Where Have You Off-Roaded Today? 3rd Gen

Typical here. A lot of puddles to drive through since it rains so much and those clean your truck.

At end of day it was almost spotless, pissed rain hard all the way home on tne highway.

I am not one of those guys blasting through the mudholes to make it look good at the end of the day. A lot of those guys where I live. I never see them where I go since I am always searchimg for spots no one else goes. Lots of remote destinations available in BC. I am fortunate to have done this over 500 times now throughout BC.

You know the guys. Go in a pack to the same ORV each time, take turns blasting through the same mud holes. Never been my thing. Truck is just a tool to get me into as remote of nature as I can find.

 

Here is another lake only 8 miles from where I stopped yesterday. This photo from last summer, at the opposite end of where I was forced to stop yesterday. Yesterday I got within 400 yards of this lake on a trail that dead ended. I could find no hiking or game trail in at that spot, and way too thick to bushwhack through. I have tried that many times without success at this type of lake, machete and bucksaw and give up when it is just too thick.

I do have a few lakes that do have good game trails in and they are a blast.

So, the only way in to this lake is to hike down that clearcut to the lake edge. Hope to do that later this summer as it sure is a nice looking lake. Hike in with waders and take in my Fish Cat 4 belly boat. Bound to be fishy.

There are so many spots like this in BC, where no one goes as so many prefer comforts over nature.

Have to be watchfull too as I have seen grizzly bears twice in this area, and a lot of black bears. A grizzly sow and cub just a couple weeks ago near this spot.

Three years ago a very large male black bear followed me for 100 yards. Sizing me up for a snack I guess. Spooky when that happens. Maybe I stunk from too much mosquito repellent so he turned around.

I have 5 rifles from a lifetime of hunting moose and deer with my father, but I never take those when hiking. Two bottles of bear spray, much more effective. Good luck getting your rifle unslung and up to your shoulder if you surprise stumble onto a bear. You’ll crap your pants before you get a shot off.

I guess this is why my wife never goes withme on these trips anymore. A bear circling our tent one night was all she needed to say that was it for her hiking adventures.

I freaking love the photos on the camping section of tacomaworld. Beautiful spots especially down in Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Colorado, california, Washington state, Montana, and Utah. Great to see that so many young people are loading up their Tacos and heading out to remote spots in nature. Can’t be beat. I’ll take tent beside a small lake any day over a beach in Hawaii…

EDIT - Found my photo of the footprint of the black bear that followed me. A big freaking boy, those are my size 13 feet there. Look how he sinks in and I don’t. Adult male black bears usually around that 350 pound mark, I figure he was close to 500 pounds. Eating well.

 

Sure is a beautiful spot. Looks similar to the southern Okanagan or Merritt area in BC.

Did you camp?

 

Amazing area with great biking! I camped along the trail the night before, sheep mountain, and the helena national forest on the trip. I posted some pics in the camping thread.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/truck-camping-photo-thread.407866/page-414

 

looks good.
Rear shock relocate?

 

And the weather is exceptionally wet this year, great pictures and write up

 

Yessir! Chevy 63" leafs and 16" shocks cut up into the bed

 

Nice dude. I've been looking into it

 

Exploring more trails in the Eastern Sierras.
https://youtu.be/OUtIO280MFI

 

On the mean streets of my home town..
Every year we have what’s called street machine weekend.. thousands of custom rides converge for a nightly cruise, 100ft dash and two car shows. My business falls on the cruise route. Of course we rolled out in the taco all decked out..

 

Curious to know what that setup is inside of the soft topper?

 

I was extremely hungover for Engineer Pass but was still a fun drive. The switchbacks on the Silverton side were super fun, though my friend in his stock taco had a different opinion.

 

Finally made the short trip and drove Middle st Vrain and Coney Flats. The trails have lots of boulders and water. My sliders took a lot of hits and definitely saved me from body damage. Truck got stuck in the boulder garden and had to winch out. Earned a lot of new pinstripes too. Did I mention there were boulders?

 

I went over Engineer Pass and down into Silverton 25 years ago in my totally stock SUV with my wife and kids and don’t remember anything challenging. Though it was an 80 Series. But seriously, has it gotten rougher? I’ve read some things recently that suggest it’s not just an easy road, which is how I remember it. On the same trip I did Poughkeepsie Gulch and definitely needed some spotting there.

 

A little ski hill

 

BAMF hybrid with no hoop.

 

We've got Matt Gecko warm bed + topper LED's on dimmer. 4" thick memory foam cut to form shape of 6' bed, custom cut air vents by head for sleeping comfort, easy removable bench seat organizers hanging from both sides for individual item organization, small fire extinguisher, rechargeable battery powered fan for comfort. Our setup is obviously geared towards sleeping in our truck bed. Trailer and cargo box haul all the necessities.. Wish I had some better pics, BIG trip planned next week so I'll get better pics.

 

Awesome, thanks for the info. That’s a great setup and the air vents are genius I am stealing that idea for sure. Maybe incorporate a fan into it.

 

Ya man, the evolution of these rigs is made possible by peeps like us... Keep it up!
I was unsure about the vents at first but they work amazingly well. Nice cool breeze on the face at night with the rest of the bed all closed up.
Almost don't need a fan for the vents, calm night and you could feel just the right cross draft form both sides. Close em' up when driving to keep out the dust.
Bought this USB rechargeable fan for the bed. Wrap it around the topper "skeleton" SUPEr quiet and moves lots of air.

AA Battery Operated Baby Stroller Fan, 5" Clip on Desk Fans with 4 Speeds,Bonus Aroma Function, USB Personal Fan, Portable Camping Fan, 360°Rotation, Wireless Golf Car Fan for Bed, Home (Grey)

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B087TZPF3Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Yesterday I drove to the top of Harquahala Mountain on the way back to SoCal -- very fun drive (no snorkel needed).