I have heard of the trail but never run it. Will have to check that out sometime. I'll dust off the ol' checkbook and send it in.
John Bull Trail Run 10/10
- Thread starter sushisean
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I have heard of the trail but never run it. Will have to check that out sometime. I'll dust off the ol' checkbook and send it in.
Alright guys you've made me nervous. I've done hundreds (thousands?) of miles off road. rock crawling, snow, mud, you name it. Cleghorn many times, etc. Am I being foolish trying JB with my usual team? If I do Gold Mountain and have no problem, would it be safe to assume I'm ready to jump over to JB the same day? Can I turn around on JB without a problem? I'm going to do it West to East as Trynian suggested.
It's been a long time since my skills were my limiting factor. I just haven't had sliders or plates on my LR3 until now. I felt comfortable going but am wondering if I'm being foolish.
It's been a long time since my skills were my limiting factor. I just haven't had sliders or plates on my LR3 until now. I felt comfortable going but am wondering if I'm being foolish.
nwoods
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I don't know who your usual team is. You will want one other vehcile with you, whose driver is capable and level headed. What tires are you running? Do you have a winch? Do you have recovery straps and shackles? You might need them on JB.
Gold Mtn is a pleasant trail that is interesting, but not particularly challenging. There are only 3 or 4 places that you have to think about your line. Everything else along the way is quite easy.
John Bull on the other hand, is 4 miles of precision driving with very large rocks everywhere. It can be exhausting because you have to stay very sharp all the way through. GM is just a trail, JB is an accomplishment in the LR3.
Scott (Trynian) suggested you run "backwards" from west to east and that's good advice. The gate keeper on the west end is a good representation of obstacles you will encounter along the way. Make it through the gatekeeper and first rock field that is about 1/2 mile after that, and you are fine for the rest of the trail. However, I suggest you warm up on Gold Mountain first. Cruise through that (should take under 2 hours) as a warm up, then drive west along the forest road to the far end of where JB comes out, and run JB backwards (west to east). JB should take you about 3 to 4 hours. I can do it in the Jeep in about 1.5 hours, my last LR trip (large group, including a bone stock DII) took 6.5 hours. The LR3 is way more capable than a DII, so 3 to 4 hours is a good estimate.
Man, I'd love to go with you. I wish I had this weekend open.
Photos:
- Somewhat recent SCLR trip: http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g227/adspiker/John_Bull/ (not my photos)
- Two years ago, joint SCLR/FJ Trail Teams run, just JB, east to west: http://nwoods.smugmug.com/Land-Rover/Off-Roading/John-Bull-Trail-SCLR-and-TTORA/2122917_9wzWw
- Last year, small LR group, Gold Mtn to JB, east to west: http://nwoods.smugmug.com/Jeep-Adve...John-Bull-Trail/5023816_foRYx#301620225_wtMgN
- Also last year, running east to west, GM and JB, just our Jeep running solo.; http://nwoods.smugmug.com/Jeep-Adve...n-Bull-Trail-II/5071723_skka7#305281183_dsMGq
Scott has some photos posted on a PhotoBucket site somewhere of his run with a couple of LR3's.
I've done the trail two more times since then, most recently was in August, right after the ATT Club (The WayWeGo's) rebuilt the trail to make it harder. It was really nice then, but in the intervening months I'm sure it's been repaved with people trying to make it easier for the FJ's and side-by-sides and so forth. It is probably pretty easy right now, comparatively.
Gold Mtn is a pleasant trail that is interesting, but not particularly challenging. There are only 3 or 4 places that you have to think about your line. Everything else along the way is quite easy.
John Bull on the other hand, is 4 miles of precision driving with very large rocks everywhere. It can be exhausting because you have to stay very sharp all the way through. GM is just a trail, JB is an accomplishment in the LR3.
Scott (Trynian) suggested you run "backwards" from west to east and that's good advice. The gate keeper on the west end is a good representation of obstacles you will encounter along the way. Make it through the gatekeeper and first rock field that is about 1/2 mile after that, and you are fine for the rest of the trail. However, I suggest you warm up on Gold Mountain first. Cruise through that (should take under 2 hours) as a warm up, then drive west along the forest road to the far end of where JB comes out, and run JB backwards (west to east). JB should take you about 3 to 4 hours. I can do it in the Jeep in about 1.5 hours, my last LR trip (large group, including a bone stock DII) took 6.5 hours. The LR3 is way more capable than a DII, so 3 to 4 hours is a good estimate.
Man, I'd love to go with you. I wish I had this weekend open.
Photos:
- Somewhat recent SCLR trip: http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g227/adspiker/John_Bull/ (not my photos)
- Two years ago, joint SCLR/FJ Trail Teams run, just JB, east to west: http://nwoods.smugmug.com/Land-Rover/Off-Roading/John-Bull-Trail-SCLR-and-TTORA/2122917_9wzWw
- Last year, small LR group, Gold Mtn to JB, east to west: http://nwoods.smugmug.com/Jeep-Adve...John-Bull-Trail/5023816_foRYx#301620225_wtMgN
- Also last year, running east to west, GM and JB, just our Jeep running solo.; http://nwoods.smugmug.com/Jeep-Adve...n-Bull-Trail-II/5071723_skka7#305281183_dsMGq
Scott has some photos posted on a PhotoBucket site somewhere of his run with a couple of LR3's.
I've done the trail two more times since then, most recently was in August, right after the ATT Club (The WayWeGo's) rebuilt the trail to make it harder. It was really nice then, but in the intervening months I'm sure it's been repaved with people trying to make it easier for the FJ's and side-by-sides and so forth. It is probably pretty easy right now, comparatively.
Thanks for the writeup Woods, always appreciated. My team is a couple of very talented and intelligent drivers, one in a nice Tacoma that I'm sure will have no problem on the trail with his 33's, lift, and more. He's also got a winch and I carry all the proper recovery gear on any trail regardless of the anticipated challenge.
What you laid out as the trip plan is exactly what I'm doing.
What you laid out as the trip plan is exactly what I'm doing.
Being nervous is a good thing. It will keep you on top of things. Since it seems you have some good time off-road you should be ok. Just didn't want you to charge off into the unkown. I have almost rolled twice on Dishpan and Bull. Once was when I became over confident and was not paying close enough attention. The other was a typical spot on JB that had me at steep angle and my previous worn tires started to slide.
Here is my friend Marks site with one of our John Bull/Dishpan runs. He took many more photos. He also has some Gold mountain photos on this site as well.
http://landroving.shutterfly.com/323
Here is my friend Marks site with one of our John Bull/Dishpan runs. He took many more photos. He also has some Gold mountain photos on this site as well.
http://landroving.shutterfly.com/323
Of all the photo's I've seen, this one looks to be one of the tougher spots because of the side angle and the trees.
It is a tight spot but you do not have to hit it at that angle.
Same spot going the other way.
http://landroving.shutterfly.com/391
GreyMatter
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i hope my rock sliders come soon
Well the trail was done and I am home after a very very long day. Here's an excerpt from my writeup which you should read on my blog.
I’ve been doing a considerable amount of four wheeling lately with my good buddy Scott. We’ve grown to really appreciate the activity and look forward to doing it just about every opportunity we get. We ordered and subsequently installed a set of Rover Specialties Stage I rock sliders, a Rasta 4x4 transfer case plate, and a Mantec sump guard over the course of the past month. We planned a trip to Gold Mountain and the John Bull trail to help break them in. We’d heard many people warning us as to the difficulty of the John Bull trail, little did we know just how much of an adventure it would turn out to be.
I’ve been doing a considerable amount of four wheeling lately with my good buddy Scott. We’ve grown to really appreciate the activity and look forward to doing it just about every opportunity we get. We ordered and subsequently installed a set of Rover Specialties Stage I rock sliders, a Rasta 4x4 transfer case plate, and a Mantec sump guard over the course of the past month. We planned a trip to Gold Mountain and the John Bull trail to help break them in. We’d heard many people warning us as to the difficulty of the John Bull trail, little did we know just how much of an adventure it would turn out to be.
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nwoods
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Nice write up Sean. I have had a fault like what you described (fuel smell, sputtering, non-starting, etc...). It happens at elevation, and it's inexplicable, and its not something the dealers can ever replicate, because they are at sea level.
I have "fixed" it on the trail be leaving the gas cap off for a short time, and/or just reseating the gas cap after a short equalization time period with the car parked and off. I replaced my gas cap altogether and never ran into the problem again, but I always wondered if I was lucky or did I really find the culprit....
As for the trail itself, sounds like you bailed about halfway through. If you exited the rock garden on the east side (the east gate keeper) and turned left (south) to head to the main road, then you technically completed the JB trail, but missed half the fun!
If you run it continuous from the end of Gold Mountain to the begginning of JB, the connector road is almost as much fun at JB itself is. Next time, start the day a little earlier, and run it from east to west and run the full length. You've love it!
I have "fixed" it on the trail be leaving the gas cap off for a short time, and/or just reseating the gas cap after a short equalization time period with the car parked and off. I replaced my gas cap altogether and never ran into the problem again, but I always wondered if I was lucky or did I really find the culprit....
As for the trail itself, sounds like you bailed about halfway through. If you exited the rock garden on the east side (the east gate keeper) and turned left (south) to head to the main road, then you technically completed the JB trail, but missed half the fun!
If you run it continuous from the end of Gold Mountain to the begginning of JB, the connector road is almost as much fun at JB itself is. Next time, start the day a little earlier, and run it from east to west and run the full length. You've love it!
