Fins & Things
By the time we got to Fins & Things, it was raining quite steadily. While not a heavy rain, it promised to add a new dimension to this fun trail. It was soon obvious that the slickrock could still be negotiated when wet, but the traction definitely wasn't as good as when it's dry.
Brad had to make several attempts to make it up the slope on the first fin on the trail. Roger spun his tires some on the way up, but Mike's new, siped BFG T/A KMs proved to be a great tire for the conditions.
Brad buried the front bumper of the rental Jeep in the sand at the first steep descent after coming down a fin. He ended up with mounds of sand on top of the bumper but no damage. At the first obstacle after you come out into the campground south of Sand Creek Road at the steep rocky hill, Brad made it up after a couple failed attempts. We stayed long enough to watch a group of rented Jeep Rubicons come up the same obstacle, and they had more trouble than Brad did -- even with their lockers on. This just shows how much difference a good driver can make. It's not all about the vehicle by any means. Not to toot our own horns, but Roger and Mike did stay away from that locker switch. We weren't about to give Brad a reason why we could make something he couldn't!
The rest of the trail was uneventful, except Brad had great fun trying the steep, optional fin on the north side of the trail. Try as he might, he couldn't coax those worn street tires up that fin in the wet. Mike made it without spinning, and Roger made it with a little wheel spin.
Frenchy's Fin was fun as it also required a few tries before Brad could make it up, but it made for some great viewing.
After a full day on the trails, we were ready to head into town for a good meal. While at the restaurant, it was interesting to hear the folks at the table next to us offer some advice to a group at another table on how to pick a good trail for their abilities. They told them to check out TrailDamage.com and review the trail descriptions because the Web site did such a good job of rating the trails.
Reports from Other Days: 7
Use the arrows or dots to flip through the previews of the other reports for Fins & Things. Click one of them to read more and see all of the photos from that day.
