Topic: Johnson Valley trail ranking

[BigMike]

Hey guys,

Could someone please rank the following Johnson Valley trails, using a 1-10 scale where 1 = Easier and 10 = Harder.

I know this list is far from complete. I am just curious about how these trails compare to one another. I have ran all of these except for Sunbonnet and Upper Big Johnson

# Lower Big Johnson
# Upper Big Johnson
# Outer Limits
# Claw Hammer
# Sledge Hammer
# Jack Hammer
# After Shock
# Wrecking Ball
# Sunbonnet Pass

Thanks
Mike

[rockhound]

What's up Big Mike.
Of the trails done, starting with the easiest, I'd say...
Claw         5
Sledge       5
Jack          5
Wrecking    7
Outer        7


Big Bird and I have yet to find Sunbonnet 

[Scuba]

Aftershock, Umm
7

The end of the trail is the worst part that stopped our group.. We were just fine until then.

[BigMike [OP]]

The problem is I don't remember what trail I did and when I did it

I think this is how I would rank these:
? Sunbonnet Pass (I heard it was easy but I've never done it)
2 Claw Hammer
4 Lower Big Johnson
5 Sledge Hammer
6 Jack Hammer
? After Shock (after shock... after shock... hmm I am not sure if I've done this either)
7 Wrecking Ball
7 Outer Limits
? Upper Big Johnson (I've never done it, but it looks steep)

[lilbuddy]

Yeah I would definitely rate Claw a 2.

Sunbonnet Is probably also a 2-3
Jack - 5
Wrecking ball - 7
Outerlimits - 5

[BigMike [OP]]

Aftershock, Umm
7

The end of the trail is the worst part that stopped our group.. We were just fine until then.

? After Shock (after shock... after shock... hmm I am not sure if I've done this either)

Is this the end of aftershock?

I remember this trail being easy and there there was a spot at the end where you could go straight up some climb and then turn a hard left, or you could go on an alternative route wide to the right, where I am pictured below. I hear some ppl have to winch this line but I was able to make it on my own:



And right past that part there is this rock that I played on:


And that's the end of the trail. There is a lot of sand after this point.

So is this Aftershock? Or is this Outer Limits?

[rockhound]

I believe that's Outer. But I have yet to do Aftershock.

The last time I ran Claw, I ran it from top to bottom. It was easy. But the time before that, coming up, I was surprised how much it changed for the worse.

We should have a current rating run. You guys are rating it based on your last time out. 

[Scuba]

Um, Honestly that first picture doesnt really look like it.

The end of the trail is called "Depreciation Knob" Or Hill..

Here's a picture of the squeeze at the beggining of depreciation


There's a spot behind/ under that truck that has your rear tire down and under and your front tire in front of this huge rock and down in a hole, Which makes positioning to get through the squeeze that much harder..
I can't find a picture of it right now, But we had an FJ80 on 35's that was hung up right here, Even a winch from the top of the hill wasnt pulling him anywhere.

Here's a trail report on TTORA
http://ttora.com/forum/showthread.php?t=143847

Here's the AP trail report
http://www.allprooffroad.com/events/trail-reports/490-get-hammered-with-all-pro-trail-report

If you see the guy sitting ontop of the rock, and look to the left. Those are the 2 rocks that make the squeeze.



So yea, I say 7.

[slabcs]

I ran Aftershock for the first time last weekend and it wasn't bad at all.  Really fun trail.

[rockhound]

Um, Honestly that first picture doesnt really look like it.

At near the end of Outer Limits, there is a squeeze that you used to be able to negotiate by keeping drivers side high. That shale type ledge got worn down. It still claims tail lights. I was thinking Mike is taking the line to the right. Marlin takes it here during Tinbenders '06

[BigMike [OP]]

Thanks -

I am pretty sure that is the trail I posted pictures from above, so it's Outer Limits.

So, once again, I don't think I've ran Aftershock. Looks like I'll be running it this year for sure

[Rockcrawlintoy]

How long are these trails?

[BigMike [OP]]

Holy thread resurrection Batman! It's nice you brought this thread back up as I've done more trails out there since I last posted, and this April I plan to to spend a few days actually out there wheeling and plan to record GPS routes & coordinates for reference (I'm sure they already exist but I've always wanted to do this myself).

Most trails are only a 1 or 2 miles long at most. For instance here is data from the 2012 Tin Bender's Jamboree of Lower + Upper Big Johnson followed by Boulder Dash:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/173176135

All of Big Johnson is only about 1.5 miles.

BigMike

[ReformedJeeper]

Does anyone have a current list of difficulty? Planning on running either Sledge, Jack, or sunbonnet in the next few weeks. Which one of those is harder?