Are all three of the Badge of Honor trails at windrock doable in a stock JTR?

[Chunky White]

I plan on going to Windrock when I have the time and would like to do some of the BOH trails just to say I did them. I have not wheeled the Gladiator much but was surprised at its ease of tackling the trail I have done compared to other vehicles I have owned in the past. I am sure that I could get two of them but I an not so sure about Trail 16

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[Chunky White]

I have seen a stock rubicon with all three badges at a local dealership for sale but it could have been modified at some point

 

[Mtpisgah]

The steps on Panther can be challenging in a 3” lifted JT with 35s due to the break over angle. You may not make it stock unless you do the cheat line. We had to winch my wife’s stock suspension JLR with 35s.

Trail 26 is doable.

We had some body damage halfway through Trail 16 and had concern over more. My buddy shortcut the trail after my damage so we got off at the next intersection since we did not want to be on it alone. We will walk it next time to see how the rest of it is and decide if we want to do the rest.

Everything I have said could change based on weather conditions and trails conditions week to week. Yes, it can change that quick.

There are plenty of other trails to drove there, do not get caught up in the BoH game.

 

[Chunky White]

The steps on Panther can be challenging in a 3” lifted JT with 35s due to the break over angle. You may not make it stock unless you do the cheat line. We had to winch my wife’s stock suspension JLR with 35s.

Trail 26 is doable.

We had some body damage halfway through Trail 16 and had concern over more. My buddy shortcut the trail after my damage so we got off at the next intersection since we did not want to be on it alone. We will walk it next time to see how the rest of it is and decide if we want to do the rest.

Everything I have said could change based on weather conditions and trails conditions week to week. Yes, it can change that quick.

There are plenty of other trails to drove there, do not get caught up in the BoH game.

I am interested in trying out some trails within a couple of hours of my house in NE Tennessee and thought it would be cool to pick up some badges if possible. I am not really into trashing my JTR since its my daily at the moment so I might wait on Windrock and Uwharrie. If I keep the JTR long enough to lift it and put 35's or 37's and some body armor I might check them out.

Thanks for the information

 

[Mtpisgah]

There are a lot of fun trails at Windrock to do without trashing the truck. just hold off on 16 and Panther. Or start them and do not hesitate to turn around.

 

[Kajo]

I ran all 3 last summer in my Rubicon on 37" KO2s with 1 1/2" spacer in the front. I made it through all.

Trail 26 was by far the easiest. I think a totally stock Rubicon would have no issues.
Trail 16 was tough. I bypassed the big ledges near the end since it was day 2 of a 10 day vacation. I lost both taillights on this trail from sliding in the off-camber ruts.
Panther Rock: I didn't have any issues but there was some tight spots and just took my time. there are multiple lines in the hardest areas so there are ways to bypass the toughest spots.

It was relatively dry when I was there and Trail 16 was still slippery.

 

[SSinGA]

26 and 51 will not be a problem wet or dry. 16 will be problematic IMO. I might attempt it if very dry and using the ledge bypasses.

 

[Warren H]

I Plan to be there on the 22nd ..... SO next Saturday I have a New 23 with 500 miles on it (I'm sure it will be fine)I have a 2.5 lift in the front and went to 33' tires with Rubicon wheels from stock and added factory sliders to protect the bottom pinch weld. I want to do 51 and 26 because I need a good forum pic lol.

so I guess I'll FAFO and let you know how I did.

 

[SSinGA]

I Plan to be there on the 22nd ..... SO next Saturday I have a New 23 with 500 miles on it (I'm sure it will be fine)I have a 2.5 lift in the front and went to 33' tires with Rubicon wheels from stock and added factory sliders to protect the bottom pinch weld. I want to do 51 and 26 because I need a good forum pic lol.

so I guess I'll FAFO and let you know how I did.

You'll be fine. Enjoy

 

[Chunky White]

I Plan to be there on the 22nd ..... SO next Saturday I have a New 23 with 500 miles on it (I'm sure it will be fine)I have a 2.5 lift in the front and went to 33' tires with Rubicon wheels from stock and added factory sliders to protect the bottom pinch weld. I want to do 51 and 26 because I need a good forum pic lol.

so I guess I'll FAFO and let you know how I did.

Welcome to the forum. What part of Florida are you from? I am from Vero Beach but have lived in Tennessee for most of my life. I have no idea when I will be able to go to Windrock but will some day since its around 2 hours away

 

[Jeepin' John]

Windrock is an awesome place. Tons of trails for all difficulty levels and the people there are amazingly nice and helpful. I was there for the first time 3 weeks ago in my sport s with a 1.5" front spacer, a 1/2" rear spacer, and 35's.

Of the three badge of honor trails, i did two: Trails 26 and 51. When I got there, a JLUR on 37"s was coming back from Trail 16 missing a rear fender, so i scratched 16 off the list.

Trail 26 is rocky, creeky, beautiful and a ton of fun. It was pretty straightforward going up the climb (going from west to east on the map) until the very end of the trail, where there is a dirt/mud ledge that is rutted at the top and includes a pretty sharp turn around a tree rooted bank. That's where the JT bellied-out and i had to make a handful of attempts finding the line that finally worked. That's the only spot i think a stock rubicon on 33's might get hung up a bit.

Trail 51 is really cool as well. I started at the southwest end and came up to the northeast end. The beginning of the trail has a little rocky drop section that caught me off guard with a lot of belly banging and rock slider action. I'd recommend taking a few seconds to pick a line there instead of running straight down carelessly like i did. The rest of the climb is straightforward, and i went far right at the rock ledges section with no problem, having been more careful picking a line here.

Other trails that we did were:

Trail 22: a nice warm-up trail with a surprise rocky creek crossing at the end

Trail 27: a nice easy descent to line you up with Trail 26

Trail 11: beautiful trail with a couple of rock garden climbs

 

[Jeepin' John]

Here is what we did on gaia

oddly enough, it looks like the jeep badge of honor for trail 51 actually has trail 11 outline on it

 

[Jeepin' John]

Pretty sure this was on 26. Nice little rocky section pretty typical of the trail

 

[Jeepin' John]

We were only there for a day and a half, and i can't wait to go back. Windrock is a fantastic place to wheel

 

[Chunky White]

@Jeepin' John

Good right up and thanks. I will have to try those two trails out some day. Hopefully I can talk some of the guys I know with Jeeps to go with me.

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