Kelly Flats
We always have a great time and usually see some trail damage, and this time on Kelly Flats was no exception. We had spent most of the day getting turned away from trails (Storm Mountain and Old Flowers Road) so it was nice to finish a trail and not see a single patch of snow.
We started on the trail already aired down from our time on Old Flowers Road, so we didn't stop at the trailhead. The start of the trail is always so much fun, with the whoopdeedoos of rocks. We played on those and kept going to the first obstacle.
Heart Attack Hill is always a little intimidating when you see it. It's pretty big. The beginning of the hill didn't used to be very tough, but it's getting pretty dug out. It ended up making everyone flex their suspensions as much as possible, and Walt had to power through it in his Blazer.
When we got to the true hill, everyone took their own, different lines to the top. Don went up the right side, finding it to be pretty level all the way through the nasty stuff at the bottom. His Jeep is still pretty stock, but he didn't have any issues.
Bill went up next, flexing his way through the middle line. It was a challenge at the bottom, but nothing much in the middle.
Walt wasn't sure which line to take, and Monica talked him into the line on the right. Don didn't need to flex much on that line, so it should be perfect for Walt. He bounced his way through it, and ended up with his rear passenger-side tire in a hole. He got a massive wheelstand, right on the edge of the hill. After his heart attack, he powered through the rest of it without any issues.
Mike flexed his way through the center portion without spinning a tire. It looked like he was on an easy trail. Ladd did the same thing, making it all look very simple.
After Heart Attack Hill we were all excited to get to the Chutes. It wasn't long before we were there. Don got in it first.
He wanted to try the Chutes with his last Jeep when it was stock, but he was new to wheeling. This time he knew what he was doing, but the stock Jeep was so low to the ground that he got hung up right away. While he tried to work his way out of it, he managed to get slid over just enough to get completely stuck in the bottom of the Chutes. He couldn't go backward without destroying his tailpipe and he couldn't go forward because he was hung up on his transfer case skid. Ladd had to come down from the top and winch him up and over the first part.
With that finished, Don got in the second part of the obstacle. He came down from the rocks on the left and promptly scraped up his front, driver's side fender flare. That obstacle wasn't being nice to him at all.
Bill came up the Chutes next, getting a really nice wheelstand at the start. He drove through the beginning, then weaved his way through the middle and out the end. He didn't hit a thing, and it looked like it was really easy.
Mike was next, also getting a great wheelstand. Mike has tube fenders in the front and reinforced corners in the back, so he wasn't worried about hitting anything. He didn't even come close to hitting anything, anyway. He was through the obstacle pretty quickly.
Ladd accidentally ended up on Don's line, but he had enough clearance and big enough tires to get through it. He missed out on the big wheelstand, though. His Jeep had the hard top on, and he was worried about hitting it in the middle of the obstacle, but he didn't get anywhere near damaging it. He hit his fender flare a bit on the way through, but it wasn't too bad.
After seeing all of this, Don had the right line in mind and wanted to give it a try. He popped up the beginning of the obstacle, getting a great wheelstand. Then he went through the curves in the middle without a single issue. A stock Wrangler can definitely do the Chutes without any damage. Nice job!
After that, a couple people wanted to go down the Chutes, too. Mike came down it, hoping for a big wheelstand from a rear tire. His line was a bit off, though, and he only got an inch or two of air.
Don tried the same thing, coming down the Chutes. He didn't hit anything, but he also didn't hit the right line at the end. He also missed the big wheelstand.
We worked our way out and didn't really find any mud or puddles. Everything was drying up nicely. When we got to the end, we decided to go run the other half of Old Flowers Road, so we headed down south. It was yet another great time on Kelly Flats.
Reports from Other Days: 4
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