Today’s ride is Metal Masher!
It’s not the first time here. But when I did it last year, in took all the bypasses. Every. Last. One. I promised myself I would not take any bypasses this year. I’m proud to say I only took one. At the end. Because I don’t have the courage to creep down a 48” high 45 degree wall. Nuh uh!
The trail reminded me of Texas. Lots of dust, lots of challenging stretches. And a significant number of walls to climb over. I made it a point to follow a JLUR that is equipped like mine. 35” tires and 2” lift. I followed his line and found myself in trouble a few times. Nothing terrible but some metal was mashed. Apparently a winch mount bolt came off. Ruh roh!
I decided to follow a different Jeep. A two door TJ with 33” tires and a 4” lift. Close enough. I followed his line every time we got to a wall. Absolutely no issues. It’s amazing what a Jeep can go over if you take the right line, and go slowly. I followed that Jeep until the last wall. He went over it but slammed down pretty hard.
That’s when I radioed the tour leads asking about the bypass. “The bypass is in the left but not sure what shape it’s in.” I hightailed to the bypass and so did a dozen others. I guess I’m used to being the squeaky wheel.
Some pictures…
Metal Masher was loads of fun, more so than last year. But who am I kidding? The ESJ spotters were awesome! Tomorrow is Good Bar Rim.
Overlander at large 