"in Montrose, the REP8000 winched my YJ up at least a 2o to 25' vertical canyon wall in Calamity Canyon where the Jeep was actually suspended several feet off the canyon floor by only the wire rope; while an old Warn winch frizzled and ignited in flames attempting the same feat."

BTW, Fred, THIS sounds absolutely crazy. I did not know a winch could be used this way - now I better understand what "rock crawling" can mean.

I can't see myself trying this (hah!) but I sure would have liked to have seen it. Amazing. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" />
(PS I was looking for a gremlin to say "I salute you" but the closest is "patriot," so here you go.)

Getting a winch was the best piece of advice I was ever given about 4 wheeling. If I didn't have it my Jeep might be under the mud keeping company with an old CJ in the New Orleans spillway. I've got a Warn on the front but I know of several people who have Harbor Freight winches that have been fine when needed for the ocasional tug or a real workout. Not advocating for them, and several people here will say they are carp, but I just bought one as a secondary for the towing receiver. Cheap? Yes. Will it work on the occasion I need it to? Yes. It will be out of the weather 350 days of the year though. My .02. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> Yes, it was a fun trail ride. The interesting part to that climb up the vertical wall in the box canyon was that you actually had to drive up the vertical wall to keep the winch wire from pulling the front of the Jeep into the canyon wall just below the lip of the canyon wall. When my Jeep was completely vertical, I ran out of gas and the engine stalled because the gas tank was less than half full and all of the gasoline was now at the back of the 28 gallon tank just below the fuel pump pickup tube. We had just enough gas in the group to fill my tank just above the pickup tube and keep the Jeep engine running for the short climb up the canyon wall.
What was truly amazing was the CJ5 with a V8 short block that actually climbed the canyon wall like a competitive rockcrwler to be the winch anchor for the other Jeeps still in the box canyon! I've heard that over the recent years this spot has been worn away and is much easier to climb. But, what an adventure that was for me! Calamity Canyon is rated one of the less difficult of 6 or 7 amazing trails there in Montrose, CO. Even so, it was here that the tube housing on my D 35 rear axle separated from its differential.

I'd love to see some pics of that, Fred. Or any other good rides from out there. The trail ride pics that a few people have been putting up are great to see. Love to see more of them, even from back in the day. Can ya' scan some of your old ones? I know that was long before anyone even heard of a digital! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I hear you! But, frankly I got out of attempting to take pictures of trail rides, Jeeps and panoramic vistas. Pictures never seem to capture the beautiful areas I've visited, and I got tired of taking pictures of everybody else's rigs! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> Besides, the camera takes a beating no matter how you attempt to secure it. And, the dust out on the trails gets everywhere (The YJ isn't exactly dustproof, or for that matter, waterproof, either)! I've attempted a few pictures with some cheap cameras,even those sold at the checkout counters: pictures of Jeeps were okay; but otherwise a disappointment. For me, picture taking is too much after-the-action to be of any value.
I'm not sure, but that little adventure in Calamity Canyon may not have even been captured on film by any of my old four wheeling friends that were there.
The other thing about pictures, is that rarely does anyone ever appreciate the pictures that I've shown them; just another Jeep along the trail. Only a few have questions about my Jeep. But, that's about it. No big buzz! However, I did enjoy seeing that Texas actually does have a few rocks! Those were great pictures. The rocks are similar to Moab, only it doesn't seem that you would roll very far if the Jeep rolled off an obstacle (that's certainly a plus!) <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Yup! Katemcy Rocks is considered the "Moab of Texas". Nice to have a place like that down here. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />