93B - Blue Rock Mountain

93B starts just over a half-mile down 93A from Blue Rock Trailhead. You will immediately cross two small, 5-yard rock fields. Don't let these tiny football-sized rocks fool you; they are nearly pebbles compared to what lies ahead.

The first major rock garden is a 15-yard-long, man-made testament to the natural rock sizes you can expect to encounter later on in the trail. This rock garden is filled with jagged, beachball-sized boulders just waiting to snag diffs, control arms, and steering components. There is an easy bypass on the uphill side. However, the bypass is generally used for those exiting the trail in defeat. If the optional obstacle here gives you trouble, you should turn around before you reach the non-optional obstacles.

The second man-made rock garden is another opportunity to warm your nerves with large, jagged rocks and the momentum you must carry to navigate such an obstacle. This garden is slightly narrower than the first, offering fewer line choices. An easy bypass for the rock garden exists on the uphill side.

The third man-made rock garden is a slight taste of just how steep the trail will become. Again, traverse through beachball and larger-sized rocks, keeping your momentum up, and avoid smashing into trees on both sides of the slope. This is the last obstacle with an optional bypass.

This rock garden is the first obstacle you experience that does not have a bypass. It appears to be mostly man-made, with additional rock added to natural rock already found along the hillside. This obstacle is not any harder nor easier than the previous optional rock gardens, it is merely the first non-optional rock garden. Boulders range in size from basketball to beachball sized, and vary in shape from flat to anvil.

After leaving the man-made obstacles behind, it's time to experience the full force of Blue Mountain's natural furry. This steep, 50-yard-long rock garden is made up of tractionless granite tabletop-sized boulders, peppered with moving beachball-sized rocks, and carefully hiding tire-swallowing holes. This stretch must be carefully traversed as the downhill side of the trail drops off suddenly and offers no safety net, as the slope is entirely stripped of trees that could aid in stopping a vehicle that suddenly falls off the trail.

As the trail makes a slight curve left, you will need to traverse a double granite ledge with a glassy smooth rock surface. The trail leans off-camber heavily to the driver's side, which is evident from the deep soil scars against the rootballs of the trees lining that side of the trail. A winch here means you will likely be winching the next 50 yards as the trail continues an extremely steep climb. The lack of momentum being carried through the rock obstacle will make it nearly impossible to begin moving forward again without assistance.

With one final rocky ledge, the trail plateaus and comes to an end intersecting with 93C. Turn right and head west to return to the trailheads, or turn left to head towards Thunder-struck Mountain and trail 93D.