CODE 4x4 Jeep Automotive Truck Customizing Repair Maintainence Service
970 - 625 - 8998          513 West 2nd Street • Rifle • Colorado • 81650           
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As a Jeep and 4x4 customizing and service center, CODE 4x4 is reliable, courteous, ethical, and honest.
 
 
 
 


 

Colorado Mystery Trail

Story and photos by Louis Dawson

It is somewhere in Colorado. We'd tell you where this is but then we'd have to exile you to Siberia (and make you drive there in a Yugo.) Most images can be clicked to enlarge.

   
Trialhead duties included the usual airdown...   and last minute repairs such as fixing a brake line. "Brakes are over rated."
 
The CODE YJ takes it on.
 
The lesser boulder piles were easy for the buggy contingent of our group. Boring. But alternate lines abound provided like the excitement of near roll-overs and jamming both diffs on granite.   The trail starts by diving down a nearly vertical dirt cliff, which immediately dumps you on rocks with major roll-over potential. It follows a dry wash chock full of nasty obstacles.
 
Cockpit -- some flying -- mostly crawling.   Let the fun begin.
 
Most of the trail is so narrow there are virtually no places to turn around without major engineering, and the obstacles rarely have a bypass route. This full-size rig above spent nearly the whole ride tipped to one side or the other, doing wild stunts as he was forced to climb the sides of the ravine in order to make headway. Most of this trail is little more than single-track.
 
     
 
The obstacles are tight and technical.
 
Let the carnage begin!   Pushing the limits of every mod.
4x4 adventure  
T. likes to play.    
 
This spot required at least a 20 point turn. At point 16 his steering locked up, but somehow repaired itself.   One of the wider trail sections. Green full-size is actually level and the spotter is inside the vehicle! Not for long...
     
 
Up with the right tire on a huge boulder...   "This is kind of tippy," he said.
 
This obstacle required pivoting around a huge rock as your right front tire fell into a 38" deep hole. Here T. is setting it up.   Another easy part of the trail (it lasted 150 feet). The next flash flood will obliterate our tracks.
 
The challenge on this narrow trail is often how you shoe-horn between rocks, then climb out. Chris in his CODE Jeep did well on this one. He eventually pretzeled his tie rod (which had been previously weakened on another trip).   The ultimate squeezer. A 4-foot high undercut ledge, with two rocks jutting out to either side. Only one of our vehicles had the axle width to fit. Without correct width it would be tough even with a winch yank. There is a bypass for this.
     
Customized Jeep fun  
Side clawing the left wall -- both lockers engaged -- like a cork in a bottle.   Front half up. Rear half required a nudge from a few friends. Longer wheelbase?
 
After this the trail got tougher and I helped Chris rather than taking photos. That's just as well, some of the mystery should remain -- at least 'till the next trip. Thanks Lane!