5th Gen Epic Trip Contest

[1engineer]

Hello all,

Some of you might remember a few weeks ago I started a thread and listed my personal favorite 5th Gen 4Runners. If you would have looked through their build and trip threads you would have read about some pretty amazing journeys! Many of you agreed with my list as favorites but that got me to thinking about what the 4Runner actually does for us. Sure, it will take people like [MENTION=89562]bimrunner[/MENTION] across big cracks in Moab but what about that guy (don't remember his screen name) that packed up and moved his family to Alaska and documented his journey? Or [MENTION=93894]J-BlickPhoto[/MENTION]s trips to the middle of absolute nowhere so he can go run 50 miles up a mountain? [MENTION=66300]Intruder[/MENTION]s trips where the snow was so deep they had to use a winch just to get to the trail?

Many of you guys have new little humans running around your house (or just laying there, pooping, eating and sleeping if they are new enough)so how about it, any epic stories making a midnight run to the hospital through a storm with a pregnant wife? How about you guys on the west coast? Did the 4Runner move your family to safety after the last earthquake? [MENTION=51030]joneseyyy[/MENTION] has had many epic journeys like running the Vermont Overland Race, but I remember a post where he used his 4Runner to take him mountain biking and he ended up skinned up one side and down the other from his wreck! Personally I have a few, but will wait until later.

So here are the rules for the Epic Trip Contest:
1. A 5th Gen 4Runner had to be involved somehow
2. Pics would be nice of something related to the trip but not required
3. You need to write a paragraph or three describing the basic who, what, when, where and how of the trip.

After we have several, we can nominate using Robert's Rules of Order (or something close to it) and make a poll. The winner will win 100 internet points to be redeemed at a bar and grill closest to your location.

Remember: Your 4Runner just had to be somehow involved in your Epic Trip! It could be the primary focus of the whole thing or just used to get you to the place your Epic Trip began! C'mon, I have read some pretty cool stories over the years you guys posted so let's hear about them! It's either this or I will start asking about tires rubbing or 4Runner prices....

 

[USKTog]

How long is this going to run???

I've got a journey coming in October...

 

[Stifler]

drove my junk to Mons Venus.... google it, there are cracks as big as Moab!

 

[Land_Shark]

Not up for nomination b/c it hasn't happened yet.

In Aug-Sep 2015 my wife in I will depart D.C. and head west for a 23-day on-road/off-road trip to AZ, UT, and CO. We will visit 10 National Parks, spend some time in Moab and Ouray, and get plenty of time to lube the front diff on some mountain passes and other off-road trails. Most nights will be spent in lodges and hotels, but we will spend several nights sleeping in the Runner at several parks. Luckily I'm only 6' even, any taller and we'd be in a tent. We've rigged up a pretty sweet screen system to allow air flow at night, but it keeps the bugs out, tested it twice in WV and works like a charm, even in a downpoor - trick is using painter's tape.

We're both very excited for the trip and have already booked $1800.00 worth of reservations (yup, it's a year away, but that's how excited we are). We both grew up on the East coast, so it will be a trip to remember for sure.

Originally we were going to fly out and rent a vehicle, but [MENTION=46022]Jones[/MENTION]sy inspired us to take our own vehicle and make it a mini-overlanding adventure.

I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve....only ~350 more days to go!

We'll start at Petrified Forest NP / Grand Canyon NP and move North East-ish towards Rocky Mountain NP, then head back to D.C. I'd love to hear about places we should see while en-route.

Cheers and great idea [MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION]

 

[USKTog]

Not up for nomination b/c it hasn't happened yet.

In Aug-Sep 2015 my wife in I will depart D.C. and head west for a 23-day on-road/off-road trip to AZ, UT, and CO. We will visit 10 National Parks, spend some time in Moab and Ouray, and get plenty of time to lube the front diff on some mountain passes and other off-road trails. Most nights will be spent in lodges and hotels, but we will spend several nights sleeping in the Runner at several parks. Luckily I'm only 6' even, any taller and we'd be in a tent. We've rigged up a pretty sweet screen system to allow air flow at night, but it keeps the bugs out, tested it twice in WV and works like a charm, even in a downpoor - trick is using painter's tape.

We're both very excited for the trip and have already booked $1800.00 worth of reservations (yup, it's a year away, but that's how excited we are). We both grew up on the East coast, so it will be a trip to remember for sure.

Originally we were going to fly out and rent a vehicle, but [MENTION=46022]Jones[/MENTION]sy inspired us to take our own vehicle and make it a mini-overlanding adventure.

I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve....only ~350 more days to go!

We'll start at Petrified Forest NP / Grand Canyon NP and move North East-ish towards Rocky Mountain NP, then head back to D.C. I'd love to hear about places we should see while en-route.

Cheers and great idea [MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION]

When you get to the Rocky Mountain West, you aren't going to want to leave...(just sayin' )

 

[Plano26]

....We've rigged up a pretty sweet screen system to allow air flow at night, but it keeps the bugs out, tested it twice in WV and works like a charm, even in a downpoor - trick is using painter's tape.

CodyTRD4: would love to see pics of how you did this; we want to start doing some overland adventures and try out sleeping in the back..air flow would be great without bugs!

thanks

 

[Land_Shark]

CodyTRD4: would love to see pics of how you did this; we want to start doing some overland adventures and try out sleeping in the back..air flow would be great without bugs!

thanks

Sure thing, I'll post them in the "what did you do to/in you're 5th gen" thread this afternoon/evening - bolo

 

[Okki]

Not one that I have completed, but one that we added to the bucket list:

The Park-to-Park highway loop as completed by Anton Westgard.

National Park-to-Park Highway map

The National Park to Park Highway was an auto trail in the United States in the 1910s and 1920s, plotted by A. L. Westgard. It followed a large loop through the West, connecting twelve National Parks:

Rocky Mountain National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Glacier National Park
Mount Rainier National Park
Crater Lake National Park
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Yosemite National Park
General Grant National Park (now part of Kings Canyon)
Sequoia National Park
Zion National Park
Grand Canyon National Park
Mesa Verde National Park

The main challenge right now is that it will be at least a 4~6 week trip.

Okki

 

[Bay33saw]

Hello all,

Some of you might remember a few weeks ago I started a thread and listed my personal favorite 5th Gen 4Runners. If you would have looked through their build and trip threads you would have read about some pretty amazing journeys! Many of you agreed with my list as favorites but that got me to thinking about what the 4Runner actually does for us. Sure, it will take people like [MENTION=89562]bimrunner[/MENTION] across big cracks in Moab but what about that guy (don't remember his screen name) that packed up and moved his family to Alaska and documented his journey? Or [MENTION=93894]J-BlickPhoto[/MENTION]s trips to the middle of absolute nowhere so he can go run 50 miles up a mountain? [MENTION=66300]Intruder[/MENTION]s trips where the snow was so deep they had to use a winch just to get to the trail?

Many of you guys have new little humans running around your house (or just laying there, pooping, eating and sleeping if they are new enough)so how about it, any epic stories making a midnight run to the hospital through a storm with a pregnant wife? How about you guys on the west coast? Did the 4Runner move your family to safety after the last earthquake? [MENTION=51030]joneseyyy[/MENTION] has had many epic journeys like running the Vermont Overland Race, but I remember a post where he used his 4Runner to take him mountain biking and he ended up skinned up one side and down the other from his wreck! Personally I have a few, but will wait until later.

So here are the rules for the Epic Trip Contest:
1. A 5th Gen 4Runner had to be involved somehow
2. Pics would be nice of something related to the trip but not required
3. You need to write a paragraph or three describing the basic who, what, when, where and how of the trip.

After we have several, we can nominate using Robert's Rules of Order (or something close to it) and make a poll. The winner will win 100 internet points to be redeemed at a bar and grill closest to your location.

Remember: Your 4Runner just had to be somehow involved in your Epic Trip! It could be the primary focus of the whole thing or just used to get you to the place your Epic Trip began! C'mon, I have read some pretty cool stories over the years you guys posted so let's hear about them! It's either this or I will start asking about tires rubbing or 4Runner prices....

"DrDubzz" was the guy who moved his whole family to Alaska in his white SR5.
BTW Great Idea Greg.

 

[Titanpat57]

drove my junk to Mons Venus.... google it, there are cracks as big as Moab!

Keep your junk out of strange cracks...

 

[Ducmonsta]

Does this count? Because I'm running really low on internet points!

 

[1engineer]

Does this count? Because I'm running really low on internet points!

Oh yeah! And the first story goes to [MENTION=68685]Ducmonsta[/MENTION]! Great trip man.

 

[joneseyyy]

I think half of my blog posts on www.dirtroadtrip.com qualify....

 

[1engineer]

I think half of my blog posts on DirtRoadTrip qualify....

Probably! So pick a few, copy and paste them here for these guys to read. You of all people have had some epic trips! The cool thing about this is it is all about the journey and "epic" sometimes happens without leaving the pavement or even town. Other times "epic" happens 200 miles down a trail stuck in the mud. So post some stories!

 

[Jeremy556]

I think mine might qualify, I'll have to write it over several days, or I might just delete it tomorrow.

After getting injured enough to be off a bike for over 6 months, and watching a few friends die, my motorcycle racing aspirations started to fade and I needed a new hobby (obsession). I always enjoyed exploring back roads and trails in my Taco.

4runners had fallen off my radar after the 3rd gen went away. I had seen several 5th gens around town, but thought they were a new model Sequoia, until I saw a TE :wow:

Spent a month or two tracking down the very scarce TEs after the tsunami, and ended up buying a 2011 TE with KDSS and JBL Nav in February 2012 from a dealer in NoVA. Had a nice drive back to Atlanta via the Blue Ridge Parkway and every forest service road I could find in between.

I ended up doing about $15K of damage at 2K miles, cresting a small hill into a washout that remove the front left wheel and everything attached to it.

Around 20K miles (November 2012) I decided to quit my cushy job as the team lead and SME of 35 integration engineers at a large bank, to head west and find better trails than can be found on the east coast.

To be continued... maybe. 92,198 on the odo today, so nearly 3,300 miles per month, on average, since moving. I would say at least 1/4 of that is on off road trails, rated 4+ or unknown to trail damage.

 

[NorthWest 4R]

After we have several, we can nominate using Robert's Rules of Order (or something close to it) and make a poll. The winner will win 100 internet points to be redeemed at a bar and grill closest to your location.

What the hell are internet points and how do you redeem them for beer? Sounds to me like some scam SSS would think of :lol:


:jk::rockthrow:

 

[CatskillsRunner]

I am in.

This summer we decided to take 3 weeks and head out to Colorado and Utah. My parents took their RV out a week ahead of us with our three year old. Their plan was to see the Badlands and Yellowstone and then meet up with us in Colorado to give us time to raft water we're not ready to take her on.

We trailered an 10' modified landscape trailer out there. My husband is a farrier and so it wasnt hard for him to mod the trailer to accomodate the cataraft (when inflated) and the frame, cooler, and boxes on the way out. I had installed AirLift air bags, at [MENTION=2636]TITAN[/MENTION]pat's suggestion, along with new UCAs and Bilsteins and the ride was terrific. It drives so much better than stock and it is so much fun to drive.

I usually do all the driving because 1.) I love it, and 2.) I'm a really obnoxious backseat driver, which I blame on a bad car accident I was in. This trip was harder than usual because back in January I broke my metatarsal sesamoid bone in my right foot on a normal 4 mile run. Had surgery in May but I got pretty fatigued driving even the 20 minute drive to work. So, while driving wasnt a blast, the majority of exercise I'd get once there would be rowing, so it would be worth it.

We had intended to float 25 miles of the North Platte right near Saratoga, WY, but I started getting really nervous that there wasnt going to be any water in the thing. I was stalking the USGS webpage and finally made the decision to call it. I had already bought guide books, paid for fishing permits, lined up a mandatory WY boat inspection, figured out where we would camp overnight. We had never been there and we were both disappointed, but I told my husband I would figure something else out. We had three days to kill between getting to Colorado and heading to Bond to float 60 or so miles of the Upper Colorado.

We ended up going to Arkansas Headwaters National Recreation Area. We camped the first night out of the 4Runner and rigged the cataraft for an Arkansas float the next day.

The fishing was great and I rowed the majority of the time. It was the biggest water I ever rowed. We had a blast. Because we were on the water so early, we saw no one, not even the guide boats.

Then we hit Rancho del Rio, a hippie camping spot with cabins on the Colorado. A festival was winding down, and there were a few really drunk, and getting drunker, folks there. One dude had a modded Tacoma and almost rolled into the 4Runner looking for 1st. Yikes. It was nice to get out of there and be on the river for a few days.

The fishing was great again even though a fly fishing guide in Vail said it would lousy. Bigger fish but less of them. I rowed through several rapids that I was scared to in previous years and had a great time.

We came off the river and met my parents at James Robb State Park. It was wonderful to see our daughter. We camped there for 2 nights. The second day we floated the Grand Junction "Daily" with my husband rowing his fishing raft with my dad, and us girls in the cataraft.

That night my brother and his wife came out from LA. The next day we floated Ruby/Horsethief Canyons and camped at Mee Canyon. The weather was terrific even though a pretty nasty thunderstorm lingered to our west all day. We have Paco Pads, sleeping pads which you can use on the boat as a seat on a cooler, or toss in the river to use as a float.

All day we took turns jumping in the river floating through riffs. Our 3 year old, Katie, decided to surf on hers. We had burritos that night and my brother taught Katie how to throw horse shoes.

The next day we came off the Colorado again and headed to Moab. We stayed at a cabin and stocked up on food and ice for the next day's float.

We floated Labyrinth Canyon on the Green River, which was about 60 miles. The first day was magnificent. Everything we love about floating: really relaxing, no noise except for the canyon wrens and Katie, who has now figured out how much fun it is to scream her name and to hear it echo multiple times off the canyon walls.

There were some awful thunderstorms that night, and I spent a good deal of that night wondering why we decided taking our daughter camping in the middle of the desert, in MONSOON season, was a good idea.

Anyway, we made it. The next day was good but the next camp was dubbed Mosquito Camp by the time we left. Katie put a lizard on her hat which stayed there for an hour.

We came to Mineral Bottom, our take out, to find the "ramp" had turned into an incredibly steep drop thanks to all the recent water the river had seen. I walked up to find the 4Runner in the parking lot (it can be a little unnerving to have a three year old holding your hand while you look for your vehicle after being on the river for 3 days. You really, really, really hope your shuttle company came through).

There were a bunch of NPS rangers who were about to launch a giant cataraft but helped us load all our gear and boat beforehand. Katie watched Bambi with the AC cranked. As we derigged I wondered if I was really that tan or if was mostly dirt. Turns out it was mostly dirt.

We went back to Moab and the last day did a few very short hikes in Arches. I paid for the hikes dearly that night and gimped around for days afterward. It was still worth it to have three generations hiking in one of my favorite places on earth.

I did not want to come home. Katie decided that the whole trip was in Colorado and cried when we said we had to go home, saying, "I dont want to leave Colorado!"

It was best trip we've ever had and I'm really glad we didnt listen to all the people who assured up that Katie was way too young for a trip like that.

I will try to link a photobucket page to this...when I got back I couldnt get my files small enough to go onto the website and then gave up. Not sure how the amazing pictures people have get up there...

 

[1engineer]

I am in.

This summer ........ have get up there...

Great story!

 

[scanny]

Good idea with contest. Last year I had epic 600 km drive through ice storm, next time something interesting happens - I'll keep contest in mind : )

 

[CatskillsRunner]

more...

This was the road out of Mineral Bottom, just around the corner from where Thelma & Louise took flight.