Jerry Bransford's Geezer Jeep Site    |   home                                                    Sledgehammer, April 2003 My first run through Sledgehammer was a pumped up and great experience but expensive!   Before I had made it 1/3rd up the canyon, the passenger-side axle snapped.    With Blaine Johnson leading the way, this is how the trail begins with a deceptively easy climb.  It quickly turns difficult and the unprepared will soon have their hands full.   Right after here is where a little too much power applied with the steering wheel turned all the way to one side is what snapped the passenger-side u-joint... which then took out both the inner and outer axle shafts.  The spare axle shaft didn't fit so it was 3wd the rest of the trail.  Did I mention you should be prepared for offroading? The rest of the day was a real test for the Warn HS0500i winch and single Optima Yellow Top battery but both came through the almost continuous winching like a trooper.  Only the wire rope suffered enough that it will have to be replaced.  This may be the time to switch to a synthetic rope. Half-way up the canyon, this tribute to Donna Jean Shannon, the "Mother of the Hammers" was place by the Victor Valley 4Wheelers... a club active in helping maintain the trails in Johnson Valley. Sergey wheels while Blaine Johnson offers guidance.  We're all dressed like Arctic explorers because it was so cold and windy throughout Johnson Valley that weekend. My son Allen and I celebrate making it to the top with only a broken front axle shaft, a punctured MT/R sidewall, and minor body damage.  I'm holding the broken passenger-side axle shaft like a sceptor.