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.. Out on the tank trails, unobstructed forest trails and highways they were just fine of course. .. But on the ledges and rocks and woods and bush where nothing had been before, things could get real iffy and slower than 1st gear allowed.. On an unrelated topic, my bastardized M38"A5" has a 1975 CJ5 driveline, its transfer case has a hidden 2-wheel low position and I extended the shifter lever, wonderful for logging trails with intermittent bad spots/steep climbs .. Push the lever to the floor for 4L and when you get past the bad spot just nudge it up a hair into 2L until the trail goes to crap again.. It's sweet ... Yes, similar to what you can do with the M151's, but I have the entire tranny available on the low side 
Thanks for sharing your experience. Most of the vets I've talked with when they see my M151 just tell me "I put a lot of miles on the 151."Having signed up during a transitional time , I was previously familiar with a privately-owned M38A1 and 1945 MB.. But at the time, the M151/A1/A2 was the norm, the M37's were rolling out and M880's rolling in.. We did a mandatory 7-day training on the M151-series including a good deal of off-road agility and climbing exercises.. Although I was immediately impressed with their off-road agility/flexibility compared to the older jeeps, I felt it would've been the ultimate off-roader if they had a low range .. There were times in very tight spots in the forests and tricky rock-climbing situations they sure could've used it, instead of guys having to ride or smoke that clutch .. Including me
Looks like you had fun, decent trail, relaxing . .At my age now I probably wouldn't enjoy the places we used to go with our private jeeps, or if we can even make it to or through those places anymore .. Let's just say everyone had jacks, chains and tire chains, rope, tools, parts, short planks, and if lucky, a winch .. Oh, and the secret weapon, at least a 6-pack or bottle of something
i didn't put much for miles on them, as I was heavy transport .. But I did get to accumulate about 600 miles on-road and probably 100 hours off-road with them officially.. Off-duty there was a small amount of "unofficial off-road jeep testing" we didn't try with other eyes around
The unofficial stuff was aided by having an accommodating CO and my "owning" the keys to the fuel trucks.. I held volunteer extra-curricular off-roading classes with one particular M151A1 guinea pig... I was also the BN's licensing NCO for a long time and working under a few different CO's during all that time.. Once every two or three months I had to go unit to unit with whatever M151 was available in year-round weather and road test new incoming butterbars , and/or conduct classroom training, written driver testing, and license issuance and record keeping IAW AR600-55.. Within my own company, I was responsible for all that plus heavy wheeled vehicle road tests and training including self-recovery and extreme conditions ops.. I sure have a few stories to tell , and let's also say driving a ragtop M151 three hours each way through mountainous terrain (unfortunately mostly on wide-open drifting highways) during a day-long blizzard is far from an enjoyable experience, especially with side winds and 60mph gusts .. The lightness of a M151 is beneficial in most cases, however, combined with those wonderful tires, slick surfaces and strong side winds, you might as well be getting blown around in a sailboat without a rudder ..