mirowsky Posted September 9, 2019 Report Share Posted September 9, 2019 Slickrock trail near Lake Alpine and Bear Valley used to be blue-moderate from CA 4 to Silver Creek. Not anymore. The old trail crossed private land. The new owner has closed that part. The new "bypass" trail is hard core right off. It has three "features" on the way to Silver Creek. These are red-difficult, and seriously so from my point of view. The first two have "moderate" bypasses, but the third and most difficult does not. Ranger Jeffrey Hilson is the NFS OHV specialist in charge of trails in the Calevaras District of Stanislaus NF. My Jeep fiend Justin Mazzon arranged a walk-through with him of the new trail segment. There is no way my stock LR4 would survive the third feature. Even Justin's lifted, armored, and lockered Jeep would be seriously at risk. It is about 3/4 mile walk down to the third feature from the trail head. It is a nice walk you might want to take before committing. astateofmike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHappel Posted September 12, 2019 Report Share Posted September 12, 2019 Yes, the new section opened last year. We ran it as part of the WNLRR at Bear Valley. The new obstacles are on the north end and are very nasty; definitely not for stock trucks now! We will be running this as our 'hard' trail for the Annual this year, so if anybody would like a chance to try it out be sure to sign up. It's made the trail way more fun now! mirowsky and Andrew Wood 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Wood Posted September 13, 2019 Report Share Posted September 13, 2019 (On a deferment, private run.) this trail can be run as a (out and back) with armor and 31" tiers and good lines with obstacles with no lockers needed. A wench and recovery points at both ends will be necessary. Larger tires and lockers will make traveling faster. Mr.BlueSky 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Wood Posted September 13, 2019 Report Share Posted September 13, 2019 Also, if you wanna ( Private) run the whole trail, but starting from Alpine Lake. That will make this (Difficult) obstacle downhilll. Everybody's got a winch and armor.Who can't drive down hill? Drive slow & don't roll. Mr.BlueSky and RobertDingli 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elherbinator Posted September 13, 2019 Report Share Posted September 13, 2019 Lead It Andrew!! You are one of the most experienced crawlers in the club, so I have zero doubt in regards to your ability to lead a group through Slick Rock. I would be more than happy to be your “goose†to your “maverick†should you take on the responsibility. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Andrew Wood and RobertDingli 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.BlueSky Posted September 13, 2019 Report Share Posted September 13, 2019 Also, if you wanna ( Private) run the whole trail, but starting from Alpine Lake. That will make this (Difficult) obstacle downhilll. Everybody's got a winch and armor.Who can't drive down hill?Drive slow & don't roll. If there is one thing I learned Snowflake is good at, it definitely has to be slowly rolling down a hill. Andrew, if you end up putting a run together let us know. I'm interested! RobertDingli and Andrew Wood 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jethro Posted October 2, 2019 Report Share Posted October 2, 2019 (On a deferment, private run.) this trail can be run as a (out and back) with armor and 31" tiers and good lines with obstacles with no lockers needed. A wench and recovery points at both ends will be necessary. Larger tires and lockers will make traveling faster.If you are going from alpine to Utica I think a 31 is do able but good chance of damage at a few obstacles, specially the stairs. Now from the Utica to alpines track, 33s are extremely challenged on the newly named “gauntlet “. Lockers are required or just be prepared to winch. Here’s a cool shot of the granite slab at the start where Nick was testing the tipping point. Credit to JR for this one. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Andrew Wood and Mr.BlueSky 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHappel Posted October 6, 2019 Report Share Posted October 6, 2019 We had originally said 35s for the north-bound run (Utica to Alpine) for the Annual. We ended up with 3 trucks on 37s and one on 33s. The truck on 33s struggled - A LOT. There was a lot of rock stacking and winching to get it through. The trucks on 37s were all able to clear it if not 'easily', at least with minimal difficulty and without winching. Even going the 'easy' way - southbound from Alpine to Utica - I wouldn't recommend trying it on 31s. 33s would make it but likely struggle in places and will definitely use the armor a fair bit. And I wouldn't try it in any late-model (IFS/IRS) Rover at this point. While I might be able to get my LR3 on 33s through south-bound it wouldn't be pleasant. And I'd flat have to drag it up the new hills if I tried it northbound. With enough determination and time sure you could drag a truck on small tires through, but why would you? There are plenty of easier trails in the area better suited to moderately built rigs. RobertDingli and Mr.BlueSky 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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