After a few more minor obstacles we made it to the top and met up with the other group.   After a collective "cool truck man, whaddya got in the diffs" session, we turned around.  The return run was pretty uneventful except for the constant sound of Mitsubishi parts bouncing off rocks.  Doug was apparently trying to top Paul in the metal on rock department, taking all the hard lines on the downhill side and testing his skid plates.  He managed to shear a skid plate bolt clean off, and bounced that nice new rear tire carrier off a few rocks as well.

We made it back to the hotel and discovered that Jim Guld had a new skidplate/rocker guard customer in Paul and his Mitsubishi, who had just wrecked the factory skid and factory nerfs.  After a nice dinner, including perhaps too many adult beverages, we went back to our nice rooms for some well deserved and needed sleep.

After a minor misdirection (hey, at least I got us there, so what if it was 1/2 hour early), we met Bob and Joan in the Howler for the infamous MaBell.  Bob led and I tailgunned.  After a collective attack of lunch indecision, Subway finally opened, we got our sandwiches, and headed out.  After airing down, we bypassed Monster Rock and headed into the woods.  I was the only one to try that big mud puddle - it sunk all four 33 inch tires, but I made it.  The bottom is firm.  Everyone in the group except the Mitsu tried Ziggy's Staircase (maybe the new name for that obstacle that rolled the Willys last time), and most of us made it.  Chen needed a lot of right foot, and I got a bit nervous watching him bounce this way and that as he inched his way up with squealing tires under full throttle.

Everyone either made or bypassed the next series of obstacles without too much problem until we got to that hill that rolled Eric's Toyota last time out.  Its even more washed out now, and a real white-knuckle downhill ride.  You have to cut the right hand turn very wide, which puts you very off camber for a second until the front tires realize they are supposed to turn the rig downhill.  After that, its just a matter of going very, very slowly and keeping your rig in that washout rut.  I discovered that even a 4:1 in the T case and 4.56s in the diffs are not slow enough, you actually need some brake.

Paul in the Mitsu gave it a shot, actually quite a few shots, but only managed to move around some big rocks and inflict more damage on the battered underside of his rig before he took the bypass.  I was the only other wheeler in our group to try it, and made it almost all the way up - at least as far as the really hard part.  When my rig decided to slide sideways and backwards as all four locked wheels spun forward I jammed on the brakes and called for a pull on my winch cable.  

In hindsight, maybe I should have given it another shot, but sheet metal was very, very close to rock on both sides, and getting off camber when all you can see is sky is a bad thing.  The angle of the cable pulled the front of my rig down into the ground as I winched, and I had bad visions of Paul DaVilla's exploding a U joint at Beacon, so I unlocked the front (I love ARBs), only gave it a little throttle, letting the winch do most of the work.

We met another group of well-equipped wheelers at that point, and those of us too young to remember such things learned that new Scouts actually came with hard metal tops.  I had thought that the trade off for the bulletproof factory drivetrain was OEM body damage and a canvas roof.  We made it through most everything else on the way out, and everyone creeped down Ziggy's Staircase.  Chen discovered just how weak the factory gas tank skid on a TJ is, and probably lost a gallon or two worth of tank capacity on the way down.  I managed to bounce my heavy gas tank skid and rear bumper off a few rocks on the way down, but pretty much everyone did that.  The Mistu came within a hair of some serious body damage to a rear corner, but just managed to make it.  Paul did bash a factory nerf up into the rocker a bit earlier, however.  Time for some treatment at the Metal Ward.  My rocker skids bashed hard off the same rocks, but the Jim Guld re-enforcement kept them off the sheetmetal.

We then made it out to the road and Monster Rock and a few brave (or crazy) souls turned around.  Bob just walked right up it with just the right amount of extra throttle, and opened up that carb at the top to let us all know he was up there.  The Mitsu lined up for it, but thought better and backed off after the front tires lost their grip.   I stared at it just enough to know it was a bad idea, got in the rig, and headed up.  I made three tries, none successful.  Each time I knew I needed a bit more right foot, but I could feel the front tires bouncing around and shifting right and left, so brains won out over testosterone and I backed down.

Paul's rear tires are starting to climb the Monster Rock