It probably had a Subaru swap! Actually reliable and 170hp or more, depending.
Sherwin grade in my Alltrac before the motor swap was a pain. It also would drop to 2nd (auto) to make it up the hill. I'd only be able to go ~40 up that thing... (4 people and two bikes on the roof made it that much worse!)
Now with the turbo motor (~280hp instead of 115hp), I more worry about EGTs doing that much load for so long. I often drop to 4th (now a manual) and cruise at 60 just to keep the load on the motor down.
I think I've only done it once in the 4Runner... it still had the 15" wheels and was 2WD, so it was an easy trip up the hill!
Having the diffs done and three days to kill a plan was formed. That plan involved traveling down to Kennedy Meadows then to Black Rock Ranger station then to Monache Meadows then back to a little climbed cliff called Granite Knob in Sequoia National Forest.
The idea was to do some wheeling, test some lockers and do some climbing. To the Kern River Ranger Districts credit, they really keep there roads in great shape. I only needed to engage 4x once and didn't even come close to needing the lockers. I think we need to cut there funding a bit. lol
Not a lot of photo's this trip since it was pretty much the standard Sierra Forest scenery and I focused more on climbing then on wheeling.
Here's a view of the Domelands Wilderness from just before Kennedy Meadows. That place is one of the least visited climbing areas in Cali. It's also one of my favorites. Up until 20 years ago you could actually drive to most of those domes. Then it was made into a wilderness area. I'm glad it's been preserved but I still want to wheel in there. lol
On the way in Saturday the wife let me take a quick detour into Monache Meadows. There's a lot of info both on this site and online about this meadow. That must be why there was 30 plus rigs here. I'm sure Memorial day played a part as well. I'll be back when it's a lot less crowded. The trails about 7 miles and is super chill.
Then it was time to head back out and onto the real destination. Granite Knob. A 200' high cliff that is about 1/2 mile hike from camp. The climbing was fun on really solid Southern Sierra granite. I wouldn't call this a destination spot but if your a climber looking for something off the beaten path on a holiday weekend it fits the bill perfectly. My wife and I where the only ones there.
Here's camp for two nights.
A little better shot of the formation.
Some sweet highly featured stone. All routes top out and are an easy walk-off back to your packs. It rained and hailed on the last climb I did Sunday. It was also the hardest climb I did. Getting stung in the face by hail mid crux with bad feet and no gear is what climbing is about. I guess. It won the pucker factor award for this trip. lol
That looks pretty cool! Man.. I bet you just have to hang on and focus when something like that happens. I don't climb, but I can imagine that worrying too much about a distraction like hail could make for a bad day if you are not careful. It sounds like you have plenty of options in your neck of the woods for things you love doing. It's cool to see how different the various regions of this country look from a offroad perspective.
It was a really fun weekend. Puckering on routes is par for the course. This was a first ascent and looking at it from the ground it looked fairly moderate. Once I got up to it I quickly realized it was gonna be some hard climbing on bad gear.
Sometimes you just gotta suck it up and carry on. That's one thing climbing has really let me embrace. Life's not perfect and when the shit hits the fan there's usually two options. Gut it out or turn tail and run. I can't run for shit so I usually just gut it out. lol
That looks pretty cool! Man.. I bet you just have to hang on and focus when something like that happens. I don't climb, but I can imagine that worrying too much about a distraction like hail could make for a bad day if you are not careful. It sounds like you have plenty of options in your neck of the woods for things you love doing. It's cool to see how different the various regions of this country look from a offroad perspective.
If you wheel long enough you'll run into very similar situations. Those moments when you get into something difficult that could result in damage to your rig or yourself if you don't do things just right. Whether it's wheeling, mt biking, climbing, kayaking, skiing. All sports have the potential to give you that pucker factor. Those moments always stay with you and make for some great campfire tales. As long as you live. lol
There really is some amazing scenery in the US. It's cool to see different parts of the country through peoples threads. It's given me a chance to make my must do list even bigger.
Things are starting to come together with the dual case.
The crawl box got shipped out today so I'll have that next week.
I finally decided on the shifter set-up. I was thinking of what [MENTION=121903]Black798[/MENTION] said about using an ADD switch. That led me to give Wyatt at Rock Solid Toys a call. I remember him using an ADD switch in the past. After talking about the pros and cons of that system I decided to go with my original idea of using twin sticks.
I mentioned FRO to him and he let me know that Rad Designs actually makes a twin stick for the chain drive case. I've talked to Rory before and he's a great guy so I called again. He confirmed he can make them and I sent him some cash. So they'll be here soon enough.
The crawl box will have it's own stick and the twins will come up in the cupholder of the new 99 console. Thanks [MENTION=135317]rkntoy[/MENTION] for that. It may be the older school way of doing it but I honestly like it better. My wife would be confused as hell looking at three sticks in the same spot. With this set-up it'll be easier for her to know what lever to pull to get into 4hi.
I'm thinking of having laser engraved knobs made. the 2w/4w stick would be "Street" "offroad"
The hi/lo stick would be "Not stuck" "Stuck"
The crawl box stick would be "DO NOT TOUCH". lol
I'm hoping to get out for a bit tomorrow and actually test the lockers on some gnar. I still can't figure out if the road I want to take connects. Some maps show it dead ending some show it continuing. I do know lockers will be needed to find out. lol
Just out of curiosity what were some of the pros and cons of having that switch on the ADD? I know it doesn't totally disengage the front, just the hubs, unlike a twin stick. I also like the idea of the shift knobs, a little bit of humor but functional.
I think you're really going to love those lockers, I know I love my rear ARB
Just out of curiosity what were some of the pros and cons of having that switch on the ADD? I know it doesn't totally disengage the front, just the hubs, unlike a twin stick. I also like the idea of the shift knobs, a little bit of humor but functional.
I think you're really going to love those lockers, I know I love my rear ARB
The pro's are it's a plug and play harness and switch he made so install is easy. It also allows disengaging the front very fast in any situation. You also don't have to pull the t-case apart to remove the interlock pin.
The cons are everything is still spinning which can create a lot of heat in the t-case if you forget to lever back to 2hi when your done wheeling. It's also almost as much money as the twin sticks from Rad if you use RST's plug and play kit.
When I mentioned I was dual casing with no BL his first response was just twin stick the rear. Since that was the route I was leaning towards it solidified my thinking. So twin sticks it is.
My wife would be confused as hell looking at three sticks in the same spot. With this set-up it'll be easier for her to know what lever to pull to get into 4hi.
I'm thinking of having laser engraved knobs made. the 2w/4w stick would be "Street" "offroad"
A laminated card on the visor is a great idea. I'll do that as well. My wife never needs lo either. Although she needs to be able to engage that and the rear locker if she ever needs it.
I believe Wyatt said about $180 for RST plug and play version. That's all wiring, harnesses, and the switch.
Wyman Creek(6S01) to Dead Horse Meadow(35E301) to North Fork of Crooked Creek(5S01) to Ancient Bristlecone Scenic Byway(4S01) out Silver Canyon(6S02)
Some things sit in the back of my mind. They sit quietly while I go about my every day life. Then when the days over they creep slowly to the forefront of my little brain. One of those things is a trail I backed out of last September. This is a quote from that trip report:
So that's what happened. I'm not proud of backing out and feel like I need to go back and finish the section. If my topo's are to be believed that road continues past Dead Horse Meadows, joins Crooked Creek and eventually heads back to the top of the Whites. There's not a lot of info on that section which is why it interests me. Anybody can follow a well grooved track that's in a guide book. My rig likes that but it likes off the beaten track way more. That's why I built it.
In closing, I'll leave you guys with this. It fits exactly how I feel currently.
The only way I've ever found to erase there presence forever is to go back and finish them. That's been true for as long as I can remember. I like to have my brain clear from distractions so it was time to finish that trail.
The whole time I was swapping the new locked diffs into my rig I thought of today. The day I went back to finish a trail that made me turn back. I hate turning back. I've done all of the "Most Difficult" trails in my area with open diffs. This trail was a lot harder and more technical then any of them. Without the lockers I'd probably be hiking home right now. It also had way more technical sections then I imagined and those technical sections went on a lot longer then expected. I got out of my rig a lot to scope lines. .
I decided to actually leave early today. By 9AM my rig was loaded and pointed towards Big Pine. From there you take 168 over Westagard Pass and down to Deep Springs. You pick up Wyman Creek on the North side of Deep springs.
I decided to go in this way to make the route a true loop from my house. After 46 miles of highway and mountain roads it was time to air down. I also recorded this whole loop with Backcountry Nav Pro. The stats will be posted at the end of the report.
Here's the start of Wyman.
This is about 2 miles in on Wyman. That's the Sierras about 40 miles distant.
This is about 5 miles in. Your looking back at the drainage you just came up.
Wyman Creek Road is in excellent shape. Usually the creek runs down the road in this section. The powers that be dozed it and created a burm. Sounds like it's time to cut some more funding. lol
After 9 miles of mellow you hit this trail again. Last time I backed out 200 yards or so in.
This is the reason why.
There's no way I was backing out. Compressor switch and rear locker switches where flipped and lo was engaged.
Flex Much?
Stuff Much?
Then there was this little gem. See how nice the road looks 30 yards up? Yeah. It's not. lol
Steep, off camber, sandy rock gardens are some of my favorite spots to stop and take a photo. Actually I had to walk the next 50 yards and pick the best line. lol
The best line was picked and then I did the walking thing all over again.
This is looking back at the sections above. It follows the wash bottom for about 2 miles. Slow crawling it was.
It's not exactly the widest road. The only tracks I saw where from dirt bikes. Wonder why? lol
By this time your about 13 miles in. It's a pretty remote place.
This is at the top of a really steep and improbable pull out of Dead Horse. I couldn't believe the road took this route. The rear locker saved me ass here as well.
That's the top of White Mountain. I'm at just over 10'000 here. The trail gets lost in a barren rocky landscape. If you look closely on the track I recorded you can see where I took the wrong fork down towards the South Fork of Crooked Creek. DO NOT TAKE IT. The front locker saved my ass here. lol
After getting back on track I made it out of Crooked Creek. I also ran into this little sign on my way out. Someone might want to let the FS know they can remove it. It goes.
After pulling out of the North Fork of Crooked Creek you reach the end of the hard stuff and the end of the photo's. From here it's well graded dirt for another 8 miles to Silver Canyon. Then it's about 7miles down and out Silver Canyon to Laws. I've recorded all of this in other trip reports so I skinny pedaled it home.
I've decided to name this track Redemption Loop. It was a killer trail with more than it's fair share of hard sections. I honestly think it's the hardest trail in the Bishop area. I went prepared for the worse and found it. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't second guess my decision at more then a few points. By then I was so committed the only way out was through.
Here's some track data from the trail. I only recorded from air down to air up.
So here I sit at home. Thankful that my skills and my rig where able to handle everything thrown at them. There's a very comforting thing going on with my little brain right now. It's quieter than normal. I like that. So I'll leave you with this:
Sweet write up and pictures man! Those rocky sections look pretty gnarly. It's good to have a locker and skids start earning their keep. I look forward to hearing about you conquering more trails with your newfound capabilities.
It's a great feature. I have the all of the Sierra and Whites saved under a single map folder. From there I can record tracks into the default database for that folder. Then I can select what tracks to show on the map. It's pretty sweet.
To record a track just go to the top bar and select location>my location. Once the GPS locks on go to location>record a track. You can then name it and start recording. You can also pause and stop it from the same menu.
Once it's recorded you can access it again from Three Bar Menu>List tracks or waypoints. If you select tracks you can click the check box next to them to show or hide them. I still can't figure out how to hide waypoints but I barely use them.
Sweet write up and pictures man! Those rocky sections look pretty gnarly. It's good to have a locker and skids start earning their keep. I look forward to hearing about you conquering more trails with your newfound capabilities.
Yotamasters did a killer job building the box. Yeah, I could have done it myself but I have a hard enough time doing all the other things I need to do. It was totally worth having them do the work. Hell, they even sourced the gear drive case for me. lol
All new bearings, Marlin 23 spline 2.28 total spline input, and all adapters bolted and ready to drop in. Marlin lists the total spline as out of stock but Eric had one in the shop. They did it fast and I couldn't be happier to have it sitting on the bench. If I can source a used t-case and driveshafts sometime soon it's game on.
Yotamasters did a killer job building the box. Yeah, I could have done it myself but I have a hard enough time doing all the other things I need to do. It was totally worth having them do the work. Hell, they even sourced the gear drive case for me. lol
All new bearings, Marlin 23 spline 2.28 total spline input, and all adapters bolted and ready to drop in. Marlin lists the total spline as out of stock but Eric had one in the shop. They did it fast and I couldn't be happier to have it sitting on the bench. If I can source a used t-case and driveshafts sometime soon it's game on.
