CARPET BROKER

Rugged Ridge 15100.01 8,500 lbs. Winch with Steel Cable

Durable. Tough. Affordable. The Heavy Duty 8500 LB Winch from Rugged Ridge is everything you could want in a winch. It is driven by a durable 5.5 HP Series Wound motor for long life and extra pulling power. A tough 3 Stage Planetary Gear box with a 172.8:1 gear ratio delivering power, and reliability on each and every pull. The Heavy Duty 8500 LB Winch has more power and exclusive features than any other winch in its price range: Stainless Steel Hardware- All the exterior winch body screws and bolts are Stainless steel to prevent rust and provide a long life. All Rugged Ridge steel cable style Winches include off road light mount roller fairleads allowing for the easy mount of two off road lights. Special Solenoid mounting brackets allow for multiple solenoid mounting points and the ability to tilt the Solenoid for ease of use. This “tiltinch feature ensures that each Rugged Ridge winch can be used with almost all off-road bumpers and over riders. Each winch has been independently tested to ensure they meet or exceed all specifications.

I downloaded this as a large image… it’s worth seeing it that way. That's Roan Mountain just beyond the ridge.

The following is an excerpt of another writing project I’m working on. I believe it aptly describes why Grassy Ridge stands apart to me as a beautiful place:

Deborah and I enjoy hiking the balds and high bluffs around Roan Mountain, especially during rhododendron season in June. There’s a huge stand of flame azalea on the other side of Round Bald from Carver’s Gap, and Catawba rhododendron surrounds you as you continue up Jane Bald, Grassy Knob, and on into Grassy Ridge. If you are particularly adept at knowing what you’re looking for, you can spot the rare (in every sense of the word) Gray’s lily in the grass along the bluffs. The scenery at Grassy Ridge is undoubtedly amongst the most beautiful in the world if you catch it in time. But that time is never consistent. From year to year, the peak condition of rhododendron regularly spans for approximately two weeks, but that two weeks can occur from late May to late July depending on conditions. It takes a rather long hike on a rugged trail to know when peak conditions occur at Grassy Ridge, as I don’t know anyone who hikes that area often enough to turn to for conditions. And you won’t glean such information from the park rangers; that’s not included in their job description. So, I have to drive for four plus hours and gear myself up to go find out on my own. This last season, I geared-up incorrectly… an enormous thunderhead steamrolled its way through the previous evening, leaving behind a cold mass of air that enshrouded the entire area in fog, or more correctly clouds as the average elevation there is 6000 feet. But I was there, and I had to see. A third of the way there, I was soaked by a short downpour, and I was miserably cold the remainder of the way. Carrying fifty pounds of gear compounded that misery, but that’s what you do as a photographer if your intention is to do the best you can. The instant I reached my destination, the warming Sun broke from the clouds and poured light on so many rhododendrons at peak, it absolutely inundated the eye with beauty. Fearless juncos surrounded me, singing their praises in that moment. I shed the yoke of the backpack to be free to absorb that warmth and beauty. All my senses seemed to come alive in ways I’ve rarely experienced not only to breathe in the beauty of that moment, but also to know the joy of how best to express it on film. It was as though God was laying out His creation for me to see, not just with new eyes, but also with a refreshed spirit. I wish that it were possible to share such a moment with everyone, but the closest I can come to it is in the photography. In contrast, the highly accessible Rhododendron Gardens that Roan is famous for just can’t compare. But if you’re in the area to photograph the flowers anyway, you don’t want to take a chance on missing anything… you might get a nice sky to make up for it.

Last year, I stood on the deck overlooking the Roan gardens, disappointed that the blooms there were too far past peak to make it worth taking a single shot; the ridges up to Grassy, only a few miles distant and nearly the same elevation, had been stunning. I had burned through several rolls of film in just one area along the trail at Grassy, but no matter where I positioned the tripod on that deck, there was no great image that popped out at me. Years of using professional film forces one to become a better photographer, because it’s too expensive for snapshots. You need to get it right the first time to be effective. What I was peering at through the viewfinder wasn’t even “snapshot” worthy in my opinion. Deborah agreed, and had already shuffled off. As I was loading up my gear to follow her, an elderly man started across the ramp, pushing his wife along in a wheelchair. They were a friendly pair, both obviously well along in the eighties. They were astounded with the beauty of the place. Beauty? If they had seen what we had just returned from, they would know something of beauty. But they went on and on about their feelings of how beautiful the gardens were, and told me of other places they had been throughout their lives to compare. It wasn’t long before I began to see the scenery through their eyes, and the grandeur of only a few miles away along that rough trail, that they would never see in this life, mattered not at all in that moment.

It’s not a long walk back to the parking lot from there (for a healthy person), but it’s an uphill grade most of the way. I worried that he might have trouble getting her back to their vehicle, so I lingered with them. I was going to offer my assistance, but something about his manner stopped me… it seemed clear that this was for him to do only. It wasn’t his duty… it was his sacrifice. Along the way she asked if I knew the names of the wildflowers we stumbled upon, and they would stop and discuss it at length. I think she did this as m

Heading up to the top of the trail on Friday Ridge at over 7,000 ft. As is my custom I had soaked my bandana in a cold little spring down the mountain and wore it beneath my Tilley hat for the shade and cool it provides.

This is one of many photos taken on a three day trip to the Lochsa River country of Idaho (7.30.10 through 8.1.19). What follows is the story behind this trip, if you are interested:

THE STORY:

July 30th through August 1st, 2010, I took a three day trip to the Lochsa River country in Northern Idaho. Crooked Fork Creek and Colt Killed Creek join to form the Lochsa River; The Lochsa River and Selway River join at Lowell, Idaho to form the Clearwater River; the Clearwater River joins the Snake River at Clarkston, Washington and Lewiston Idaho.The Snake River then flows west until it meets the Columbia River.

The Lochsa River drainage is rugged, scenic and rich in history.

I have traveled Lolo Pass (highway 12), which travels along the Lochsa River for over 30 years but rarely having had the time to slow down and explore the area, to hike it, drive “back road” routes and really enjoy all that it has to offer.

I saw a photo of a 1924 fire lookout on top of Grave Peak, Idaho on flickr several years ago and decided then that I wanted to hike there. Later I learned that the top of Grave Peak was where a young Norman Maclean (author of a River Runs Through It), served as a fire lookout as a 17 year old, back in 1919. He wrote a semi-auto biographical story about his adventures at nearby Elk Summit and his assignment as “fire lookout”on Grave Peak [USFS 1919: The Ranger, the Cook, and a Hole in the Sky",] I had read that story years ago.

A friend later loaned a book to me titled: The Lochsa Story by Bud Moore. In that book the story is told of “Isaac’s Gold” and a prospector named Jerry Johnson. Some hot springs in the area, which my wife and I hiked to this year, were named after that Jerry Johnson. Like the Lost Dutchman mine, the story goes that an Indian, named Isaac, knew where gold nuggets could be found among the Bitterroot Mountains. While leading Jerry Johnson and his partner to the gold, Isaac dies. Isaac’s gold source has never been found (of course), which keeps the legend alive. Grave Peak may have been named after the Indian Isaac, who died on it or near it.

Grave Peak resides south of the Lochsa River among the Bitterroot Mountains. To the north of the Lochsa River was the setting for another great story - - the Lolo Trail.

Lewis and Clark learned from the Shoshone Indians that the Salmon River canyon was too rugged to travel and that the Lochsa River canyon with its extremely steep canyon walls that pinched together at the river was not a good route west. So with the aide of a Shoshone guide “Toby”, the Lewis and Clark party traveled by horseback along the high spine ridge above the north side of the Lochsa River in 1805. They returned following most of the same route in 1806.

Lolo Trail as the route is now known was used for centuries by Native Americans, such as the Nez Perce, to travel back and forth to bison country both before and after the acquisition of horses. Lewis and Clark met the Nez Perce on the west end of the Lolo Trail and were given food by that tribe. That food included something new on their menu, the roasted camas root bulbs. Nutritious but of acquired taste, many of the Lewis and Clark party became ill from eating too much camas bulb.

Lewis and Clark suffered from lack of food along their nine day passage of the Lolo Trail route on their way west. They ate at least one or more of the colts that they had with them as they were unable to find and kill any big game in the area. They were able to kill a few grouse (they called them pheasant in their journals) and jays, but nothing large enough to sustain the group. Colt Killed Creek, one of two streams forming the Lochsa River was named by Lewis and Clark from one of the areas they resorted to killing one of their young horses, for meat.

NOTE: A young horse is called a “foal”. A female young horse is a “filly” and a male young horse is called a “colt”. Some folks incorrectly use the term “colt” to describe a young horse of either sex.

In the 1930s the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp), widened, improved, and in some places relocated the Lolo Trail route. It became known as the Lolo “motorway”. I decided to drive and camp along the eastern most portion of this route to “feel the history”. The Native Americans, had created and used this route (Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce used the Lolo Trail to flee the U.S. Army in what is still considered a masterful strategic endeavor. Chief Joseph and his band almost made it to Canada and safety, but were caught and defeated just a dozen miles or so, short of their objective). Lewis and Clark traveled it. It was a place I wanted to see and experience myself.

I chose to travel up Forest Road 107 (Saddle Camp Road); across FR 500; then down FR 109 and FR 359 (als

Lightweight. Durable. Tough. Affordable. The Performance 10500 LB Winch from Rugged Ridge is everything you could want in a competition winch. It is driven by a durable 6.6 HP Series Wound motor for long life and extra pulling power. A tough 3 Stage Planetary Gear box with a 218:1 gear ratio delivering power, and reliability on each and every pull. The Performance 10500 LB Winch has more power and exclusive features than any other winch in its price range: Stainless Steel Hardware- All the exterior winch body screws and bolts are Stainless steel to prevent rust and provide a long life. All Rugged Ridge synthetic rope style Winches include hawse fairleads. Special Solenoid for ease of use. This “tiltinch feature ensures that each Rugged Ridge winch can be used with almost all off road bumpers and over riders. Each winch has been independently tested to ensure they meet or exceed all specifications.