Rock Therapy 2015 Trip Report

Toyota has always engineered vehicles with two things in mind. Reliability and capability. Their line of pickup trucks and SUV's has always been a favorite platform for off road use, and there's a HUGE fan base to support it.

The event began with an incident that nobody expects, but some have fallen victim to. A participant traveling into Area BFE lost control of the truck after hitting a large pot hole, and rolled several times down a steep cliff. Surviving an accident like that is a miracle, and the fact that he walked away with little injury was even more incredible. Thanks to the many other participants who helped winch the truck up the hill, it was back on 4 wheels again, but this time with a tree trunk wedged clean through the bed of the truck. It's a testament to the old saying "You can't kill a Toyota", because the truck drove under it's own power the rest of the way to camp.

On Thursday morning, I lead a group of 15 trucks to Top of the World, a popular trail that slowly climbs a ledge-ridden slope, eventually ending at the edge of a cliff sitting 3000ft above the valley below. With a few instances of trail damage, and a broken spindle, the trail was all but uneventful, but in the end, everybody made it back to camp in one piece.

Friday held a special surprise that was beyond anything from previous Rock Therapy trips. This event has grown so large and so quickly, that brought one of their 2016 show model Tacomas to Area BFE to give the event participants a first hand, in person look at the brand new Tacoma TRD Off Road, scheduled to release later this year. Their knowledgeable staff answered questions and walked the group through all of the Tacomas new features. RebelTaco even got a celebrity photo with it! Toyota also hosted dinner Friday evening, serving Tacos to the Taco crowd (see what they did there).

Saturday was the big day for the sponsor BBQ and raffle. , Pelfreybilt Off-Road, Inc., , and assisted in hosting a BBQ for all our participants on Saturday evening, with Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, sides, chips, and drinks. The raffle was a huge success, with tons of awesome prizes, including $600 worth of Rebel Gift Cards, three Rebel Trasharoo's, 2 Rebel gear bags, and a Rebel soft-cooler. Saturday night ended the way any great off roading trip should. Making s'mores and swapping trail stories around the huge bonfire.

Rock Therapy is the perfect way to start the summer off the right way, on the trail. We'll be back next year, and we'll be counting the days until then. Thanks again to Bob, Jace, Eric, and the rest of the Rock Therapy crew for making this one of the most fun and memorable events on our calendar. I can only imagine what you'll have in store for us next year!

 

Jealous. Hopefully my truck will be capable enough next year to make it.