Bill Andrews

Calvary 4-Wheelers ran Switzerland Trail as our last trip of the year. We had two rigs along, me in my stock TJ and Karen in her stock JK. Karen also had her friend, Kelly, and Kelly's dog, Missie, as passengers. We had billed the trip as a snow wheeling trip but there wasn't much snow to contend with. The trail was about half and half clear and hard packed/icy. We had chain along but never had to use them. It was a beautiful day, though with bright sunshine and almost no wind. The high peaks were gorgeous, covered in snow, while the lower foothill were still green with pine and fir.

Calvary 4-Wheelers ran Gordon Gulch as part of our last run of the year. This was billed as a snow wheeling trip to Switzerland Trail, but, since there wasn't very much snow, we finished early and decided to head over to Gordon Gulch to fill out the day. We were hoping to connect back to the Switzerland Trail, but were afraid that, if the steep hill was snowpack or icy we wouldn't be able to make it up. The lower portion of the trail was mostly clear with frequent patches that were hard packed and/or icy. We traversed it without any issues. When we got to the steep hill we were glad to see that the lack of trees and southern exposure had left it clear and dry and we were able to climb it with no problem. The upper portion has more snow but was well-tracked throughout and easy to navigate. After taking tons of picture on Switzerland Trail I somehow managed to not get any of Gordon Gulch.

Calvary 4-Wheelers ran Rainbow Road as part of our annual "Turkey Wheeling" trip the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We had three rigs along me in my stock TJ, Rich in his stock Ford Ranger, and Jon and Delila in Jon's stock Dodge Dakota. The first mile or two of the trail were hard-packed snow with a few icy places. Higher up, the trail was less packed but well tracked making it a little slick but manageable. Near the end there were two spots that had partially re-drifted making them mildly challenging for our stock rigs but we all made it to the parking area unassisted. The weather was clear and sunny but chilly and windy so we did not hike the last couple hundred yards to the lake but it was very pretty and scenic.

Calvary 4-Wheelers ran Rainbow Road as part of our annual "Turkey Wheeling" trip the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We had three rigs along: me in my stock TJ, Rich in his stock Ford Ranger, and Jon and Delila in Jon's stock Dodge Dakota. we got to Fall River Reservoir early enough that we decided to see how far up the spur to Chinn's Lake we could get. Besides being steeper and rougher, this trail was quite a bit snowier than Fall River Reservoir. We made it to Waypoint 2 without much trouble but, with the snow covering it, the rutted section was challenging for our stock rigs without chains. I managed to get the TJ through it in a couple of attempts. Jon needed a couple of tugs with a strap to get the Dakota through, and Richard took a couple of attempts but got the Ranger through unassisted. From there it got increasingly harder as the fine powder got deeper and the tracks on the trail had not packed it. I got the TJ up the hill and around the corner to within a few hundred yards of the hair pin before the final ascent to the lakes. Jon, however, was not faring so well and could not make it to the corner. It was time to either chain up or turn around. We decided to turn around and head up to Yankee Hill, however, in turning around I started sliding toward the edge and could not go forward or back without sliding further toward it. I radioed down to Jon and Rich that I was going to need assistance. They hiked up the hill from where they had turned around with shovels, straps and a come-a-long. We spent the next two hours using the come-a-long to extract the TJ and get it turned around. We never did make it over to Yankee Hill.

Calvary 4-Wheelers ran this trail as part of a meandering route through the Yankee Hill network on Saturday, November 12. We went backwards from the written guide, starting on Yankee Hill and ending on Cumberland Gulch. The lower part of the trail in the trees had about 2-3 inches of well-tracked snow. As we got higher there was less snow with only patches of packed snow here and there. The weather was partly cloudy to clear and the views were spectacular with snow-capped peaks all around.

Calvary 4-Wheelers ran a large portion of the middle of the trail as part of a meandering route through the Yankee Hill network on Saturday, November 12. We started near the top at the intersection with Sheridan Hill and traveled down to Washoe Gulch, taking a little lunch break at the Lombard Mine. The trail was mostly clear with occasional patches of ice and packed snow.

Calvary 4-Wheelers ran several segments of this trail as we took a meandering route through the Yankee Hill network on Saturday, November 12. The main trail was mostly clear with patches of ice and packed snow here and there. Some of the side trails had more snow, especially in thick trees or south facing slopes. The weather was very nice, with partly cloudy to sunny skies and cool but not frigid temperatures. The scenery, of course, was spectacular.

Calvary 4-Wheelers ran this trail as part of a meandering route through the Yankee Hill network on Saturday, November 12. The climb was clear and dry. The hill can be somewhat challenging for stock vehicles but by choosing our lines carefully, we were able to make it to the top without a problem. There was a little snow on the return loop but not enough to be significant. The views from the top were spectacular, as always.

Calvary 4-Wheeler ran this trail as part of a meandering route through the Yankee Hill network on Saturday, November 12. There was more snow on this trail than others around it since it is in the trees more. The combination of snow and rocks made the trail very difficult for our stock rigs with us having to make multiple attempts is several places, especially in the rock garden but we were able to make it all the way through. Built rigs prepared for snow-wheeling would probably have no problems. A fairly large rut has formed a little before Waypoint 7 which required very careful tire placement. I think the difficulty level could be increased to a 3-4. We did not take any pictures.

Calvary 4-Wheelers ran the first part of this trail as we took a meandering route through the Yankee Hill network. We went from the trailhead off of Yankee Hill to the cutoff at Waypoint 2 where we turned up Pisgah Spur (Miners Hill). This trail was a little snowier than the main trail with about 2-4 inches of well-tracked snow and occasional drifts up to about a foot. It was still passable in our stock rigs without difficulty.

Calvary 4-Wheelers ran the first half of this trail as we took a meandering route through the Yankee Hill network on Saturday, September 12. The trail had a considerable amount of snow with about 4-6 inches of tracked snow and occasional drifts up to two and a half feet. There was one very slick icy patch where a little stream crosses the trail with the stream being frozen solid. The snow made the rocky sections difficult for our stock rigs but we were able to make it to Waypoint 3 where we attempted to go up Yankee-Mosquito Alternate where the snow over the rocks proved to be too much for our stock rigs. We backed down and return back the way we came.

Calvary 4-Wheelers attempted to run this trail backwards from the guide, starting off of Waypoint 3 of Yankee Mosquito. After barely making the turn and only climbing a few hundred yards, the snow over the rocks proved to be too much for our stock vehicles and we had to back down and return up Yankee Mosquito. Well-built vehicles prepared for snow-wheeling should still be able to complete the trail.