There was no doubt it was time for The Edge to conquer a different trail near Buena Vista!  Even the name “Old Chinamans” seems to have its own appeal.  This trail wasn’t short of appeal if its rocks that appeal to you…  Having to cross-prison land to access the trailhead indicated early on this was going to be keeler!  Yea, it comes out of the shoots with a vengeance lined with steep climbs and tightly placed rock formations making tire placement extremely important.  The onset of rain made some of the best conditions for slippin’ and slidin’ around the rocks.  We made short work of the first climb, giving Tracy’s Ruby a great inaugural run!  

Beyond the uphill stretch we encountered our second real obstacle.  An off camber rock section with a strategically placed tree on the downhill side.  I placed two tires on the rocks, and two in the mud down below.  Traction wasn’t a problem; it was the 11” rock that just refused to let my diff get by that made it interesting.  After a few moments of realignment I got a tire on the rock and shouted “Hell Yea”!  After observing the tough line, most of the group took the high line keeping the off camber to a minimum and flew right over the obstacle.  The next obstacle was an optional left instead of right.  Some nice drop offs offered unlimited fun!  Paul walked down with Bo soon to follow.  Of course Art couldn’t get by without at least trying every obstacle!  No problem until that damn rock jumped up and high centered his “T” case.  With a little help from 3 or 4 of us we were able to rock his vehicle with enough momentum to free it from the beast.  The only result was a small new vibration!… 



Next little option was Paul taking a nice 4ft rock drop off.  That was one way to establish the break over angle of a rig.  A small tug from Bo’s Puncher and he was free, with just a couple of scratches on his drive shaft…  Next we got to the water fall.  It’s a nice Moabesqe granite slab with a nice quick drop or climb depending on which way you take it on.  Just beyond that the loop portion was over leaving us to return down the drop that was the first climb in.  Of course headed down we were faced with a whole new set of problems.  Some very careful maneuvering and low gears helped in this section.  After going though the tight rocks I spotted for the Birthday boy Glenn in the red Libby.  We soon made it down to the start.  What a trail.  This has to be one of the best of the season!  Can’t wait to run it again!  Cheers, Christopher…