May 24, 2013 Sammi is back in its element after a long winter

The first ride of the season.  We left camp after lunch on Friday headed who knows where.  Initially we decided to take a ride over Lasalle Pass and take in some scenery but on the way there we saw a turn off for China Wall that looked interesting so we headed that way.

The trail was marked as an easy one so I knew the stock Samurai would have no problem.

A stop at the top to take in the beautiful view.  Pamela and I and our Samurai and the daughter and her family in their Jeep.

Pamela doesn't really like the bumpy roads much but so far this one was giving her no problems at all.  I try to take it easy so she can enjoy herself.  If I didn't she would refuse to go and that wouldn't be any fun.

When we run into terrain that is a little on the bumpy side she likes to get out and walk to avoid the discomfort of the bumps.

Ooops, there was one spot on the trail where I suppose I misjudged my track.  I suppose I should have taken a different approach.  A bit of a problem when you balance the thing on the transfer case. 

A little playing around with it with Jered bouncing on the bumper and I managed to get all four wheels back on the ground and was off again.  At this point I was hoping that we could find another way out of the canyon because I wasn't sure I would be able to get the Sammi back up that little hill around those boulders.

Jered and the Jeep had no problem negotiating the area.  A little more horse power, larger tires and a bit more ground clearance.

The Samurai does pretty darned good I must say.  The small foot print makes it real easy to negotiate the tight corners and get around things.

 

Turns out there is no other way back out of the canyon so we had to come out the same way we went in.  When we got back to the spot where I high-centered there must have been a dozen spectators standing around because they had had some difficulty with the area too.  I didn't want to embarrass myself by not being able to make the hill but I didn't want to hang around all day waiting for them to leave either so with an audience at hand I came back up.

I was pretty impressed with the way the Samurai made it.  You'd be surprised what it will do if you wind the rubber band tight enough.  Jered spotted for me so I wouldn't hang up on the transfer case again on the way up.

 

I guess the audience was impressed to.

 

Ok, I was a bit puffed up myself.  Let the testosterone flow......

 

Still on my list of needs:  Lower gears, a little lift and bigger, better tires.