Evans Creek ORV Park

Our new '97 XJ hit the trails for the first time this weekend at Evans Creek ORV Park!
We had a ton of fun climbing the mountains near Mt.Rainier this weekend, taking our stock XJ on some beginner trails so we could feel for its week spots. Turns out, it doesn't have many, other than a little lower clearance than we want and a bit of tire spinning, it took the trails like a champ and didn't get stuck on anything. The park had plenty of fun trails, steep climbs and beautiful views, so we're sure we'll be going back with our less stock vehicles to check out the harder trails.

The Trip:
We got lucky this trip, and thanks to some stormy weather the park was almost empty, though there was plenty of rain and mud, and even some snow! We started our trip at Staging Area 1 and dropped right into trail 102. Most of 102 is rated "Easisest", and is pretty much perfect for beginners in mostly stock vehicles. We took our XJ, our '00 TJ, and two friends of ours brought their polaris and stock 2wd chevy, and most of us got through with no or minor damage. The chevy was a bit too long for this trail, and got a bit beat up.

We got to the point where trail 102 turns from "Easiest" to their "Most Difficult" rating, and decided the XJ probably wouldn't make it through unscathed, and decided to turn back around. On the way back however, a nice downhill with some slippery rocks turned into quite the difficult climb, and we had to rescue our 2WD friend. We lined up the Jeep, un-spooled the winch, and realized we had none of the hardware needed to actually use the winch. Always Check For Your Equipment Before You Hit The Trail. We didn't follow this excellent advice, but luckily our polaris buddy had some chains in his truck, and was able to run and get them. We were able to pull him up easily, but maybe give this trail a pass if you have open diffs and only 2wd. All three other vehicles made it up with no issues though, with a little spotting for the XJ to avoid the biggest rock.

After completing 102, we headed up the road to Staging Area 2 to try some more trails. On the way to the staging area, the chevy developed a loud knocking noise, further investigation found that a caliper bolt was missing on the passenger side. After some repairs that we won't be sharing here because you should never do them, he headed home to repair it properly while we went on.

The rest of us started up Trail 7930. It was mostly uneventful, but we turned onto Trail 310 and found a little hill to climb, with just enough room at the top to turn around and ride back down before going up the rest of 7930. You ride this trail along the edge of the mountain and get to look out over the trees and mountains and it's really cool. We were even lucky enough to catch a few snowflakes up there. At the end of 7930 there's a bit of a clearing that made for a nice break point, and allowed the more capable rigs to mess around on the climbs at the start of Trail 520. Unfortunately, we again didn't think these trails were XJ friendly without a lift, so we headed back down 7930 and climbed around on a few random obstacles that aren't on any trail in particular before heading home. Overall, if you've got a stock Jeep and are just wanting to dip your toe into off-roading, we really like Trail 102, and will probably continue taking our newbies there to learn. We didn't try much of the more difficult trails, but what we did try seemed pretty great, and we're looking forward to going back. Our next trip out will probably be to Elbe Hills in the snow though, so keep an eye out for pictures from that!

Quick Update: The new currectlync steering system on '00 TJ performed flawlessly off-road as expected, all of our bumpsteer is gone and our alignment even stayed put through all the bumps and rocks, we are incredibly happy with how this system is holding up.

Enjoy Some Pictures Of Our Trip!
The pictures never stand up to the experience, and some of the hills look flat-ish, but they feel plenty steep in the Jeep, so don't discount it too much if you wanted to go for yourself. (What's that old saying? The camera takes off 10 degrees?)