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Hackett Gulch 6/98
June 21, 1998
by Ray Bork
Bighorn 4x4's met at the usual place for a typical trip to Hackett
Gulch, but which would be a very untypical day. Coincidentally the
Rockhoppers were also meeting there. For Bighorn there was Doug &
Justin, Jacob, Jacob's guest in a Red Forerunner, Dave V., John, and
Brian with a guest passenger. For the Rockhoppers there was Dennis with
daughter & granddaughter on his new Jeep's maiden voyage, Bob & Pam, and
a guest in a Land Rover. We met Paul & Cindy close to the trailhead,
they had camped out the night before.
At the first obstacle Hackett rock, which used to be the most
difficult , we had very little problems getting all the vehicles over
it; with the exception of the Forerunner. The trail has widened quite
a bit on the rock allowing more ways of approaching it. We took the
right fork towards the river crossing and went up the steep mogul hill
where my engine decided to vapor lock in the middle of it. Thanks to
Brian and a can of starting fluid, I was back on my way. Most of the
open vehicles had to be pulled up because of the loose sand. We crossed
the river which was unusually low and had lunch. Dave discovered he had
a broken axle (what else is new) from a u-joint coming loose and spent a
while fixing it. In the meantime, we crossed back over and attempted a
muddy rocky climb next to the main trail by the river. It consisted of
a couple of steep (4-5 feet) rocky climbs with about 6 inches of mud in
between. Everybody tried the approach to the left, but because of the
mud had to back down and hug the trees on the right. Justin made it up
in their wagoneer and it looked like so much fun Doug had to go back
down and give it a try too.
Back on the road we hadn't gone too far before Jacob noticed his
tires weren't pointing straight any more, but were very cross-eyed.
Another stop and a big hammer and we were on our way toward the other
river crossing by widowmaker. The steep sandy hill going back up from
the river now has a bypass avoiding the rock and root. I tried the
route with the rock and the root. The large root on the left that used
to threaten your sidewalls is now at window height making the rocks that
much taller in front of you. On my first approach with Paul guiding I
got about 5 feet of air on my front left tire. With Paul grabbing his
head and Leah turning white as a ghost, I rolled back and to the right
which gave me the perfect approach angle and up I went. Dennis was next
up and made a frequent Jeepers error: he tried to follow a Bronco! Well
Dennis rolled his new Jeep on it's right side. Luckily onto a stump
which hit his rear diamond plate corner panel causing no significant
damage. Two winches later to right Dennis, it was decided to go back
the way we came in. At this point we picked up another guest who was
watching us and joined us on the way out.
After helping John and the guests with a few tow straps, we
encountered a very stuck stock ford Ranger who required help. Bob's
winch quit after getting him halfway up the hill (a hill he had no place
being on) and Dave had to finish the job.
At around 8:30 p.m., after a hard day of wheeling, about half of us
stopped at Western Sizzlin for dinner. So 1 rollover, 4 winches, 6 tow
straps, and 2 breaks... This is Hackett Gulch?!!
Last modified Wednesday, 01-Dec-2010 09:12:18 MST
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