Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum - Annual Winter Trip - open to T4R members located in VA/WV/MD/DC/PA

Hey T4R,

As we get closer to the holidays I’m once again able to resurface briefly after a long time away.

I finally have some PTO scheduled and like any self-respecting T4R member, I’ll be loading up the truck and getting the hell out of town for a couple of days. Somewhat surprisingly this will mark the third anniversary of what has become our annual “Winter Wonderland” trip. We do a few private trips over the year, but have always treated this one as an “open” event for T4R members.

As usual, I’m posting it up here to see if anybody else is able to get away for a day or two during the last weekend in December.

I’ll roll out more details as the dates get closer, but the short version of the plan is to do two days/one night in the Shenandoah valley in Virginia between Harrisonburg and Charlottesville. @gfxcruncher , @Runn4est , @PatG, and I did a scouting trip a few weeks ago to check the routes, travel times, and multi-vehicle camping and ended that trip feeling pretty positive on the overall route and schedule.

The tentative plan is to caravan down from Western Northern Virginia (meet early morning and caravan down to Harrisonburg for a fuel stop) then run Union Springs up and over Flagpole knob on day 1. We’ve scoped out a couple of pretty great backcountry camping options and depending on how quickly we move on day 1 (and how many vehicles we have) we’ll either camp in George Washington National Forest (West of Harrisonburg) that night or travel primarily gravel and secondary/tertiary roads towards the start of day 2. Day 2 will be a shorter but more technical route called Big Levels, located off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Anyone wanting to peel off and head for home after day 1 free to do so, but you’ll miss out on watching @trox_355 drinking mad dog by the fire :).

Though it should be obvious, I regrettably feel compelled to reiterate that this is for T4R members only and should not be posted on any other media channels (read as: Instagram, FaceBook, or any other media). There are few better ways to turn an otherwise fun and low-key trip with good people into an absolute shit-show.

----

As usual, I’ll post the planned track, major waypoints, and meet up times over the coming weeks and have added standard COMMS info below.

Please also take a minute to check out the skill level / truck recommendations and attitude requirements sections below so you know what you’re signing up for if you haven’t been on one of these trips in the past.

Reply here if you’re interested and I’ll keep a tally and make sure everyone is updated.

Hope you can make it!

-------------
CONFIRMED:

TENTATIVE:

@Dougthelurk
@4RnR Grl

-------------
COMMS:

Amateur radio:

Simplex 146.46 MHz

Repeaters (if necessary. Will select repeaters based on proximity indicated in RepeaterBook (Android/iOS) depending on where we are)

If you’re new to amateur radio check out this basic kit assembled by @gfxcruncher here > http://www.toyota-4runner.org/off-ro...ml#post2878550

And this short follow up recommendation > http://www.toyota-4runner.org/off-ro...ml#post2879279

CB:

Channel 22 (Ch 23 as backup)

Really CB is a worst-case backup for most of us at this point, but we’ll try to relay to CB as necessary

-------------
SKILL LEVEL / TRUCK RECOMMENDATIONS:

I typically tell people that, as an “open” trip we try to find a balance that’s interesting enough for experienced drivers, but not so challenging that newer people will seriously damage their rigs or have a bad time

In reality that typically translates to either:

“An experienced driver in a stock truck will likely be able to drive pretty much everything or could easily be recovered by another rig” OR

“A less experienced driver in a moderately built truck will likely be able to drive pretty much everything or could easily be recovered by another rig”

Having said that, day 2 will be very rocky and steep in some places, though there is a bypass for the more difficult section of trail

There are also some deeper, unavoidable mud holes near the end of the trail on day 2
33” tires (or larger) and a modest lift will go a long way on both the rocks and the muddy areas for day 2
Skids and sliders are a good idea in general, but with careful tire placement factory skids should do the trick

-------------
ATTITUDE REQUIREMENTS:

Bring a positive attitude

Be patient with people that have less experience than you

Help people when they need help

Also try to help new people gain additional knowledge and new skills in a safe environment - that’s how we grow this community and keep public lands in our area open for this type of activity

-------------
2018-12-06: UPDATES

Removing "Ususal Suspects" list to reduce spam notifications

Adding trip dates: Day 1: Saturday, 29DEC18; Day 2: Sunday 30DEC18

——————
2018-12-16: UPDATE

Posting rally point and meet-up time here

——————
2018-12-20: UPDATE

Re-added @01100101 to the "confirmed" list following forum-related restore issues/data loss
Capping this trip at 10 total vehicles - we're officially full-up!