NM Adventure Series

Who:
1. TomTom
2. MojaveMadMan
3. SLOBRA
4. BigFishAllDay
5. GhostDog
6.

I can meet you guys when your passing by Espanola.

 

Awesome. figure we'll meet you at that same gas station. Do a last fuel up for anyone wanting. Let me know if that works or somewhere else.

 

That works!

 

I'm guessing we'll be there around 10:30am. I'll call when we leave Bernalillo.

 

Alright guys, it looks like everybody is confirmed and we're a go.

I checked the SNOTEL sites in the area, and the closest one (which is located on the NE rim of the caldera) is showing 8-9 inches of snow on the ground. There are two other sites located on the west side of the Jemez mountains that are showing up to 29 inches of snow.

SNOTEL map:

http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/webmap...se=esriNgwm&lat=35.9339&lon=-106.3973&zoom=13

Quemazon measurement site index page:

http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/nwcc/site?sitenum=708

Quemazon site 7 day snow report:

http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/report...EQ::value,SNWD::value,PREC::value,TOBS::value

Weather forecast is calling for Sunny in the low-mid 40's with winds 5-10mph. It should be a great day for being outside.

I'm loaded for bear as far as recovery equipment goes, so we should be able to handle anything we encounter. I'm looking forward to meeting/seeing you guys tomorrow.

 

That was the awesomest! Pictures soon. Working on downloading them now.

 

Here are a few good ones, and a link to my album where you can find the rest. I also need to pull the videos off of my phone, I will do that tomorrow.

Awesome trip guys and gals!!!! Thanks you very much everyone.

Trip Picks

 

Toyota convoy:


Cerro Pedernal off in the distance:


Abiquiu lake:


Open highway:


Snow on the rocks:


Happy dog:


One of these things is not like the others:


Snow!


Mojavemadman in action:


Ghostdog in action:


Tomtom in action:


Base of the mountain:


Truck with a nice backdrop:


4Runner with mood lighting:


Scenery:


Curious dog:


North side of the caldera:

 

Hypoxia set in and I went no higher. Others dared to soar to higher heights:


Building a snowman for the hood:


A snowman on the hood:


Clouds moving in:


Snow wheelin'!




Sun sitting on the mountain:


Sun refracting in the clouds while hiding behind the mountain:


Heading home, last of the snow:


Back on dirt:


Tent rocks:


Toyota sunset:


Curious little dog:


Caked in dried mud but back in the garage, safe and sound:

 

Hey Nick, finally found my curb weight, 3515 lb. I'm guessing another 300 lbs for the armor, winch and tires.

2002 4Runner Limited 4WD weighs in at 3975 lb. and I think you got quite a considerable difference in armor since you're also running a gas tank skid and tire carrier.

 

Tom & Chris, great pics! I pulled mine off the camera last night and should be able to post them sometime soon. I had a good time, and my Wife kept telling me that she now understands why I like to go on these trips. She also said that she wants to go on more of them in the future, so she must have had a good time too!

Tom, re the curb weights... your base figure sounds about right for the 3rd gen 4runner.

On top of that I have-

+200lbs worth of skid plates (IFS/belly/gas tank/locker motor/LCA/LCAM's)
+60lbs for sliders
+80lbs for winch and front bumper
+100lbs for rear bumper, full size spare, hi lift
+60lbs for cargo box and tools carried full time

So that's an extra 500lbs that I carry around on the rig 100% of the time.

On the day of the trip I had:

150lbs worth of passenger
75lbs worth of dogs
50lbs worth of spare parts
30lbs worth of extra tools
40lbs worth of spare battery
40-50lbs worth of misc emergency gear/food/water

In total that's another ~390lbs of extra weight inside the vehicle.

So, 3975 + 500 + 390 = 4865 lbs, making my rig about 1,000 pounds heavier than yours. Add to that the fact that I'm on stock 4.10 gears, and you can see why your truck pulls away from mine so easily despite having fewer performance modifications.

When I'm fully packed and geared up for a multi-day trip, I'm pretty sure that I'm pushing the limits of the GVWR for a 3rd gen 4Runner (which IIRC is around 5,250lbs).

 

The vroom keeps me thinking about LT and desert race track. The xtra cabs are a good choice for that with the long-ish wheelbase but lower weight. I'm thinking more and more about a replacement though. 4th Gen 4Runners keep catching my eye, maybe with the V8 and a S/C.

Spoke with White Toy Taco. He was driving up to do La Bajada. Told him that he would've been welcome to join the expedition.

Looking forward to the pics. Always enjoy seeing other people's perspectives from these trips.

 

Hey guys, I finally got some pictures uploaded from the trip. I didn't take as many as I thought.

Look at Tom's rig, being "shady".











If you look close at the center of the picture, you can see all the vehicles parked at the base of the mountain.









On the way home, we stopped at Bode's so I could get some local brew. This stuff comes from the monks at Christ of the Desert Monastery. It's the only monastery run brewery in the US, and the beer is some special stuff... made with "care and prayer".

 

Hey guys,

We have been busy down here switching around rigs! Natemob got a new 4th gen 4runner and is selling his sweet 3rd gen. And I sold My silver 07 FJ and picked up the crack rock from a friend. We have been talking about doing a run up north again sometime.

Here is Nathan's new rig.

IMG_6675 by Captures by Colin, on Flickr

Here is my new FJ

IMG_6758 by Captures by Colin, on Flickr

We also picked up a new friend who bought my bumper off my old truck. Matt has a nice FJ as well.

IMG_6709 by Captures by Colin, on Flickr

If any of you guys plan on coming down south let us know! We wheel almost every weekend.

IMG_6692 by Captures by Colin, on Flickr

 

Ok, apparently I need to watch this thread a little more closely.

 

Yes. Yes, you do. We typically plan fast and hit the trail as soon as the electrons dry. Apologies for that but that's how things work out with the craziness of everybody's schedules.

 

It was ashamed of being covered in mud.

Is that why you pulled off at that gas station? I wish I had known. I would've stopped as well. I've heard of the brew but never have gotten some to try.

Thanks for posting the pics. It felt good to get out in the wild again.

Everybody start thinking about a spring trip. Weather is warming up and it'll be trail time before you know it. Maybe Monticello canyon again and meet the down south guys at the half way point?

 

We plan on doing a trip over there as soon as it starts to warm up, so I'm sure we would be down to meet up with you guys!

 

Glad to hear you guys are staying busy down there. The new rigs look good. Is your new FJ set up with a TC LT kit? I think that's what I'm seeing in the front, right? I need to get in touch with Nate regarding some used parts.

Yes, sir! The beer was really good, too. I should have mentioned it when we were at Plaza Blanca, but I wasn't thinking about it until we passed the spot with the crazed warp speed german shepherd.

I'd be game for a Monticello run, or anything really. I'll be looking forward to the next one.

 

It has the All pro LT kit in it. Here is the build. http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forums/member-build-ups/406666-crackrock-crawler-build.html