Cynicalriders "J0hnny5 is ALIVE!" 01 build thread.

It’s in his garage wiff all the other mauds

 

So I took the pup camping in the Poconos with my buddy who came on his DRZ. Here are some of the pics I took:

IMG_1970 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_1975 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Found a cool fire tower:

IMG_1982 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_1998 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_2000 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

IMG_2006 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

IMG_2009 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Really just spent most of the day cruising forest roads and scoping camp sites out.

IMG_2018 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

We saw a black bear out on one of the trails and heard large amounts of coyote's at camp.

IMG_2022 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

By the next day, Mac was already shot.

IMG_2035 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

IMG_2042 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

We did cross into Jersey though and checked out Buttermilk Falls.

IMG_2055 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

IMG_2056 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_2058 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Was a good mini camp trip.

Also started working on/did some mods.

Got the @V5ioV stealth map light mod done (red to not fuck my night vision if I need to find something in the cabin at night):



But passenger and main dome lights are still pure white.



Also started treating my skids so I can paint them... You guys think they take some abuse?



Then started on a test project that I wil likely go through with because it seems like it will work well.

The general concept is this. I have an extendable pole for pool skimming sitting in the garage. I got two Amazon flood lights:



Put them on the pole and ran the wires into the pole. The wires will have a quick disconnect at the end, and in the bed I will have a run of wire with a quick disconnect running from the fuse panel in the tool box, to a switch, to the quick connect. Basically hook it up, stand it up, and boom large are camp lights. Got the original idea from @Box Rocket 's old setup.



Night test (not switched yet)




Hoping to find red filters for them to keep mosquitos away in the bad summer months. But I also made them tall enough that I think it would keep them far from me.

 

Your dog looks absolutely miserable. Obviously leads a life of toil and struggle.

 

I know she leads a rough life of wheeling and adventures It's pretty funny, she can always tell when I'm packing for something where I'm taking her too. She see's me take her bed away and she know's and goes nuts.

 

This looks fun

 

Hey @Rockbaron1 and @ToyRyd04 isn't this the dude who tagged along with us at Big Dog's?!

https://youtu.be/okkvHCcGisI?t=308

At 5:08

 

Hmm not sure, trying to remember the guy. 4runner looks familiar.

 

I think it is, the NTC guys mentioned his name as well saying it was Todd. The voice sounds familiar and I remember his beard lol. It was dark as fuck though so not sure.

 

I think your right, that’s him

 

Camp lights are perm wired and switched up:

IMG_2068 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_2071 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_2073 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_2075 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_2076 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_2077 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Gotta get day pics of the setup when it's in stow mode. It's pretty slick IMO.

Fixing some minor stuff, like the light bar in my skid.




It used to be mounted with double sided tape, figure I might as well make it a little more durable.

Planning on doing a short trip in November so prep has begun.

List of stuff to do before then:

hood lights
touch up sliders and bumpers
redo fender trim
fluid film frame

maybe:
anti seize alignment cams (really been putting that one off lol)
do mod needed to get the soft top windows on

 

Looking good, Mike!

Can’t wait to see what you do for hood lights. I’d like to do some as well.

 

Hey are you using Lightroom on your photos?

I have just one tip that will help I think with some of your shots. Removing the chromatic abervation. Its the purple like outline that can happen around things in high contrast situations.

Like these two shots:



The blue/purple around your bumpers hoop and the lines of the truck plus all the trees



Can really see it around the trees there.

Its just click of a button and LR will take that out. Your photos are too kick ass to let that detract from them.

You've been wheeling the piss out of your rig though. I like that

 

Thanks! I had no idea that was a thing, good to know! Do you just keep it on all the time as a setting in LR? Holy shit, what a difference! I really want to try to take more night photos now that there will be more stars in the cooler temps. I need to invest in a better tripod. Love all the star photo's you capture.

Before:

IMG_0215 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

After:

IMG_0215-2 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

That's an awesome trick to know.

And yeah, attempting to wheel the piss out of it. Moab left a big hole to fill in my wheeling heart. It had me craving more multi day adventures and exploring new places. Problem is that it's much harder to plan multi day trips far from home compared to a weekend at the offroad park, and is more difficult with a wife, home and responsibilities lol. Really just trying to get out as much as I can.

 

I do it to every photo I edit. Sometimes green happens too or a blue, you can adjust how wide of a color it takes out though I don't mess with that often. In the tab you can change how strong it is too. I usually do every photo at 4 and bad ones up to 8. We aren't using pro grade lenses and that is why it can happen badly in prosumer/novice gear. But the software is good! Its a simple thing but can make a big difference and is something that I always notice and am baffled by how many professionals don't bother with removing it even.

Helped even more than I thought it would in that photo wow!

Yes a good tripod is a must for start shots or long exposures. Its fun to do! An an intervalometer which a lot of new cameras come with one built in.

Multi day trips are not easy for a lot of people. Im grateful I can still do them at this point in my life and hopefully continue to do so in the future. But you still get out often and sometimes that is just better anyways really.

 

Wow never even noticed that until now. Now I’m gonna be looking for it in every photo I see lol

 

Lol I saw it, but had no idea there was a way to fix it. It happens a lot in my lower light photos I've noticed, especially on overcast days which much of that trip was overcast.

 

Sub for a kick ass first gen. Had one almost exactly like it before my '13.

 

Thanks!

Some more photos of the light setup:

Collapsed length:

IMG_2080 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Extended:

IMG_2082 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Close up of the lights:

IMG_2081 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Future mounting location:

IMG_2084 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_2085 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Clean and out of the way, yet easily accessible in the dark.

 

So I did my first trip using the camp light. Holy shit it was amazingly helpful. The original plan for this trip was to head up to Bald Eagle State Forest Thursday night, explore the forest all day Friday, camp at Weiser State Forest Friday night, and then meet up with everyone at AOAA on Saturday. Then we would camp one more time at a different tract of Weiser State forest Saturday night and return home Sunday.

Then the freak November snow storm happened and changed everything. The plan was still the same, but the conditions were very different now.

@chad_chinchilla met me at my place at around 6:30, and we finished loading up and hit the road. It was supposed to only be a 3 hour drive, with an eta of 10 PM. Thankfully the snow turned to rain and the trip was going great until the last hour and a half. The snow was back in full force, and we were driving backroads to camp. We finally got to camp at around 11:30 at night, turning that 3 hour drive into an almost 5 hour one. But we were stoked, driving on fresh powder and setting camp to a snow storm. I setup the camp light, and we set the ez up, up. Nick went to work on the fire while I set my tent up. We stayed up just enough to have a couple of beers before we passed out.

Some photos of camp that night:


IMG_2107 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_2116 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

And what we awoke to the next day:

IMG_2119 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_2120 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_2123 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_2125 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Since we had such a late night, we ended up having a late start in the morning. Just had enough time to pack and hit the road with no real breakfast.

IMG_2127 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_2130 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_2132 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_2134 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

We partially back tracked the way we came the night before and soon were making fresh tracks.

IMG_2145 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_2146 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Macaroni was loving the fresh powder, she always does.

IMG_2154 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

IMG_2160 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Eventually we end up on a trail I read on the internet was supposed to be good. I don't really want to give the name on here as we were met with a gate on our exit, and I worry we some how ended up on a trail we weren't supposed to be on some how. Luckily we were able to find a way around that gate through the woods.

Anywho, the trail was scenic as hell, following a creek the whole way. I have more videos that will come eventually that shows how scenic it really was.

The heavy snow pulled a ton of the branches down as we winded down the creek.

IMG_2163 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Mac was having fun on our rest stops.

IMG_2170 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_2174 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_2175 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_2176 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

We eventually came to a partially washed out section that had a ledge that leaned you towards the creek. I attempted it at first, couldn't get both tires up the ledge, and ended up riding the edge of the ledge a couple feet, where I came to a rest here:






I was able to safely winch myself back on the trail. Nick however does not have a winch, so we decided the best route for him was to just rebuild the trail as best as possible. This included removing snow, digging the high side, and filling the low side as best as possible.



With some careful tire placement, Nick was able to make it through with no issues.

We had some quick lunch and continued onwards. At this point we have been on this short 6 mile road for about 3 hours already, including the 1 horu recovery/rebuilding of the road before lunch.

Eventually we end up having the creek to the right of us, and I pull up to another washed out section that I knew was going to present some issues from the get go. I try to test it out, and immediately get pulled towards the creek. Now this section is far taller than the section before, at it's lowest, we had a solid six foot drop into the creek, and at it's highest we had a solid 8-10 ft drop into the creek. I start backing out, only to not be able to back out anymore. We hook a strap to Nicks truck and try to pull me backwards. He is able to pull me backwards, but on every pull, we both slide closer to the edge of the road. At this point I am at the highest part of the road, with both passenger side wheels barely still on the edge of the road. Not exaggerating, there was no road left between my tire and the edge, I was as close as someone could be without going over. At this point I go into a panicked/focused recovery mode to save my truck. I first attach a strap to the rear of my truck and hook it to a tree as tight as possible. This is my back up strap, to keep the truck from going all the way over. I then hooked the winch line to the front left direction to a snatch block, and to my slider. I was severely side loading the winch and praying it wouldn't snap.

As the winch line pulled in, it was pulling the truck forward and more towards the wall to safety. It was working exactly as I had hoped, thankfully. Once my entire front was as close as I could get it to the wall again, I did the same thing, but to the rear bumper on the drivers side. It netted the best results possible once again, and pulled my rear end to safety. From here, I hooked it back to the front and to the slider again, and got to the point where I could safely pass the washout.

Great, I am free, but what about Nick? He has no winch, and there is no place I can turn around to winch him. Even if I did, the slick snow would pull me too unless I was properly anchored. So I said fuck it, lets rebuild this goddamn road. We cleared ALL the snow. We found rocks, sticks, branches to make sure he wouldn't slide down. We dug the high side and filled the low side. Anything we could do to make sure he wouldn't get in the same situation I had gotten into.

No pics or videos from the recovery, only a single photo of the rebuilt road.



Thankfully, two hours later, we both were past and were continuing down the trail. I knew we were close to the end via my maps, and I was pretty damn happy about it. We crossed in and out of the creek bed several times and ended up on the right side of the trail again. Light was fading, and I just wanted to get to camp. I'm mentally and physically exhausted, and just want to get off the trail safely. Little did I know we would have one more issue that would keep us from being able to. To be continued when I have more time.

 

Great storytelling.