Anza Borrego 1/23/05

Two threads led up to this fantastic meet: this one and this one.

Who attended: by my count I think we had 16 people in 7 4Runners!

4rnr4bb
dcampen
04runner
rando
chiefiji
phalanx
spblat

The highlight of the trip for me was getting stuck (then unstuck) in a mud bog. Famous last words: "Here, you guys watch me do this and decide if you want to attempt it--we'll turn around if not." Doh! 30 seconds later my right front tire was almost completely submerged in thick, gooey mud. The group then spent an hour or so digging and pulling me out. This is what I like to call a "moment." I think everybody had fun--I most certainly did.

I have posted some photos, a trip video and a map showing where we went at http://irace.net/truckstuff. I'm sure we'll see more pics from those who attended in the days to come.

Hey guys, I had a blast today! Sorry I had to leave early.

We need to do this again soon! Hopefully the truck-eating mud will be dry. It was nice meeting all of you, and I look forward to getting to know you guys better the next time around.

Here are some of the shots I got off.

Looks like you guys had fun!!!!

ANy video or pics of obstacles you guys cleared

Why was chiefiji stuck?

Wow, that looked like fun!

I wish I could've made it. I was stuck in a library studying the whole day...

bulldog-yota said:

Why was chiefiji stuck?

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i was hoping no one would notice but you cant escape the keen eyes of the bulldog

there was a motor home rolling down the trail so we pulled aside to let it pass. 2wd + soft sand + rock blocking front tire = me getting stuck. and this was two minutes into the trip too. of course this is nothing compared to what happened to spblat props to him for trying something none of us would have! haha.

chiefiji said:

of course this is nothing compared to what happened to spblat

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What happen What happen:awais:

my journey began at 5:20 AM, trying to pry myself out of bed. i was on freeway by 6:00 heading for anza-borrego. the drive to anza took about 2hrs so i arrived around 8:00. i drove around town for a while, went to the borrego springs "Mall", bought some lunch, and then headed for the visitors center where we were supposed to meet up.

our first stop was at the palm tree oasis where we lined up for a group shot and explored the surroundings.



we blasted out of the oasis to pumpkin patch where most of us just parked and watched the crazy bikers catch there 2'' of extreme air. josh took a hill that looked way too steep and narrow for most of us to try (anyone have a pic of that?). this area would have been nice to have driven around in, but there were so many bikes and atvs everywhere that you weren't sure whether one was coming over a hill or not.

next was shortcut trail. we stopped halfway through the trail to have lunch underneath the shade of the canyon walls. oh yea, we had to dig and pull will out too after digging and altering the trail a bit, we were able to pull him out unscathed.


not only did the mud eat will's 4r, it also claimed mark's, darin's, and my shoe. on the surface, the mud looked like it was hard packed dirt but right underneath it was pure goop. will was doing great till he hit that section.


this is powerline trail where we went looking for sand dunes. the sand dunes were there, but that was 50-60 years ago.


i forgot the trail names for this section, was it blown sand trail? anways, we got to use 4lo in this section to climb and descend the hills.




we got back to borrego springs around 4:00pm where we chatted for a while and then went our separate ways. it was definitely a fun outing and we should do it again. we should kick it up a notch next time and try some harder stuff. for those that missed this one, hope you can make the next!

Great pics guys!

I bet it made a sound like "spblat!"

Holy smackers! I gotta say that must have been fun cleaning!!!

ih8mud!!!

The photos are great but don't tell the story of the fun we had.

I have one good video of Phalanx blasting up that steep steep steep mound and both front wheels grabbed air before the drop down the otherside.

I went and checked out that dropoff but it looked to scary for me, especially watching Phalanx tetter on the edge on his descent. I was sure he was going to roll sideways at one stage. Props

I'll post some photos when I have time later in the week.

I can recommend the Sands Motel if anyone wants to stay overnight. It's right at the park entrance so it's a great location. A mile down the road is the 'mall' which has good souviners for the ladies and kids. Beware that one shop is way more expensive than the other. We bought a Mexican floor rug for $15 which was $55 at the other.

I gotta get a lift. Man, I dragged my butt several times over the 'whoopie' (the sound you make as you go up and down) humps in some of the canyons where the sand was soft.

I sure wish I lived closer to Anza Borrego. I think I'd be there every second week. (Actually... no. Surfing is still more fun! Although good surf around SD area)

Cheers
Mark

I gotta get a lift. Man, I dragged my butt several times over the 'whoopie' (the sound you make as you go up and down) humps in some of the canyons where the sand was soft.

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Yeah, me too. And that tow hitch end cap that you saw on the road ... you were correct, it was from one of our trucks - mine. I noticed that mine was missing when I got home, must have gotten scraped off going up the hill.

dcampen said:

...nd that tow hitch end cap that you saw on the road ... you were correct, it was from one of our trucks - mine. I noticed that mine was missing when I got home, must have gotten scraped off going up the hill.

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Bummer. Karmically speaking, it must be with the one some punk stole off mine in a parking lot. But who needs a cap when you can have a shackle like Mark's! (Hey Mark, where'd you get that cool thing?)

Bummer. Sounds like a lot of fun. I don't know if I could have handled two trips in a row digging out cars though. 1 hour isn't bad compared to the whole day I spent digging snow in Mammoth. Wish I was there, other then the digging, it sounded like a blast. The shackle I got is from Pepboys special order. Several online retailers have the same WARN shackle hitch receiver, but I opted to get it from an actual store. It was $44 and there are more details and pics in my 4ROTM thread.

I'm glad you all had fun and I hope to join you next time.

Damn, you cali guys have some kewl trails.

"You're out!" ...... "All right now this time get a run at it!"

OMG, I'm famous!

chiefiji said:

i was hoping no one would notice but you cant escape the keen eyes of the bulldog

there was a motor home rolling down the trail so we pulled aside to let it pass. 2wd + soft sand + rock blocking front tire = me getting stuck. and this was two minutes into the trip too. of course this is nothing compared to what happened to spblat props to him for trying something none of us would have! haha.

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Next time just put it in 4WD and drive yourself out

bulldog-yota said:

Next time just put it in 4WD and drive yourself out

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Yah, that there was just silly. Something about how it wouldn't go into 4Hi/Lo ... who knows. I showed that picture to a few friends today and nobody believed he was actually stuck! Here we have this killer 4x4 4th gen, lifted, running boards removed and stuck in a 1/2 inch of sand only 3 inches from the road. I followed fiji around a bit during the trip and can tell you he's definitely still in the babying it phase of 4runner ownership.

Maybe he just wanted to how his trucked looked with a tow strap attached?

Hey guys i saw you in arroyo salado camground, just wanted to say it was cool to see groups out on the trail... I obviously dont have a 4runner, but i do have a toyota.

This is my truck, dont know if you recognize it from when you passed me, i was with the 2 silver Nissan Xterras, a blue Xterra, and a teal Frontier (family and friends)...

rando said:

Yah, that there was just silly. Something about how it wouldn't go into 4Hi/Lo ... who knows. I showed that picture to a few friends today and nobody believed he was actually stuck! Here we have this killer 4x4 4th gen, lifted, running boards removed and stuck in a 1/2 inch of sand only 3 inches from the road. I followed fiji around a bit during the trip and can tell you he's definitely still in the babying it phase of 4runner ownership.

Maybe he just wanted to how his trucked looked with a tow strap attached?

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That's teh problem with all these electric selectors. a good ol' shift knob would have worked just fine.

After a while it gets easier to abuse the 4R a little bit on trails, I try to be very cautious. Good Times is the resident maniac for 4th Gen offroading.