December 2017 Seattle-Area Meet

I will be out north bend, no cell service after 830am sinday.

 

Go s.w to montesano. Head north at montesano up into the olympics. That area is my summer home.

 

So, Walker Valley ORV is not for the faint at heart. Their 4x4 trails are vast but oh so technical. Some personal takeaways:

• It seems that all access points to the ORV require that you go AROUND the locked gate. This will be your first challenge - navigating around big boulders with very tight turns.
• The locals say that the gates remained locked to keep out the "riff raff" but didn't provide specifics.
• Do not attempt with your stock truck. Poor @TexMeg89, she left with a few bumps and bruises and her side steps are bent way out of shape. Mine are too but for slightly different reasons.
• On that point, SIDE STEPS, Nerf bars and all that other "pavement princess" stuff (no offense, anyone) are NOT rock sliders!
• Under armour plating is HIGHLY recommended. I don't have any because I'm more for overlanding than rock crawling.
• Bring an axe in case you need to shave off a little tree root you're getting hung up on.
• If you have a DC and/or LB edition, you are going to be challenged the most. These really are Jeep trails and short wheel base rigs reign supreme 'round these parts.
• There doesn't seem to be a 4x4 trail difficulty rating system with these ORV parks so you may find yourself stuck with nowhere to turn around, potentially blocking oncomers. We were lucky to avoid this but it could've easily gone south.
• DO NOT attempt without AT LEAST one spotter. Because @Korndog1284 and I have DCLB's, we often needed two spotters to help us make our 20-point turns one inch at a time.
• It is more important for the SPOTTER to learn how to best communicate with the DRIVER than the other way around.
• Locking diff can help but I think it's more valuable to get out and visualize it and to anticipate the physics of it all before you attempt.
• ALWAYS discuss the plan with your spotters so they know what you want to do and help guide you that way.
• ALWAYS discuss with your spotters the plan so they can tell you how utterly idiotic it is and can then provide a more rational one.
• Traveling on narrow, wet mud might require some unlearning wrt how one might point their tires.
• Having enough radio comms for every rig and every spotter is a very good idea.

That's all I can remember right now. @TexMeg89 and @Korndog1284 might want to add some more of their own.

So while we didn't cover alot of terrain in this ORV we certainly learned alot about our rigs, ourselves, how to spot effectively, how to remain patient with ourselves and our spotters, etc.

If someone has more intel on Walker Valley ORV specifically which areas are more conducive to Tacos, please share!

 

Lol nothing at Walker is really stock friendly. Be ready to leave with some marks as y'all found out. Only stock friendly ORV park is Tahuya.
And definitely don't try Reiter

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/january-2018-seattle-area-meet.526746/