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To start with, the only mods I did was a 1.5 inch leveling lift in front and an added skid plate.
I began the route from Mineral Bottom and spent the first night at Labyrinth campsite. So far, nothing too technical. The next day, however, I came upon the Hardscrabble climb. When I saw the incline and the amount of rocks, I wondered if I had gotten in over my head, I put the Bronco in Rock Crawl mode and went at it. Honestly, it was quite nerve-wracking and I hit bottom a few times and high centered briefly. I wondered if I was doing any major damage. Down the other side wasn't much better but I didn't hit as often. When I got to a more manageable section I did some inspection and didn't see any leaks or parts hanging down. So I continued on.
The road is very bumpy and there are a few sections of deep sand but the Bronco handled those with ease. The next major challenge was the Muphy Hogback, a steep, narrow climb and descent. While not as technical as Hardscrabble, backing up on this section for an oncoming vehicle would be difficult. Fortunately, on the uphill (which I would have had the right of way) I didn't meet another vehicle. On the downhill, I had to wait for a mountain bike group and their support to come up. I used the Trail Control mode to descend and it did great, allowing me to focus on steering.
With those two sections done, the rest was just normal 4X4 stuff and awesome scenery. I saw one full size Bronco and the rest were Jeeps, Tacomas/4 Runners and Land Rovers. I was very pleased at how well the BS Badlands did, although I did push it to its limits.
It was a fun trip. I spent two nights camping on the road and it took about a total of two days of driving.
I began the route from Mineral Bottom and spent the first night at Labyrinth campsite. So far, nothing too technical. The next day, however, I came upon the Hardscrabble climb. When I saw the incline and the amount of rocks, I wondered if I had gotten in over my head, I put the Bronco in Rock Crawl mode and went at it. Honestly, it was quite nerve-wracking and I hit bottom a few times and high centered briefly. I wondered if I was doing any major damage. Down the other side wasn't much better but I didn't hit as often. When I got to a more manageable section I did some inspection and didn't see any leaks or parts hanging down. So I continued on.
The road is very bumpy and there are a few sections of deep sand but the Bronco handled those with ease. The next major challenge was the Muphy Hogback, a steep, narrow climb and descent. While not as technical as Hardscrabble, backing up on this section for an oncoming vehicle would be difficult. Fortunately, on the uphill (which I would have had the right of way) I didn't meet another vehicle. On the downhill, I had to wait for a mountain bike group and their support to come up. I used the Trail Control mode to descend and it did great, allowing me to focus on steering.
With those two sections done, the rest was just normal 4X4 stuff and awesome scenery. I saw one full size Bronco and the rest were Jeeps, Tacomas/4 Runners and Land Rovers. I was very pleased at how well the BS Badlands did, although I did push it to its limits.
It was a fun trip. I spent two nights camping on the road and it took about a total of two days of driving.
