Kingston Peak or Argentine July 28 (?)

[Mobyjeep]

Thanks for all the info guys!

[Mobyjeep]

Are there any other parts I should keep on hand?

[open_circuit]

You'll get all sorts of responses to that one! Some guys carry U-joints, axle shafts, drive shafts, and other major components, expecting to do trail repairs. I watched Dave change two front axle shafts on the trail this spring after he blew out the U-joints on both sides during the Little Moab run. If you're not going out to wheel hard, and you're being cautious / smart, you probably don't need much in the way of spare parts. You should take whatever you need to be comfortable that you can safely get yourself home. I don't carry spare parts, but I am much more cautious (or just a wimp?) than many in the group.

[Java]

It doesn't matter how careful you are, things just break when they break and being unprepared is it's own reward. Flats, belts and hoses are common failures as are ujoints, usually the lower rear one but anything is possible. Loose nuts / bolts happen all the time too. At a minimum I'd carry a new serpentine belt, hose tape or spare hoses, various ujoints, a basic tool kit and a tire plug kit with compressor. Also basic recovery gear, fluids, and a hike out pack. A bag of misc. bolts, bailing wire and zipties is often useful. There are a lot of lists and videos about this. I often go solo and have a ton of stuff: a rear driveshaft, every axle shaft, a unit bearing, two spare tires, spark plugs, ball joints, IDK even know all of it but prep has saved me a few times.

Here's the worst trail fail I've been part of:

[ColoJeeper]

Been a while since I've had to replace one, but don't recall it being too difficult. Watched a couple YouTube videos and did it in a campground in Wyoming while I was on vacation a few years ago.

[Paramud]

Is it a good idea to do this in scattered thunderstorms?

[Mobyjeep]

If it had to be a rain check until next Saturday.... I would t be mad atcha😁

[open_circuit]

I don't particularly want to be on the summit during a thunderstorm, but when I look at the forecast for tomorrow in Blackhawk/Central City, I see thunderstorms from noon and on. If we get rolling on time, we should be able to complete the trail by noon. There likely won't be time for a hike unless the forecast changes. I do not see a forecast for morning rain or thunderstorms. Do you see something different? (https://www.wunderground.com/forecas...=localwx_10day)

We could consider starting even earlier, at 8:30, but I had a later start to ensure we can get there on time. Before 8:30 will be tough for us tomorrow.

[Java]

Just an idea, if you get to the meetup and the weather looks iffy you can switch to Pickle Gulch from the North side pretty easily, just don't turn left on Elk Park rd and continue up Apex, it goes right into it. It's still a fun trail and at a lower altitude, and in that direction it just gets lower as you go. The obstacles are different and fun in "reverse" too.

[open_circuit]

Thanks Paul, I noticed that when I was plotting the route for this weekend on Tuesday night. I didn't realize, previously, how close to Kingston we were when we ran Pickle a few months ago. Lots of great interconnecting trails in that area!

I am really looking forward to Kingston tomorrow, though, so hopefully the morning weather is agreeable and we can get the run in.

[Jim]

ADMIN EDIT: I moved many of the posts from the "Planned" thread into this "Planning" thread. The goal is to keep Planned clean.

These two threads are why we have Planning and Planned. Planning can get long and cluttered while details are hashed out (with threadjacks, which are OK). Planning is good to be kept clean as people look there, last minute before heading out the door, for the run.

[open_circuit]

That's probably my fault. Apologies.

[Jim]

No worries. Double check your RSVP and Planned posts for correctness.

[open_circuit]

It all looks correct to me. I haven't moved the start time earlier than 9 yet, as no one else has responded. I'm hesitant to muck with start times within 24 hours of the trail run. Bad weather is probably one of the few good reasons to consider it, but weather is never guaranteed to arrive as forecast.

Let's make sure to get wheels down on schedule (9:15), so we can do our best to stay ahead of the likely afternoon thunderstorms. I'm probably a wimp, but I'm not thrilled to be exposed at 12K feet and above treeline in a thunderstorm.

[FINOCJ]

Hey Trent....got pics of the LJ with the new tires? I think you were going with 33s...maybe I missed the post.

[open_circuit]

Yeah, I had a pic, but apparently google photos / drive links don't work properly after a while, so I had to delete it. I also seem to have exceeded my quota for the forum photo storage, so I can't add anything else here unless I delete stuff. I'll need to find some other storage to post new photos or delete old stuff from the forum albums.

I did get 33 x 10.5 x 15 KO2 tires. They are on the stock wheels now, and do not rub. However, it appears they don't rub because I cannot reach the steering stops turning the wheel full lock either way. It looks like someone installed a drop pitman arm on my LJ before I bought it, and it looks like the way it was installed, I have less than full range steering control. I suspect the dropped pitman arm is shorter, from steering box to drag link, than the stock pitman arm, and that means there is less horizontal travel when turning from lock to lock. I don't understand why someone felt it was necessary to install a dropped pitman arm on this Jeep, but I am hestitant to start swapping out stuff without a better understanding of the geometry for the steering linkages.

[coleman07]

open_circuit previously posted:

[open_circuit]

Sorry, I copied the link from Paul's run last year. We met at the park, near the lake and playground. There is ample parking there and a public toilet, so it makes a pretty good meetup. I think it might be just downhill from the cemetery.

[Tom]

open_circuit previously posted:

[Tom]

coleman07 previously posted: