The Big Levels Trail

At quarter to 9am we finally reached the Big Levels trail head, Chad and myself jumped out and began the process of airing down and disconnecting our front sway bars. As soon as we got there our guests for the run Barbara and Kim were interested in the scenery. Barbara (Chad's mom) immediately began collecting rocks for her garden back home. Kim seemed more content to view things from the passenger seat of the YJ. As we aired down Kim was anxious to see what all the preparation was for. Chad had invited Kim to come along for the run and she instantly jumped at the opportunity. Kim however has not spent a lot of time in the woods much less rode in a jeep on such an expedition, so it was fair to say she really did not know what to expect from the day ahead. After a recheck of all of our hardware and some discussion about the scenery we started up the Big Levels trail.

It has been some time since we had last visited the trail and when we made the first turn up the trail it was apparent that weather and man had made this first obstacle more difficult. The first obstacle is a pair of deep ruts that are offset from one another such that as the left side drops the right side will climb. As you travel through the obstacle it switches off such that the right side will drop and the left side will climb. It's the perfect test bed for a high articulation lift. Half way through the obstacle (if done properly) you will have opposing wheels front and rear in different opposing angles. It gives the appearance that your axles are crossed up. The big fly in the ointment was a very large rock in the left side rut, placed so that you could put a tire on it as you came out of the rut. However the issue is not climbing the rock, it’s preventing it from smashing your rocker panel as you climb over it, As Chad found out at the last min. Luckily he has marginal rocker panel protection with his nerf bars, which were never intended to be used as cannon fodder, but served this function better than intended. In Chad's defense however, he was the lead jeep, which is usually the case on the trail. As for me I skirted the rock which made for a very awkward off camber and flexed up position. I did however manage to avoid the rocker panel damage, as I have not pulled the shekels together yet to purchase a decent set of super nerfs from ORGS.

With the first obstacle out of the way I will take this moment to tell you about the trail as a whole. Big Levels is a good mix of challenging and easy terrain. This mix lets both stock and modified rigs enjoy the trail. The beginning is the toughest part of the trail, not many rocks reside here, it is mostly basic dirt with a fist full stones and a few large imbedded boulders that pose no threat (if left where they are). However the terrain is very "loopy" it’s not uncommon for stock to mild lifts, and even our lifts, to raise a tire off the ground while traversing the lower part of the trail. As you move straight up the mountain the terrain switches from mostly dirt and "loopy" to very rocky and steep. There are some tight switchbacks and some rock ledges that even a stock jeep could master. This upper part of the trail is bumpy and the rocks are loose which makes both steering and forward momentum a trick to maintain. However if you have even the slightest experience with those conditions it will be a leisurely cruse to the top. The passengers will have a wonderful view of the valley and the surrounding area. On a clear day such as it was on this trip you can see a good distance out.

Getting over the first obstacle is always a challenge and a lot of fun, but for me it's the second obstacle that usually gives me and my jeep a hard time. Unless you are running 5 plus inches of coil/leaf spring lift you will have some difficulty. Today however was a surprise. Even though both the YJ and my ZJ lifted a left front tire we had no trouble walking though. This obstacle typically required the use of my ARB air locker; today it was not even needed. Just goes to show that the line you pick can make a huge difference in getting stuck/broke and making it through. From there we continued up the mountain, half way up we stopped to perform some trail clean up. We may revisit this trail again and perform some much-needed trial maintenance.

Remember Kim? Well at this point she is stunned at the whole aspect that anything at all could get though some of these obstacles. But she quickly became addicted to the idea that the little YJ could go just about anywhere they chose to point it. As soon as she rode through the first obstacle she had her head out the window watching the aired down TSL's do there stuff. (No pun intended!) Yes, I think we just found another willing owner for a jeep! At the top we took a short break to catch the view and snack a little and talk about the trail. I love wheeling simply for the view of nature. With the sun still on its way up we started back down the mountain. We retraced our path down and it was a little after 10am when we reached the bottom of the trail. There we met some locals from the area in a GEO Tracker. They just watched us at first; until they saw what Chad was up to.

Out along the main service road into George Washington National Forrest is a very steep and loamy hill climb to nowhere. This hill is not for the faint of heart or ill-equipped jeep. Chad has tried his hand at this hill and has conquered it twice before. The hill essentially is a two for one deal. At the bottom is a 35 to 40 degree climb that ascends about 6 feet and then levels off for about 10 feet. Once you have climbed the first ascent you are confronted by a parabolic accent about 15 feet that ends at the top with a 2.5-foot vertical ledge that is a tangled knot of roots rocks and clay. This second ascent starts at 20 degrees and ends with the jeep in a (what feels like) nearly vertical position. To make things even more interesting the hill is "loopy" with a mix of very loose sand, stones, and dry clay. Those who make it to the end of the hill, find themselves confronted with the ledge at the very top. Most do not make it beyond this point, simply because the earth beneath the rear tires supports little traction and the root bound ledge is slippery, even when dry. Great care is needed in backing down off the ledge in the event that you don't make it.

So there is Chad ready for his 4th, yes 4th attempt at this hill. The locals are definitely staying for this show, so they step out of their Tracker to see better. I will have to say that Kim was a real trooper. Most guests at this point would have stepped out of the jeep. Not Kim, oh no! If Chad was going up that hill so was she! Chad starts his red YJ up the first part of the hill and climbs it effortlessly and rests only a second before he starts up the second ascent. The Super Swamper TSL's were scratching and clawing there way though the loose and rough lunar like surface of the hill. Then finally the ledge, Chad finesses the front end onto the ledge and applies some power from the 4-banger mill, but is met by fierce resistance. Chad backs down only a few feet and applies some more power, the TSL's have turned into fierce rubberized circular saw blades ripping at the ground searching for even the remote hint of traction. Alas, the hills loose surface and dry conditions have made it near impossible to get the front tires all the way up the ledge.

Sensing his disappointment I scrambled up the hill to help him back the jeep down safely. Fortunately he was off the hill with out incident. A sense of "you win some you loose some" prevailed the scene. Little to my knowledge the two locals were already asking if I was going to take the ZJ up the hill. I had never even seriously considered the idea, and was well aware of the difference in tires between Chad's TSL's and my BFG AT's. However, I did have one ace in the hole, my ARB air locker and my weight. Ok, maybe two aces, at any rate I never considered it. The two local guys were really interested in seeing my ZJ tackle the hill and at this point Chad was asking if I would give it a shot. I looked at the hill and then looked at my jeep and started back to my jeep with the full intent of just airing up and heading for the next trial head.

You know people who drive jeeps and 4 wheel jeeps, there is just something different about how they think and see things, because in the time it took me to open the rear hatch to get my air hose for the onboard air, I changed my mind! I reached in the back pulled the cooler out of the back and closed the hatch. Barbara looked at me and asked me what I was doing. I said "I'm going up that hill!" Her response was obviously "Are you crazy!" I never missed a beat, I jumped in my ZJ, yelled to Chad to spot me, and before he could get the stunned look off his face I was heading up the first ascent. With the least amount of effort I walked up the second ascent and before I knew it I was at the infamous "ledge". Chad had managed to out scramble the jeep and was above the ledge checking my line as I went. Now the roots in the ledge are a real pain because they rob you of most if not all of your forward traction. However they’re not there by chance, to get to the top of the ledge you have to drive between two pine trees that seem to be only wide enough for just your jeep! Or that's how it feels from the drivers' seat at least!

Well here I am at the bottom of this ledge, at first I tried using the low-end torque from my 5.2L v8 to try and pull me up. As one would guess that did not work at all. Chad yelled at me "Hit your locker!" I hit the over head switch for the locker and the compressor ran and then stopped, signifying I was locked and loaded! I tried again to use the low-end torque to pull me up but I was met with the same results. Chad not intimidated barks "Back up and use a little momentum!" With a lurch I switched gears and rolled back about 3 feet, put it back in first gear and gave it just a little bit of gas. Now don't let me mislead you, that little bit of gas under those conditions was probably the closest I will ever get to running 180mph at Daytona International Speed way! With the v8 turning 1000 rpm the front tires jumped up the ledge and over the top, I instantly felt the front tires bite the ground on top of the ledge.

With all that was going on I did manage to see the look on Chad's face as the front tires came up and over. It started with a look of "oh cool!" and then immediately changes to "Oh crap!" He had forgotten that the great view of me coming up the ledge was only because he was right in the middle of my path! With some quick thinking and even quicker feet he scrambled out of my way just as the rear tires clawed their way over the ledge.

Everyone was in awe of what had just transpired, especially me! The local guys were quite entertained by it and I, with a sense of accomplishment began the careful art of doing a multi-point turn around. I will say coming down this same hill is about as hair raising as going up. At the peak of the ledge you can’t see anything and you are forced to trust your spotters. Fortunately everything lined up right and I came off with out a hitch! All this accomplishment and no video to prove it! Wouldn't you know it, at least I had witnesses! As Chad and I aired up to head for the next trail we talked about what must have made the difference between his past success's and today's failure. The only logical conclusion I could come to was his tires. Now whether it was the tread pattern or just the over all width of the tire I'm not too sure but today it seemed to be the difference.

All in all everyone had a good time and the best part is nothing broke and no one was hurt. With another successful trail ride done we drove off to our next destination with a sense of adventure and confidence to handle whatever we may encounter.