Day At Big Cypress was bonkers!
10-12-2014, 04:17 PM
#1
JK Freak
Thread Starter
Day At Big Cypress was bonkers!
Yup, so I hit it again. This time I took a buddy versus my wife and kids. However, with not knowing too many Jeepers, or off-roaders in general, we ventured alone to the back country. Not the smartest but at most a 5 mile walk would've gotten us to the closest station.
Coming in we were stopped by a ranger checking our inspection sticker, off-road permit, etc. she was nice and we chatted a bit asking how the conditions were. Windmill trail was pretty much what she said was worthy of going. She used terms like "sketchy" and "nerve wracking". Screw it. We were game. Plenty of food, water, 2 go-bags, beer, guns, and knives. We were ready to live out there if need be.
Shot north and hit up Gator Head campground for lunch. Incidentally, we saw some turkeys and were making turkey sandwiches. I'm sure they were a bit upset. Had a cold brew and relaxed a bit. It's a long drive from the Broward area to the site. So we BS'd and looked around. NOTE: it was a single beer. No flaming please! Saw a Pygmy rattler out there and escaped a nasty bite because you know, flip flops are trail gear! I had boots in the truck.
Finished eating and shot up windmill trail. This place didn't look ran in quite some time. I cringed each time the branches went down the side of my 2 month old Jeep. Water and mud hit us most. Then began a prairie type area. Looked fine but nowhere to winch to should things go wrong. They did. Sunk up to my sliders. Eyes popped open and tossed it in 4L to get through. Nice. We were out. Several more of these areas we began getting spent. The water was getting more and more deceiving. It was basically going through a swamp which was disappointing because the ranger told us at the end of the trail,there was a rock pile. We came to spot that had a huge downed tree blocking the trail. Just past, water that looked deeper than I wanted alone without another vehicle. We decided to turn back.
Headed south down Ridge Trail and that was where the wife and kids wanted to turn back last time. My buddy and I decided it was fine. Well, the first swamp buggy passed us coming north. I thought we might've made a mistake. It was wet down south but for the most part, the ground was firm. Some bedrock kept my 35's from sinking...until. Two choices: undetermined water depth to the right or water and mud to the left. I thought of the rock so I went left. Sunk! Mud mid-wheel. Greasy, sloppy mud. Tread was jam packed full of this nastiness. A little finessing got Blue through. Nothing too extreme the rest of the way but definitely had to make it through there slowly due to some of the rocks, dips, etc.
We had a BLAST! Got out there around noon and got to the house by 8pm. Scratches are nice though. Whatever they do to the paint, it's tough and buffed right out.
Coming in we were stopped by a ranger checking our inspection sticker, off-road permit, etc. she was nice and we chatted a bit asking how the conditions were. Windmill trail was pretty much what she said was worthy of going. She used terms like "sketchy" and "nerve wracking". Screw it. We were game. Plenty of food, water, 2 go-bags, beer, guns, and knives. We were ready to live out there if need be.
Shot north and hit up Gator Head campground for lunch. Incidentally, we saw some turkeys and were making turkey sandwiches. I'm sure they were a bit upset. Had a cold brew and relaxed a bit. It's a long drive from the Broward area to the site. So we BS'd and looked around. NOTE: it was a single beer. No flaming please! Saw a Pygmy rattler out there and escaped a nasty bite because you know, flip flops are trail gear! I had boots in the truck.
Finished eating and shot up windmill trail. This place didn't look ran in quite some time. I cringed each time the branches went down the side of my 2 month old Jeep. Water and mud hit us most. Then began a prairie type area. Looked fine but nowhere to winch to should things go wrong. They did. Sunk up to my sliders. Eyes popped open and tossed it in 4L to get through. Nice. We were out. Several more of these areas we began getting spent. The water was getting more and more deceiving. It was basically going through a swamp which was disappointing because the ranger told us at the end of the trail,there was a rock pile. We came to spot that had a huge downed tree blocking the trail. Just past, water that looked deeper than I wanted alone without another vehicle. We decided to turn back.
Headed south down Ridge Trail and that was where the wife and kids wanted to turn back last time. My buddy and I decided it was fine. Well, the first swamp buggy passed us coming north. I thought we might've made a mistake. It was wet down south but for the most part, the ground was firm. Some bedrock kept my 35's from sinking...until. Two choices: undetermined water depth to the right or water and mud to the left. I thought of the rock so I went left. Sunk! Mud mid-wheel. Greasy, sloppy mud. Tread was jam packed full of this nastiness. A little finessing got Blue through. Nothing too extreme the rest of the way but definitely had to make it through there slowly due to some of the rocks, dips, etc.
We had a BLAST! Got out there around noon and got to the house by 8pm. Scratches are nice though. Whatever they do to the paint, it's tough and buffed right out.
