Sevenmile Creek Feb 15, 2020

[RockyMtRebel]

Jim, Corey, Kevin and I ran Sevenmile today. A group of Jeeps headed up while we chained up. Then we headed up and the Jeep group was headed back down.... they said the icy creek crossing scared them all back However we had chains so up we went! The big crossing was no match for us, but it wasn’t easy! It was very deep and had some big ice shelves. After this was semi deep snow and then Coreys driveshaft came off, something that would plague him all day. Most of the rest of the way was pretty easy until we got to a very narrow section of road with deep snow and very off camber. I tried plowing thru only to start sliding down and some trees kept me from sliding too far. Winch, winch, winch and finally after 3-4 winch sessions from different trees to get me back up and onto the trail and I was finally past that section and cruised up to the Little Rock garden area. Meanwhile Kevin makes it thru with some winching and slow going also. Next is Corey but without front wheel drive it was useless so we had to leave him and Jim to back him down and get out of the way of some ATVs that waited for us.
Kevin and I then continued up thru some deep snow to the Stump Hill turnoff, which we took and the snow got deeper still. We tried going up the steep hill and didn’t get too far but it was fun. Then we went back to the trail to see how much farther up we could go and after about 1/2 mile we almost got up to a flat spot but the snow drifts were huge and we had to back down from here.
We headed back down and got to the off camber winch spot just in time to pull Jim up the last section. Then we all headed back up to Stump Hill intersection and then headed down. It was easy breezy on the way down except the big creek crossing gave Corey some trouble again but Jim pulled him thru and we all cruised down from there. Then when we got back to the trailhead we unchained and drove north up to Red Feather Lakes and then back down to Fort Collins.
Long day of fun in deep snow, deep icy water and ice shelves....... thanks for coming out guys!

[RockyMtRebel]

Map of what we ran on Sevenmile and me and Kevin at the high point.

[schwanstabilo]

Videos I have from today:

[RockyMtRebel]

Here’s the biggest icy creek crossing on Sevenmile. Corey struggles with it, notice he did not have chains either.



But then he tries again and climbs right out!

[RockyMtRebel]

^^^ that tree saved me from sliding down and perhaps rolling^^^

[RockyMtRebel]

Thanks for the awesome videos Corey!!!

[JandDGreens]

Boy that looked like a very good time. Thanks for sharing!

[goSlo]

Nice report, thanks for sharing it!
Looked like some good times, makes me want to order some chains.

[Jim]

Highlight photos here with a full set at the link:

www.JimWilliamson.net/automobile/2020-02-15--trail--sevenmile-creek/

[Jim]

Say, Corey, When you removed your driveshaft, did you re-insert or at least plug or cover the open hole at the front of your transfer case before dropping into the big water hole?

If it was open, water likely went in. A simple drain-n-fill would be on the list.

[Jackie]

Looks like your rigs came out of the "bath" all clean and shiny! Thanks for the pics and videos!

[schwanstabilo]

Jim previously posted:

[RockyMtRebel]

Thanks again guys for coming out on Saturday to run this! I'm happy to report my rear locker air line worked flawlessly the entire time and did not start leaking like it had the last few times going out. I think I was tightening it too much and it would start leaking after hitting a big bump. I hit a lot of big bumps on Saturday going in and out of the creek crossings and it didn't leak at all so hope it's good to go! Now I just have to get the airline up and out of the way so it doesn't get snagged on something. You can see the blue air line hanging down in this pic..... right at the rear differential

[schwanstabilo]

I had a blast!

Thanks again for letting me use the chains Matt! I've got 2 pairs on the way, and working on fixing my slip yoke so it doesn't fall off again.

[RockyMtRebel]

I had a blast too! No problem on the chains, I carry two sets but I can get thru almost anything with just fronts chained up......

[Jim]

Since I ordered the second set - I will want to get out again - perhaps Sevenmile to see how far up stump hill we might get.

[schwanstabilo]

Same, once I get my yoke fixed and chains are in. Say, Jim.. did you order yours from tirechain.com? I've seen lots of people on other forums say they're credible. The site said they'd be delivered by Thursday 2/20 but it's been near 3 days and I haven't even received a confirmation email.

--- contacted them, my order never went through. I've re-ordered

[Jim]

Yep - that's the place. I received order conf at the end of placing the order. I sent a feedback e-mail to the address on the order conf - it didn't bounce. I have not received a tracking number or an e-mail order confirmation (kind of thought I'd get that).

It's a curiosity at this point. I'm good to let it ride a week. I'll let you know if I hear anything.

[schwanstabilo]

I ordered mine Sunday, got all the way through payment confirmation and swear I hit a receipt page.. never received an email though. I contacted them this morning via their online chat to inquire about not receiving any emails and they had no records of a payment or my info in their system. There was no charge on my CC either, so I re-ordered and immediately received an email receipt. Not sure what that was about, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't me being inept at online ordering. Might be worth contacting them, they were super responsive.

[Jim]

Chains arrived!