TWAT with my stock SR AC 4x4

I just finished a run through most of the TWAT with my stock SR AC 4x4 on my own. I made into the national forest area, and that was it for me... Instead of finishing the route, I stayed in the forest for days camping, and exploring the trails and the high clearance fire roads. There was only a select few high clearance roads that I couldn't go through because I don't have any armour at all, but I managed to not get stuck, and no damage to the taco. It was great not having to compromise with anyone about where I was heading next, or how long (or deep) I wanted to go exploring.

 

The TWAT? Sounds like a slippery place, good thing you didn't have to get snatched out. Must be a place a fella could go in a few times to really enjoy, remember to bag it up, hate to leave a mess behind for the next guy

 

It WAS slippery!! It rained for 3 days when I was there. That cleaned up the dust and mud off most of the truck, but the tailgate for some reason is still caked with dirt.

 

I’ve been looking to do portions of this “trail” but having a hard time finding the gpx file for it. Everything I have been coming across only shows the first northern IL portion to Prairie du Chien. Thanks for the help.

 

I found this Gaia link from a prior Google search. There was a nice article to go with it that I can’t find at the moment.

https://www.gaiagps.com/public/wAg6DCbZeooNwKRQ2PJQAhqm

 

I uploaded the file I used. Maybe I'm not that good at using these files yet, but if you open it in Google maps, you get a more direct route. In Gaia, you can see alternate routes and side trips.

I used Gaia for the trip. It's absolutely awesome once you get the hang of it.

 

I'm curious where you found these? I've done all of the TWAT, but never all in one trip. I've seen a lot of fun looking side roads, but never seem to have enough time to explore all of them.

Also, did you go through FR327 south of Clam Lake? It was known as the pinstripe road a few years ago, but I thought I heard that it had been cleared out recently.

 

They're all along the route, and that entire national forest is pretty much covered in them. I used Gaia GPS, with the US forest service overlay (USFS 2016). You can spend days exploring these trails. I had to cut myself off more than a few times in order to make more progress along the trail, but curiosity got the best of me most of the time and I ended up driving out of some of those in the dark. Pretty cool... also pretty spooky.

I drove through that fire road back in September, and it was clear of any significant obstacles, but the deeper you go in, the hairier it gets with the branches. I was very surprised that I didn't get any scratches on the truck (although I may not be able to see them). This last trip it rained for two days, so a lot of really tight trails are easier to get through because the branches were all soft and wet and not so stabby/scratchy on the paint job.

 

Right. There's side roads all over the national forest, but I'm curious where you managed to find roads that would require armor. From what I've seen, 99% of the TWAT can be done in a Camry. Which district were you finding the more challenging roads in?

 

Oh.. my bad. Here's one. The trail on the right is pretty much gone, you'd have to plow through thick brush, and the left just looks like suicide for a stock truck. There's s drop that seemed doable with the right truck from where I was standing, but I didn't hang out too long because I heard noises that didn't sound like deer, or squirrels coming from the trail on the right, and being out there that late in the season, all alone with no one else on the trails, I gotta in the truck and after a 30-point turn, I was out the way I came in.

It's actually right before FR327

 

I think I also ended up going into a couple of atv trails by accident. I was having an unhealthy amount of fun until I realized I was on the wrong trails.

 

It looks like 327D and 327DA are open to highway legal vehicles year-round. The MVUM maps are great reference for knowing which roads to stay out of. They also tell you season dates on seasonal roads. They can be downloaded for free here:

https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/cnnf/maps-pubs

These are basically PDF's of paper maps. They can also be used with GPS with the Avenza maps apps.

Thanks for the screenshot. I have been thinking about taking a camping trip somewhere along the northern section and exploring more of the side roads next summer.

 

Also, if you're in Wisconsin, check in here if you'd like to meet up at any of the local events:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/wisconsin-area-events.621460/page-152

We do a lot of parking lot meet-ups, but also camping trips and trail runs. Winter is a bit slow, but we're looking to do a lunch/beer get together at the end of December.

Edit: also check in here for local BS:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/wisconsin-tacomas.21543/page-506

 

I'll probably go up there again some time around Feb/March. It seems like one should have a goal in mind before heading up there. I'd like to get way up north, and check out the forests around the Canadia border.

 

I can vouch for thatbassguy planning some fun trips! Just wish I had more time these days.

 

I've been thinking about doing a day trip sometime this winter. I would probably go from Sparta to Black River Falls or something like that. Some of those roads would be more interesting with a healthy coat of snow.

I don't think I've seen you since the first camping trip. I was wondering where you've been hiding.

 

Little bit of life got busy and trying to protect my 230k mile truck haha. Still putting it to work and asking more of it than I should. I really want to join on a camping/wheeling trip for next year.

 

The T.W.A.T trips are definitely less taxing on the truck. More like a nice drive through the country. We'll be doing a spring trip in April, and possibly a day trip this winter.

 

Yup, I still lurk in the wisco threads for when a closer day trip comes up. I’m closer for a TWAT potosi brewery area trip.