
More photos from members are posted below...
I apologize for the lack of photos but here are a just a handful of photos that we were able to take from the run and I hope you enjoy them.
Topping off with gas that's a dollar cheaper than California for the last time.
Making a stop along the Walker River to take in the view.
Checking out the old iron at the world famous Erik Schats Bakkery in Bishop.
Home for the night before the run.
And look what we have here - some friends to join in on the fun!
Because it's never too late to celebrate a good time - CHEERS!!
Everyone starting to show up at the trailhead.
It's always a pleasure to see some old iron show up for a run like this.
Time to let some air out of the tires.
Here's a shot of Moochie and JeepFan helping to disconnect sway bar links on a stock 2-door.
OverlanderJK and Irish JK helping out as well while Tessa supervises their work.
Heading into the canyon and ready to have some fun!
What we love about Last Chance Canyon is that the obstacles are big enough to give a stock Jeep a hard time yet can still be tough enough to give a modified Jeep a challenge as well. A perfect trail to learn on.
A minor hiccup. The sway bar on this Jeep wasn't tied up properly and so it got caught up under the spring perch after flexing it's way on the trail. Fortunately, there was a rock nearby where we could get it flexed out again and get things fixed.
Back on the move again and on to some ledge climbs.
Making our way out of the canyon and onto the last obstacle.
Lining up at the bottom of what we call Graduation Hill. Unfortunately, I don't have any pics of anyone going up because we were filming this.
Here's a shot of us at the famous Burro Schmidt Tunnel where we stopped to make the half mile hike through the tunnel and have some lunch.
Crazy to think that some guy spent 38 years to dig out this half mile long tunnel and all by hand.
Out on the other side.
Home for the night - couldn't have asked for a better day.
To all my friends old and new - CHEERS!!
A shot of camp the next morning.
The air smelled like you were in a flower shop.
Heading out in a sea of gold.
Working our way off the trail through the Goler Gulch Narrows.
Cindy and I would like to give a BIG THANKS to JeepFan, OverlanderJK, Moochie and Irish JK for all their help in making this run possible. We'd also like to thank everyone who came out for the run as we had a great time with all of you. It is our hope that you were able to learn a few things about your Jeep and that you had a good time as well. Until the next time, keep the shiny side up, all four on the floor and with any luck, we'll see you on the trail!
More photos from members are posted below...
