Dark Lord's Cross Country Trip Report 2016

[Dark Lord]

I'm posting this a little late since I've been putting it off, but here you go. Pardon my photos at times, I'm not a professional photographer by any means. These are photos both taken by myself and my fiance. The camera used is an NEX-5N with the kit lens, and a Sony 35mm prime lens. Dash cam video is from a dual channel Blacksys CH-100B.

This trip started in Austin, TX and ended in Austin, TX. Beginning on July 25th we drove through Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Wyoming, and back to Texas on August 6th. We camped in the back of the 4runner for 70% of the trip. The other 30% we got hotel rooms along the way since my fiance's brother works for Marriott and gets a discount (typically $35 a night).

On our drive out of Texas we saw several modded FJ Cruisers and the like driving Southbound into Texas. Apparently there was this event called FJ Summit that had occurred the weekend before we left where Toyota enthusiasts go to Ouray, CO to go wheeling.... not sure if y'all have heard of it .

Anyway, we spent our first night in Farmington, NM and drove into Colorado the next morning.

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We started the day off at Black Bear Pass. Once we got to the trailhead, I saw a Jeep and a Tacoma airing down. I asked if they were about to drive Black Bear Pass, and they invited us to tag along which we did. We aired down, and proceeded to the trail. We ended up spending the rest of the day with the Jeep guy (the Tacoma owner, left after Black Bear Pass).

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After Black Bear Pass, we (the Jeep couple and us) drove through Telluride to the Imogene Pass trailhead. The Tacoma family parted ways after we finished Black Bear Pass.

This is a photo of Black Bear Pass's switchbacks from Imogene Pass.

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Towards the end of the trail there was a little water crossing. I followed the Jeep through the water instead of taking the alternate route. I was slightly concerned about a small hole in the ground as you'll see in the video, but it was actually a lot easier than it looked. I just wish I was going a bit slower.

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After Imogene Pass we went to Yankee Boy Basin to look at the flowers.

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Following this photo opportunity, we parted ways with the Jeep couple, ate some dinner, then set up camp for the night.

We got up the next morning, and went to Orvis Hot Springs which was interesting to say the least (Clothing optional, I suggest Googling it). After Orvis Hot Springs we ate breakfast at this excellent taco joint in Ridgeway called Taco Del Gnar. We debated staying another day in Colorado, or continuing our trip. We ultimately decided to press on.

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[Dark Lord]

Next we entered Moab that same day, and immediately did a trail. We only did one trail in Moab due to time constraints, and picked Hell's Revenge. We didn't get a lot of photos here because there weren't a lot of photo opportunities, and it was hot.

At Hell's Revenge we weren't fortunate enough to meet anyone at the trailhead to do the trail with, so we went alone. On the way in we saw a group of stock Jeeps driving the opposite direction exiting through the entrance as we went over the first few obstacles. Not sure what their intentions were, but it seemed as though they decided not to proceed any further. The trail was exhilarating, but very doable. There were a few times I would consider "close calls," but I believe being by ourselves enhanced our emotions. I understand wheeling by yourself is not recommended, but we took it slow and easy and didn't take any risks.
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Here's somewhat of a close call. It definitely spooked us, but we were able to back out just fine. I basically went off the line a tad bit, and probably should've used my spotter to begin with. The video doesn't do it justice.

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From the rear camera

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Immediately following this trail we set course for Provo, UT where we stayed the night. The next morning we drove into Salt Lake City briefly to look at the Mormon church. This photo was taken with my cell phone.

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From Salt Lake City we drove to Reno, NV where we went to visit my grandparents for two days. I don't get to see them very often, so we took this opportunity to spend some time with them. After a couple days in Reno, we began our trek up to Montana to explore Glacier National Park. Since we had previously driven through Nevada, Idaho, and Wyoming in the past, we decided to take a detour through Oregon and Washington. Through there we had to take a detour due to the wildfires in Oregon.

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[Dark Lord]

We took our time, and made a few stops along the way (casinos), and finally made it to our premier destination, Glacier National Park. The first day was spent driving the road to the sun, and hiking Piegan Pass.

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The rodents are so photogenic aren't they?

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At the end of the day we ate at a local restaurant and set up camp. The next morning we stepped off to hike Glacier Lake. Glacier Lake is so surreal. The hike is definitely in my top five favorite hikes now.

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On our way back we saw two Moose drinking water.

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[Dark Lord]

On the way out of the park, we saw a bear. Here are a few photos from our camera, and my phone camera.

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This place is picture perfect.....

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We saw plenty of goats, here's an example:

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A funny.

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Our signature photo.

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[Dark Lord]

After we left Glacier Park, we drove through Montana and Yellowstone to explore Grand Teton National Park.

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We camped and went on a horseback ride first thing the next morning (my first time in fact).

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Then we drove the park, took some photos on our way to our next hike .

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The goal of this hike was to go cliff jumping, and swim.

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Along the way we encountered this little guy. No, we didn't see mama bear anywhere.

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The cliff.

<a href="http://s274.photobucket.com/user/UnderFlood/media/CCT%202016/IMG_20160804_172802547_zps1lgqwcip.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj263/UnderFlood/CCT%202016/IMG_20160804_172802547_zps1lgqwcip.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_20160804_172802547_zps1lgqwcip.jpg"/></a>

The view.

<a href="http://s274.photobucket.com/user/UnderFlood/media/CCT%202016/IMG_20160804_175333585_HDR_zpsngxxxvhm.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj263/UnderFlood/CCT%202016/IMG_20160804_175333585_HDR_zpsngxxxvhm.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_20160804_175333585_HDR_zpsngxxxvhm.jpg"/></a>

After the hike, we went into town to have a nice meal, and then decided to buy some stocking stuffers for Christmas coming up.

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From there we drove to Colorado to visit my uncle and cousin for a day, then drove back to Texas. On the way back we had a close call while driving through the panhandle.

The truck stops on a dime!

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And that concludes this trip report! Thank you for viewing!

 

[JET4]

Very nice trip, and pictures

 

[lakerman]

Wowser

Epic, how long did you take to do that route?were you shooting with a zoom lens? Gotta say you have big kahunies being so close to both bears especially that griz, they are on top of the food chain for a reason!

 

[Jaydub514]

Awesome trip! Thanks for sharing!

How did the Ridge Grapplers perform? They look BEEFY- which is great.

 

[3wbdriver]

Thanks. Loved that reverse view of Black Bear Pass. I've never seen it from that angle.

 

[Dark Lord]

Epic, how long did you take to do that route?were you shooting with a zoom lens? Gotta say you have big kahunies being so close to both bears especially that griz, they are on top of the food chain for a reason!

Hahahaha! Yeah, we definitely carried bear spray with us everywhere out there!

If by route you mean the entire thing, it was 80 hours and 4800 miles give or take.

The kit lens is a 18-55mm, and my prime lens is a 35mm non-zoom.

Awesome trip! Thanks for sharing!

How did the Ridge Grapplers perform? They look BEEFY- which is great.

The Ridge Grapplers perform great. I've been mostly satisfied with them. They are difficult to balance though. Even on SCS wheels they sometimes vibrate at speeds above 70MPH. Off-road I had no issues with them.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[apollo]

awesome, great photos

 

[MeefZah]

Well done, I enjoyed that trip report!

Your LTD is about the nicest one I've seen.

 

[Jacko84]

Wow! I'm truly envious. Very nice trip. And awesome pics too!

 

[Trail406]

Epic trip! I live about 40 minutes from Glacier National Park, my wife and I go hiking there all of the time. We are going to hike Piegan tomorrow! Glad you enjoyed it.

 

[Lizard016]

Great write up!

 

[Hellaflushfj60]

Sweet rig, are those SCS wheels?

 

[Dark Lord]

Sweet rig, are those SCS wheels?

Yeah, they are SCS F-5's.

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[wfo9]

Nice pics, We probably crossed paths as I was coming back to Austin after FJ summit. I was in Ouray around that time... I almost remember seeing a 4Runner like yours LOL. West Texas is a long boring drive.

 

[Dark Lord]

Epic trip! I live about 40 minutes from Glacier National Park, my wife and I go hiking there all of the time. We are going to hike Piegan tomorrow! Glad you enjoyed it.

How I would love to live that close to a National Park, I'm definitely jealous....

Nice pics, We probably crossed paths as I was coming back to Austin after FJ summit. I was in Ouray around that time... I almost remember seeing a 4Runner like yours LOL. West Texas is a long boring drive.

Most likely! On our way through the panhandle we saw anywhere between three to five modded Toyotas with RTT's and camping trailers. At the time I didn't realize FJ Summit was that weekend. I looked it up, and thought wow, what timing. It was nice driving the trails up there without so many people around.

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[nb rob]

Great thread! very nice limited!!

I think I would get a lot more use out of a cargo box like yours than a roof rack. Especially when it's loaded up with everything and I want to leave the truck.

This is a great trip report. Well done