Intruder's build and off road pics thread

Here's a slightly different kind of trip report. This was way more of an "overland" style trip I guess.

So I just got back from 10 days on the road living out of my roof top tent. It started as a trip to Nelson for a friend's wedding then turned into an extra week of camping and fishing.

We left bright and early Friday morning to take the long way to Nelson via Revelstoke so we could stop at Nomad's for burgers.
IMG_20150814_072008 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

After lunch we headed south towards Nelson, but first we had to wait for the ferry.
DSCF3735.jpg by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

On the way from Revy to the ferry I realized my turn signals weren't working any more. While we were waiting for the ferry sure enough it turned out the fuse was blown. So we replaced it and everything seemed good.

Finally aboard and crossing the lake.
DSCF3742.jpg by Marc Fossi, on Flickr
DSCF3740.jpg by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

Naturally, as soon as we got off the ferry my turn signals stopped working again. There was no point in replacing the fuse until the root of the problem was diagnosed, so I used hand signals the rest of the day.

We finally arrived and were shown our camping spot for our stay. As I was opening my tent Nick noticed it didn't look right. Sure enough the bolts on one of the hinges had come out so the two halves of the tent weren't attached. We poked around and found the bolts and corresponding nuts and got the hinges back together. Crisis averted.

That night there was a small celebration so no photos. The next morning we awoke to our view.
DSCF3744.jpg by Marc Fossi, on Flickr
DSCF3750.jpg by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

Deciding the lake life isn't so bad.
DSCF3757.jpg by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

Our little camp setup. Not quite the backcountry stuff we're used to.
DSCF3759.jpg by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

Awesome to watch the clouds moving through the trees.
DSCF3767.jpg by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

Shortly after, the locals came by to check things out.
IMG_20150815_135148 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

Since there was time before the wedding, I pulled off the two side skirts from the front bumper and started looking into the turn signal issue. One of the load resistors for the LED bulbs had corroded almost completely apart and was likely shorting out and blowing the fuse. I pulled the resistor out, taped up the wires that it was tapped into, put a new fuse in, and everything was good to go again. Just as a side note, wrenching an hour before a wedding is not the best idea when you don't have some good hand cleaner around.

The rest of the day was filled with wedding celebration and much food and drink. Because I like to celebrate I didn't take a camera to the wedding.
 
The next morning the clouds were gone and we were treated to sun and warm weather.
DSCF3770.jpg by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

I decided to take a walk around with the camera since I was up early.
DSCF3783.jpg by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

DSCF3785.jpg by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

DSCF3787.jpg by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

DSCF3789.jpg by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

DSCF3792.jpg by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

Unfortunately some folks had to be back at work on Monday so they left Sunday morning. I gained a couple new campmates for the night when two of the guys who'd been staying in a hotel in town came by.

We had another party that day but by the end of it we all felt a little like this.
IMG_20150816_182345 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr
 
Monday morning we went in search of some breakfast but it seems that nothing in Nelson and the surrounding area opens until 11am. After eating we went our separate ways with one of the guys staying to check out the area, the other heading to the coast and then the island, and me heading to Fernie.

The drive was pretty uneventful other than seeing the forest fires outside Creston. As you got near Creston first you could smell the fires, then see the smoke, then you could see the concentrated smoke and fires themselves in the hills to the south. Luckily when I got to Fernie there wasn't any smoke from the fires. I stopped in at one of the local fly shops but they were just closing up. When I asked where to camp in the area they said the only place nearby was Mount Fernie provincial park. I grabbed some quick dinner then headed over to the park. After driving around I managed to get the last available campsite - actually the unoccupied half of a group site.

IMG_20150817_203627 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

Later on the couple sharing the other half of the site came by. They were from Saskatoon and came to do some hiking and mountain biking in the area. Really nice people. While I may complain that it's annoying being at a campground because I get asked about the RTT all the time, it is kind of nice being able to meet new people and have a chat.

Next morning I headed back to the fly shop and got my annual BC license along with a classified water tag for the Elk. Naturally just before we left for Nelson, all the rivers in the area were closed to fishing except the Elk, Bull, and Wigwam. Fortunately I didn't mind much because my original plan had been to fish the Elk and it's a beautiful river.

IMG_20150818_092743 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

And it holds some fantastic cutthroat.

IMG_20150818_113505 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

IMG_20150819_155835 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

Fishing hard can be tiring.

IMG_20150819_190329 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr
 
I ended up camping and fishing in Fernie until Thursday. I had planned on staying longer but Thursday morning smoke from the forest fires in Montana had moved in. It slowed fishing down on Thursday but I still managed to get some nice fish to my net. After fishing I stopped by the grocery store to get some things for that night. When I got back out to the truck I looked around at the smoke and decided to get the **** out of Dodge. Crowsnest was only an hour away so instead of turning west on Highway 3 to go to Mount Fernie, I headed east.

Once I got to Crowsnest I looked around at some different campgrounds and finally settled on Lundbreck Falls. Nothing like camping right next to the river.

DSCF3803.jpg by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

It was starting to cool down a little at night, which was probably a bit of an omen.

IMG_20150820_212206 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

The next day I fished the Crowsnest river for a while.

DSCF3794.jpg by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

DSCF3802.jpg by Marc Fossi, on Flickr
 
I wanted to fish the Oldman on Saturday so thought I'd camp nearby at Dutch Creek PRA and be able to get an early start. As I headed towards the gas station in Coleman I could see some pretty dark clouds to the west. Next thing it started raining then hailing. No big deal I thought. Weather in the mountains can change between valleys so I'll head up to Dutch and see.

Turns out the snow was sticking to the ground up the 40.

DSCF3807.jpg by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

You can see the snow was coming down sideways.

DSCF3811.jpg by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

So I turned around and headed back to Lundbreck for the night instead. It was still raining and snowing there but not as bad as up the 40. It probably didn't get as cold there as it would have in the mountains too. Luckily I learned a couple lessons from a previous camping trip where it rained a lot. I had my Jetboil and a few freeze-dried meals so that's what I had for dinner instead of trying to grill burgers in the rain. I also keep a Gore Tex shell and pants in a bag in the truck so I was at least able to stay dry. That left one other slight problem. When I packed for this trip it was looking like the temps would be in the mid to high 20s, not hovering around 0. I had packed mostly shorts and t-shirts and only had a sleeping bag rated for 0C. Luckily I also keep a puffy jacket, tuque, and gloves in the truck. I was able to throw on enough layers to keep from freezing, but it was still chilly.

The lump under the sleeping bag is a dog trying to keep warm.

IMG_20150821_193126 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr
 
With the snow crisis averted it was time to head up the 40 Saturday morning.

IMG_20150822_121215 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

I got to the Oldman and had the water to myself. Such a gorgeous view after the smoke on Thursday and rain/snow mix on Friday.

DSCF3814.jpg by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

DSCF3815.jpg by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

I don't know if the snow scared people away, but I had an entire stretch of the Oldman at the Gap to myself all day. The snow and cooler temps seemed to have a really good effect on the fish. Lots of happy trout looking up for dry flies all day. I worked my way up over the whole stretch of river over 5 hours.

Saturday night Chris, Nick, and their dad were coming through Crowsnest on their way to Whipsaw so I went back there to camp with them for the night. Even though there wasn't any rain or snow it was still a chilly night, so luckily there wasn't a fire ban.

IMG_20150822_205153 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

It was cold enough that in the morning I woke to frost on everything.

IMG_20150823_081834 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

The others were going to do some trails in Crowsnest that day but I was at the end of my holidays. I headed back to Calgary via the 40 and fished the Oldman and Livingstone on my way back. The fish were still happy from the cold temps so I was happy. I caught my first fish on each river that day on the 3rd cast. It was a fantastic trip all around and I finally made it back to Calgary around dinner time after 10 days on the road. The truck still isn't entirely unloaded, but at least I got all the laundry done. It was pretty damn tough waking up to my alarm this morning.
 
Solid entries, sounds like you had a blast. Some crazy weather we had last week. I was going to head out to the oldman that day but judging from your pictures I'm glad I didn't. Thanks for the updates.
 
When I first bought the 4Runner I never expected to do any modding, then I figured I'd only do a couple things to it, then it got out of control. Figured I'd start this thread with the evolution and to post my wheeling pics so I don't overwhelm the other thread all the time, especially since most of my pics have lots of non-5th gens in it.

I've been following you on IG for awhile now, but don't think I've ever seen your thread.

I really enjoy the pictures of your dog out on the trips with you. I have a miniature version, a wheaton Scottish Terrier, that we take on all of our expeditions as well.

How is it setting up your RTT in the rain? I haven't had to do it yet, somehow, but I imagine it's going to be a dismal experience.
 
How is it setting up your RTT in the rain?
It's actually no big deal. I've got it down pretty good so that it only takes me 5-10 minutes to set up or tear down. Plus since you keep all your bedding inside the tent when it's packed up you don't have to worry about it getting wet when you make camp. I'll take the RTT over a ground tent in the rain or snow any day of the week.
 
winter in canada:

51159f9a79a52.png
 
It's actually no big deal. I've got it down pretty good so that it only takes me 5-10 minutes to set up or tear down. Plus since you keep all your bedding inside the tent when it's packed up you don't have to worry about it getting wet when you make camp. I'll take the RTT over a ground tent in the rain or snow any day of the week.

My only thought was that with your tent, water would come in the door. I imagine that you experience the same sideways rain that we get here in the PNW- do you have no issues with that? I have the little overhang on mine, so unless the rain is falling up, it's not an issue for me. My fear of setting up in the rain is from the few seconds that the mattress is exposed after removing the cover, before opening up the tent.

I'm probably thinking too far into it.

Anyway- really enjoying your build and IG posts. Take care.
 
I originally bought the 4Runner as a fishing vehicle so I could get out to spots on the forestry trunk road easier. I realized that over the last 4 years I've been doing too much wheeling and not enough fishing. So this summer that changed. I haven't been to McLean at all this year and probably never will again. I've wheeled in Crowsnest a few times, but overall I've lost a lot of my desire to wheel just for the sake of wheeling. I'll probably do some winter wheeling when it's too cold to fish, but otherwise I'd rather be using my truck to get places and do things like I did this weekend.

Heading onto the 532 Friday morning. Stopped to air down a bit to smooth out the ride.

IMG_20150904_120846 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

First sign that the weather might take a turn.

IMG_20150904_123138 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

Hit the Oldman for a bit to meet some new friends.

IMG_20150904_142341 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

After a while I saw a constant stream of 5th wheels heading up the highway and I could see the bad weather heading in. Decided to head to Dutch Creek and grab a campsite. Shortly after dinner the rain started so I hopped in the tent and read for a while before bed. The next morning the rain was still going full on, so I decided instead of packing the tent up wet I'd stay around the campground and fish Dutch Creek. No pictures because of the steady rain. A little after getting back in the tent that night I couldn't hear the rain any more but when I looked outside I realized that was because it had turned to snow. It was obvious the next morning that quite a bit came down at the higher elevations.

IMG_20150906_083125 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

Pretty decent spot for a provincial campground. Luckily the rain and snow had stopped.

IMG_20150904_163952 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

Picked up a griddle for my Magma grill and made some bacon and eggs for breakfast.

IMG_20150906_085000 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

Still some snow around.

IMG_20150906_084316 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

Hit the Oldman again with low cloud around.

IMG_20150906_105143 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

Still had the tarp set up in case the weather turned again. And yeah I brought a snow brush.

IMG_20150906_145731 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

Without any rain or snow I grilled up some dinner. Camping plates are too small though.

IMG_20150906_173155 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

Still some nasty looking clouds hanging around but there was no more rain or snow after Saturday.

IMG_20150906_175919 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

Pumping out some decent BTUs.

IMG_20150906_214340 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

The Magma griddle in action this morning.

IMG_20150907_082322 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

Frost melting off my trusty old hatchet.

IMG_20150907_085309 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

After I packed up camp I headed back to the Oldman to make some new friends. I don't think they were as happy to meet me.

IMG_20150907_113924 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

IMG_20150907_131327 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

IMG_20150907_140209 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

IMG_20150907_140220 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

The magic fly.

IMG_20150907_143214 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

Headed back on the 532 and the view was much different than on the way out Friday.

IMG_20150907_153003 by Marc Fossi, on Flickr
 
Later on the couple sharing the other half of the site came by. They were from Saskatoon and came to do some hiking and mountain biking in the area. Really nice people. While I may complain that it's annoying being at a campground because I get asked about the RTT all the time, it is kind of nice being able to meet new people and have a chat.
You do start to feel like the circus sideshow freak with everyone staring.... I've learned to get all of my camp chores done before setting up the tent because there's bound to be someone dropping by to check it out. Had a few burned dinners before I figured that out...
Kids reactions are the best. On one trip last summer this little boy was riding his bike around the campground and when he got up to my camp he came screeching to a stop, almost laid the bike on its side and just stood there staring at my truck/tent. Then he got back on the bike and was gone. Few minutes later he's back with his dad in tow. the dad was a little embarrassed, apologized for intruding into my campsite, but his kid wouldn't shut up about the "transformer truck" in camp and he insisted his dad had to see it. I let the kid climb up and check things out. Pretty sure he was ready to ask Santa for one for Christmas after that....

It's actually no big deal. I've got it down pretty good so that it only takes me 5-10 minutes to set up or tear down. Plus since you keep all your bedding inside the tent when it's packed up you don't have to worry about it getting wet when you make camp. I'll take the RTT over a ground tent in the rain or snow any day of the week.

I'd be careful about leaving your bedding up top when the tent is put away wet. I was out on one particularly rainy trip and left my bag in the tent after the first night. It got a little warm the next day and when I set my tent up the next night was bag was soaked - as the day warmed up the moisture on the tent evaporated and since it couldn't escape the travel cover it just saturated everything inside the tent including my bag. Was a little chilly that night and I definitely noticed that my bag wasn't keeping me as warm as it could have. I spent the next day driving around with my bag spread out in the back of my truck (xtra cab Tacoma) and the defroster on high in an attempt to dry my bag out. After that trip I only leave my bedding up top if the tent is put away dry.

Looks like an awesome trip you had - snow and all. I chickened out this last weekend and only camped one night to avoid the possibility of getting snowed on. Just not ready for that crap yet!
 
I'd be careful about leaving your bedding up top when the tent is put away wet. I was out on one particularly rainy trip and left my bag in the tent after the first night. It got a little warm the next day and when I set my tent up the next night was bag was soaked - as the day warmed up the moisture on the tent evaporated and since it couldn't escape the travel cover it just saturated everything inside the tent including my bag. Was a little chilly that night and I definitely noticed that my bag wasn't keeping me as warm as it could have. I spent the next day driving around with my bag spread out in the back of my truck (xtra cab Tacoma) and the defroster on high in an attempt to dry my bag out. After that trip I only leave my bedding up top if the tent is put away dry.
Hmm, in almost 4 years of having the tent I've never had that problem. The closest I've gotten to it is when there's condensation inside the tent when I pack it up, but usually I open all the windows to air it out before I close it or after I set up again a few hours before I go to bed.
 

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