Chinaman’s Gulch

‘05

  Our return to Chinaman’s gulch couldn’t have arrived sooner!  After having such a keeler run last year, it seemed like forever waiting to run it again!  We departed from our trusted C-470 and 285 location right after 8:00 am.  We made good time with a light crew of Edge Heads due to carnage on recent runs!  Once there, we aired down the tires and prepared for some ragin’ Edge style.  As remembered, this trail gets with the program right away, with a nice climb out of the box.  Not a single problem, even through the off-camber section near the top of the climb.  The tight rocks (similar to the Chutes on Kelly Flats) didn’t pose a problem until Z got the Monsters dually’s to the obstacle.  Nothing a little injected 400 and 39” Swamper’s couldn’t drive over!   We arrived at the optional mid section shelf rock formation.  This is our typical lunch spot, but only after a little playtime to increase our appetite!  Glenn took Liberta over the section that Art performed a balancing act on last year only in the opposite direction.  Liberta took on the challenge with a vengeance!  With a little help from the crew she made it without much of a problem!  Of course Zach had test the limitations of the Monster and took it down the biggest part of the shelf!  With the wheelbase fully stretched and its 39” duallys there was no problem getting the monster down the biggest part of the obstacle!  After lunch the crew insisted on me running it in reverse (up!).  Of course it didn’t take much to talk me into it!  After some back and forth preparing for the climb, I really appreciated both ARB brothers and low gears and made the climb without much trouble.  I was in for a rude awaking, however, when a branch impaled the driver’s side of my hard top, at the end of the obstacle.  With some quick winch work on the tree and a pull from below along with Glenn trapping out from the side of the Crusher, I was free.  We had to work to put the hard top back together, and was left with only a tiny 2” hole!  Good work Edge crew!  The rest of the way down was awesome with only one problem, a downed tree dented the S*** out of my right fender top and side!  Damn trees!  They had it out for me I guess!  What a keeler run though, can’t wait to get back!  Cheers, Christopher…