Jim Collier > More snow.
Jim Collier > Bottom of the hill.
Jim Collier > I wiched the jeep uphill about 20 yards to get clear of the ledge, then lowered it all the way down the hill.  (The winch line is very long.)  No trees were harmed.
Jim Collier > Again, pictures don't capture how steep this is.  There can't be more than a handful of jeeps in the state that could make this entire trail (and mine is not one of them), at least with mud and snow.  I'm not even sure this rig can make the whole trail when dry, at least without breaking.  I think only a jeep-sized vehicle could do this trail.  No trees have been cut down so it's very twisty, tight, and off-camber (thus requiring a small and short-wheelbase vehicle).  But anything smaller wouldn't be able to step over the boulders, ruts, roots, holes, etc.
Jim Collier > I couldn't get past this part but not for lack of trying and nearly sliding off the ledge.  Time to use the winch.  It's really steep here.  So steep that walking was really difficult!  I fell and slid countless times just rigging up the winch.
Jim Collier > After a grueling hour or so to drive just a mile on very a tough trail, I was faced with this hill.  Hard to tell from the photos, but it was brutal, and I've seen lots of brutal.  Very steep, and it kept climbing farther than I could see.  There was mud, boulders, and roots everywhere.  This trail had obviously never been graded by a bulldozer as a real vehicle trail, and was probably created by snowmobiles in the winters.  I wouldn't have attempted this alone, had I not had so much time and effort invested into making it this far.  Also, it was completely, utterly, pitch-black.  There was no city glow anywhere, it was completely moonless, and thick snow clouds blocked what little starlight might have filtered through the trees.
Jim Collier > Snow getting a little deeper.
Jim Collier > Trying for hours to find the path to NF-676.  Snow, bad maps, and closed trails won.  Though by the time I was done, I had methodically mapped and drawn the trail system of the entire mountain myself, with a compass, odometer, pen and paper--which was it's own form of fun.
Jim Collier > Photographs never do steep hills justice.
More snow.
Jim Collier > More snow.
More snow.
See photo in original gallery.

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