First, Major Kudos to Dennis and Ava. After a very rough start on the firstobstacle I could tell that Dennis had lost a lot of confidence. But he quickly
regained it and by the end of the trail he was taking on some tough rock
gardens without issue. Just to give you a clue he was carburetted, 31″ tires,
stock gears, and open diffs! Those combined with a manual transmission made
his day much more challenging than mine! 
It is really exciting to see new
people go on these trails. I know it can be really intimidating for new people
with stock, or semi-stock rigs. Again, kudos and I hope to see you both out on
trail again.
As to my own experience; the Jeep seemed to be more capable this trail than ever before. I don’t know if the suspension has finally loosened up or if I just finally aired down enough. Perhaps the side walls on the tires are starting to soften? Whatever it was on the way out I seem to crawl just about everything I pointed it at! It was pretty cool. But at the same time I kept thinking something was wrong. It felt really loose. Anyway, that is why at lunch I found my bent spring. Looking back at it now I think it might have been that way for some time but the way the jeep was flexing in the morning I had to wonder if it was going to just break on the way back… Kelly looked at it as did Ed and the both felt it was not that bad. I decided to push it for a change and do the trail back. If not for that and the speed Lorrie and I had a pretty good time on the way out. I did end up taking a couple of “easier” lines on the way back to ensure my suspension was not twisted to it’s limit. This and the increased pace resulted in a couple of rock kisses with my diff and I think my drive shaft? I saw some white rock residue on it…
Anyway, the spring seemed to be just fine. But now I have to change it,
because if I don’t you know it will break on me next time… All that and
the jeep seemed to be running so great… 
Again, another thanks to Mike for a great trail run. I really enjoyed the
trail. Honestly I don’t know why but for me the trail seemed easier than I
remember. But I would like to think I am just getting to be a better driver…
Thanks again, Ira