Twisted - just its name conjures up images of nasty things. This trail is not for the timid and defiantly not for those with a dislike for body damage. This trail seems to have my number as I have yet to escape its grasp unscathed. The trail is tough from the minute you drop into the creek bed and head up the washed out roadway until you make the last climb to the top.
Just locking into four low this year caused me to break out the wrenches. As soon as I pulled the lever I heard a series of nasty pops followed by a grinding noise in the front end that let me know things were not looking good. We pulled down in the creek bed to a nice flat spot and proceeded to change out a busted u-joint that took both inner and outer shafts with it. This small delay effectively split the trail ride into two groups with three Jeeps at the rear basically being our own group. This worked out well as we would catch the main group usually and then something would happen and we would fall back behind again, only to catch them later on. Our Group consisted of our tail gunner Tim Nevadomski in his red CJ7, John Yardbrough in his gray CJ5, and myself in my orange CJ7.
We entered the trail and headed into the woods. Twisted is a very tight trail and the undergrowth is right up to the sides, if you have any susceptibility to poison ivy wear long pants and shirts on this trail. Also because it is so overgrown it will be cool in the shade so bring appropriate clothing. The trail starts off easy and the first section leading up to the gate goes fairly quickly. It is a just a series of off camber trail with huge rocks thrown in. You have very little room to maneuver and the rocks reach up to grab your undercarriage often and without mercy. It can take you several repositioning moves just to get around a rock that is catching your rear diff because there is so little room. On twisted in many places there is only one line over a series of rocks if you can’t make that line be prepared to break out the winch cable.
Our second victim of the trail came just as we were catching the first group John had managed to rip his steering box mount apart. Luckily he had an on board welder. They soon had it off and he and his co-pilot we trying to get it straightened out. On one lucky swing and rebound the headlight of John’s five was struck by the hammer and exploded. This caused a slight delay as we all laughed our butts off. With some spare bolts I carried we were able to use as patch material we soon had the steering box bracket welded up and back on the Jeep.
Back on the trail again we soon caught the rest of the group as they were pushing through the gate. The gate has two lines once you get past the large rock that serves as the gate and marks the halfway point of the trail. The line on the left had disappeared with everyone having to take the winch at the end to get through. I thought I saw a line on the right and a guy from Washington was kind enough to try it. He had good luck at it but right at the end the Jeep slipped and the line was gone. He took the cable as well. Then John was up and to the gate and he went left thinking with his five he could squeeze through but he got off line and had to high lift his front end up as he got caught on his front pinion. In the meantime on the rocks preceding the gate I managed to rip a valve stem off. While John jacked his truck up we pulled my tire and replaced the valve stem. We soon had both mobile again. I went up to help getting John through the gate but he ended up taking the cable as well. Then I was up and went right to try my early line. After several repositionings I almost had it but then my seven slipped as well and rather then risk the door I took the cable as well. The Tim followed my line and amazingly was able to make it work, he still slipped but he caught just enough of a tire lug and pulled himself up and over. Tim was the only one to make it through the gate unassisted that day.
After the gate the trail gets down right mean. The next section is by far the toughest section. Between you and the exit stands the Waterfall and some of the nastiest sections of rock piles known to man. It is in this section your truck and temperament will be tested to the limit. Lets just say I failed on both accounts when after a particularly difficult section of rocks led to me losing my cool. I had went over to the dark side and the next few minutes weren’t pretty. Starting to suffer problems with my shifter on one section I slammed reverse and too much throttle and popped up on a large rock to fast. The rest they say is history as the Jeep went on her side. But the roll over brought me back to earth in more ways than one and I was soon back in my happy place with the Jeep on all fours. We decided now might be a good time for lunch so we took a minute to eat some sandwiches. Then I took my cover off my shifter and repaired the clip that had sprung off by replacing it with a cotter pin.
The next major obstacle we come across is the waterfall. This particularly tough obstacle forces you to climb a slightly off camber, moss covered, ten to twelve foot waterfall. To make this even tougher the down hill side of the trail is lined with trees that will take any sheetmetal you feed them. John tries but gets in a bad spot and decides to take the winch cable. I am up next and I take a line that takes you way high but with lots of throttle this line works for me and I make it up without the cable or donating to the trees. Tim follows but doesn’t have the motor and decides to take the cable before the tree takes to big of bite.
The trail continues to get tighter and tougher and after getting out to spot Tim over a tough spot I let my co-pilot Paul take some time at the wheel. Paul drove perhaps 250 yards of trail but didn’t seem to have any problems until the last nasty section of rocks before entering the chute that leads to the final exit of the trail out of the valley. After getting stuck on a rock Paul proceeded to stomp on it when I told him to give it some gas. I guess there is a little difference in horsepower levels between the toy he is used to driving and the small block in the Jeep as he proceed to shatter the rear driveshaft. But Tim had a spare shaft with so we scavenged the slip yoke off of it and I soon had it fixed. After that Paul wouldn’t drive anymore. I then backed up and walked the section Paul had gotten stuck in and proceeded to the chute. The chute is a section of trail that lays you really hard against the bank and forces you to maneuver over some nasty roots from the very close trees. Your reward for negotiating this is the exit to higher ground. But this last little climb requires you to come up about four feet and make a sharp left turn onto a trail barely wide enough to hold you. Most people had taken the cable without even giving it a go. But I had almost made it last year in three wheel drive so I tried it again this year. I almost had it but then my left rear slipped back over the bank after making the turn and I to required the cable.
By now it has started to rain heavily and the two track we are on is getting muddy and slippery by the minute. We faced a long climb up a series of switchbacks to get to the top where the trail reconnects with the main road. We slowly claw our way to the top. John is in front of me and I can see his Boggers just loading up with mud. We have several tricky climbs over downed trees before we arrive at the final long hill climb. By the time we get there the hill is slick with mud and unclimbable. You hook your winch cable to the guy in front of you and as he pulls himself up the trail your cable goes with him. But once you get above the trees you still have to drive the last hundred yards to the main road and here motors talk as the struggle to clean the mud from the voids in the tires. Finally wet and exhausted we arrive at the main road and air. What a great day!
This trail in my books is by far the hardest trail I have ran yet. I hear Hangman and Die Trying are tougher but since I haven’t had the opportunity yet to run those this one is still my top trail.