I think my wife is abandoning me with the kids that day and they hate going off road for (justified) fear of Papa getting stuck...so yeah, I might be down.
Ok so update on shotgun creek for anyone that has not been out there. It was the trucks first time off pavement too. Bone stock as far as tires and suspension, etc. My dads 2018 F250 FX4 tagged along as we weren’t planning on getting into anything to ridiculous.
Also I did I great job of having an off-roading gear list that I decided to leave behind, eh I’ll be good with tow straps and shackles ( again didn’t plan on doing anything too serious )???. Well we really only found two trails that were available for trucks due to closures for logging.
So we journey in about 10 miles on unmaintained dirt roads ( decent fun for a day trip and casual cruising ). We finally arrive at trail #3, it has two segments, moderate to start and easy to finish and then it would drop us back at the trail head after finishing on another dirt road. We start down the trail, not too bad. Then here comes the first obstacle. A Jeep with 35s would do great. There was two options; giant sharp edge boulders that would destroy the truck or navigate the long bed truck around this tight turn that was completely mud with a couple thicker banks. Long story short I slam my RR fender and bumper into the embankment ( luckily mostly mud so no damage). Then I get completely bogged down in the mud with absolutely no traction. Finally after 2 hours and careful maneuvers and many fallen tree branches we cleared it. At this point I ran the .5 mile trail to check if it was worse, and it was. So we ended up deciding to flip it around and go back out. At this point I hear air coming from the LR and discover a nail. I have work tmw and I really don’t want to leave my truck there. Eventually decided to just grab the ford and pull the truck out and quickly head home. So definitely a fun experience but not doable in a stock truck. But if you’re looking for a day trip and nice decent off road cruise, you can just stick to the main routes.
Also thanks to my dad and brother who were staking logs under the tires.
Summary:
Id do it again with a lift, sliders, and skid panels, winch, and better tires. Still plan on heading up there this Saturday to just cruise around
The photos do not do the ditch justice