Planning For Big Blue's Trip To Ouray

[Nothing Special]

Bob - I didn't get to the mapping until just now. But I did change the previous map to cut out Poughkeepsie and go down Animas Cutoff as you suggested - I think. Right?

 

I'm not saying that's what we are going to do, but I do want to get it to match your suggestions. And, I made it blue to represent a "moderate" trail, as opposed to Last Dollar Road where we found minivans. Would you agree with that as well?

 

With the side trips to Mineral Point and Engineer Pass that's 43.7 miles. Is that reasonable to do in a day? Will we have time left over? Maybe we'd want to go have a look at The Wall and see Lake Como on the way.

 

I'm thinking this might be a better Day 1 than Last Dollar Road & Ophir Pass. The only thing about that route is that Ophir has a shelf road which, from the bottom, looks dangerous. But when you get on it the thing is quite wide and there's nothing the least bit tough or challenging. You just drive slowly and stay on the trail and there are no switchbacks. So I'm now leaning to the route below as Day 1 as from what you've said it'll give more challenge than Ophir.

 

Thoughts?

 

Yes, that's the route I'm thinking of. It's definitely doable in a day. You won't want to get a REAL late start. I'm not saying you need to be up at 5:00 or anything, but I'd say if you're rolling out of town around 9:00, getting back in time for dinner shouldn't be a problem. Maybe later today I'll try to look at when we did that loop (or close to it) and see how long it actually took us.I don't think the Mineral Point side trip is as long as you show. I know that's where it says Mineral Point on your map. But if you look at the short green side trip on my map, that's all the farther we went. Maybe we didn't make it all the way to a geographical feature called Mineral Point, but it got us to the old mine. I'm not saying you need to change your map, just pay attention to what you're seeing when you're out there and go where it seems to make sense (the trails are generally pretty easy to follow, there aren't a ton of them to get you too confused and you're up above treeline so you can see pretty much forever).Lake Como probably only adds about 10 minutes of driving (it's pretty much right at the top end of Poughkeepsie). And driving down to the top of the bypass and back is maybe another 20 minutes or so. Getting all the way down to The Wall is a little harder to guess because there are a couple places where you'll want to stop and scout a bit. But it won't add hours to the trip.As far as difficulty level, if it's a three-level difficulty scale, with minivans on level 1 and "vehicle damage likely" on level 3, then yes, this is all a level 2. But Engineer Mountain Road up from 550 is probably the third-most difficult trail out there (after Poughkeepsie and Black Bear). It's not that hard, but there are places you need to pay attention to the rocks or you will hit something, there are some pretty steep places, and there are some VERY narrow places.As to whether this should be your day 1, how many days will you be out there? Unless you decide to play on Poughkeepsie or try your hand at Black Bear, this loop includes the hardest trails you'll do, and likely some of the best views. If you only have 2 days you might want to start with this and then decide what you want to do again on day 2. But if you have more time you might want to leave this for a little later in the trip.I'll probably try to get back to this more later, but I don't have any more time right now,

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, that's the route I'm thinking of. It's definitely doable in a day. You won't want to get a REAL late start. I'm not saying you need to be up at 5:00 or anything, but I'd say if you're rolling out of town around 9:00, getting back in time for dinner shouldn't be a problem. Maybe later today I'll try to look at when we did that loop (or close to it) and see how long it actually took us.

I don't think the Mineral Point side trip is as long as you show. I know that's where it says Mineral Point on your map. But if you look at the short green side trip on my map, that's all the farther we went. Maybe we didn't make it all the way to a geographical feature called Mineral Point, but it got us to the old mine. I'm not saying you need to change your map, just pay attention to what you're seeing when you're out there and go where it seems to make sense (the trails are generally pretty easy to follow, there aren't a ton of them to get you too confused and you're up above treeline so you can see pretty much forever).

Lake Como probably only adds about 10 minutes of driving (it's pretty much right at the top end of Poughkeepsie). And driving down to the top of the bypass and back is maybe another 20 minutes or so. Getting all the way down to The Wall is a little harder to guess because there are a couple places where you'll want to stop and scout a bit. But it won't add hours to the trip.

As far as difficulty level, if it's a three-level difficulty scale, with minivans on level 1 and "vehicle damage likely" on level 3, then yes, this is all a level 2. But Engineer Mountain Road up from 550 is probably the third-most difficult trail out there (after Poughkeepsie and Black Bear). It's not that hard, but there are places you need to pay attention to the rocks or you will hit something, there are some pretty steep places, and there are some VERY narrow places.

As to whether this should be your day 1, how many days will you be out there? Unless you decide to play on Poughkeepsie or try your hand at Black Bear, this loop includes the hardest trails you'll do, and likely some of the best views. If you only have 2 days you might want to start with this and then decide what you want to do again on day 2. But if you have more time you might want to leave this for a little later in the trip.

I'll probably try to get back to this more later, but I don't have any more time right now,

That's exactly the kind of info I was looking for, Bob. Thanks!

We will be 'wheeling for four days. So if Engineer Mountain Road off 550 is that tough then maybe we should go back to Plan A and use Last Dollar/Ophir Pass as Day 1 and this as Day 2. But, Ophir Pass doesn't have anything that is a challenge. Nothing tight/narrow, and no big rocks. In fact, while I did forget about a couple of switchbacks, they are just tight turns in fairly level ground. So that won't be doing much to get us ready for others.

Given that, I wondered about other places to learn and use as Day 1 and thought of taking Imogene Pass into Telluride and then Ophir Pass back to 550. But Alltrails includes this about Imogene Pass:

Do not take this trip lightly. The road is rocky, steep and narrow in places and passing can be dangerous. Stock SUVs should have low-range gearing, 4-wheel drive, high clearance and skid plates. Experienced drivers only.

But your trip report said:

After lunch in the park we headed back to Ouray over Imogene Pass. Mostly it's a pretty easy trail, but there are some "playgrounds" on both sides near the pass where you can take some optional lines (and there was a port-a-potty there too!). Overall it took us about 3 hours to drive the 16.7 miles from Telluride to Ouray. My wife asked what the big deal was with Imogene since so many people had asked if we'd done it. The only thing I could think of was that it's a novices Black Bear. Steep, shelfy and tight switchbacks that can make it exciting (just not as steep, shelfy or tight as Black Bear). And since I heard the Jeep rental places don't allow you to take their vehicles on Black Bear (or Poughkeepsie), Imogene is probably one of the scarier trails many go on.

So that doesn't sound all that bad for a Day 1. We could do Ophir Pass and get a bit of experience on a shelf road, then lunch in Telluride and take Imogene back to Ouray. As said, Last Dollar has minivans, so it won't teach us anything and was really just a way a pretty way to get to Telluride and then Ophir Pass.

[Nothing Special]

That's exactly the kind of info I was looking for, Bob. Thanks!

We will be 'wheeling for four days. So if Engineer Mountain Road off 550 is that tough then maybe we should go back to Plan A and use Last Dollar/Ophir Pass as Day 1 and this as Day 2. But, Ophir Pass doesn't have anything that is a challenge. Nothing tight/narrow, and no big rocks. In fact, while I did forget about a couple of switchbacks, they are just tight turns in fairly level ground. So that won't be doing much to get us ready for others.

Given that, I wondered about other places to learn and use as Day 1 and thought of taking Imogene Pass into Telluride and then Ophir Pass back to 550. But Alltrails includes this about Imogene Pass:

Do not take this trip lightly. The road is rocky, steep and narrow in places and passing can be dangerous. Stock SUVs should have low-range gearing, 4-wheel drive, high clearance and skid plates. Experienced drivers only.

But your trip report said:

After lunch in the park we headed back to Ouray over Imogene Pass. Mostly it's a pretty easy trail, but there are some "playgrounds" on both sides near the pass where you can take some optional lines (and there was a port-a-potty there too!). Overall it took us about 3 hours to drive the 16.7 miles from Telluride to Ouray. My wife asked what the big deal was with Imogene since so many people had asked if we'd done it. The only thing I could think of was that it's a novices Black Bear. Steep, shelfy and tight switchbacks that can make it exciting (just not as steep, shelfy or tight as Black Bear). And since I heard the Jeep rental places don't allow you to take their vehicles on Black Bear (or Poughkeepsie), Imogene is probably one of the scarier trails many go on.

So that doesn't sound all that bad for a Day 1. We could do Ophir Pass and get a bit of experience on a shelf road, then lunch in Telluride and take Imogene back to Ouray. As said, Last Dollar has minivans, so it won't teach us anything and was really just a way a pretty way to get to Telluride and then Ophir Pass.

I was going to suggest Imogene as a good day 1 choice. Keeping in mind that I was driving a pretty capable Bronco, it was an easy trail. But if someone was in a stock Ford Escape they would certainly have to pick their lines. And I doubt you'll see any minivans!

As to requiring an experienced driver, you need to have a pretty good handle on your vehicle, as well as a calm enough disposition to not freak out when you are approaching another vehicle on a shelf road.

True story as an example. On a Boy Scout trip we were driving up the road to a trailhead to hike up Mount Princeton in Colorado. The plan had been for my F-350 crew cab and another leader's Suburban to haul people up the road, but the trans went out in the Suburban the day before (he was able to get it fixed that day, but we were down a vehicle). So I had to run shuttle service, taking a group up, going back for a second, and then making two trips in the afternoon to get everyone down.

On the second trip down the Suburban owner was riding with me when we met a vehicle coming up on a narrow section. I backup up into a "wide" spot on my left to let the other vehicle by. The Suburban owner was freaking out that there wasn't any room. Mind you, this was with us on the high side of the trail and we were well below tree-line! I pointed out that he could fold my huge mirror in if he thought the other vehicle needed more room, but the other truck could have made it pretty easily anyway, and he didn't look worried.

So I'm glad he wasn't driving his Suburban there! And Imogene Pass is certainly a road that someone like that would have trouble with too.

[Gary Lewis]

I was going to suggest Imogene as a good day 1 choice. Keeping in mind that I was driving a pretty capable Bronco, it was an easy trail. But if someone was in a stock Ford Escape they would certainly have to pick their lines. And I doubt you'll see any minivans!

As to requiring an experienced driver, you need to have a pretty good handle on your vehicle, as well as a calm enough disposition to not freak out when you are approaching another vehicle on a shelf road.

True story as an example. On a Boy Scout trip we were driving up the road to a trailhead to hike up Mount Princeton in Colorado. The plan had been for my F-350 crew cab and another leader's Suburban to haul people up the road, but the trans went out in the Suburban the day before (he was able to get it fixed that day, but we were down a vehicle). So I had to run shuttle service, taking a group up, going back for a second, and then making two trips in the afternoon to get everyone down.

On the second trip down the Suburban owner was riding with me when we met a vehicle coming up on a narrow section. I backup up into a "wide" spot on my left to let the other vehicle by. The Suburban owner was freaking out that there wasn't any room. Mind you, this was with us on the high side of the trail and we were well below tree-line! I pointed out that he could fold my huge mirror in if he thought the other vehicle needed more room, but the other truck could have made it pretty easily anyway, and he didn't look worried.

So I'm glad he wasn't driving his Suburban there! And Imogene Pass is certainly a road that someone like that would have trouble with too.

Ok, that sounds like a plan for Day 1. We'll do Ophir first as it will get us warmed up a bit given the loose shale at one point on a shelf road, but nothing to worry about at all.

Then into Telluride for lunch, and back over Imogene. Or, is one way better than the other on Imogene?

Then Engineer Mountain Road/Engineer Pass/Animas Cutoff/Hurricane/Corkscrew for Day 2. But we might go down Poughkeepsie and see The Wall to see if we want to come back there on Day 3.

And for Day 4 there's still the possibility of Black Bear. But I'm not saying we are going to do that. One worry I have is the switchbacks. With the Bullnose trucks you have a foot pedal for the emergency brake, and the one on Big Blue is either off or on. So I'm wondering how "comfortable" it is going to be to hold the truck with the e-brake, come out a bit on the clutch so it won't roll, and then pop the e-brake off.

I'm thinking of the turns I've seen where you have to get the front wheel ever so close to the edge in order to have enough room to effect a turn, and it is that which has me a bit un-nerved. I've enough though about using the chocks I have in front of the back wheels to make that safer.

Thoughts?

[Nothing Special]

Ok, that sounds like a plan for Day 1. We'll do Ophir first as it will get us warmed up a bit given the loose shale at one point on a shelf road, but nothing to worry about at all.

Then into Telluride for lunch, and back over Imogene. Or, is one way better than the other on Imogene?

Then Engineer Mountain Road/Engineer Pass/Animas Cutoff/Hurricane/Corkscrew for Day 2. But we might go down Poughkeepsie and see The Wall to see if we want to come back there on Day 3.

And for Day 4 there's still the possibility of Black Bear. But I'm not saying we are going to do that. One worry I have is the switchbacks. With the Bullnose trucks you have a foot pedal for the emergency brake, and the one on Big Blue is either off or on. So I'm wondering how "comfortable" it is going to be to hold the truck with the e-brake, come out a bit on the clutch so it won't roll, and then pop the e-brake off.

I'm thinking of the turns I've seen where you have to get the front wheel ever so close to the edge in order to have enough room to effect a turn, and it is that which has me a bit un-nerved. I've enough though about using the chocks I have in front of the back wheels to make that safer.

Thoughts?

I've only ever done Imogene as a way to return from Telluride after going over Black Bear, so I can't really say if it's better one way or the other. I will say that it's... interesting finding the trailhead in Telluride! You go through a residential area, and then sort of through someone's back yard to get on the trail. I don't know how hard it would be to make the correct turns going onto Imogene from the Ouray side. It's easy to find your way out but I can't speak to finding your way in.

I don't use an e-brake starting on hills in 4-low. I keep my right foot on the brake pedal as I start to let off the clutch. When the engine starts to bog down I slowly let off the brake, making sure the truck is moving the correct direction before I take my foot off the brake pedal! Really low gearing and a hand throttle both help with that, but I did it with my stock '85 F-250 as well (~60:1 crawl ratio, so really pretty low there too).

I think I gave you a link to a video showing a truck going around The First Switchback (capitalized because apparently that's the name of it, it's actually the second switchback but I'm told it's called the first switchback, I don't know, it doesn't really make sense to me). Anyway, that's the tightest switchback (maybe "first" means "preeminent" as opposed to "before second"???) with a big rock you are turning around. Making that turn without the rock biting the sheetmetal would be my biggest concern. People do drive fullsize trucks down Black Bear, but it's no gimme. And there's no way to go see it before being committed to completing it, unless you want to take a pretty long hike (at elevation) or can get a ride from someone else (which would take most of a day including getting back).

I'm not trying to talk you into or out of doing Black Bear. As I've said many times, it's not that hard of a trail, but it's no joke either.

[Gary Lewis]

I've only ever done Imogene as a way to return from Telluride after going over Black Bear, so I can't really say if it's better one way or the other. I will say that it's... interesting finding the trailhead in Telluride! You go through a residential area, and then sort of through someone's back yard to get on the trail. I don't know how hard it would be to make the correct turns going onto Imogene from the Ouray side. It's easy to find your way out but I can't speak to finding your way in.

I don't use an e-brake starting on hills in 4-low. I keep my right foot on the brake pedal as I start to let off the clutch. When the engine starts to bog down I slowly let off the brake, making sure the truck is moving the correct direction before I take my foot off the brake pedal! Really low gearing and a hand throttle both help with that, but I did it with my stock '85 F-250 as well (~60:1 crawl ratio, so really pretty low there too).

I think I gave you a link to a video showing a truck going around The First Switchback (capitalized because apparently that's the name of it, it's actually the second switchback but I'm told it's called the first switchback, I don't know, it doesn't really make sense to me). Anyway, that's the tightest switchback (maybe "first" means "preeminent" as opposed to "before second"???) with a big rock you are turning around. Making that turn without the rock biting the sheetmetal would be my biggest concern. People do drive fullsize trucks down Black Bear, but it's no gimme. And there's no way to go see it before being committed to completing it, unless you want to take a pretty long hike (at elevation) or can get a ride from someone else (which would take most of a day including getting back).

I'm not trying to talk you into or out of doing Black Bear. As I've said many times, it's not that hard of a trail, but it's no joke either.

LOL! I see what you mean about finding the trailhead in Telluride. Below is what Alltrails shows, and for anyone else reading this, that's downtown Telluride with 145 being the main street.

On the brake, my overall gear ratio is 56:1, so maybe I could start the same way? I don't have the hand throttle but that 460 doesn't kill easily.

And yes, you sent a link to that turn/switchback. That's the one I was thinking of where you have to almost hang the LF off the edge to have enough room to turn before hitting the rock. But, the solid front axle certainly turns shorter than the TTB's, so I do have an advantage. And with my bro having the handheld radio we should be able to negotiate that turn if other full-sized trucks have.

Anyway, I'm not saying we will do Black Bear, but I do want to have that last day where we could.

[Nothing Special]

.... On the brake, my overall gear ratio is 56:1, so maybe I could start the same way? I don't have the hand throttle but that 460 doesn't kill easily....

Try it at home, maybe putting a tire up against a curb or something to make it a challenge. You can also turn the idle stop in a bit before you get to where you might need it.

And on a complete tangent, I forgot if I told you about the song "Black Bear Road" by CW McCall. I think it might have come up earlier, but if not, look it up, it's kind of fun.

[Nothing Special]

Yes, that's the route I'm thinking of. It's definitely doable in a day. You won't want to get a REAL late start. I'm not saying you need to be up at 5:00 or anything, but I'd say if you're rolling out of town around 9:00, getting back in time for dinner shouldn't be a problem. Maybe later today I'll try to look at when we did that loop (or close to it) and see how long it actually took us....

We didn't do that exact route, but we did go on all of those trails.

On our first day we did basically your route except we went over Cinnamon Pass to Sherman Road instead of going up to Engineer Pass (we did go to the mine at Mineral Point). According to my GPS, that day was 74 miles in 10 hours (including 2 hours stopped). Cinnamon Pass was 31 miles and ~3.5 hours of that (including ~1/2 hour stopped), so the rest of the day was 43 miles in 6.5 hours with ~1.5 hours stopped.

On day 4 we went up to Engineer Pass, with a side trip to Odom Point for lunch and another side trip to Yvonne Pass (sort of). That part of day 5 was 7 miles in ~2 hours, with almost 1 hour stopped. Taking out 2 miles in 1/2 hour for Yvonne Pass, that's 5 miles in 1.5 hours (including 1 hour stopped) for Engineer Pass and Odom Point (that included our lunch stop, hence the long stopped time).

Combining those would give about 48 miles in 8 hours, including 2.5 hours stopped for your proposed loop. Not a short day, but not ridiculous at all. And it does include some time for exploring.

The drive to Lake Como from your route was only 1/2 mile and ~8 minutes (one way). Getting down to the top of the bypass is another 0.2 miles / 3 minutes (one way). And from there to The Wall took us about 25 minutes to go 0.6 miles (one way). Expect that last part to take you longer as that includes the toughest part of the trails out there not including The Wall or Black Bear. So you can see what those detours might take.

I should mention that we didn't spend any time at Animas Forks on this trip. You probably will want to stop there for a while to look around, which will add some stopped time (unless you don't spend as much time at some of the stops we did make).

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, that's the route I'm thinking of. It's definitely doable in a day. You won't want to get a REAL late start. I'm not saying you need to be up at 5:00 or anything, but I'd say if you're rolling out of town around 9:00, getting back in time for dinner shouldn't be a problem. Maybe later today I'll try to look at when we did that loop (or close to it) and see how long it actually took us....

We didn't do that exact route, but we did go on all of those trails.

On our first day we did basically your route except we went over Cinnamon Pass to Sherman Road instead of going up to Engineer Pass (we did go to the mine at Mineral Point). According to my GPS, that day was 74 miles in 10 hours (including 2 hours stopped). Cinnamon Pass was 31 miles and ~3.5 hours of that (including ~1/2 hour stopped), so the rest of the day was 43 miles in 6.5 hours with ~1.5 hours stopped.On day 4 we went up to Engineer Pass, with a side trip to Odom Point for lunch and another side trip to Yvonne Pass (sort of). That part of day 5 was 7 miles in ~2 hours, with almost 1 hour stopped. Taking out 2 miles in 1/2 hour for Yvonne Pass, that's 5 miles in 1.5 hours (including 1 hour stopped) for Engineer Pass and Odom Point (that included our lunch stop, hence the long stopped time).

Combining those would give about 48 miles in 8 hours, including 2.5 hours stopped for your proposed loop. Not a short day, but not ridiculous at all. And it does include some time for exploring.The drive to Lake Como from your route was only 1/2 mile and ~8 minutes (one way). Getting down to the top of the bypass is another 0.2 miles / 3 minutes (one way). And from there to The Wall took us about 25 minutes to go 0.6 miles (one way). Expect that last part to take you longer as that includes the toughest part of the trails out there not including The Wall or Black Bear. So you can see what those detours might take.I should mention that we didn't spend any time at Animas Forks on this trip. You probably will want to stop there for a while to look around, which will add some stopped time (unless you don't spend as much time at some of the stops we did make).

Bob - Thanks for getting into all of the miles and times. That's a big help. And Gaia is pretty close to your miles at 44, but that doesn't include the 1 mile round trip to Lake Como.

 

Anyway, the 8 hour figure is one of the keys as if we hit the road at 9 we could expect to be back at 5ish if we had no other stops. In other words, we have plenty of sunlight to check out other trails or just take in the scenery.

 

But, let's talk about The Wall a bit. The map below is from Alltrails as it is easier to read than the Gaia one due to the colors. But note 2 says:

 

Important Right Turn

 

After a long steep climb up a hill with very loose rock, bear right at an important fork. Straight soon dead-ends.

 

But isn't there a bypass? The "straight" road isn't it?

 

Anyway, please tell me more about The Wall. I think we will want to go down to it to check it out, but don't quite understand where to park and walk to do that.

 

[Nothing Special]

Bob - Thanks for getting into all of the miles and times. That's a big help. And Gaia is pretty close to your miles at 44, but that doesn't include the 1 mile round trip to Lake Como.

 

Anyway, the 8 hour figure is one of the keys as if we hit the road at 9 we could expect to be back at 5ish if we had no other stops. In other words, we have plenty of sunlight to check out other trails or just take in the scenery.

 

But, let's talk about The Wall a bit. The map below is from Alltrails as it is easier to read than the Gaia one due to the colors. But note 2 says:

 

Important Right Turn

 

After a long steep climb up a hill with very loose rock, bear right at an important fork. Straight soon dead-ends.

 

But isn't there a bypass? The "straight" road isn't it?

 

Anyway, please tell me more about The Wall. I think we will want to go down to it to check it out, but don't quite understand where to park and walk to do that.

 

There is a bypass. There didn't used to be, so the AllTrails description might be old. But if you are going up the trail (from north to south) the bypass starts at note 2. Going straight there is the bypass, turning right is the "main trail", which include The Wall.I don't specifically remember the "important fork" at note 3, but there are a few little pullouts that allow people to get around a traffic jam (with some help from the traffic jammers). That might be what they are talking about.Generally I like going up difficult trails rather than down them. It makes them more challenging, but it also makes it easier to bail out by turning around if I find myself in over my head, or if I break something. Most people seem to agree with me, at least on Poughkeepsie, because most of the traffic seems to be going up the trail (from north to south) most of the time.Still, I'm recommending that you come in from the top (the south end, by Lake Como). That's because the top of the trail is easier than the bottom, and it's also a shorter drive to get to The Wall. So that gives you your best, easiest chance to get to where you can see The Wall and make up your own mind.Going down from the top you'll stay on the main trail when you get to the top of the bypass. (You might not see the bypass there, the main trail goes straight and is much more apparent. The bypass is a pretty small turn off to the right.)Soon you'll get to a place where the trail splits into several options going down into a bowl. If you're like me the first time I drove Poughkeepsie (which was driving down it in 2000 when I was a lot less experienced) the options here might be a bit intimidating. If I recall correctly there's nothing that looks that likely to damage anything, but it does seem steep and sandy, like it might be hard to get back up if you need to. Don't sell this section short. In the grand scheme of things it's not all THAT hard, but it probably will be the hardest trail you've done so far. I'm pretty confident Big Blue can make it down and up this section, but I'm not there to see what it's like now, and I'm not the one that needs to be confident. Don't do it if you don't want to.If you choose not to do this section you won't want to do The Wall either, but if you want to see it, it's not that much farther down. So park anywhere you aren't blocking the trail and walk down (keeping in mind that you are around 10,000 elevation and will need to walk back up).Whether you walk or drive down to The Wall, don't worry, you'll know when to stop! Like the bowl you just went past, The Wall is a bunch of different trails coming up out of a bowl. There's lots of room on top to park somewhere out of the way and look around.The easiest way down and probably up is a long sandy trail down the right side / up the left side. But that was closed off with a cable when I was there in 2018.The next easiest is a short rocky drop / climb on the left side going down / right side going up. Going up the right side of this climb is the easiest, but the breakover angle at the top catches most vehicles. Still, if you are going up you can try it. Worst thing is that if you drag you back back down.The left side of this climb (again, the climb is on the right going up, but I'm talking about the left side of the right side, if that makes sense) is harder, but most vehicles don't get hung up. You might lift a front tire (which can be pretty exciting!) or you might just sit and spin. But there is a winch point above this section (a steel eye set in the rock), so winching is an option.If you are driving down The Wall I think this "left side of the right side" (which is now the right side of the left side as you look down) is the best bet. You're going down so traction isn't an issue. And as long as you stay straight on the hill you'll fall to the right place!The middle section (to the left of the section I've just been talking about as you look up the hill) apparently has been easier at times, but both times I was there it was harder. And if you take the right side of THAT route you are very likely to dent your roof on the rock.Anyway, that's The Wall. It's definitely harder than the bowl above it, and again, don't do it if you aren't pretty confident. This trail is the real deal.Below The Wall there's a narrow trail that snakes down through some rocks and sand, eventually ending up at an easy trail leading over to where the bypass breaks off. This narrow section again is tougher than most of what you'll see in that area, but it's easier than The Wall. Still, make sure you are confident that you can either get down that section or back up The Wall before going down The Wall.Past where the bypass rejoins the trail is easy relative to what you just went past. But it's still one of the hardest trails in the area. It's steep and kind of like pea gravel in places, so lockers give a lot more confidence going up (your TrueTrac/OX will be fine here).