Anza Borrego 1/23/05

[Phalanx]

I was checking out the GPS track from the trip, after I took off, did you did you head down The Slot/Buttes pass?

 

[chiefiji]

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

and after seeing the tow strap, i just dont think the yellow matches my gray mica

if i could have gotten myself out, i would have. the dueler hts just kept going deeper and deeper the more i spun the tires. i probably should have given the 4wd more time to engage but wth, getting pulled out makes for a better story.

 

[spblat]

I was checking out the GPS track from the trip, after I took off, did you did you head down The Slot/Buttes pass?

Not this time, but been there done that! Hopefully next time.

 

[4RNR4BB]

Thanks to everyone that showed up, I had a blast with my 2wd and my dad had fun being co-driver. Will that video was pretty good, the ending mad me laugh. I wish someone would have taken pics of us in the canyon with the banked turns. I went kinda high on a couple of those turns, and I would have liked to see pics from the outside. My dad said "hey what are you doing" a couple times, it was funny. It doesn't look like I could have made it on the trails after we left Ocatillo Wells. 4lo/4hi to get out some of the wholes? hmm i might have gotten stuck. I don't know if I will be able to get much more serious then what we did in Anza, but we will see. LET'S PLAN ANOTHER ONE!!!

Matt

 

[4RNR4BB]

Some Pics

Some of my pics:

Woohoo I got dirty!

Will could almost touch the ground with his arm out the window. The picture doesn't do justice how close he was to tipping.

 

[spblat]

Re: Some Pics

Will could almost touch the ground with his arm out the window. The picture doesn't do justice how close he was to tipping.

Naah. Well yes I might have been able to reach out and touch the dirt, but I wasn't concerned at all. My previous video (sorry, don't mean to keep plugging the same thing) has a sequence near the end that truly had me wondering what on earth I thought I was doing with my brand new stock 4th gen, the nicest (and by far the most expensive) car I ever dreamed of owning.

 

[Expat]

Will - the hitch can be bought at Road N Truck 3234 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. CA 91362 Ph 805 495 6657 Fax 805 495 9367 for a purchase price of $39.95. It's called a shackle receiver 29312 and mine came with the hitch and shackle.

A locking pin with two keys costs $19.95

If they won't sent it to you, let me know and I'll get it and send it down to ya. The shop is like 10 minutes from my house.

PS - if you get the locking pin remember to not keep the spare key with the other - like some other dumb scmuck who lost both of them!

I'm still getting mud outta my clothes

Cheers
Mark

PS - I think I might get a extra shackle for the front tow hook so I don't have to unshackle the rear one. A front shackle i would leave in the glove box until the time arose where it was needed. Just a thought if your going to order one, might as well get two.

 

[Expat]

Hey you Cali guys - see my post in general discussions about the Tierra Del Sol Safari...sounds interesting. I wanna know more.

 

[iFORCE]

That looks WAY to much fun. wish there were stuff like that here....

 

[Expat]

Will - When you got stuck in the mud did you have the diff locked? Were you in Hi or Lo?

Just curious whether we gave up too early on trying to get thru that stuff.

Thinking stuff over in a few free minutes at work.

Cheers
Mark

 

[rando]

I think he was stuck ... no matter what. He tried applying the breaks and gas at the same time (in reverse) to get all the wheels moving. I watched both right side wheels spin and the only movement his truck was making was strait down into the muck.

 

[Phalanx]

Yea, he was down to the frame. Even if he had front and rear lockers he wouldn't be going anywhere. Maybe if he had aired down he would have got a little further but that mud was thick.

The only way I would have made it through that hole at a safe speed would be with the winch and pullpal.

 

[spblat]

Yea, he was down to the frame. Even if he had front and rear lockers he wouldn't be going anywhere. Maybe if he had aired down he would have got a little further but that mud was thick.

The only way I would have made it through that hole at a safe speed would be with the winch and pullpal.

Ya, let me count the ways it was a dumb idea to attempt the bog:

# Overconfident with my new revos and lift. A week or two prior I had a very pleasant experience blasting through some mud that would have stopped me cold on the stock dunlops.
# Didn't air down.
# Didn't spend enough time studying the terrain. If I had walked it a little more, eventually my foot would have sunk in 2 feet (as happened to all of us later) and I might have come to my senses.
# Didn't keep my speed up, even after remarking to rando before my attempt that it would be necessary to do so.

I was indeed in 4LO with the center diff locked, and I went in with the subliminal confidence that if there were any trouble, we would not have been stranded what with all our tow straps and Mark's killer shackle. Much less worrisome than a precarious rock crawl that might risk actual damage.

So I've got no regrets at all. Every trip I go on has a defining crisis we call our "moment" that makes it all the more fun and memorable, and this was a doozie! Thanks to chiefiji for my new desktop wallpaper (and T4R avatar!).

 

[dcampen]

# Didn't spend enough time studying the terrain. If I had walked it a little more, eventually my foot would have sunk in 2 feet (as happened to all of us later) and I might have come to my senses.

But you can't walk everything. I had no idea that 2 ft. deep mud was there. I saw that it was a little slick over to the left but that deep pocket of mud on the right was a total surprise - on the surface it looked like hard, dry dirt.

Even a wench on your front bumper wouldn't have been able to pull you through because there was nothing to anchor to.

 

[bulldog-yota]

Always a good experience to get stuck, you learn a lot from it. I have gotten stuck so many times, a number of times I required a tow to get out.

The worst was at Pismo on the top of a dune (didn't lock the center diff :bash: ). It took a winch (BruceTS wait till you see his 4R) and Lance(Good Times) with a towstrap to get me out.

Incidently I found 4H in 2nd with the center diff locked to work pretty nice in mud. Gives you good speed, keeps the revs down so ATRAC still works. The V8 has enough power down low to keep you moving. I learned the hard way.

All that said, forget about getting through that mud as it was there. Your 4R looked like it was diving in not staying on top (you should tell it that a mudbath is only good for human skin not paint ). The mud was way too thick anyhow. Makes for great video and pics though. And at least it is better than hanging on your frame over a log like a dumbass (me)

 

[rando]

# Didn't spend enough time studying the terrain. If I had walked it a little more, eventually my foot would have sunk in 2 feet (as happened to all of us later) and I might have come to my senses.

The pictures reflect perfectly how deceptive looking that muck was. I mean it looks like your truck is burried in dry dirt there. But to step on it -- SURPRISE -- you're instantly up to your knees in gooey mud! Even after watching your truck sink in it, it still managed to lure several of us to walk (and sink) in it.

# Didn't keep my speed up, even after remarking to rando before my attempt that it would be necessary to do so.

It was your famous last remark before you took the plunge -- literally. I'm pretty sure that it wasn't safe to go any faster anyhow.

Every trip I go on has a defining crisis we call our "moment" that makes it all the more fun and memorable, and this was a doozie!

Blah, this was no crisis. It was fun, though that's a bit easier for me to say since it was your $30k down in that hole and not mine.

Thanks to chiefiji for my new desktop wallpaper (and T4R avatar!).

Yah, double thanks!

 

[Phalanx]

Even a wench on your front bumper wouldn't have been able to pull you through because there was nothing to anchor to.

If you have a winch, you have to invest in one of these.

Pullpal winch anchor

Playing around at Pismo, pulling myself up the backside of a dune

Without a doubt, It saved me from rolling over at Pismo when I found myself sideways on a dune.
I used it a few weeks ago to help unstick some local fieldworkers from deep mud where the winch was pulling me tward them.

This thing works for sticks every time guaranteed. It gives me the comfidence to test the ability of the 'Runner. I never wheel without it.

You guys want to start a new thread to discuss our next run?

 

[Expat]

If I can just manage to keep this connection for long enough I may be able to load up 2 dozen photos now....damn... :

 

[Expat]

ok...here we go..

Starting off with a night of luxury at the Sands Motel right next to the park entrance, 1 mile from the 'mall' for the ladies who need to have something to buy:

 

[Expat]

Nice having a spa before the dusty next day journey