andy entering gatekeeper. his first time thruogh the Con.

andy on the gatekeeper

Bill made the gate seem easy.

andy on Walker Hill

another shot of Andy on walker

Andy finishing walker hill

andy

me making way from Ellis Creek towards soup bowl

me

me starting to climb soup bowl, note the water behind. there was LOTS of standing water all over the trail. the pouring rain the night before didnt help things any

Half way up

ultimately, this water was making my tires to slick to grab hold. bill had the same problem, so we both ended up backing off it.

just past soup bowl is this tight little,off camber section. Note that Andy is relatively flat, and so is the camera, and my hood shows the tilt and how close the wall can be if you are not careful

one of many water crossings that got pretty deep. Andy is on 35, where the rest of us were bigger.

andy approaching V rock

still on the approach

The view from the V. early spring brings lots of runoff, and a waterfall far away

Andy showing off his Pink

me on the old sluice

i think this is the old sluice too

andy near spider lake somehwere

at the bottom of where the slabs and old sluice meet is a fun place to check your suspension and flex. Working good, but still rubbing the 40's on the fenders

this one is for beerman

this self clearanced i guess.

still need to cut this one

andy leaving Buck Island lake, the place we camped the second night

Dan caught up with us the second day. here he is leaving Buck

Dan saluting those that flaked out on the trip

here is Bill entering the Big Sluice drop/turn

picking he right line is important

me entering into the big sluice and the turn. Again, picking the right line is critical to setting up for the turn when you are as big as we are

the last obstacle before making the drop in

throught the drop and down on the thr the rest of the big sluice

Dan entering the turn on the big sluice

Bill crossing the bridge into the Springs area. We all made it down the big sluice, and only Dan ran into a small problem.

The springs were flooded big time. To keep andy from getting his feet wet, we took the bypass to the right

this was the first time taking this bypass, and it was a lot of fun

Dan landed the tranny pan on a big rock, which dented up and prevented him from shifting out of 1st Low (luckily he had a forward gear) so he could not back up, which made cadillac fun. here he is starting cadillac

here is andy passed the turn and into the off camber section on Cadillac. When you are big, it makes it tought to stay level and puts you tilted like this, looking down a big hill. This picture doesnt do it justice

cadillac

me spotting Andy. this kinda shows how close to the edge you can get

the other option on the off camber spot is to go over these large rocks. BIG tires are pretty necessary to get over them tho

if you pick the right line here, you stay much flatter and dont have to stare down the hill

you have to negotiate between rocks/hills and the edge. Makes tire placement, traction and throttle control important

staying clear of the edge

through the toughest section, now the long climb

View from the top of the lookout. A while of bumps, water and trees and you are back to the staging area. the lakes at the top were VERY full, and led to a lot more deep water crossings for smaller tires.

on top of the hill

andy thrashing through some of the deeper water on the way out