spikemd
Explorer
My buddy Eric bought a D90 in the fall and had a bit of work done and part of the frame repaired this spring. We took it out for its inaugural trail run on Monday afternoon. We headed to Signal Peak, near Tahoe which is just an hour from our neighborhood. Got off at Eagle Lakes exit, loop under 80 and the staging area is the same as Fordyce. The trail starts off immediately climbing a rock garden with some decent sized boulders to navigate. Various obstacles along the way, tight squeezes and some trees to contend with on the climb. One section, has a large tree on your right and a huge boulder on the left. As I was climbing, some rocks shifted and my left rear tire dropped down, bashing in the rear sill and ripping off the rear cladding. Oops. At the last minute before the trip and having to bring 4 kids, I decided to take the LR3 instead of my range rover. I remember this section last fall and with sliders, I just bounced off. Looks like I need sliders for the LR3 before I do any more serious offroading. The D90 is a bit slimmer and didn't have much trouble scrambling over the rocks. Power gets you through most obstacles while you need to drive slower with the LR3 to let the traction control kick in, but the LR3 motored through anything we threw at it. At the 'ledge' we decided to take a steep loose bypass instead. My wife wouldn't be happy if I bashed up her truck anymore. The top of the peak rewards you with spectacular views and a quick hike to the original lookout post. We took the backside fire road down to Cisco Grove, aired up and then drove home. Great day trip.
A stock LR3 could see some damage on the trail and there are no bypasses on the first half of the trail. I have Sasquatch Rods and 32 inch tires and tapped a few bits, including that good hit on my rear sill and bumper.
There is plenty of camping around that area and would like to do a weekend trip with folks which is showing interest in another thread.
A few pics and link to video. The video is after the tough sections and just a scramble up an open area. Didn't get any shots of the tough stuff.
A stock LR3 could see some damage on the trail and there are no bypasses on the first half of the trail. I have Sasquatch Rods and 32 inch tires and tapped a few bits, including that good hit on my rear sill and bumper.
There is plenty of camping around that area and would like to do a weekend trip with folks which is showing interest in another thread.
A few pics and link to video. The video is after the tough sections and just a scramble up an open area. Didn't get any shots of the tough stuff.
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