50" RZR to REDACTED and REDACTED

[John Goering]

My wife and I bought a 2016 RZR 900 EPS Trail several years back to use on BLM/FS 50" designated trails. It got severely baptized shortly after purchase and I spent most of the following winter modifying it into something that actually works. Fast forward to the present with my wife quickly loosing her ability to even walk (no balance left) and the RZR is getting a little more use. We did a midweek trip following the 4th to an area west of here. A lot of the trails we had hiked before but we did see some new to us country. We met friends with an RV in which my wife slept while I slept in the tent with the three canines.

Redacted Peak below lower Redacted Lake on FS Redacted road. OK, this is silly-------- This is Tobacco Root Mountains

Our first obstacle was a couple hundred crap producers which we got to greet twice-once on the road before we got to the Forest Service and again as we sat and waited for our friends. A lot of tent campers near the FS boundary were no doubt in for an unpleasant night's surprise.

The meet up spot pre-bovine.

Our first "run" was up FS 1225 which is open to 4x4s. It has a good view up the South Willow Creek valley-our destination on day 2.

Lone and Fan Mountains from 1225.

We got stopped on FS 1225 by snow at about 9000'.

Lower Sure Shot Lake as we retraced our path back to FS 160 and over the pass into South Willow for the second half of the day.

A wet meadow with Mine Peak in the background. We saw a nice bull moose here but I didn't get a photo. This is 50" trail.

Left to right, Horse Mountain, Mount Jefferson, and Hollowtop Mountain from FS 1252.

Camp Creek Reservoir, or at least what is left of it, with Branham Peaks for a backdrop.

Past the reservoir on now FS Trail 6308, things got a little interesting. It doesn't look steep but it definitely was.

From there we headed back to "camp" for the evening.

 

[John Goering]

Day 2. We again retraced our path over the divide on FS 160 and dropped into South Willow Creek. We were on several miles of typical FS road here.

Mine Peak with Granite Peak to left.

And of course we couldn't get out of this without a couple of "kid" photos.

Granite (left) and little Granite Peaks at the start of 50" trail, FS 9605.

Granite Lake.

You can't get too good of view of this, but the cascade/falls from a small pond above Granite Lake falls about 350'.

The trail below Granite Lake is a bit wet. Again, the photo doesn't come close to showing how steep this is.

Wet meadow/bog below Granite Lake. We have observed a LOT of goat sign in this area in the past.

I think this is a massive blow-down (microburst) rather than avalanche debris. It happened about 15 years ago.

Day 3. This was where we camped.

A parting shot of Potosi Peak from the end of FS 1600, about a mile and a half from camp.

 

[Rockskipper]

Love the REDACTEDs! Your kids are pretty cool, too.

 

[Bob]

You were losing me with the "redacted" ... Wasn't going to read the post past that till I saw you saw it was stupid...... Nice report.

 

[Wanderlust073]

You were losing me with the "redacted" ... Wasn't going to read the post past that till I saw you saw it was stupid...... Nice report.

I don't understand why the other one on the front page appears to have been disappeared/unlinked (clicking the image does nothing now). There's literally a public restroom in the picture, how secret of a place was it exactly...

 

[balzaccom]

I think you underestimate those photos. Some of them look steep as hell! Glad to see you getting out with your wife!

 

[swmalone]

I thought I started a trend. Looks like a fun trip. I have mixed feelings about side by sides. I see trips like yours and think they would be great, but then when I'm out on a forest service road and run into the occasional person driving them like they are on a speedway I get murderous feelings.

I don't understand why the other one on the front page appears to have been disappeared/unlinked (clicking the image does nothing now). There's literally a public restroom in the picture, how secret of a place was it exactly...

It isn't that secret of a place. I just promised my Dad I wouldn't name it when I posted. No idea why clicking on the image doesn't work, except that I actually thought I removed that image from the post because I didn't realize at first that my Dad was in the picture.

 

[Jackson]

I'm sorry about your wife but glad to see that the RZRs make it so she can keep getting out to places you love. Love seeing all that snow up there. I really need to go do a quick backpack in the Tobacco Roots this year. Really enjoyed what little I saw last year.

 

[John Goering]

I completely agree that most ATV/UTV/motorcycle riders I've encountered seem to be needing to get somewhere in a big hurry. OR be afflicted with some sort of right hand palsy. My 50" machine is set up more like a crawling Jeep and I don't suspect the speedometer ever much exceeds 10 mph, usually only a fraction of that. The exhaust is still annoying.

Jackson, I can point you to two of my favorite spots but that is publicly REDACTED. Now would be a really good time to do one of them with the road closed.

 

[Jackson]

I completely agree that most ATV/UTV/motorcycle riders I've encountered seem to be needing to get somewhere in a big hurry. OR be afflicted with some sort of right hand palsy. My 50" machine is set up more like a crawling Jeep and I don't suspect the speedometer ever much exceeds 10 mph, usually only a fraction of that. The exhaust is still annoying.

Jackson, I can point you to two of my favorite spots but that is publicly REDACTED. Now would be a really good time to do one of them with the road closed.

The dust and gas exhaust is what got to me the one time I went out on side-by-sides. Would be fine as long as you're the one in front! Haha.

I'll shoot you a message!