Whipsaw 2013 - BC Canada

On September 19, 2013, Me and 3 other guys left Nelson BC around 11:30am heading for Princeton BC to run the famous Whipsaw trail.

Attendance:

1996 Tacoma - Open diffs (Me)
1989 4runner - SAS - 35's - Open diffs
1983 Pickup - 40s - welded rear
2002 4runner Limited - E-locker
40 series Landcruiser - stock basically
40 series Landcruiser - 38.5s - Locked f/r - small block 440




Day 1 - The journey

We left a little late Thursday morning so we had to make some time if we wanted to get to first camp by night. We arrived in Princeton around 4pm and unloaded the 1st gen pickup. Headed up the highway and hit the trail head by 5pm. Excitement was in the air. I didnt get many pictures because it was getting dark and we were trying to make time on the first section.

 

Day 2 - 6,000 ft

We arrived at the first camp site around 8pm the night before and setup camp. Started a fire and fixed up some dinner. The sky was clear so it was bound to be a cold night. Elevation was 6,000 ft and our chip bags started to pop.

Woke up the next morning to a beautiful sun warming up my truck. It was going to be a great day. We made our way on the trail and quickly stopped at a little lake for lunch.




























































After lunch we set off for the next lake for camp. We made it to the next tricky obstacle called "Memorial Rock" dedicated to a wheeler that lost his life on the trail. This rock is much steeper than it looks like on camera. IFS trucks will usually slay it no problem but since i had open diffs, it proved to be very tricky. The red 4runner made it up after 2 tries. I made it up after 5 or so tries with a lot of skinny pedal and some air . The elocked 4runner made it up first try but the 1st gen pickup couldnt make it up.















































We made it to the next lake which is called Wells Lake i believe. But there was one last obstacle we had to do. There were three routes across. The alternate easy route which no one told the 3rd gen 4runner and i, and there were two deep water crossings. The solid axle guys took the deep crossing and we took the "not as deep" crossing.











Here's the one we took. I took it pretty slow and didnt get any water over the hood. The 3rd gen 4r took it a little too fast and took water over the hood and snapped 2 fan blades.





Setting up camp for the night

 

Day 3 - Breakdowns

The night before, two other friends caught up to us in their 40 Landcruisers. One was basically stock and the other was lifted, locked, and had a small block 440 swap. We set off on the trail towards the last Lake and campsite.









This is one of the only obstacles i couldnt make up. They called it the mini Rubicon. Steep hill with some nasty rocks and a big step.





















One of the Landcruisers snapped a front shackle so we rigged up a solution















Then the 1st gen pickup snapped his J arm on his steering. Good news was we were only 30 mins from the last campsite. So we winched it straight and towed it with the small block LC. Keeping the tires straight was a task. We had to kick the tires straight as it was being towed















Made it to the lake













The 1st gen pickup got a ride down and picked up his truck and trailer so he could load up his rig. We had some celebratory drinks and a great dinner. Sat around the fire sharing stories, laughs and the amazing trip we just had. Woke up the next day and slowly packed up for home. There was still some nasty road ahead of us so we took it slow while the tow rig made his way down.































It was an amazing trip for sure! I was very impressed with my truck being pretty close to stock with only a 3" lift, sliders, open diff, and 32" tires. I cant wait to do it next year. Thanks for reading!

 

Subscribed. My brother lives in Vernon and I'm from Edmonton. Might hit you guys up next year when I'm in town!

 

Looks awesome man!

 

Very cool, that trail looks like a ton of fun, and nice work with the trail fixes!

 

Looks like fun

 

Stole some pics from some friends

 

More pictures to come along with a couple vids

 

Whipsaw is an awesome trail! We (Vancouver area) just had a big group up there last august. So much fun!

 

Videos

 

That trail has epic scenery....the main reason for its high rating of trails to wheel!
The obstacles that you do get to challenge your skills with on the trail are very fun but I kinda wish there was more. Obviously you can find all sorts (off the trail) but that aint cool. Anyhow I highly suggest running it with about a foot of snow! Makes the whole trail an epic battle
Thanks for sharing these pics I wish I had made the Whipsaw run this year myself, glad your group took your time and enjoyed it all.

 

Yes i agree the obstacles can be pretty easy with a well setup 4X4 truck. With me having open diffs made it that much more fun But i definitely will be coming back with at least a rear locker. I would also love to try it with some snow!

 

This is a trip I have on my Tacoma bucket list. Great pics everyone!

 

Super jealous you gotta finish the trail. I had so much fun the first time we went up and we didn't even get to finish. I'm glad you mentioned you're planning a trip for next year, with any luck I can be on that one...

 

WHIPSAW!!!!

 

ill be running the trail next year with my brother and his jeep

 

Just for anyone who finds this thread in a search, we ran The Whipsaw in August 2019. Was a great time. Entire thing is written up here:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-whipsaw-trail-bc-canada-aug-2019.631710/


Or, for larger photos and a bit nicer reading experience, the story is on my blog as well:

Whipsaw Trail 1 - Finally Four, We Venture North

Whipsaw Trail 2 - Some Winching Necessary

Whipsaw Trail 3 - Four, Three Wheeling Tacomas

Whipsaw Trail 4 - My Trip-Ending Discovery




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