October Camping Trip #5- THE COVE!!!

[RaisedByWolves]

I was at Founders in Grand Rapids last night and wanted to growler some for the group but they said it'd only last 4 days. So I got a few 4 packs instead. One is already gone. The others probably won't see the Cove. Too many days for me and them between then and now. Sorry

 

[Apex Overland]

Im still in. The other trucks I was bringing with me are registered on here already or have bailed...

I will be leaving sunday morning though, have to be back home to take the kid Trick or Treating.

 

[n2advnture]

...The low hanging skirting on the Limited can be troublesome, and will "limit" you...

Thanks, I was thinking of coming up for the day on Sat to hang but I guess I'll have to wait until next year then (I'll swap out the front bumper before then).

While I've had 4WD's before, they have all been used as grocery getters. I hope to change things with this one. :thumb:

 

[Runn4est]

Thanks, I was thinking of coming up for the day on Sat to hang but I guess I'll have to wait until next year then (I'll swap out the front bumper before then).

While I've had 4WD's before, they have all been used as grocery getters. I hope to change things with this one. :thumb:

Take off the side skirts for the weekend. It's like 6 bolts on each side. Never been to the cove but I rock stock bumpers and have managed to keep them relatively unscathed. I think others in the older LEs and SR5s have just removed the little lip on the underside of the front to get extra clearance. Unfortunately we can't do that on 14+ models without cutting.

It will be fun. A limited LE is still better than a whole lot.

 

[n2advnture]

Take off the side skirts for the weekend. It's like 6 bolts on each side. Never been to the cove but I rock stock bumpers and have managed to keep them relatively unscathed. I think others in the older LEs and SR5s have just removed the little lip on the underside of the front to get extra clearance. Unfortunately we can't do that on 14+ models without cutting.

It will be fun. A limited LE is still better than a whole lot.

The running boards are off and the front bumper already has a "love tap" that someone gave it. I'm tempted to take some duck cutters to it

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Alright folks. We need the weather to cooperate for some end of 2016 milky way shots, but here is our tentative gameplan to grab them if conditions permit. Sky will be pure dark by 10pm. At 10pm we need to be at 261 degrees to grab a center shot of the galaxy. The red line is 261. The green dots are locations that may be conducive to shooting. Drawing on memory and grabbing a glance at a topo shows that the location on the far right, which would require a hike, may be too far down the backside of the hill. Our better options are likely the dots around the campgrounds. Goal is to get a good foreground... no matter how barren, we can throw our trucks and headlamps in. Goal is to be dark, so if no one is at camp 4 that may be the spot to check first. The foreground lighting of camp 2 (if thats where we hole up) may cause some washout, but could provide a nice foreground as well... it's all about setting, composing, shooting and experimenting.

Now if mother nature gives us the chance...

Goal is to get some of these:

 

[Antman]

Alright folks. We need the weather to cooperate for some end of 2016 milky way shots, but here is our tentative gameplan to grab them if conditions permit. Sky will be pure dark by 10pm. At 10pm we need to be at 261 degrees to grab a center shot of the galaxy. The red line is 261. The green dots are locations that may be conducive to shooting. Drawing on memory and grabbing a glance at a topo shows that the location on the far right, which would require a hike, may be too far down the backside of the hill. Our better options are likely the dots around the campgrounds. Goal is to get a good foreground... no matter how barren, we can throw our trucks and headlamps in. Goal is to be dark, so if no one is at camp 4 that may be the spot to check first. The foreground lighting of camp 2 (if thats where we hole up) may cause some washout, but could provide a nice foreground as well... it's all about setting, composing, shooting and experimenting.

Now if mother nature gives us the chance...

Goal is to get some of these:

Camp8 is probably best. Never anyone there and its at the top of the ridge!

 

[e60ral]

excited about learning about night photography, i've lucked into a few good shots but mostly i still don't know what i'm doing

 

[Antman]

So I just spoke to Willis at the cove. He is confident that we will have plenty of room at camp 2. just be aware that not everyone will have their own picnic table.

We have the trails to ourselves! I will give very detailed info next week so it's fresh on the page.

Only a few days left!


Friday
10/28
59 | 45 °
Friday 10 % Precip. / 0 in
Intervals of clouds and sunshine. High 59F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.

Friday Night 10 % Precip. / 0 in
Clear to partly cloudy. Low around 45F. Winds light and variable.


Saturday
10/29
68 | 50 °F
Saturday 20 % Precip. / 0 in
Mostly sunny skies. High 68F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.

Saturday Night 10 % Precip. / 0 in
Mainly clear skies. Low around 50F. Winds light and variable.


Sunday
10/30
64 | 46 °F
Sunday 10 % Precip. / 0 in
Considerable cloudiness. High 64F. Winds light and variable.

Sunday Night 10 % Precip. / 0 in
Considerable cloudiness. Low 46F. Winds light and variable.


Monday
10/31
63 | 46 °F
Monday 10 % Precip. / 0 in
Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 63F. Winds light and variable.

 

[Runn4est]

The running boards are off and the front bumper already has a "love tap" that someone gave it. I'm tempted to take some duck cutters to it

Haha, I'm not gonna be the one to tell you to cut it up! But, if you slide under your truck, you'll see another 6 bolts to remove the rocker panels. For 5 minutes of your time, you'll get about 3-4 inches of extra clearance on the rockers.

 

[Boyds4Runner]

Haha, I'm not gonna be the one to tell you to cut it up! But, if you slide under your truck, you'll see another 6 bolts to remove the rocker panels. For 5 minutes of your time, you'll get about 3-4 inches of extra clearance on the rockers.

[MENTION=145202]n2advnture[/MENTION]

Don't forget though that then you will have nothing protecting your rocker or lower door panels either!

Unless of-course you can fab up some sliders between now and next weekend :thumb:

 

[Antman]

[MENTION=145202]n2advnture[/MENTION]

Don't forget though that then you will have nothing protecting your rocker or lower door panels either!

Unless of-course you can fab up some sliders between now and next weekend :thumb:

Agreed- 4rnrgrls rockers took a beat down from hell her first year but they actually protected her doors somewhat.

 

[e60ral]

I have no sliders yet, it sounds like I may be limited on trails

 

[Boyds4Runner]

I have no sliders yet, it sounds like I may be limited on trails

I have been running trails with the factory running boards up until a couple of months ago when I finally got sliders. The factory boards did get bashed and bent quite a bit but better that than the rocker or lower door panels. Good thing is that they come off, can be stomped back to straight and put back on.

Ask for a spotter anytime you feel you might damage the rockers or running board.

This will be my first trip out with sliders.

 

[Spy45]

Guess I'll have to reach out to see if Swaziland wants to attend...

 

[Antman]

Guess I'll have to reach out to see if Swaziland wants to attend...

Holy shit! Did that image pop up on a google image search for "Swaziland"?

Nice!

That picture makes me itch...

 

[Antman]

Trail guide volunteers

Ok everyone!

Today when I spoke to Willis I asked him about the trail runs. He said he would provide a few trail maps for us (they do not give them out without a fight- so DON"T ASK!). Maybe we won't get "lost" as much this year... We can use the trails at any time during the day- absolutely NO night runs on the trails. Here's the deal- with the possibility of 30+ vehicles on the trails we will need to actually organize things a little better this year. We should probably limit each group to about 6-8 vehicles. SO....

I am going to need some volunteers for trail guides. People with offroad/recovery experience, and maybe some GPS/mapping capability (so they can lead the group back if they get turned around). Maturity and safety are of paramount importance! If we are not respectful on the trails we will lose our privileges at The Cove.

That said, I would like to have 5 or 6 volunteers for the trail guides! (I make enough decisions in my day to day job, so I prefer to follow someone else for a change, lol.)

One other thing- FAIR WARNING. The trails at The Cove are not clearly defined as "easy", or "difficult". Sometimes we run into an obstacle that stock vehicles can't overcome and that person will have to turn around. We try not to have this happen- but it usually does.

What say you volunteers?! :fishing:

 

[Jhalko]

Guess I'll have to reach out to see if Swaziland wants to attend...

I certainly was intoxicated but that is NOT what I remember Swaziland looking like.

:wtf:

Note: Happily married and my fondest memory of the night was putting pulled chicken on top of a burger and smothering with buffalo chili. Thanks [MENTION=110387]jstim[/MENTION]

 

[Jhalko]

I have no sliders yet, it sounds like I may be limited on trails

Trail edition rockers are 3.5" less than Limited rockers, I hit my step sliders a few times but I suck at picking lines, You would probably be fine. I hit my gas tank skid and one very hard hit on my transmission skid, all my poor driving skills. It's fun times for sure...

 

[Spy45]

I certainly was intoxicated but that is NOT what I remember Swaziland looking like.



:wtf:



Note: Happily married and my fondest memory of the night was putting pulled chicken on top of a burger and smothering with buffalo chili. Thanks [MENTION=110387]jstim[/MENTION]

Well she was wearing camp pants and a hunter orange hat...


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