gasiorv
I'm a new world samurai, and a redneck nonetheless
Original poster
Supporting Member
Ride of the Month Winner
2nd trip to Golden Mountain since it reopened. Last time was Nov 2024 and it was shortly after it reopened. After being opened for over a year and getting mostly bouncer traffic the trails are much different that last November. A lot of rain on Friday night definitely did not help the trail situation, but we still had fun.
I didn't take a single picture the whole weekend and didn't capture anything worth anything on my gopro. But Jeff got photos and vids with his phone (I attached some of the pics to this post and some of the videos are on his build page). Beeker's Dad also took a bunch of pics and vids and once I get access to them via google photo I may add some more pics.
Arrived Friday afternoon at 3:30pm. Beeker and his Dad (Mike) arrived shortly before us and were already unloaded. Christian was with me and we quickly unloaded. We then set off to hit a few trails. We started up the paved road and made the first left onto trail 12, we took Trail 12 all the way around to Trail 13. The start of trail 13 is not rocky, but it was slick under the leaves and it took some throttle to make it up to the half way point where 13 and 13b come together. We made the Left to continue up the rocky section of 13. First big obstacle I slid between a rock (front) and tree(back) and could not move. Had to get get Beeker in a position to winch me sideways using a snatch block. It was so slick that my jeep slid sideways with no real issue. From there due to the position, it made sense for Beeker to continue up to the top. At the next big step, there was a big hole and we ended up having to winch Beeker up through, at the very top step he was able to bump it up and over, it looked good! I went next, at that obstacle with the big hole I just got myself aligned and then hooked up the winch right away, even hooked up to the winch it was a tough climb. At the top ledge, I went as far right as I could where the ledge was not undercut and I was able to bump it up and over. It took us probably 1-½ hours to just do Trail 13 due to the slickness. From there we decided to head out and do the metal bridge in the jungle, but not to go play on the jungle wall or do anything super hard. Took 33 to 12 (green) to 2 green to 2 yellow up to 49. We took 49 to 51 and then went down the metal bridge. After going down the metal bridge we went left to stay on 51 and went through the “squeeze”. After getting through the squeeze we were at the top of 28. It was starting to thunder and lightning and we knew rain was coming in so we decided to head back to camp. We went down 28 to 8 to 2 green and then took 1 back to the field. We got back to camp right as it was starting to rain. I covered my jeep with a tarp but found out the next day that the tarp was worthless and it let water through. It rained the first time for about an hour and we thought it was done. Beeker cooked hamburgers and hotdogs and then just as we were done eating it started to rain again, this time it rained hard, very hard, may I say torrential, for about an hour!
Sat - Jeff arrived at 9am. Weather forecast was good for the day but as noted above it poured the night before.
Me and Christian in my TJ
Jeff in his LJ
Beeker and his Dad (Mike) in his Toyo Buggy
Took 42 to 65. 65 was tough and slick but it was fun. Jeff and I winched the waterfall at the top, Beeker made it. It was pretty easy to determine that Mike was not a fan of being in the buggy when Beeker was going through the obstacles and he elected to walk the trail during the obstacles, he did this all day but he never complained to any of us and had good spirits.
After getting to the top of 65 we circled back around to do 44. I didn’t make it half way up 44, it was just so slick. I walked the rest and there was an 8 foot wall at the top that none of us were going to make and it was going to be a very hard and dangerous winch so we decided to head back down. Jeff backed down, I turned around and Beeker never even started up so he was good. Jeff told me that the trail was nicknamed Winching Churchill, after seeing that wall at the top I know why.
Took 42 down to 43 then started up 63. It was slick rock with slick mud right from the start. After clearing the first big obstacle my jeep made a loud popping noise from the front (not sure where) and the steering got clunky. It then stopped steering all together and was locked in place. After we got Jeff and Beeker up through the first obstacle section we took a look at my jeep. The steering was locked, I could not turn it left or right.
I disconnected the hydro assist ram and I was then able to turn the wheels but I had no power steering it was just manual steering. We decided to take the lower 63 back towards the road. It was tough with only manual steering but I was able to get out to the road and back to camp. On the last downhill on 63 it was steep and slick, I slid a little but nothing of real consequence. Jeff on the other hand got into an uncontrollable slide and it fortunately could of ended badly but did not. Beeker also went into a slide but not as bad as Jeff.
Back at camp around noon; we tried a few things but couldn’t figure out if it was the Power Steering Pump or the actual Steering Box that was bad. I only had manual steering, no power, the ram was disconnected and you could watch it extend and retract so it was getting some fluid to it, but no power steering in the actual steering box. I checked the nearest o’reily’s and they did not have a power steering pump nor a steering box so I elected to just jump in with Jeff for the rest of the day. Jeff was kind enough to let me even drive his jeep for a good bit, he seemed happy to be able to watch it work and take some videos of it
We headed out around 1 or 1:30. I was driving, Jeff riding shotgun, Christian in the back seat. Beeker and his dad were in the buggy. We crossed the field and started up 5. It was so slick that we could not even start up the trail, I even made the hemi on the LJ sing a little and tried to bounce the beginning rock section with no luck.
We decided to turn around and head out 1 (orange). We took 1 orange to the top and then 1 green down to 7. We started up 7 and 7 was the first time that we actually had any type of traction, it was still muddy but the mud wasn’t “slick like ice”, we climbed 7 to 23 then took 23 down to 22 (hellivator). The hellivator is a big slab rock and with it being muddy leading up to the rock there was no way we were going to attempt it, but we did take the bypass around hellivator which is a tight squeeze between rocks, it was fun and it was the first time that I really got to see the advantage of the auto transmission. Jeff’s LJ is the first automatic that I have ever wheeled and it has it’s advantages and disadvantages. I am not ready to give up my manual, but I may not make fun of the “auto or nothing” crowd as much going forward.
After hellivator we took 10 to the top of bounty hill, the climb up bounty hill was rutted and muddy and I had to let the hemi sing a little to get to the top, it was pretty fun especially since Jeff was encouraging me and telling me to get on it. At the top of 10 we looked at Bounty Hill and decided to give it a go. We went down 26 and 27 to 8 and then started up the Bounty Hill (trail 9). Jeff wanted to take some videos of me driving his Jeep up so he let me take it up. I was able to get to the ledge at the top, but at the ledge I couldn’t get it to climb and after working it for a while the jeep was getting hot and smoking due to power steering fluid boiling out so we decided to call it and winch it up. I was disappointed that I didn’t get Jeff’s LJ up there for him, but it was still fun.
Beeker got to the ledge and had to pull winch as well.
We then headed down 26 and took 8 orange up to 49 to the top of 53. We looked at the drop in for 53 and decided to go around and come up to the Jungle wall from the lower side. Jeff took the helm at this point and I jumped in the passenger seat. We took 49 down to 2 orange to 8 orange to 53. Where 8 turns red (and goes left) and 53 starts to the right is where the “Welcome to the Jungle” sign is located. We went under the sign to go up 53. We stayed left past the Jungle wall and took 53 to the top. The top was pretty rocky and wet but both Jeff and Beeker were able to get through it, it was pretty fun and impressive to see them both get up through there.
Jeff then let me drive again and we took 49 to the top of 8 red, we dropped down 8 red and then made the left back onto 53 (“welcome to the jungle”) took the bypass around the jungle wall and made a right on 51 to go through the squeeze.
After going through the squeeze we took 28 down to 8 to 2 to 6. I started up 6 and it was muddy and slick, ended up having to use horsepower to get as far as we could then having to winch through a tight rocky section. It was too much work for too little.
So we told Beeker just to stay at the bottom and we went down 10 to green 2. It was around 5:30 and dark at this point and we decided to call it a day and headed back to camp.
It turned out to be a great day, I was super stoked to have been able to not only ride with Jeff after my rig broke but also to be able to wheel his rig through some fun stuff. Also, being able to spot and watch him and beeker wheel it up through trail 53 was pretty epic. Check out Jeff's (@NashvilleTJ) build page for some videos. If/when I get more pics I may come back and add some more as well.
I didn't take a single picture the whole weekend and didn't capture anything worth anything on my gopro. But Jeff got photos and vids with his phone (I attached some of the pics to this post and some of the videos are on his build page). Beeker's Dad also took a bunch of pics and vids and once I get access to them via google photo I may add some more pics.
Arrived Friday afternoon at 3:30pm. Beeker and his Dad (Mike) arrived shortly before us and were already unloaded. Christian was with me and we quickly unloaded. We then set off to hit a few trails. We started up the paved road and made the first left onto trail 12, we took Trail 12 all the way around to Trail 13. The start of trail 13 is not rocky, but it was slick under the leaves and it took some throttle to make it up to the half way point where 13 and 13b come together. We made the Left to continue up the rocky section of 13. First big obstacle I slid between a rock (front) and tree(back) and could not move. Had to get get Beeker in a position to winch me sideways using a snatch block. It was so slick that my jeep slid sideways with no real issue. From there due to the position, it made sense for Beeker to continue up to the top. At the next big step, there was a big hole and we ended up having to winch Beeker up through, at the very top step he was able to bump it up and over, it looked good! I went next, at that obstacle with the big hole I just got myself aligned and then hooked up the winch right away, even hooked up to the winch it was a tough climb. At the top ledge, I went as far right as I could where the ledge was not undercut and I was able to bump it up and over. It took us probably 1-½ hours to just do Trail 13 due to the slickness. From there we decided to head out and do the metal bridge in the jungle, but not to go play on the jungle wall or do anything super hard. Took 33 to 12 (green) to 2 green to 2 yellow up to 49. We took 49 to 51 and then went down the metal bridge. After going down the metal bridge we went left to stay on 51 and went through the “squeeze”. After getting through the squeeze we were at the top of 28. It was starting to thunder and lightning and we knew rain was coming in so we decided to head back to camp. We went down 28 to 8 to 2 green and then took 1 back to the field. We got back to camp right as it was starting to rain. I covered my jeep with a tarp but found out the next day that the tarp was worthless and it let water through. It rained the first time for about an hour and we thought it was done. Beeker cooked hamburgers and hotdogs and then just as we were done eating it started to rain again, this time it rained hard, very hard, may I say torrential, for about an hour!
Sat - Jeff arrived at 9am. Weather forecast was good for the day but as noted above it poured the night before.
Me and Christian in my TJ
Jeff in his LJ
Beeker and his Dad (Mike) in his Toyo Buggy
Took 42 to 65. 65 was tough and slick but it was fun. Jeff and I winched the waterfall at the top, Beeker made it. It was pretty easy to determine that Mike was not a fan of being in the buggy when Beeker was going through the obstacles and he elected to walk the trail during the obstacles, he did this all day but he never complained to any of us and had good spirits.
After getting to the top of 65 we circled back around to do 44. I didn’t make it half way up 44, it was just so slick. I walked the rest and there was an 8 foot wall at the top that none of us were going to make and it was going to be a very hard and dangerous winch so we decided to head back down. Jeff backed down, I turned around and Beeker never even started up so he was good. Jeff told me that the trail was nicknamed Winching Churchill, after seeing that wall at the top I know why.
Took 42 down to 43 then started up 63. It was slick rock with slick mud right from the start. After clearing the first big obstacle my jeep made a loud popping noise from the front (not sure where) and the steering got clunky. It then stopped steering all together and was locked in place. After we got Jeff and Beeker up through the first obstacle section we took a look at my jeep. The steering was locked, I could not turn it left or right.
I disconnected the hydro assist ram and I was then able to turn the wheels but I had no power steering it was just manual steering. We decided to take the lower 63 back towards the road. It was tough with only manual steering but I was able to get out to the road and back to camp. On the last downhill on 63 it was steep and slick, I slid a little but nothing of real consequence. Jeff on the other hand got into an uncontrollable slide and it fortunately could of ended badly but did not. Beeker also went into a slide but not as bad as Jeff.
Back at camp around noon; we tried a few things but couldn’t figure out if it was the Power Steering Pump or the actual Steering Box that was bad. I only had manual steering, no power, the ram was disconnected and you could watch it extend and retract so it was getting some fluid to it, but no power steering in the actual steering box. I checked the nearest o’reily’s and they did not have a power steering pump nor a steering box so I elected to just jump in with Jeff for the rest of the day. Jeff was kind enough to let me even drive his jeep for a good bit, he seemed happy to be able to watch it work and take some videos of it
We headed out around 1 or 1:30. I was driving, Jeff riding shotgun, Christian in the back seat. Beeker and his dad were in the buggy. We crossed the field and started up 5. It was so slick that we could not even start up the trail, I even made the hemi on the LJ sing a little and tried to bounce the beginning rock section with no luck.
We decided to turn around and head out 1 (orange). We took 1 orange to the top and then 1 green down to 7. We started up 7 and 7 was the first time that we actually had any type of traction, it was still muddy but the mud wasn’t “slick like ice”, we climbed 7 to 23 then took 23 down to 22 (hellivator). The hellivator is a big slab rock and with it being muddy leading up to the rock there was no way we were going to attempt it, but we did take the bypass around hellivator which is a tight squeeze between rocks, it was fun and it was the first time that I really got to see the advantage of the auto transmission. Jeff’s LJ is the first automatic that I have ever wheeled and it has it’s advantages and disadvantages. I am not ready to give up my manual, but I may not make fun of the “auto or nothing” crowd as much going forward.
After hellivator we took 10 to the top of bounty hill, the climb up bounty hill was rutted and muddy and I had to let the hemi sing a little to get to the top, it was pretty fun especially since Jeff was encouraging me and telling me to get on it. At the top of 10 we looked at Bounty Hill and decided to give it a go. We went down 26 and 27 to 8 and then started up the Bounty Hill (trail 9). Jeff wanted to take some videos of me driving his Jeep up so he let me take it up. I was able to get to the ledge at the top, but at the ledge I couldn’t get it to climb and after working it for a while the jeep was getting hot and smoking due to power steering fluid boiling out so we decided to call it and winch it up. I was disappointed that I didn’t get Jeff’s LJ up there for him, but it was still fun.
Beeker got to the ledge and had to pull winch as well.
We then headed down 26 and took 8 orange up to 49 to the top of 53. We looked at the drop in for 53 and decided to go around and come up to the Jungle wall from the lower side. Jeff took the helm at this point and I jumped in the passenger seat. We took 49 down to 2 orange to 8 orange to 53. Where 8 turns red (and goes left) and 53 starts to the right is where the “Welcome to the Jungle” sign is located. We went under the sign to go up 53. We stayed left past the Jungle wall and took 53 to the top. The top was pretty rocky and wet but both Jeff and Beeker were able to get through it, it was pretty fun and impressive to see them both get up through there.
Jeff then let me drive again and we took 49 to the top of 8 red, we dropped down 8 red and then made the left back onto 53 (“welcome to the jungle”) took the bypass around the jungle wall and made a right on 51 to go through the squeeze.
After going through the squeeze we took 28 down to 8 to 2 to 6. I started up 6 and it was muddy and slick, ended up having to use horsepower to get as far as we could then having to winch through a tight rocky section. It was too much work for too little.
So we told Beeker just to stay at the bottom and we went down 10 to green 2. It was around 5:30 and dark at this point and we decided to call it a day and headed back to camp.
It turned out to be a great day, I was super stoked to have been able to not only ride with Jeff after my rig broke but also to be able to wheel his rig through some fun stuff. Also, being able to spot and watch him and beeker wheel it up through trail 53 was pretty epic. Check out Jeff's (@NashvilleTJ) build page for some videos. If/when I get more pics I may come back and add some more as well.
