Where Have You Off-Roaded Today? 3rd Gen

Off topic…how do you like the weBoost? I’ve been considering getting one.

 

I will say - having read a ton on here about the CO trails and then actually doing them is a whole different beast. I was going to do Imogene last week when I was in Ouray/Gateway/Moab, but after doing the top of Beaver Mesa and some other shelf roads I decided I needed to build up my tolerance of high-altitude driving (I live at +33ft.). Some of those switchbacks can feel sketchy if you haven't done something like that before. All of that said: TW is the best place for info on these roads/trails and how to drive them, which s how I was able to know what I was doing and understand my limits.

 

The Weboost works great. On average, it added 2 bars to my existing signal. I still lost signal in a few spots (deep canyons), but kept a signal a lot longer. If you are going to hardwire it in, remember to put in a on/off switch. The amplifier that is mounted in the cab will run your battery down. I hardwired mine to my aux battery and left it on and noticed it was down in the morning.

 

I have mine wired to car battery, plugged into my 12v that is topped off with a hood solar panel. It has a switch on the plug, and only runs when car is turned on. How does it drain your battery?

 

Awesome thanks for the advice! I’ll make sure to remember that.

 

Eureka Gulch to Lake Emma yesterday in the rain the ruins are of the Sunny Side Mill parked near and an Adit (mine entrance) smelled awful not like something had died though... took a photo through the grate over the entrance. It rained on my entire out and back but I was the only one on the mountain.



Eureka was established in 1875 with an active post office until 1942. Sunnyside Mine produced over $50 million. Mines under Lake Emma collapsed in 1978 and the lake drained. No one was hurt, but it took 2 years to clean up the damage. Judge Terry's Midway Mill was the final destination for ore in the early tramway system. The Angle Tram Station was part of a second tram system to carry ore to the newer Sunnyside Mill. The foundations of this mill can be seen on left as you start up the trail.

 

I can't believe what you guys put your trucks through. A rock chipped my windshield and I cried myself to sleep.

 

Good Advice

As a Durango resident and 4x4 guide, I am pretty familiar with many of the west slope trails and have been up over and down Imogene a few times and I've seen totally tricked-out $92K AEV Rubicons barely creeping up an easy trail with the driver and passenger white-knuckling it all the way and then some guy with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth in a beat to hell held together with baling wire, spit and duct tape '90s Toyota 4x4 pickup cruising up the switchbacks on engineer pass like it was nothing.

Obviously, it's not about the vehicle it's the combination of experience and personal comfort level of each individual. There is nothing wrong with admitting that you are not 100% comfortable with a particular "mining road" (not logging road) with tight switchbacks and 400' drop-offs along the way. Yes getting the adrenaline flowing is part of the fun but pushing someone way out of their comfort zone is not.

My suggestion is to hit some fun trails and get a feel for how the vehicle feels then take something a little more challenging and so on till you reach a point that you are comfortable with yourself and that is as far as you might want to go. The whole goal is to go out and enjoy nature see some awesome sights and not break your truck in the process and not try to out macho some guy on the internet. If possible go with a group that is more experienced than yourself or if at the trailhead you see a group going where you want to and ask to tag along.

I strongly suggest you check out the book 'Colorado Trails Southwest Region' it is full of all the trails in the 4 corners area and maps and history.

 

Took the kids close to the peak of Bald Mountain outside Breckinridge Colorado yesterday. I love this truck more every day.

 

Two days ago. An old timer told me about a good fishing lake. I went, and it was all dried up, just shallow weed beds now. I guess he fished it long ago. So just went exploring, up 5,000ft on an old logging cut. A nice drive, nice views. One black bear, 4 deer, but all too quick for me and my camera. Found a nice spot with that view to park for lunch on the way back down. Crazy amount of black flies and horse flies that took good bites out of me for their lunch. Those flies really thrive in this hot weather.

 

What sort of work you doing up there? Road clearing I guess and what does that consist of?

A lot of that here in BC, but of the chainsaw variety clearing trees from trails. Not from off road circuits, just trails to fishing and camping spots. I have several spots I go where I have to bring a chainsaw. Stops a trip fast when there are several hundred foot cedars across the path. You have to want to go really bad as that can eat up the whole day. Many spots now getting to be too much of a headache.

A lot of remote camp spots are too dangerous now, 10 story trees coming down in storms. I will sit in my truck plannimg where to leave it when I go out fishing and it is based on the tree conditions and wind direction. Sometimes have to leave the truck far away from the nicest spots. I am sure many others on Tacomaworld run into the same situation. A week ago a guy in Kelowna at a camp spot had his truck split right in two by a massive tree.

 

Hah, and we all think we “off road”. Check out this guy.

Kicking Horse canyon,near Golden BC. To shore up the mountainside to prevent it from crashing to the highway below.

Last November in BC massive rainfalls wiped out the 3 highways that connect Vancouver to the rest of the province. Over 50 locations were devastated. The work to rebuild those highways still goes on today, with full completion not expected until December 2022.

The largest highway was closed for 4 weeks. So tiny little highway #3 (one lane each way, winding through the mountains) had 4,000 big rigs travelling on it every day. Big transport rigs were parked for miles due to the number of rigs crashing and stopping all traffic, and this happened every day as they worked to get highway #5 and highway #1 temporarily opened for transport truck usage only. So rigs driving through on single lane dirt roads, that were previously 4 and 6 lane highways.

Zero cars/trucks were allowed on the highways for many weeks. If you needed to travel from Vancouver to interior BC, or vice versa, even for hospital emergencies, it was via helicopter or plane.

There are so many guys working like this in BC every day for the last 9 months, hundreds of different crews working at sites like this. I have travelled all 3 highways since, and what a mess, mountainsides washed down to highways at so many locations. Mind blowing when you see that for miles and miles.

What an amazing job these road crews are doing.

 

Today's rainy day trip. Hurricane Pass & California Pass it's been over a decade since I did the drive over the two passes figured I'd try it in my bone stock '22 SR5 Trail edition. Hurricane Pass is situated at 12,730 feet above sea level and California Pass is at 12,960 feet.

 

That's Freaking Nuts, hope he is getting an extra $1,000/hr hazard pay

 

Pt.2 going down California Pass to the Adit.

 

At the Adit below California Pass, it's obviously flooded got a kick out of the fully kitted out overland rigs staring at me in a stock vehicle in 4H and 30psi in the tires



Last two photos are Animas Forks from above and the giant CAT Tractor they use to clear the trail.

 

Actually pretty common work throughout BC with so many highways below sheer cliffsides. It is very crazy work and I am sure there is some added risk pay for that. There are tragic accidents though.

 

That sky!!!!!

 

I live on Hwy 3 and never think it is too bad until I drive some of our other highways. There are definitely some spots that if you fail to slow to the recommended speed you will pay a heavy price.

I took my son to Vancouver for a Dr. appointment two days after it re-opened from the storm for truck and emergency travel only. Carried jerry cans because of the fuel rationing in Vancouver LOL. The road was nearly empty and the police roadblocks at either end were too busy drinking coffee and BS'ing to stop anyone. There were a surprising number of patrols doing speed checks. I did a few more trips over the winter and the Hope/Princeton had taken a horrible beating

For work, I'm often the guy following that excavator you picture.

Yesterday I went from the Coke to 5A through logging roads north of Tulameen. Was damn nice evening drive home after a 3 week stint working in the field.

 

Yeah it is a nice area near Tulameen. What sort of work you doing?