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Re: [OM] Puzzlement and 4WD

Subject: Re: [OM] Puzzlement and 4WD
From: Jim Nichols <jhnichols@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 03 Oct 2013 15:38:27 -0500
Glad you made it home, Ken.  Your story brought to mind some adventures 
in the Smokys, when a local stared at us in amazement after we finally 
made it out of the wilderness! :-)

And that was with 2-wheel drive.

Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA

On 10/3/2013 11:23 AM, Ken Norton wrote:
> As a result of a series of phone calls, yesterday, I decided to
> venture into the hills after work and explore a road I hadn't been
> down before. Grabbing my trusty Gazetteer and a wad of camera gear, I
> headed south out of Denver to Sedalia and took 67 to Rampart Range
> Road. This gravel road goes as far as Woodland Park. But, I was
> interested in getting down to Devils Head, which is a rather
> photogenic mountain.
>
> The road is entirely washboard right now, and has a posted 20 mph
> speed limit (hmmm). Numerous turnouts and a major playground for
> offroad modes of conveyance. Interestingly, enough, as it follows the
> ridge line along, cell coverage worked quite a bit of the time,
> although the signal was weak.
>
> On the west side of the mountain, I got some sunset shots, and then
> proceeded further south to catch 27 (FR 503) back north so I could
> loop back to Sedalia. At least that's what the map said.
>
> The road north was a bit narrower and lesser maintained, but with all
> the heavy rains lately, I figured that much of the road conditions
> were recently caused. Additional parking and camping areas abound. In
> fact, this is a great area to go camping! I'm impressed. Only 30
> something miles from the house/work. I come to a clearing with a small
> meadow and got a clear shot of Devils Head. I stopped and took some
> pictures, but by this point it's getting pretty dark. Exposures were
> something like 10 seconds at F8, ISO 100. Too dark to actually focus
> with the DMC-L1 and DZ glass. This is another one of those times when
> "fly by wire" focusing totally sucks. I would take a picture, chimp
> the result and tweak the focus and try again... The results are pretty
> good, but I have to do some work with the images before presenting.
>
> Carrying on, I continue north, but it's getting darker and darker.
> This road follows Jackson Creek and I come up to a spot where the road
> Ys off and a Jeep style road heads south while desired road continues
> on north. But there is a little zig and a zag. What I didn't realize
> was that my map was out of date and there is a segment of the road
> that no longer exists and I can't get to Sedalia from here. But I had
> continued on the road going south not realizing I was going south
> until the road conditions got so bad and it was narrowing up so much
> that I didn't think that this seemed right. I look at the compass and
> realize my mistake. It took another little bit before I found a place
> to turn around.
>
> The road had been getting pretty steep, slanted and heavily "rutted".
> The BMW X5 was struggling a bit going up because it doesn't have low
> range and the slush-box tranny was slipping something horrible. (at
> times it was at the limit). On more than one occasion I had wheels in
> the air. The traction control was working overtime transferring the
> power to the wheels on the ground. The Jeep Grand Cherokee would have
> done a lot better because of the solid-axle suspension, but the
> independent suspension of the X5 with limited (and stiff) travel meant
> that I had it teetering on two opposite corner wheels on several
> occasions. I'm just glad the road wasn't wet. By the time I turned
> around, it was very much a moonless night and very dark.
>
> Turning around was your classic 9 point turn with the bumper hanging
> out over space...in the dark.
>
> Once turned around, I pressed the button for Descent Control, which
> was provided to BMW by Land Rover. It did a fabulous job and I only
> occasionally had to do anything but steer. I am VERY impressed with it
> and even with two wheels in the air, it kept things pretty much under
> control. Did I mention that the trail was steep? Low-range steep? I
> did override it a couple of times to come to a complete halt to
> traverse a particularly nasty spot and wipe the sweat off the steering
> wheel.
>
> So, I get back down to the last "known position" and find where the
> road used to be. Rats. This means I have to completely backtrack. In
> the dark. Over washboard road.
>
> I eventually do get back to the big city and feel good because I
> pushed myself and the vehicle rather hard. We don't get environments
> like this in Iowa and I'm now trying to milk every opportunity for
> what it's worth since my time here is limited.
>
> Oh, yes... Why I wrote this...
>
> Rampart Range Road is a GRADE A photography road. Had I been more
> interested in photography than driving (destination priority, BMW) and
> had more time, I would have likely shot 500 pictures. The Jackson
> Creek Road is very beautiful and I only wish that I could have
> experienced it in daylight. This is certainly a must-return location
> and on my very short list of places to go in Colorado. In fact, I'd
> say that for accessibility, turnouts, and the overall concentration of
> photographic opportunities, this is one of the best locations for
> photography in the Denver area.
>


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