AdventureTaco - turbodb's build and adventures

When @turbodb says he stops every hundred feet or so to take pictures he isn't exaggerating. I'm talking full on outta the truck picture taking. So once we have an average time for picture taking and stopping and starting the truck we can start to figure out real times by using that and the number of pictures taken on that stretch of road... Then factor in speed.... Yeah you know what, don't base times off him

 

Thats because the only time you do anything hard is with us haha

Nah was longer than that. We had to double back to the School house too. Granted there is a more "direct route" but is supposed to be a much much harder trail. We didn't have time to find out how much harder. Takes ATVs a few hours though.

 

@ turbodb
something for your insomnia
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...action-jack-maxsa.470774/page-7#post-20242109

 

Appreciate the info...

 

If you are referring to that day on the mountain up behind your in-laws place, my issue was tires. The locker is never the tool of choice in snow. Especially the steep inclince we ended up turning around at.

IMO the root of the trouble the turbodb's had was two fold. One was being alone. And the second was tires.

 

I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm glad you guys are back to this; last year sucked. Now we all just need to go on a trip together again so we can't drive on some hard trails.

The alone I'll go with - always better to have a second. Having been there, I think any tires would have had a similar issue - it was just too mucky. Even your STT Pro's had a tough time in shallower slick mud on F.U.Rain. The suction and nearly immediately up to the axle means you need something else. Like another vehicle (to your point).

Risks of solo travel, which to me are worth it when I can't wrangle someone else into coming along .

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Yeah, that was some nasty shit. Not sure how that compares to the situation you found yourself in tho. And I don't recall getting stuck that day either or having to pull out surf boards or sage brush or lockers to get going.

 

Yeah, just imagine that it was 18" deep and no rocks at all. Oh, and covered in moving water.

Honestly, my mistake wasn't even really "single truck." It was "dumb decision at this point." (after intending to make a smart decision)

 

You two weren't even talking.

We're agreeing I guess, with a tweak. It's actually turning around when you know you should turn around. 'Cause as I wrote - I knew to do it, and then didn't. hahahaha

Now that I think about it, we could have avoided the entire traction board, locker, tire, etc., etc., etc. conversation if I'd just actually turned around. But then I wouldn't have had a fun story, that everyone (including me) could laugh at me for and tell me how they would have done it better!

OK, I'm done with this topic. Let's move on.

 

Okay. New topic.


You're welcome for the muk boots

 

So back to Borax Lake.

When looking at it, it looked to be about a foot deep. I wondered if it was man made or altered for the Borax operations. Did you get that impression?

Borax Hot Springs, I walked about half way and I could see man made stuff in the distance. Didn't seem like much and I decided not to continue. Did you venture all the way out there? I also liked the pool with the "bridge" in it.

I should have stayed in the area for another day but I headed south back into CA for the next night and then home to LA.

 

The third was pulling forward....

....oh wait, that already got addressed.


and I agree, time to move on. But first, FWIW, if I traveled as often as you guys do, I'd probably have a set. Especially for the whole leveling out the truck with the RTT thing. You know you want more expo points.



SO, I was reminded of one of your recent previous posts last night. I was looking for a breather so that I could show someone else where it goes on their truck. I couldn't find it, but I did find a torn CV boot. My frame just looked too new and shiny! Then I remembered that I needed to drive 64 miles today. So I contemplated whether I should call in to work or work from home.....but I have meetings today in the office that I really need to attend in person. I figured if you could continue on a trip on dirt roads for a while that I should be fine on pavement! I also googled it to see other people's experience and it seems like non-Toyota means park it and replace ASAP, while Toyota you can drive 200 - 1000 miles before doing any "real" damage. I couldn't remember though...is the one that you had to reboot and perform the impossible several times the same one that you drove on with the torn boot, or was that the other side?

I ordered the Cardone HD CV Axle from RockAuto and it will be here Monday. I'm thinking I want to rebuild the one that comes off, but I don't want to spend the money on the reboot kit if I trash the bearings by driving it today. What say you (since you have recent experience)?

 

They are great, aren't they? I have those in my upcoming rig review too. So nice to not have to be concerned that you're sinking 8" into suction mud when you're digging out your truck. And they let you walk water/mud before you mistakenly pull forward into it. So nice.

Borax lake is naturally the depth that it is - and you're right that it's super shallow. As a hot spring (that's what the lake actually is), what has happened is that as water and borax is pushed up to the earth's surface, the borax solidifies and builds up. It's built up "a bit more" around the edges of the lake (more evaporation there), which is what keeps the water in the lake at all. Still, the lake - not sure if you noticed - is about 20' higher than the surrounding area. That's because the entire lake has risen over the years as the borax has "built" it's own hill.

Seriously cool geology.

We walked to the end of the hot springs to the north, but didn't go further. The book we had said that the man-made stuff was remnants of ranching, which is how the land was used immediately prior to being purchased from the nature conservancy.

LOL, I'd get more shit for leveling the truck on traction boards than I've gotten for not carrying any!

Besides, I stole an idea from @Digiratus and use several different length 2x6's for leveling. Works amazingly well, cleans up easier, and packs way tighter - seen here. I'm thinking I can use the longer ones for the 2x4 traction trick mentioned earlier.

Gear Roundup - What I Take With Me On Trips (2018 edition)

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You can easily drive on-pavement today and not wreck your CV. I mean, how long has it already been split for, and you've been driving on it? I drove for a week in dirt on a torn boot, and Mike drove for 2 weeks with his torn boot in mud, and both "came out fine."

The one I had the trouble with was the one I found immediately and fixed, not the one that I'd completed two trips on .

 

If you're like me every time I read a location or hot spring or road or town I'll go to my google map and make a waypoint. I use google drive > google my maps and have different maps for each past and future trip.

 

I'm guessing it happened yesterday or possibly the day before. I could smell - what I believe to be - the grease burning on the hot exhaust as I was driving this morning. I was also messing with trucks over the past weekend (though not my truck), so I think I would have noticed it then. It caught my eye as soon as I walked past the front passenger side wheel.

 

Shit dude. I've gone a few years on torn boots with multiple trips. You'll be fine. Don't sweat it.

 

Alvord Desert 3 - Gun-Shy, We Head to Hart Mountain
April 27, 2019.

The wind that had been relentless the day before died down over the next several hours, resulting in the most pleasant night of the trip. Oriented just so, there was no need to get up in the morning to enjoy the sunrise either - something I'm sure I'll forget by the next time we go out.

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A full day ahead, we didn't linger long under the covers, both of us out of the tent by 6:30am - our long shadows playing across the playa, Steens Mountain towering to our west - so we could get breakfast eaten and the tent stowed by our planned departure time of 7:00am. After-all, we had 100 miles of dirt ahead of us...assuming we didn't get turned around somewhere along the route.

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It was actually 7:15am by the time I finished taking photos and lollygagging on my tent-packing chores, and as we pulled off the Playa for the last time, we bid it farewell - the three nights we'd spent in the same place an anomaly for us, though one we'd enjoyed.

Our route today would take us first south to Fields - for more fuel - and then west to Hart Mountain National Antelope Wildlife Refuge, our last stop on this 5 day trip. But first, as we headed south, we couldn't resist the pull of a purple blanket that unfolded along the side of the road.

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As it turned out, we had plenty of time - as we arrived in Fields for fuel, the crowd outside Fields Station was indicative of the 8:00am opening - five minutes after we pulled in. Guess I should have noticed that when we were there the day before. Sharp, ehh?

Luckily we didn't have long to wait before topping off the tank and having a quick chat with some of the locals. Curious if we'd even be able to make it over the first pass, we were relieved to find out that not only was Domingo Pass open, but it was apparently "mostly dry" and "even drier on the west side."

Well, at least we knew that the first 15% of our route was open. We headed out.

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As we'd heard, the road was in reasonably good condition as we wound our way up Domingo Pass. A bit of water on the road here, a bit of snow on the hillside there, we completed the 2500' climb quickly - stopping only a few times to take in the expansive views and amazingly green lichen growing on the rocks near the summit.

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From the top, the view was vast! The book that @mrs.turbodb had been reading talked about the Desert Trail (like the Pacific Crest Trail - PCT) that passed through these parts, where you could see for 50 miles in every direction. And that was no joke.

Only problem was, the views were a bit...monotonous. Green (right now) rolling hills as far as the eye could see.

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It was right around here that I realized how - umm - how to put this... how crazy this plan was. I mean, really crazy. This wasn't like yesterday where we were eight miles from a ranch and three miles from the Alvord Playa if something went wrong. We could easily be 50 miles from the nearest help - two full days of hiking in the hot sun. Much more remote than even the OBDR trip that we did solo a couple of years ago.

Man, I must be getting old if I'm thinking about these things.

Anyway, we'd had cell service for most of the trip, but lost it on the way up Domingo Pass and I was sure that it'd be spotty as we headed into the nowhere of Oregon™. Here at the top though, the LTE was strong and I quickly whipped up an email to Pops that explained the crazy thing we were doing, and how long we expected it to take. And, since we were on roads that may or may not actually have existed, I sent along a GPS track as well.

I just hoped he knew how to open it! c-coffee:

With that, we set off down the back side of the pass towards our next trail - Juniper Spring.

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As was the case with most of the roads we'd been on this trip, it was clear that we were on a road that one would be generous to say was lightly traveled. My guess is that we were the first to drive it this year for sure, and that annual traffic could likely be counted on my fingers.

Elevation dropping as quickly as we'd climbed, we came to a rock outcropping that bore the remains of some long-forgotten rancher - a barb-wire rock one of the last remaining vestiges of human habitation. An anchor of some sort? Perhaps just a rancher with a weird sense of humor? A rock that tried to get away?

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We soldiered on, making good time and leaving a trail of dust in our wake - the truck working fabulously at this point, taking us further and further into nowhere-ness. And then, water on the road.

But it wasn't bad - it was just a trickle really - a spring out here in the wilderness. And then I saw it - a singleton Juniper. I looked to my left and smiled. "We've reached Juniper Spring!" I announced smartly. And then, I wondered aloud, "What happens when the Juniper dies? Does it just become 'No Juniper spring'?" Dork.

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From there, we covered a lot of ground - the remainder of Juniper Spring road, Ackley Camp Road, and half of Buckaroo Pass - all the while our eyes glued to the mountains ahead, the snow along their peaks causing us to wonder: could we make it?

Things were going well - the sun was warm, the air was sweet with spring, and the roads varied from good to great for covering ground. And it was reasonably dry - that is, until we reached a cattle reservoir that apparently was seasonal. I say apparently because the road drove right through the middle of the reservoir, and we weren't talking a few inches - we were talking a few feet. There was no way that we could make it work - and looking at the map, there was no immediately obvious re-route.

I got out and scouted the situation. It appeared that we could skirt the reservoir along it's lower edge - by driving over the dam - if we could make it onto the dam itself. See, the part of the dam nearest us had washed out.

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Gun-shy from our experience the day before, I put on my Muck boots to see just how sketchy this was going to be.

To my surprise and relief, it was immediately obvious that the rockier soil here was going to provide plenty of support for the truck, as long as we stayed out of the reservoir proper. It took a bit of convincing, but eventually @mrs.turbodb also agreed that we might as well give it a try, and down we went. And up.

We'd done it! Looking back, it wasn't really that big a deal, but to us at the time - it was like getting back on your bike after falling off.

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As we pulled away, smiles and "I can guarantee we're the first and only ones on the road this year" all around - in front of us, a beautiful pair of wild horses were doing the same thing we were - wandering around, looking for adventure. Curious about the world, they'd walk slowly towards us, then get spooked and canter away for a bit. Then mosey our way before galloping off to a safe distance. Downwind, we turned off the truck and watched for a bit, enjoying the curiosity we knew so well ourselves.

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Eventually though, we knew we had to keep going - it was near lunch time and while we'd covered a lot of miles, we had no idea what was ahead. If we had to turn back now, we'd have a lot of "return" miles to cover before nightfall, the next day already fully accounted for by our drive home.

Another hour or so and we'd ticked off another 25 miles - we were now nearing Beatty's Butte and ultimately Flook Lake Road, the road that would take us into the Hart Mountain Refuge - and we decided that this was as good a place as any to enjoy the last of our lunch meat, chips, and apples. So, I got our chairs set up in the shade and @mrs.turbodb assembled sandwiches, and then we relaxed.

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In even better spirits after filling our bellies, we once again sped off down the road - our confidence growing with every passing mile. Nearly 75 of those miles were behind us now, with another 25 to our final destination. As we sped along, we noticed a - shall we say interesting - dwelling (?) set back from the road. I mean, it was decked out with an exercise bike, a propane grill, and more - so it was clearly something that was occupied...but by who? And were they supposed to be there?

We were cool not finding out. I snapped a quick photo and carried on. As one does.

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It was right around this point that we started getting cocky. Counting our chickens before they'd hatched. Birds in the bush. You know, that kind of thing. So it shouldn't be any sort of surprise that it wasn't long before we rounded a corner to find exactly what we'd been dreading for all these 85 miles...

Just like yesterday, a relatively shallow river that crossed the road. The red, dusty, not-very-rocky-at-this-point road.

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It was Muck boot time, again. And this time - unlike the reservoir earlier in the day - it was less-obvious what the right answer was. It seemed to me that the bank was a muddy mess, but that once we got into the middle of the crossing, the traction wasn't bad. With nothing to winch off of, and only a wacko-in-a-shanty to ask for help, we probably should have turned back.

"We're going for it." I announced. "We can't be scared of all water crossings forever."

Famous last words... but not this time - we laid a few sage over the worse of the mud at the entrance to the crossing and locked all the lockers - and then walked the truck through like it was nothing. Whew.

Flush again with success, we quickly stumbled upon a bug-out shelter less than a mile up the road near Beatty's Butte. Constructed in 2008, this thing was insane - truly a zombie-apocalypse-style get-away, with concrete walls over 24" thick, and steel window and door coverings that weren't just locked, the locks were encased in boxes that had been welded over them - a cutting disk required to gain access.

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A bit spooked, and also bummed that we couldn't check out the interior, we didn't spend long at the Oregon Zombie Defense site - instead pushing on towards our ultimate goal. We were soon rewarded by a sign that we didn't know existed, but that was a relief to us both.

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We'd entered the refuge, and we were officially on Flook Lake Road. And - best of all - the "Road Closed" sign that we passed just a couple hundred feet further along was folded in half - the road was open!

That, or no one had ever come this way to close it at the end of the season last year. I joked to @mrs.turbodb that it would be funny if the the road went right through Flook Lake, but she pretty quickly set me straight by telling me that, "Flook Lake is over here." as she pointed at the map to show me how wrong I was.

...which I was OK with in this case, obviously.

The last few miles passed quickly at this point - we could taste victory. @mrs.turbodb even looked over and said, "Well, it was nice that one of the routes worked out!" And then we crested the last rise.

In front of us - we could clearly see - Flook Lake. And not just Flook Lake - we could also see our road disappear directly into the middle of the lake.

Flook me you flooking lake! :annoyed_gaah:

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We had two miles to go, and I turned to my right, "We're going to seriously consider driving across the tundra if there's no way around." i said. And I was serious.

Luckily for us, there was a faint way around - not to skirt the lake, I think - instead it was a route to some nearby petroglyphs that we didn't know about, unfortunately. But we didn't care - as one mile, then a mile-and-a-half, then nearly two miles ticked off, we realized we were going to make it.

And we'd done it in great time - it was not even 3:30pm and in front of us was Hart Mountain. Victory was ours! Sure, it was a route that we wouldn't have given a second thought to later in the year, but today - today we were heroes.

Even if it was just each others heroes.

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A quick stop at the visitor center to use the flush toilet, and we decided that rather than go straight to the hot springs and campground, we'd first go check out Petroglyph Lake. We'd done enough research before heading out to know that the road to the lake was closed, but at only 2 miles each way, we figured it would be a good way to stretch our legs after a long day in the truck.

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By the time we got to the lake, the joke I'd made at the trailhead of just driving around the flimsy gate was something we both wished we'd done - the road was boring and totally passable, likely closed simply because no one had checked it. Of course, we'd never have driven around the gate but it was fun to talk about doing it!

But what we were here for were the petroglyphs. Covering a quarter-mile long wall along the north edge of the lake, there are dozens of images etched into the rocks, and we had a great time discovering one after another.

The first few were reasonably basic.

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But then things started to get more interesting. This dude was perhaps diving into the water? Or just really liked headstands?

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And then, near the end, the coolest of them all - I thought. Bug-head-man, and his buddies. Or were they? Maybe they were his snack...running away. ::

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Our curiosity satisfied, we returned to the truck and decided that before heading to the hot springs, we'd air up - we'd be heading out on reasonably maintained roads early the next morning and airing up away from the springs would be nicer for everyone trying to enjoy their quiet solitude.

That task completed, we were only minutes from camp, which we found a mere 50 feet from the hot spring - the campground basically empty on a Saturday night (to our surprise and delight).

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Our dip in the hot spring was great - just what was needed after a long day on the road - even if it was a little slimy for our tastes. Definitely cool though to be in a natural spring that's bubbling up around you and just the right depth to stand in, up to your neck.

Oh, and as the only ones there, we could enjoy it in our favorite suits of all - birthday suits!

Our soak complete, dinner was the next thing on our minds - lamb stew for me and some sort of rice pilaf thing for @mrs.turbodb - which we enjoyed as the sun set overhead, a purple hue tinting the sky above camp.

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We called it a night shortly after - the sky still light as we climbed into the tent to read our books. I probably lasted a good 7 minutes or so before dozing off, @mrs.turbodb not much longer than that.

It had been a great day - a successful day - but just barely. Perhaps the best kind.

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April 28, 2019.

It was a cold night. 24°F when I awoke around 5:00am for sunrise. Having "thought ahead" and only brought a sweatshirt in the "sleeves" department, I put on every piece of clothing I could find - including @mrs.turbodb's jacket and gloves - and headed up the road and out of the campground to get a view of the horizon. I was just in time, the gentle wedge of Steens Mountain just poking up through the orange.

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The tent still covered in ice, we put it away without breakfast, our plan to survive only on the meagerest of granola bars and apples until we could have an early lunch on the road. OK, that's not true - the Cherry and Dark Chocolate bars are amazing and who doesn't love a good Fuji apple?

We were out of the hot springs campground by 6:30am - our earliest morning by far, and a good time to catch it in the morning light.

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Headed west and north, we almost immediately hit the aptly named Lake County, and then, we were out of the refuge.

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All that remained was highway. We'd survived another adventure, and had a great time doing it.



You. Should. Too.

 

Traction mats might have helped you through Flook lake

 

Great trip report, I really enjoyed reading it.

I was out there at the end of March and took that same route from Whitehorse ranch rd to little sand gap. Unfortunately after getting to the playa I realized I could have linked it into big sand gap, but I guess that can be for another trip. The spot you got stuck at looked about the same in March. I ended up driving into the sage brush and finding a way to cross at a narrower section of water. Not far down the road, the creek diverted from the road and it was free sailing from there.



Looks like we took damn near identical pictures at the borax sign.



If you ever go back out there I highly recommend checking out the WW2 plane crash in the hills above Denio.

 

No doubt.

...But I had alternatives and redundancies already - inflatable side floats, an extra length of winch line, an outboard motor, and a mermaid just in case. So I don't need no stinking traction mats.

Very cool. We saw the (more main) road to Little Sand Gap and considered taking it after we got turned around at Big Sand Gap, but decided we were done for the day and assumed it'd be just as sketchy since it crosses the same plateau!

Thanks for the plane crash tip - I'll have to look that up and make a note for next time. Would be our second (though very different obviously) crash in the area!

(from our previous trip)
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