I am not sure which way is easier. The problem going either way is to avoid a medium-sized rock and a stump in the middle of the trail. Chris spotted me, so that I didn't hit them with my rear dif. I just cleared the stump in the last photo. After he got down the hard side, Chris tried going up the by-pass without a spotter. He ended up hanging up on the stump.
The berms were not a problem. I just crawled up them and basically pivoted on my rails at the tops. Once the front started going downhill, the rest of the rig just followed. I did suffer some minor damage to my passenger side where the mud pushed up the body. If I had sliders, I would have come down just fine. As it was, I had to struggle to open the front passenger door. Once I got it open, I couldn't close the door again until I broke out the BFH and hammered the door jam back down.
Bottom line is that the by-pass is certainly passable in a modified FJ like your's, one that has sliders and good bumpers. I think that one can get down in a stock FJ but should expect to suffer some minor damage due to grazing a rock or hitting a berm.
BTW: I also damaged my rear bumper climbing some rocks off the forest road. I had no trouble doing the section that you did in Feb. but could not make it up a steeper section. When I rolled back, the angle was so steep that I ended up pushing in the corner of the bumper on the passenger side.
As I said, the old Troop came through just fine, only suffering some minor damage. In fact, it actually seemed to run better on the way home covered in mud with the new battle scars.
Linear Mode
