"Wow! Did you see that?"Yeah, and now the rest of us had to replicate Harold's complicated vertical-rock ballet. It took awhile, but the group slowly got the hang of it as we worked the rest of us over the gap. A few even tried "alternate" lines to the consternation of their fenders, but to the amusement of their fellow pilots. An active hour later, we had everyone up and into Middle Alamita North Canyon. Yes, an hour just to get ourselves up and into the canyon.
It didn't get any easier from that point. Clint estimated that only about 10 vehicles had ever traversed the route before us. The canyon still had some nasty hair on it! Sure enough, a few minutes later, the call for help came down the line. Pat Gremillion's Great Pumpkin was lying on its side. The narrowed Bronco was quickly righted, but the mishap served as a reminder: Extreme peril lurks in this Upper Alamita North Canyon.
Harold and Walker Evans forged the way up the canyon, spotting for each other and working through the complicated mineral puzzle confronting them. By mid-afternoon, their Jeeps were sitting high on the rim with the canyon behind them. Below, the other six vehicles were still struggling with boulders and holes.
The details get a little fuzzy at this point. The heat, while not as blistering as the day before, was taking its toll on us as the trail was working over the Jeeps. It started with a shattered Dana 60 outer, followed a short time later by a yoke, a driveshaft, and a U-joint. The first of several pedestrian parts runs commenced. Although we were many driving hours from camp, it was a short but steep climb and 15-minute hike to everyone's replacement stockpile back at the RVs. The entire Alamita Canyon system circles the camping area, so we were never far from camp on foot.
Middle Alamita North Canyon is still a wild place! With less than a dozen vehicles previously through the canyon, there is no "burned-in" line to follow. | 
Severe peril lurks in Middle Alamita North Canyon. Not a hundred yards into the canyon, Pat Gremillion's early Bronco ran into an unexpected gravity storm and decided to lay down in the shade. | 
After leaving four of our vehicles in the canyon the night before, the crew troops down into the canyon on foot early the next morning. |