No More Snow days here, and working from home on what is supposed to be a snow day has its drawbacks and limitations.
Yesteday was one of those snow days where we had to stay inside for a while on the screens and boxes. We fixed that by taking to the mountains today ! and my XJ Cherokee did not disappoint.
We live at an elevation of ~1200' and the rock we like to visit any time of the year is at an elevation of ~ 2660' All of that elevation gain is accomplished through some awesome state forest roads that are not plowed but are flat / graded and seemingly maintained with some sort of snow grooming equipment so there is snow pack on them but the are smooth and flat.
After we visited the rock I wanted to try out some other "trails" that are not maintained in the winter. They are deemed for 4wd's or snowmobiles. Located in the same state forest which is bisected by a major 6 lane interstate that winds up into the mountains from the lowlands near my place. Because of the interstate there are no public roads/trails that I know of that cross above or under the highway at elevation. So we headed out of the forest to the regular plowed and salted state routes for a few miles until we were back into the state forest again.
In the elevation there was 24" of seemingly fresh snow in the forest. The XJ did awesome in the high snowpack and rutted trail that is called "Aukerman Road" - it's really not a road at all, it more of a heavily rutted 4wd/ Snowmobile/Mountain Bike trail but that is what it's called.
We did get stuck at one point on Aukerman road, probably where the grade was the steepest and the ruts were the worst. We went up and down that grade maybe 4-5 times before we were able to get to the top and intersect with the more well traveled "Tunnel Road" which is a main "snowmobile road" and it also seemed to have some bit of grooming to it as well. Our Journey o Auckerman started at 1255' and ended at 2790' over 4+ miles. It was a joyous occasion to engage the 4L section on the transfer case, which I never purposefully do meandering around in the lowlands near work and home .
We began our elevation gain at the state park:
Sharing the road with snow machines.
We got to the flatlands at the top, and someone was excited:
Time to leave the flatlands &onto the rocks!
Glamour Shots..
We got to the trailhead parking area - Maybe a 1/4 Mile hike in the snow... fantastic!
This is the rock - it looks out generally to to east - it is a fantastic view on a clear day at sunrise.
Wintertime Frolic and fun. - Dont step to the edge of the rock. you will slide off!
This is the notification at the bottom of Aukerman Road, it is a public road through the forest.
Perfect time to use that 4L Setting that has been staring at me for 6 years!
Here is an elevation chart of the road:
We made it on stock tires, no lift and with 24" of snow. I was happy, & it was a good snow day.
Yesteday was one of those snow days where we had to stay inside for a while on the screens and boxes. We fixed that by taking to the mountains today ! and my XJ Cherokee did not disappoint.
We live at an elevation of ~1200' and the rock we like to visit any time of the year is at an elevation of ~ 2660' All of that elevation gain is accomplished through some awesome state forest roads that are not plowed but are flat / graded and seemingly maintained with some sort of snow grooming equipment so there is snow pack on them but the are smooth and flat.
After we visited the rock I wanted to try out some other "trails" that are not maintained in the winter. They are deemed for 4wd's or snowmobiles. Located in the same state forest which is bisected by a major 6 lane interstate that winds up into the mountains from the lowlands near my place. Because of the interstate there are no public roads/trails that I know of that cross above or under the highway at elevation. So we headed out of the forest to the regular plowed and salted state routes for a few miles until we were back into the state forest again.
In the elevation there was 24" of seemingly fresh snow in the forest. The XJ did awesome in the high snowpack and rutted trail that is called "Aukerman Road" - it's really not a road at all, it more of a heavily rutted 4wd/ Snowmobile/Mountain Bike trail but that is what it's called.
We did get stuck at one point on Aukerman road, probably where the grade was the steepest and the ruts were the worst. We went up and down that grade maybe 4-5 times before we were able to get to the top and intersect with the more well traveled "Tunnel Road" which is a main "snowmobile road" and it also seemed to have some bit of grooming to it as well. Our Journey o Auckerman started at 1255' and ended at 2790' over 4+ miles. It was a joyous occasion to engage the 4L section on the transfer case, which I never purposefully do meandering around in the lowlands near work and home .
We began our elevation gain at the state park:
Sharing the road with snow machines.
We got to the flatlands at the top, and someone was excited:
Time to leave the flatlands &onto the rocks!
Glamour Shots..
We got to the trailhead parking area - Maybe a 1/4 Mile hike in the snow... fantastic!
This is the rock - it looks out generally to to east - it is a fantastic view on a clear day at sunrise.
Wintertime Frolic and fun. - Dont step to the edge of the rock. you will slide off!
This is the notification at the bottom of Aukerman Road, it is a public road through the forest.
Perfect time to use that 4L Setting that has been staring at me for 6 years!
Here is an elevation chart of the road:
We made it on stock tires, no lift and with 24" of snow. I was happy, & it was a good snow day.
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