Well, today we started off on the lower 311 at about 11:00, which didn't have a spec of snow on it. I think I only turned the tires a couple times, so it was WAY easier than it was in August of last summer.
Then we got to the road/ trail that dumps into the campground. There was snow starting about where the Upper 311 starts, if I remember correctly.
We went ahead and headed up the rest of the 311 seeing snow a couple spots, and in those spots it was almost gone. The last hillclimb has 2 routes up that are free of snow, but they are just kind of troughs.
Right there is where the snow really started. We were in snow pretty much from the last hill climb up past the little play area, and to where the trail cuts to the left to meet up with the main road. We turned around right there because of the snow, and headed to the campground, that was about 12:30.
The campground is where the fun started! It took us 3.5 hours to get from the Upper 311 entrance, to the main parking lot. I had to winch my Ranger over the bridge that goes over the creek. Then my buddy got his Camanchee stuck there also, and it quite running, so I winch and yanked him up to the road/ gate where we got it started.
From there it was a lot of shovel and winch work to get back to the parking area, because it was 2 ruts ALL the way (except maybe the last 1/4 mile or so), and my snowplow-of-a-D35 front axle tried to plow the snow more than go over it... My buddy's Chamanchee did a lot better with his solid axles and 35x12.5's (I have 33x12.5's)
We got back to the entry parking lot right at 4:00.
So, all in all, the roads were more difficult than the trails, whodathunkit.
Also, my buddy needs to get a real t-case behind his tranny!!! That Jeep AWD crap is a joke... I don't think I ever saw a front AND rear tire spinning, it was always a front, or a rear, never both.
