theesotericone's Trails and BS Thread

[BrianSD_42]

Hey man that looks like quite the trip. Pretty ballsy to go out alone like that. I used to back in the day but now I'm a bit more paranoid and use the buddy system when wheeling. Do you have Apple or Android? Back Country Navigator is by far the best off road nav app I've come across. Between the Satellite, Forest Service and the 24K Topo Maps, all free, you should be able to find a path out of most situations.

I was just in your area it looks like. I'd like to do a small Inyo group wheeling and camping Fri-Sun trip with a few SoCal folks in February, March or April if you're interested. Not one of those 20 truck events though.

 

[fourfive]

Today was an unexpected day off. It's snowing in a ski resort town so I got a snow day. Go figure. Since I don't ski and I needed to blow off a little steam I headed out to explore an area a few miles north of Bishop off Route 6.

That terrain looks amazing!

Hey man that looks like quite the trip. Pretty ballsy to go out alone like that. I used to back in the day but now I'm a bit more paranoid and use the buddy system when wheeling. Do you have Apple or Android? Back Country Navigator is by far the best off road nav app I've come across. Between the Satellite, Forest Service and the 24K Topo Maps, all free, you should be able to find a path out of most situations.

Great tip, I never even thought to look into anything like that. Thanks for sharing.

 

[theesotericone]

[MENTION=139000]phattyduck[/MENTION]

It's dumping in Mammoth tonight thru tomorrow. Go get it. lol

[MENTION=65101]BrianSD_42[/MENTION]

Let me know the dates and location. I'll try and at least stop by to shake hands and look at rigs.

I'm Android. One of my hobbies is actually building ROM's. As far as BCN goes, I've been using it since beta. That was a long, long time ago. It's hands down the best GPS/Trail mapping app on the market for Android. I've got the entire Sierra and Whites saved on my phone. lol
[MENTION=116877]fourfive[/MENTION]

It's pretty unique terrain for sure. My wife and I are both climbers. She's also a mineral/rock geek. Everytime I run a trail I pick up some rocks for her collection. I got three this trip that are rare I guess. lol

 

[BrianSD_42]

Sounds good. Not a camper?

 

[theesotericone]

Sounds good. Not a camper?

Love camping. I lived out of a van for 6 years traveling all over and camping every night. Now I work full time and try to split my weekends between climbing and wheeling. Depending on where you guys end up I might stay the night or I might go home. It's hard not to sleep in a bed now when it's only an hour away. lol

 

[BrianSD_42]

Can't argue with that lol. After the winter thaws to spring I'd like to camp at one of the good sites I found on my recent trip in the INYO forrest. Those are at at about 8K+ elevation and at least an hour from the hwy in Big Pine. This is still TBD for spring.

 

[AssBurns]

Sounds like another great trip. I really need to get up there soon to do some wheeling. Maybe since I’m 2wd with a locker and your 4wd without a locker, we will be even on the trail capability. Or maybe I should just fix my front end...


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[theesotericone]

Sounds like another great trip. I really need to get up there soon to do some wheeling. Maybe since I’m 2wd with a locker and your 4wd without a locker, we will be even on the trail capability. Or maybe I should just fix my front end.

Don't you mean 2WD locked with 1/2 a pinion and 1/3 of a ring gear? lol

Get your rig healed up man. The trails aren't going anywhere and I'm saving a section for once I'm dual locked anyway. That's the run you should come on with me.

 

[AssBurns]

Don't you mean 2WD locked with 1/2 a pinion and 1/3 of a ring gear? lol



Get your rig healed up man. The trails aren't going anywhere and I'm saving a section for once I'm dual locked anyway. That's the run you should come on with me.

Hahahah touché. I’m still deciding whether to fix my front end or not. Now that my rear end is hopefully getting new gearing. Fixing my front end and adding a locker and gears will be much cheaper. If going that route, I gotta decide what locker to get. I might go with a Detroit locker since it’s cheap and simple. I don’t want to spend money on something that I’ll eventually take off (hopefully sooner than later).

 

[theesotericone]

Hahahah touché. I’m still deciding whether to fix my front end or not. Now that my rear end is hopefully getting new gearing. Fixing my front end and adding a locker and gears will be much cheaper. If going that route, I gotta decide what locker to get. I might go with a Detroit locker since it’s cheap and simple. I don’t want to spend money on something that I’ll eventually take off (hopefully sooner than later).

Yeah but you'd have an easier time reselling the ARB or even Zip. Tru Tracs are about 400? ARB's double that. That's the only change in price. Question is can you sell the ARB for close to what ECGS builds it for. I'd ask ECGS if the warranty is transferable. If it is that's a huge plus in selling the diff when the time comes.

Speaking of ECGS, I'm hoping to get front/rear ARBS w/4.88's ordered up by March. First I have to take care of my damn rear main. It's starting to get pretty bad. Once that's done lockers are next. Kinda crazy dropping 3200 bucks worth of diffs in a 21 year old vehicle with 250,000 miles. But it is a Toyota. lol

 

[Rock_Rat]

I gotta say I wasn't expecting much from this trip. Most things in this area of the White's aren't that interesting. This trail was though. It's constantly steep, long, and takes you further in then I initially thought. From the start of 5S112 to where I stopped ended up being just under 5 miles. Lots and lots of this trail in loose, sharp rock. Anyone going needs to have a spare and a patch kit. I was in low range for almost all of it.

Hope to see some of you guys out here sometime. Lots of things to do in my area. lol

Great trip report. It's fun having a challenge like that to put you and your rig to the test. Trips like those only make you better and add to your most important piece of recovery gear, and you know what that is of course. Perhaps one day I'll make it to Bishop and combine it with a climb. No sharp end for me anymore, but I can clean.

 

[AssBurns]

Yeah but you'd have an easier time reselling the ARB or even Zip. Tru Tracs are about 400? ARB's double that. That's the only change in price. Question is can you sell the ARB for close to what ECGS builds it for. I'd ask ECGS if the warranty is transferable. If it is that's a huge plus in selling the diff when the time comes.

Speaking of ECGS, I'm hoping to get front/rear ARBS w/4.88's ordered up by March. First I have to take care of my damn rear main. It's starting to get pretty bad. Once that's done lockers are next. Kinda crazy dropping 3200 bucks worth of diffs in a 21 year old vehicle with 250,000 miles. But it is a Toyota. lol

The difference is about $600 plus the cost of a compressor. ARB’s are really nice but more shit to go wrong. In the long run, $600 isn’t a lot but that $600 can go towards a long term upgrade like finally 4-linking the rear or a set of Bronco axles.

 

[theesotericone]

Perhaps one day I'll make it to Bishop and combine it with a climb. No sharp end for me anymore, but I can clean.

Anytime man. You'd be amazed at how much rock is within 10 miles of my house. lol

The difference is about $600 plus the cost of a compressor. ARB’s are really nice but more shit to go wrong. In the long run, $600 isn’t a lot but that $600 can go towards a long term upgrade like finally 4-linking the rear or a set of Bronco axles.

I didn't realize you don't have a compressor. Do you have a power tank for airing back up? I hear you about how to use the funds. After lockers will come the twin stick. Before that happens though I need to find my wife another 4runner. I'm looking at another 3rd or 4th gen for her. That's gonna cut into the play money for a bit. lol

 

[Road Bull]

Man! That ravine crossing looked burly. That looks like an impressive transition for sure. The picture only hints at what it must have looked like. I can kind of get an idea looking further down the ravine and checking some of the other drop off points. Do you think that you would have been able to pull that transition off if you were coming from the other direction? Or would that have been a painful nosedive? Great pics by the way. It is pretty crazy how extreme different every region's landscape landscapes can vary. All the more reason to get out there and explore though.

It doesn't look like there are too many anchor points to winch off of out there where you are wheeling though. Have you had to dig out or get creative yet?

 

[AssBurns]

I didn't realize you don't have a compressor. Do you have a power tank for airing back up? I hear you about how to use the funds. After lockers will come the twin stick. Before that happens though I need to find my wife another 4runner. I'm looking at another 3rd or 4th gen for her. That's gonna cut into the play money for a bit. lol

Yeah, have a CO2 tank to air up. I’d eventually like to get on board air as a backup but it’s not something I necessarily need yet. I’m hoping to get my wife a 4th gen too sometime this year if I can pull it off. I need to pay off her car first.

 

[theesotericone]

Man! That ravine crossing looked burly. That looks like an impressive transition for sure. The picture only hints at what it must have looked like. I can kind of get an idea looking further down the ravine and checking some of the other drop off points. Do you think that you would have been able to pull that transition off if you were coming from the other direction? Or would that have been a painful nosedive? Great pics by the way. It is pretty crazy how extreme different every region's landscape landscapes can vary. All the more reason to get out there and explore though.

It doesn't look like there are too many anchor points to winch off of out there where you are wheeling though. Have you had to dig out or get creative yet?

It's as steep as the ravine in the photo. I took the picture 10 feet away and you can't see it cause it's that steep. The top was slightly rounded from guys on dirt bikes hitting it. At the bottom of the ravine is a 8 foot or so level area. I had my hand on the shift lever the whole time. The plan was, if I slipped or started rolling, to knock it into neutral and not touch the brakes till in that flat spot. Hitting your brakes is natural and the worse possible thing you can do in stuff that steep. You will roll. I'm pretty sure the front bumper would have cleared if I was approaching the other way. The rear cleared so I could actually measure the approach angle of it and the front. There pretty close to the same by eye though.

There are no winch points in that section and I've never had to use my winch or any recovery gear. I've always been pretty good at calculated risk. I also wheeled enough to pick good lines and back off if it's just plain stupid.

My rigs only been stopped by two obstacles. One was that ice hill a few pages back. I knew I wouldn't make it but there was almost no penalty for failure. The other is towards the beginning of the thread. It's an almost vert 36" high rock wall in a tight wash. I didn't even try because it would have been stupid without lockers. It's the first trail I'm going back to once I'm locked. AFAIK it hasn't been run in 20 years. I'd like to change that. lol

 

[Scramble]

Yeah but you'd have an easier time reselling the ARB or even Zip. Tru Tracs are about 400? ARB's double that. That's the only change in price. Question is can you sell the ARB for close to what ECGS builds it for. I'd ask ECGS if the warranty is transferable. If it is that's a huge plus in selling the diff when the time comes.

Speaking of ECGS, I'm hoping to get front/rear ARBS w/4.88's ordered up by March. First I have to take care of my damn rear main. It's starting to get pretty bad. Once that's done lockers are next. Kinda crazy dropping 3200 bucks worth of diffs in a 21 year old vehicle with 250,000 miles. But it is a Toyota. lol

It's only money! LOL And if you sell the rig you'll get 50% of that back. If the motor goes it would be cheaper to replace than 2 ARB lockers. LOL

Great pics, it looks like you're on another planet with no green vegetation.

 

[theesotericone]

It's only money! LOL And if you sell the rig you'll get 50% of that back. If the motor goes it would be cheaper to replace than 2 ARB lockers. LOL

Great pics, it looks like you're on another planet with no green vegetation.

If, and when, the motor goes I'm just gonna be swapping in another. I have no plans to sell my rig. The plan is to make it even more capable as time and money allow. So lockers then twin sticks. None of it is cheap but it is indeed only money. lol

Yeah, there was some green Pinyon Pines in one of the shots. lol

 

[BigFishAllDay]

Your recent adventures look like a lot of fun. The scenery in your area reminds me a lot of the area where I spend most of my outdoor time, the SLV in southern CO. I wish I had trails like that an hour from my house.

Also, I've been meaning to say that the shot below is superb. The composition, the subject, everything... I like to look at that one.

A cool photo heading back down 34E305.

 

[theesotericone]

Your recent adventures look like a lot of fun. The scenery in your area reminds me a lot of the area where I spend most of my outdoor time, the SLV in southern CO. I wish I had trails like that an hour from my house.

Also, I've been meaning to say that the shot below is superb. The composition, the subject, everything... I like to look at that one.

I'm horrible at remembering to take photo's. I couldn't tell you aperture or shutter speed or basically anything that camera guys all know about. I have a cell phone as my shooter.

Sometimes though, things just present themselves. That shot was on of those cases. Coming back down the trail and seeing the Sierra's framed so perfectly by those Pinyon Pines was one of those views that you stop to admire. I figured putting the rig in that shot would be pretty cool. Basically I got lucky. lol