Left Hand Canyon
We had already finished Carnage Canyon and Fireman Hill, and now we were ready to explore the upper section of Left Hand Canyon (we would be skipping the lower section this time). We chatted with some people at Five Points, and then we started exploring.
Right before we were going to check out the dead end spur, another Jeep started down it ahead of us. We followed it down, assuming that there was enough room for the three Jeeps. When we got to the end of the very short spur, there was barely enough room for us to park, much less turn around. We got turned around, though, and headed back out to Five Points. There wasn't much of a point to that spur.
The next one was the hill climb and rocky challenge spur that paralleled the regular Left Hand Canyon trail. It started out fun and got even better as we went. The first hill was a nice climb on rocks, but the second hill was even better. It had a few different lines that you could do, but we both opted for the easier line on the right.
When we got to the intersection with Left Hand Canyon, Monica went back to Five Points and then came back to the same intersection so she could map that portion of the trail. When she met up with Chad again they both headed up the trail.
The Squeeze had a couple of vehicles already there, so we got to see them run through it first. It was pretty big and chunky and covered with loose sand. It would be very difficult without 4-wheel drive, and much easier with lockers.
The first portion of the Squeeze tips you close to a tree, and then the second portion tips you closer to a second tree. Monica went through slowly and carefully, but she had already hit her soft top on a tree earlier in the day and broke it. She wasn't too worried about additional damage. Still, she didn't hit anything.
Chad followed her through, and at the first tippy section he knocked his valve stem right off of his rear tire. He quickly finished the obstacle before his tire went completely flat.
He used a tow strap to secure his Jeep on the hill, and then got to work. We found out that Monica's Hi-Lift is too rusted to work, so Chad had to use a bottle jack. It ended up being a pretty fast recovery, though, and soon we were on our way again.
The rest of the trail was familiar, because we had just been on it after Upper Carnage. We finished at the upper kiosk again and kept going to the top of Castle Gulch. We took that trail on the way out to the pavement.
Left Hand Canyon ended up being a really good time, even though we skipped the fun of Big Momma Hill. We'll have to come back another day to see it all.
Reports from Other Days: 8
Use the arrows or dots to flip through the previews of the other reports for Left Hand Canyon. Click one of them to read more and see all of the photos from that day.
