Future Meet (Spring 2013)

[05Fronty4x]

I know this is way ahead of time, but keep a free weekend open late spring/early summer next year. I will be putting together a Central California meet in which we will be doing the Shuteye Trial up to Shuteye Peak and likely Whiskey Ridge Trail (I have not confirmed Whiskey Ridge yet, I still need to check it out.)

Today, for my birthday, my father and I decided to scout out Shuteye Trail, and make sure our trucks can make it to the top safely, without too much trouble. The elevation of the peak is ~8,400ft so I was a bit skeptical about making it to the top, but the mission was a success. We encountered some old snow which had a thick hard icy top from the recent sunny weather. This made a few obstacles a bit tricky.

Here's a Google Maps link with the peak marked to get a general idea of the area:
37.349281, -119.428425 - Google Maps

For those who are interested in making this run next year, there are PLENTY of obstacles throughout the trail and picking a good line is common practice to get through it unscathed. I touched my skids a couple times and had a rear tire more than a foot off the ground 2 or 3 times. I would suggest a couple inches of lift and a suitable off-road tire, whether it be an AT or MT. Armor (skids/sliders) are optional but would have certainly made my day a lot less stressful. If you have less than a 2-2.5" lift and 265/75r16 tires I would definately recommend armor to compensate for a lack of clearance. Also, based on my experience today, a rear locker/LSD would certainly make your life easier in getting through some of the sections. My suspension was flexing all over the place, and several times my chosen line (usually the more difficult) required me to flip the locker on to climb up smoothly. This doesn't means it's a must, and as a last resort, rocks can always be stacked.

There is also plenty of great scenery, especially once you get to the top. With that said I will leave you with a few teaser pics for now. Today was more about spending time with my Dad, and limited daylight leaves little time to complete this trail. I will be running this trail once more before the official meet next year with the focus on getting detailed trail photos for those thinking about attending the meet.

North/East View:


East/South View:


South/West View:


I haven't figured out which peaks these are, but they were the most prominent and probably ~50 miles away:


Conquering the Hill! (the lookout tower where I shot the panoramas from) The angles didn't look right with my truck level to the ground, so I flexed it out, naturally :


And just because I like the way this photo came out:




Like I said, I WILL be running this trail again sometime before the meet next year. Keep it in mind if you would like to join me at that time. It will be more "objective based" - The idea being to get photos during the progression of the trail to help those who are on the fence at the time decide if they want to make the trip for the actual meet. I figure it's the least I can do for those who would consider making a long-ish drive for a trail which has no content on these forums (yet, ). It's certainly a winner in my book.

[JeniorNV]

How long did it take you to do the full trail?

[BCBrian]

I tried to find this trail once before but never did. I can stay with friends in CoarseGold but I think it would be fun to camp up there!

[05Fronty4x]

Originally Posted by JeniorNV

How long did it take you to do the full trail?

About 6 hours. For a group of 3-5 trucks I'd like to allow 8-10 hours. Provided there are no major set-backs we should be fine during the daylight of a late spring day, especially if we are all up there a day before to get an early start.

Originally Posted by BCBrian

I tried to find this trail once before but never did. I can stay with friends in CoarseGold but I think it would be fun to camp up there!

So you have been in the area? Cool! I wonder where you ended up?

Coarsegold is only about an hour from the trailhead so that is a good option you have there, but I'm also open to camping, especially if we do Brown Meadow/Whiskey Ridge + whatever else on day 2, since it's all pretty much connected.

[JeniorNV]

I've been in the area too. lol.

You already know I'd like to join you for any pre-meet scouting trips if the timing works out. And obviously the meet itself too.

Cool pictures.

[JeniorNV]

In the hopes of generating more interest ('cause getting excited about a meet 6 months in advance isn't ridiculous), here are some crappy cell phone pics of the actual trail. Devin and I actually did a little wheeling in this area (kind of a spur of the moment thing) earlier this month, and these pics are from that outing. We didn't make it very far down Shuteye - maybe only 15 percent of the way through the technical sections - before inclement weather caused us to turn around. The most challenging sections are not depicted here, but at least this will give you guys some idea of the terrain.

After hearing from Devin about the type of obstacles he encountered yesterday, past the spot where he and I had turned around, I want to stress that these pictures don't even BEGIN to show just awesome this trail really is. So consider these teaser pics.

I can't wait until spring. This meet is going to be a blast.

[jbumx2]

I've wanted to check this place out ever since I saw this video a few years back. You picks make the terrain look rougher than in the video.

Off-Road Run | The Live Well Network

[JeniorNV]

Originally Posted by jbumx2

I've wanted to check this place out ever since I saw this video a few years back. You picks make the terrain look rougher than in the video.

Off-Road Run | The Live Well Network

Haha, that video gave me goosebumps.

The terrain is much rougher than the video shows.

[05Fronty4x]

All of those are pics from a stretch of technical terrain just as things get interesting, taken between points A and B here:
Rd 8029 to Rd 8029 - Google Maps
There are plenty of easy, cruise-along sections over small rocks (very slow though), but there are also some tougher areas. The good news is that the tougher obstacles do have an easy line and there is even evidence of past rock stacking. I can think of several areas where a stock truck would rub the frame a bit, and several more areas that may need some rock stacking to keep traction on the rear end of a non-locked differential, but it's entirely possible to get a stock 4x4 up the trail, but it wouldn't be as fun . The trail isn't all that long (something like 6 miles I think?) but the last 2.5 miles are littered with rocks and technical sections, so the average speed is really low.

As for that video, it's more geared toward the outdoorsman/camping fanatic. It doesn't capture the terrain of the trail very well at all, and doesn't show any of the technical obstacles, and that camp site is not at the top of the trail either. If you are thinking of coming along, we can probably get your truck through it. There will be tire spinning, there will likely be frame rubbing (I'd hope to minimize that with rock stacking) and there will be plenty of vehicle jockying on the tighter spots to get the right line.

All that being said, this trail really has it all. It has great scenery/views, and has the terrain to match it if you like 4-wheeling. I hope to hit it before it gets hot and dry, so there may be some scattered snow to get through as well. Depending on the attendants and how much trouble it is to get the group up the trail, we may camp out like the guy in the video did, up on the trail.

[05Fronty4x]

I happen to have a picture from one of the potentially tougher areas. The line I'm on is the absolute easiest, the hardest would be about 50ft right of the edge of the picture (I actually came down it ).

I repeat, this is the easiest line, and gets harder the further right you hit this area(steeper with taller drop-offs). It's about a 100ft wide rocky shelf. The down hill off this rocky peak is quite interesting as well, and there are plenty of tight technical sections of the trail too.

Don't mind the doofus in the top right, he (I) was just getting a peek at what was next.