| It was just Ed in his 97 Montero Sport and myself in my
98 Montero Sport on this trip. We picked a perfect day to run Chinaman's
Gulch. We got to the trail head about 10:30. We aired down and we were
off. The first section of trail that you will encounter is just a flat
dusty road. You make a sharp right turn up a hill and then the fun begins.
I would have to say that up to that fork is the roughest part of the main
trail. The rocks are over 16" tall and you definitely need at least
32" tires, a 2" lift, a good set of rock sliders and skidplates.
A locker wouldn't hurt either for this trail. If you don't have rock sliders
and strong skidplates for your front IFS (if you have IFS) and at least
a 2" lift, I would expect body damage, undercarriage damage or worse
on this trail.
The first obstacle you will encounter is the Squeeze. It's not too
bad for a Montero Sport being a narrow 4x4, but for a full size or wide
4x4 this obstacle means dents and scratches on the side of your vehicle.
If you look closely at the rock you can see all the different colors
of paint left by other 4x4s that weren't so lucky in maneuvering through
the Squeeze. Travelling on you will get to a fork in the road. At the
fork most turn left which will take you to the next obstacle called
the Water Fall. This obstacle has three main routes. Starting at the
left is the most difficult and almost impossible. This route is only
for highly highly highly modified 4x4s. The next route is the most popular
one to try. You will most likely need a locker to do it. The far right
line is the easiest of all three, but by no means is it easy. I chose
the far right line mainly because I don't have a locker. After several
angles and attempts I made it. Travelling on we made it to the top and
had a bite to eat and then started on our way down the rest of the loop.
A short time after we started on our way back we came to the last "door-eater"
squeeze obstacle Call the Chute. This obstacle is much more intimidating
than the first squeeze obstacle because it is much more technical in
the approach and is steeper. If you approach it the wrong way you can
badly damage your drive train or rear diff. If you don't have much lift
like I do, you will have to stay to the right of the large protruding
rock in the center of the trail, but you can't hug the right side forever
or you will roll your 4x4. I was very surprised that I was able to make
it through with open diffs. The rest of the trail is splotched with
large rocks that create off-camber situations and trees encroaching
very close into the trail. |
