Dan Lee

Trail Reviews: 3000 points

Questions Answered: 0 points

My Profile

Off-Road Experience:

6+ years

Off-Road Style:

Dirt Roads, snow, rocks

My Garage:

Nothing in garage

Learned to 4x4 in elementary school on back roads in Western NC w/ my father in a '88 stock Jeep Cherokee. Passion continued by hitting muddy fields on the farm growing up, and still exists today. 2020 F-250 Long bed, extended cab isn't so great for offroading due to size. 2.0 Fox Racing shocks and 35" BFG KO2s help make it a little more civilized once off pavement. I primarily run ATVs for the actual trails...if you break your highway rig, you're in a bad spot. If you break your toy, you hike/hitchhike back to the truck and then figure it out, but at least you're not stranded! Currently beating up: '08 Polaris Sportsman X2 (up-sized to 27" UTV tires) '17 Can-Am Outlander stock (26" A/Ts) '20 Polaris RZR Fox Racing edition on up-sized 27" tires and a 1/2" UHMW full body skid. Prefer avoiding the challenges that risk breaking the vehicle and the crowded "Instagram" spots, look more for those access roads that few people use to avoid the crowds and four-wheel at my own pace exploring the back country and dispersed camping. Enjoy testing out trails in winter too, seeing how much different they are once buried in snow, so 4x4ing continues year round!

My Trail Reviews (5)

(within last 6 months)

Cascade North Twin (09/19/2021)

Great trail; turned back at the WP #11 dip because of cold rain (ended up being snow last night, all over WY this AM) storm coming in dropping the temps to a cloudy/windy ~52 degrees and my RZR doesn't have a heater! Definitely worth popping off on the side trails and spurs exploring camp sites, lakes, and views. Minimal traffic on a Sunday afternoon, getting late in the season. Trail difficult varies widely from 1-5 or so depending on what part of the trail you're on. Some areas are all jagged watermelon sized rocks for a road base, others are silky smooth and even gravel. Right after you tun on 103 from 130, there are loads of parking spots for trailering and airing down. Some of the early spots are camper accessible as well for overnighting, otherwise dispersed areas are scattered throughout. Considering there was a decent amount of snow this AM in Laramie, it's likely going to be maybe a month or two left at the most this season.

Slaughterhouse Road (aka Slaughterhouse Gulch) (08/01/2021)

Wish I'd see JD's post below before I went up there. Talked to a 4x4 training group guide there, in theory you can run it and stay left at the split, but near the top is a waist-deep washout (they had photos of people standing in it) that's pretty gnarly. As of today they said the forest service closure ordered is drafted, but not signed, so will be in effect soon. Best to avoid until repair work has been done and it's legal to ride again.

Upper Hall Valley (06/18/2021)

Easily open to the top, some snow melt water running down much of the road but thankfully no real erosion. Crowded towards the base even on a Friday with campers, but further up it wasn't bad at all. Managed to claim one of the few remaining good dispersed sites mid Friday afternoon. Much more crowded than it used to be pre-C19.

Webster Pass (06/18/2021)

Made it right to 12k feel elevation (from the South approach via Hall Valley), before steep off-camber snow blocked the road. The pass itself looks to have around 2 stories of snow on it still, will be weeks before you can cross it if I had my guess. Some of the road washout areas along the final rocky cliff-side approach are getting worse, I was in a 60" width RZR and tires were very close to the edge. Definitely no longer passable for anything resembling full sized. We were the first ones breaking through one of the last snow banks on the road, so first 4-wheeled vehicle to get that far this season. No one else up there all day.

Rollins Pass East (06/12/2021)

Made it to Yankee Doodle Lake! Caveat: was on quads, there's a super off camber snow pack area after the last cut out (WP7) which is also snow packed. Some full sized SXS were able to clear that, albeit with some sliding and possibly grazing the rock walls, but were too wide for the off camber slope a half mile back from Yankee Doodle. Jenny Lake still isn't nearly accessible yet, and historically isn't until mid July or later. Side note: assholes have been building campfires right on the road, guessing it was from people driving up in Spring as far as they could in the snow then calling it a night. Also, some kid on a quad ripped through alpine prairie to go around a snow pack field. Please don't do that, it's how we get roads closed.

My Trails Offroad