You could acknowledged this image from my Upper Woodpecker path write-up. The Highway to Hell (H2H) path begins on the finish of Upper Woodpecker. It is rated by the Arizona Virtual Jeep Club as a 4.5+ path (on a scale of 1 to 5). A gaggle of us met on Saturday morning to do some path upkeep. No, I didn’t drive it. Instead, I walked it with a plastic bucket in hand and a few rubbish luggage in my again pocket. Some below outfitted wanna-be off-roader had reduce a bypass round one of many obstacles. DougB wished to put a few fence posts at first of the wildcat bypass in hopes of discouraging others from utilizing it. (Time will inform if this was profitable or not). There wasn’t a lot new trash since DougB had picked up trash a few weeks earlier than. We have been going to get any that was nonetheless laying round and examine the general situation of the path.
Most of the fellows opted to drive their rigs on the path. I had walked the primary quarter mile once I ran Upper Woodpecker and except issues had modified, I used to be not in a rush to drive this path. Body injury is just about assured. I wasn’t too apprehensive about suspension, tires, winching, and many others., however I simply didn’t really feel like having my fenders, doorways, or quarter panels altered. As it was, nobody made it via with no minimal of flare injury (painted ones don’t look that nice after you run them alongside the rocks). An XJ took out a window and did some pretty good sheet steel injury. He was operating 35″ tires and managed to do some self-clearancing to his personal sheet steel whereas the rocks did some extra. A TJ fender or two took a reasonably good hit too.
Here is Doug getting lined up on one of many first obstacles on the path. Things are a bit tight in right here and the flares took some injury on nearly everybody’s rig. Some have been worse than others.
Here you may see Tim getting a while on the rocks together with his flares. As I mentioned, there have been quite a lot of alternatives to check simply how shut you would get to the rocks with out touching the fenders, flares, or your sheet steel.
Doug is sort of up on high of the primary impediment. That rock that’s driver’s entrance tire goes over is correct in the way in which, as you may see. About the time you’re getting your again tires up on the highest, your entrance is having to take care of that rock. The line to the left of this one is far worse.
He made it. I’m nonetheless not fairly positive how, however he did. Actually it was a mixture of one of the best line (undecided you would even name it a line), some correctly utilized throttle (not an excessive amount of, simply sufficient) and a few good quaint Jeepin’ understand how! Way to go Doug!
Highway to Hell
Larry tried a barely completely different line on the primary impediment and obtained himself cross methods within the chute. He was attempting out a model new pair of PJs and I believe they have been throwing him off only a bit. We tried adjusting the air stress a bit and it helped considerably, however he lastly winched over the rock earlier than it brought on a path facet restore.
Here is Fred getting arrange for a line to the left (which didn’t work). He obtained up and over as soon as he obtained within the groove that Doug used. We spent a good period of time at this little impediment….I assume I shouldn’t say little. It was fairly beefy!
Fred proceed to give it a strive utilizing the road to the left. He is about so far as one may get. By the time the entrance wheels have been up on the rock, the burden shift to the rear axle was greater than sufficient to take away a lot of the traction from the entrance finish.
Doug begins one other water fall that’s additional down the path. I might rank it related to the primary one, besides much less probability of getting your sheet steel into the rock. This was had a pleasant notch operating down the center which meant you want to preserve your wheels properly positioned.
Doug is an excellent driver and he made all of those look too straightforward. His TJ sports activities a Tera carry, 35″ tires, ARBs entrance and rear, and an Atlas II if I bear in mind accurately.
This a part of the rationale that this path was ran. Some reduce a wildcat bypass up the facet of the financial institution. This is simply earlier than the impediment that Doug simply obtained over (see earlier 3 pics above). A few fence posts have been put in place in hopes of “instructing” the parents that you simply don’t make bypasses simply because your rig is just not up to the path. That is why you stroll it first after which determine if you ought to be on it. Of course, having somebody alongside that has ran the path can present significantly better perception as to your possibilities of making it.
We wrapped up the work and known as it a day. There was just about no trash (simply a few hand fulls on the max), in order that was very good to see. Joey, a very good good friend who walked the path with me, hopped in to my Jeep and we headed again to the west facet of Phoenix and residential. I believe it’s secure to say {that a} enjoyable time was had by all.
