K-trail trip, Feb 28th-29th?
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FernandoDLT
New member
I'm in. 21-22 works better for me since I'm off that weekend
swapmeet
New member
As we discussed, 28th- 1st going to be the best for us.
FernandoDLT
New member
I haven't been there before so Im not sure where you'd turn off and leave the group but I'm sure you could
FernandoDLT
New member
At least 4 of us but maybe more. Im making an event for this trip on FB now. I'll post a link here in a few minutes
FernandoDLT
New member
fo' runnin'
New member
I'm a little irritated that you used my photo without my permission. Not a cool move. 104 people invited? Are you trying to piss off the locals and get the USFS to shut down the trail on purpose? The locals already hate any outsiders traveling the trail. This isn't the Talimena drive and a group bigger than 10 rigs would be incredibly difficult to get down the trail in an orderly, timely fashion. Also, why are you creating a FB event and inviting 104 people to someone else's run? Use some common courtesy and communicate with your fellow forum members. Ask permission to use photos and give the original poster the opportunity to decide whether he wants 104 people on his run or not.
KCcarguy
New member
Yeah, not cool man. The entire trail is through private land. ONLY THE TRAIL is public and locals are already a little weary about outsiders coming down there. The trail is getting really popular (understandable because it's special for this part of the country), and if you want us all to continue enjoying it, you have to respect it and keep it low-key. Please tread lightly and be respectful.....pretty much impossible when you invite 100+ people. That looks like a distaster waiting to happen. And, since we are not involved, I would appreciate it if you'd take our group's picture off your facebook page. Better yet, take the Facebook page down altogether, find a small group here on the forum and go enjoy the K-trail.
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swapmeet
New member
Ok ok ok.... Let me address you concerns in order.
1. Using your photo without your permission wasn't cool. But try to understand, it was taken by a 4runner owner and member of this forum who wants 4runners to go. But yes, he should have asked. (I am a part time photographer so I completely understand your frustration.)
2a. 104 invited, but zero response besides myself and a buddy who doesn't even know about this forum. (but he has a 5th gen!) And I responded cause Fernando called me to tell me he was making an invite.
2b. I/He/We don't know what the protocol is concerning locals or the trail etc. In all honesty we're going into this completely blind. We were hoping to have someone (like yourself) who is familiar with the trail give us some guidance and best case, go with us. I guess thats kinda working... but not exactly in the manner we hoped.
3. As suggested above, [MENTION=112437]FernandoDLT[/MENTION] is my buddy and we wheel together all the time. He and I have been wanting to make this trip for some time. We watched the videos in the other thread and that sealed the deal. We wanted to hit it up asap. He took it upon himself to make the FB invite just so we would have some organization and a single place to point people. Because TBH, the response here has been minimal. We'd like enough people to attend to have fun and be safe, but not so many that its overwhelming or a burden.
So in summary:
1. While we posses the mental fortitude to run the trail blind (I.E. using only GPS info etc) We would definitely listen to any suggestions those familiar with the trail can offer. Ultimately, we'd like to have someone who's done it before come along!
2. We/he can edit the invite very easily to cut down on the invitees. (You don't have to yell at us.)
3. We appreciate the feedback and will take heed to your suggestions, even if they were typed in anger. lol...
4. Wanna go? :becky:
fo' runnin'
New member
Ok ok ok.... Let me address you concerns in order.
1. Using your photo without your permission wasn't cool. But try to understand, it was taken by a 4runner owner and member of this forum who wants 4runners to go. But yes, he should have asked. (I am a part time photographer so I completely understand your frustration.)
2a. 104 invited, but zero response besides myself and a buddy who doesn't even know about this forum. (but he has a 5th gen!) And I responded cause Fernando called me to tell me he was making an invite.
2b. I/He/We don't know what the protocol is concerning locals or the trail etc. In all honesty we're going into this completely blind. We were hoping to have someone (like yourself) who is familiar with the trail give us some guidance and best case, go with us. I guess thats kinda working... but not exactly in the manner we hoped.
3. As suggested above, [MENTION=112437]FernandoDLT[/MENTION] is my buddy and we wheel together all the time. He and I have been wanting to make this trip for some time. We watched the videos in the other thread and that sealed the deal. We wanted to hit it up asap. He took it upon himself to make the FB invite just so we would have some organization and a single place to point people. Because TBH, the response here has been minimal. We'd like enough people to attend to have fun and be safe, but not so many that its overwhelming or a burden.
So in summary:
1. While we posses the mental fortitude to run the trail blind (I.E. using only GPS info etc) We would definitely listen to any suggestions those familiar with the trail can offer. Ultimately, we'd like to have someone who's done it before come along!
2. We/he can edit the invite very easily to cut down on the invitees. (You don't have to yell at us.)
3. We appreciate the feedback and will take heed to your suggestions, even if they were typed in anger. lol...
4. Wanna go? :becky:
Alright alright alright... my anger has been purged and I can no longer be upset with a reply like that... SORRY FOR BEING A DICK, swapmeet and Fernando, but please pay a little more respect to your fellow forum members by asking permission to use photos and videos, and if you need suggestions/info in the future, just ask! :cheers:
Now, for some suggestions... From 9 Pines road to the Indian Highway is the "technical" section and then from the Indian Highway to the 3 sticks monument is pretty smooth going, but VERY tight, so going is still a little slow. We had 7 or 8 rigs on our trip and it took us from 8am to around 5pm to reach the 3 sticks monument and we were hauling ass for the last 2 hours or so. I would highly suggest capping the attendance at 10 rigs, because you guys are going to want to stop and take photos every 100 feet like we did and you will have varied experience levels within the group, so the newbs will slow you down.
The locals in the area are rather hostile, according to trip reports from other folks on here and on expeditionportal.com, so pack some *legal* heat, but keep the noise down, stay on the trail, and be respectful to the land. We didn't run into any issues with the locals on our run, but I did almost trip over a hunter when I hopped out of my rig and ran up into the woods to take a photo.
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KCcarguy
New member
Ok ok ok.... Let me address you concerns in order.
1. Using your photo without your permission wasn't cool. But try to understand, it was taken by a 4runner owner and member of this forum who wants 4runners to go. But yes, he should have asked. (I am a part time photographer so I completely understand your frustration.)
2a. 104 invited, but zero response besides myself and a buddy who doesn't even know about this forum. (but he has a 5th gen!) And I responded cause Fernando called me to tell me he was making an invite.
2b. I/He/We don't know what the protocol is concerning locals or the trail etc. In all honesty we're going into this completely blind. We were hoping to have someone (like yourself) who is familiar with the trail give us some guidance and best case, go with us. I guess thats kinda working... but not exactly in the manner we hoped.
3. As suggested above, [MENTION=112437]FernandoDLT[/MENTION] is my buddy and we wheel together all the time. He and I have been wanting to make this trip for some time. We watched the videos in the other thread and that sealed the deal. We wanted to hit it up asap. He took it upon himself to make the FB invite just so we would have some organization and a single place to point people. Because TBH, the response here has been minimal. We'd like enough people to attend to have fun and be safe, but not so many that its overwhelming or a burden.
So in summary:
1. While we posses the mental fortitude to run the trail blind (I.E. using only GPS info etc) We would definitely listen to any suggestions those familiar with the trail can offer. Ultimately, we'd like to have someone who's done it before come along!
2. We/he can edit the invite very easily to cut down on the invitees. (You don't have to yell at us.)
3. We appreciate the feedback and will take heed to your suggestions, even if they were typed in anger. lol...
4. Wanna go? :becky:
Ok. Chalk it up as a mistake from an overly-enthusiastic Newb. You guys have enough people to make it safe already. And to be honest 5+ rigs gets a little cumbersome. How about you take the FB page down and PM a senior member for info? There are better ways to go about this.
swapmeet
New member
What I hear ya'll saying is "Don't fcuk up our local spot"
I respect that completely.
As far as taking the pic down. That's easy enough and as soon as Fernando can do it he will if you really want it taken down. But understand this... that pic is the 5th image result on google when you search "K trail 4Runner." What i'm saying is, we'll take it down because you asked, but anyone can find and use that photo however they want because it can be sourced from a public domain.
The FB thing stays. We can change the invite from public to private, we can and probably will cut down on the number of people invited. But I have two friends with Jeeps who want to go and they don't want to join a 4Runner forum in order to get the info about the trip.
We completely respect your suggestions and will respect your "backyard." In return, please treat us with respect. We're not going to cause problems and we'll listen if you can make suggestions and not demands.
We're all on the same team... really we are.
FernandoDLT
New member
Everything swapmeet said is spot on. We are going completely blind. We aren't expecting 104 people to show up. It's just an open invite top anyone wanting to join along. Realistically it won't even be 10 vehicles.
Sorry about the photo, Google K Trail and that pic pops right up. It's gone.
Sorry about the photo, Google K Trail and that pic pops right up. It's gone.
swapmeet
New member
We're all posting replys on top of each other lol...
Glad you guys are chilled out. We're totally cool and willing to work with ya'll.
I think 10 or less rigs is a great number. Right now we have 2 confirmed (duh) one maybe and as I mentioned, I have two jeep buddies who may go. Hence the need for the FB thing.
If we get more than 10 or 12 confirmed invites we'll probably make the FB thing private and remove the other invitees. I say 12 because you'll always have a handful of people who bail at the last minute.
So we're talking about getting to Clayton around noon, maybe earlier.
Is there a good place on the trail to set up camp before it gets dark? Our plan is to wake up Sunday and finish off the trail and head home.
Glad you guys are chilled out. We're totally cool and willing to work with ya'll.
I think 10 or less rigs is a great number. Right now we have 2 confirmed (duh) one maybe and as I mentioned, I have two jeep buddies who may go. Hence the need for the FB thing.
If we get more than 10 or 12 confirmed invites we'll probably make the FB thing private and remove the other invitees. I say 12 because you'll always have a handful of people who bail at the last minute.
So we're talking about getting to Clayton around noon, maybe earlier.
Is there a good place on the trail to set up camp before it gets dark? Our plan is to wake up Sunday and finish off the trail and head home.
fo' runnin'
New member
We've only ran the K-Trail once, so it's not our local spot, but we sure would hate to see it get shut down because a bunch of trail bashers came through and trashed it. NOT saying that you guys are trail bashers, seriously, I don't know you guys at all, just asking that you guys treat the trail with respect and leave it better than you found it. We want it to remain open for many years to come so many more people can enjoy it like we did!
I do ask that our photo please be removed since we won't be attending this time around. I just don't want our rigs to be linked to anything that we don't have control of, I hope you guys understand. We won't be attending because we already have a trip planned in Feb. for some day wheeling at a local offroad park, NOT because we hate you guys! lol Promise!
I am making no demands, just asking for a little more common courtesy. I hope my advice has been helpful and I am more than willing to give you guys any more insight about the trail that you may wish for. Seriously, I'm here to help if you guys need it, just ask! I'm not nearly as big of a dick head as I came across as in my first reply... LOL! :cheers:
fo' runnin'
New member
There is only one confirmed *legal* spot to camp along the trail, and that is at the fire tower. We camped at Clayton Lake State Park Friday night, then hit the trail head bright and early at 8am on Saturday and it took us until about 4pm to make it to the Fire Tower. The tricky thing about this trail is that it is private land on BOTH sides, so do not venture off of the trail or you may be shot and do not camp on or along side the trail, or you may be shot. LOL. Also, the trail is so tight that there really isn't anywhere to camp along it anyways, even if it were public land.
MasonT4R
New member
Last spring we went in completely blind as well and had a great time. Everybody jumped all over us as we tried to get it planned and setup. There have been abuses in the past and I believe that after running the trail it certainly becomes something special to everyone who has done it. Just want to make sure it isn't closed off because of abuses.
We just want to make sure that everyone who uses it remembers that it isn't an offroad park where you can drive anywhere you want. It is a public road that cuts through private land and should be respected as such. There are side roads and multiple pathways that are private and if you don't stick to the correct path you will be trespassing. There are people who actually live along the K-Trail as well as hunting cabins.
We camped at Clayton State Park Friday night and did the entire trail to three sticks on Saturday and drove home that night. If you are looking for a place to camp Saturday night a lot of people camp at the fire tower (it is also likely a party spot for local kids judging by all the trash).
As far as size I'd limit to 10 at most, less will be better. We had quite a few and it slowed us quite a bit. I'd say 5-6 is optimal.
I'm happy to help with any questions you may have and I hope you have fun with it!
We just want to make sure that everyone who uses it remembers that it isn't an offroad park where you can drive anywhere you want. It is a public road that cuts through private land and should be respected as such. There are side roads and multiple pathways that are private and if you don't stick to the correct path you will be trespassing. There are people who actually live along the K-Trail as well as hunting cabins.
We camped at Clayton State Park Friday night and did the entire trail to three sticks on Saturday and drove home that night. If you are looking for a place to camp Saturday night a lot of people camp at the fire tower (it is also likely a party spot for local kids judging by all the trash).
As far as size I'd limit to 10 at most, less will be better. We had quite a few and it slowed us quite a bit. I'd say 5-6 is optimal.
I'm happy to help with any questions you may have and I hope you have fun with it!
