Iron Chest
We had just finished Minesweeper and we decided a night run on Iron Chest on the way home would be fun. We were airing down near the trailhead at about 7PM and it was getting pretty chilly, but not too cold. We started up as it got completely dark.
The Rock Garden is even more challenging and fun in the dark. The rocks look bigger, and things sneak up on you. Jeff had a good time getting nice and stuck near the top of it, but had a good time getting unstuck. We all had a blast working our way through it, and Mike made sure to hit a skid plate on every rock on the way up.
Going through the trees in the dark is always creepy and fun, and this was no exception. We chatted on the way up, and enjoyed ourselves. The shelf roads didn't seem as bad because we couldn't see all the way to the bottom. We had a full moon but it was behind the clouds.
We didn't see any snow, even at the top. When we got to the top we turned off our engines and lights and enjoyed the quiet. Then almost everyone got on the smaller of the two big, iron wheels that are laying near the parking area. With enough people on it it can spin around, taking everyone for a ride. Don even found a fun activity running around the outside of it like a hamster.
We headed down and Monica's Jeep wasn't cooperating. It was misfiring and sputtering. At the first flat spot the guys took a look and found that all of her spark plug wires were a mess. They fixed it up as best as they could, and they we headed down.
It was about 9:30 when we were airing up and discussing dinner. We knew we wouldn't find anything open between the trailhead and Denver, so we stopped at the truckstop in Johnson Village for gas and snacks. We stood around at the gas pumps eating junk food for a bit, then headed home.
It was a long day of wheeling! It was all worth it though, and we had a really good time. Iron Chest is always a blast.
Reports from Other Days: 6
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