duckdive
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Thinking of attempting this trail in a couple of weeks. Does anyone have any
experience on this trail?
experience on this trail?
Doran Loop
- Thread starter duckdive
- Start date
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Boaz
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Looks pretty good.
YouTube - Doran Loop
YouTube - Doran Loop
duckdive
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Wow! That gatekeeper looks like a tough one.
duckdive
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No heros here. Might be a bit above my skill level.
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nwoods
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There is a bypass for the GateKeeper (thanks to the VERY hard work with some dedicated Jeep Clubs to reopen that bypass after a recent land dispute).
I've done Calico in my LR3 before it was lifted, and Adam Spikers(OffRoving.com) got through it just fine in his RRS.
Write up here:
http://blog.nextstepdesigns.com/?cat=25
I've done Calico in my LR3 before it was lifted, and Adam Spikers(OffRoving.com) got through it just fine in his RRS.
Write up here:
http://blog.nextstepdesigns.com/?cat=25
nwoods
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Kudo's to DuckDive for being willing to take his LR3 through one knarly trail!
This weekend I had the pleasure of leading a group from the San Diego Land Rover club (LRCSD) through Doran Loop in the Calico mining district. It took us about 5.5 hours to go 4 miles on a paved road. Well, it was paved a little over 100 years ago. it's suffered some erosion since then
This year, my wife wanted to try out her Jeep on the trail, so that's why you will see the white Jeep in the photos, with my wife at the helm. Truthfully, my truck would have struggled on this trail. It has really deteriorated since my last visit to the area. I was impressed DuckDive made it through relatively unscathed. It was fun to watch his confidence and understanding of the truck grow throughout the day. I really enjoy watching driver's learn and grow. It's a great motivator.
Another new twist this time around is that I did not bring my camera, and so the few photos you see are shot by my wife on her point and shoot thingie. We were pretty busy all day getting people through the obstacles, so I don't actually have ANY photos of the more interesting dry waterfalls and rock ledges, of which there were plenty!
Here's what little images we have:
Trail head entrance. This is the easy part, and I am not exaggerating.
Not more than 100 yards into the trail, Duckdive get's a nasty sidewall puncture through his Toyo's and has to get the spare. This shook his confidence, as now any future damage is going to be extremely difficult to compensate for. He visibly thought it over and made the decision to stick it out and finish the trail with us!
More of the beginning part of the trail. Except for the rock ledges, most of the trail is like this.
Continued below....
This weekend I had the pleasure of leading a group from the San Diego Land Rover club (LRCSD) through Doran Loop in the Calico mining district. It took us about 5.5 hours to go 4 miles on a paved road. Well, it was paved a little over 100 years ago. it's suffered some erosion since then
This year, my wife wanted to try out her Jeep on the trail, so that's why you will see the white Jeep in the photos, with my wife at the helm. Truthfully, my truck would have struggled on this trail. It has really deteriorated since my last visit to the area. I was impressed DuckDive made it through relatively unscathed. It was fun to watch his confidence and understanding of the truck grow throughout the day. I really enjoy watching driver's learn and grow. It's a great motivator.
Another new twist this time around is that I did not bring my camera, and so the few photos you see are shot by my wife on her point and shoot thingie. We were pretty busy all day getting people through the obstacles, so I don't actually have ANY photos of the more interesting dry waterfalls and rock ledges, of which there were plenty!
Here's what little images we have:
Trail head entrance. This is the easy part, and I am not exaggerating.
Not more than 100 yards into the trail, Duckdive get's a nasty sidewall puncture through his Toyo's and has to get the spare. This shook his confidence, as now any future damage is going to be extremely difficult to compensate for. He visibly thought it over and made the decision to stick it out and finish the trail with us!
More of the beginning part of the trail. Except for the rock ledges, most of the trail is like this.
Continued below....
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nwoods
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More trail shots. My wife's jeep with 5" of lift and 35" tires having no difficulty:
I had fun watching DuckDive's confidence and understanding grow as he learned to trust the sliders and put the biggest rocks under the wheels so that he can clear the little ones down the middle:
It's hard to tell in this photo, but there are several 4 or 5 foot ledges in the trail ahead:
DuckDive had very little difficulty scaling them, as long as we stack a few rocks to reduce the breakover angle. Otherwise, he hang up at midpoint. Here his is making it look easy (because in the LR3, it pretty much is!):
That's about all the photos we have. We got more tired during the day and took fewer photos as things progressed.
Cheers,
NW
I had fun watching DuckDive's confidence and understanding grow as he learned to trust the sliders and put the biggest rocks under the wheels so that he can clear the little ones down the middle:
It's hard to tell in this photo, but there are several 4 or 5 foot ledges in the trail ahead:
DuckDive had very little difficulty scaling them, as long as we stack a few rocks to reduce the breakover angle. Otherwise, he hang up at midpoint. Here his is making it look easy (because in the LR3, it pretty much is!):
That's about all the photos we have. We got more tired during the day and took fewer photos as things progressed.
Cheers,
NW
duckdive
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Thank you for the kind words (and your tow strap) Mr. woods. I had a great time
on this trip and appreciate all your patience and instruction. This was a very
challenging trail for someone of my skill level (pucker level 9.5) and you spotted me right through it with NO body damage. Tire was under warranty, fixed my compressor rattle, took a sharpy to the sliders, good as new.
on this trip and appreciate all your patience and instruction. This was a very
challenging trail for someone of my skill level (pucker level 9.5) and you spotted me right through it with NO body damage. Tire was under warranty, fixed my compressor rattle, took a sharpy to the sliders, good as new.
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