Oriflamme Canyon Run - TBD

For those that are not familiar with what @desertjunkie760 Shane and I are talking about, here is a PERFECT example. Of course, the F'N dumba$$ midget spotter did NOT help matters in turning her IN TO a hole???!!! His "hand signals" are confusing AF as well??? I'm not even full on experienced myself, but WTF???!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyIDNn73H4U

And THIS vid is really good at showing the steepness of it!!! Again, NOT recommended for everyone to do!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtuXDlfK9wo

 

Yes it was. Took 3 attempts. I rested the door on attempt #2. Made it through unscathed on the third try.

TBH, both of these videos are a little biased. Heart attack hill is not that bad. It’s intimidating, but no reason to stress. Driver error and short wheel base attributes to this.

 

I'm not very experienced either, but the one of the main things that @Prayn4surf taught me on my first run, which was with he and @desertjunkie760 , was to stay on top of the ruts and holes, and avoid getting in them if at all possible. Sometimes the ugliest line is actually the best line, so I would agree that the idiot spotting the Jeep is at partly fault for putting the Jeep in a very bad position and wasn't really paying attention. I wouldn't do this obstacle in my rig, but I would certainly tag along as a photog.

 

That chic rolled due to poor spotting

 

I whole heartedly agree with Shane. I'm not trying to deter people from trying something that they could possibly do, just making sure that people are very aware of the possibility of a roll over. Especially the more inexperienced people, which clearly the lady in the first vid was a TOTAL NEWB. Even with a good spotter I honestly wouldn't recommend a novice/newbie to go down this hill. The driver, in my humble opinion, needs to understand brake control as well and NOT to panic with the brakes. I just don't want to blindly and/or make a blanket statement that anyone can do it because that really isn't the case. Many factors are involved when doing hills such as this. HELL, forget about this hill, there are many others like it where people will do rollovers due to, mainly, inexperience.

But, with that said, I was also going off of an erroneous fact/information that once you get past "The Squeeze" there is no going back, but down. I just recently found out that this is not the case. I just don't want someone to roll-up and not realize what they're getting themselves into. I've been on runs with people I don't know and all of a sudden they just GUN that skinny pedal and I'm left eating dust???!!! WTF!!! Nobody would ever mention this at the start and I've learned to not just go "blind" on a run now without knowing the groups true intentions on what they're going to do.

Just giving my humble opinion and simply want people to be safe out there. I don't mean to be a "dad/parent", but simply a person that cares about life!!!

Now, radio talk anyone??? Does anyone need to understand the basics and what to look for when getting a radio???

 

I’m still trying to interpret the last bit of info you gave me.

 

Shane, for now, if WHEN you decide to get a radio, get a 2-band radio, at the very least. There are a couple more options that would be "available"/beneficial, in my humble opinion, that would likely benefit overall if you get a 2-band radio... or 3-band. The next time we ever meet up, I'll remember this convo... because I hold onto grudges like that ... and remember to show you why I say this.

These are pretty nice. Mike (eccracer) has one that is similar to the one in the link and I've always liked this radio ever since he showed it to me at the Rock 'n Brews meet-up a while back.

$220 BTECH UV-50X2 (Second Gen.) Mobile 50 Watt Dual Band Base, Mobile Radio: VHF, UHF Amateur (Ham)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XK83VR...&pd_rd_r=8db086a0-cdb9-11e8-ba98-5b089291c505

 

That looks like the one I plan on getting.

 

Most people go for the 65W single band 2m only Kenwood, which is a nice radio for sure, but it is only single band. You have a few more options/configurations that you can do with a dual band radio. Plus, 50W, TRUST ME, is nothing to scoff at!!! I would leave it on it's lowest output wattage setting 99.99% of the time anyways, with the only times of switching to high wattage for short convo comms with other groups that may be doing other runs on different, but fairly close trails like what was being done up in Big Bear a few weeks back. My buddy up front couldn't reach another group for what ever reason so I put on the 55W output setting to get ahold of that group and relay whatever info was needed to be given.

Anyways, yeah, that's a nice radio and I finally got to go through some of the menu settings in Big Bear because Mike had some concerning questions about not being able to set the "exact frequency" and I showed him how to fix that problem. HAHAHAHAHAHA I just helped Dirk not 5min before I saw Mike about the exact same issue!!!

 

AND, antenna setup is KEY PEOPLE!!! You could have the most expensive radio with some ridiculous 1000000000000W output and have the most HIDEOUS/SHI**EST antenna setup on the planet!!! Your setup will probably travel just as far as I could throw a rock!!! As a matter of fact, the rock message will probably get to it's destination more reliably?! It at least got SENT!!! It just amazes me that people dump on CB, but don't realize that they will suffer the same fate of distance if the antenna setup is HIGHLY LACKING, to say the least!!!

 

So....

Did we ever figure out a date/plan? Were you guys thinking the 21st?

We can always do other trails in Anza after Oriflame, Pinyon was just an idea

 

I'll be interested if you believe my stock 4X4 Sport can make it and you know my skill level.

 

Your truck would be fine for Oriflamme and there are plenty of other trails in the area that you could do afterwards.

 

So Sunday the 21st. Sounds like a plan. Who else is in?

 

For Sunday, I'm out. I have a photography assignments that day.

 

Gotcha. Sorry for the late response. I haven't been on here much lately. Yep, that's a tent cot. Poor man's RTT! I went that route because I don't want either the cost, the weight or the super awesome aerodynamics that come with putting one on the truck. Plus, another bonus is that it slides right into the back of my girlfriend's 4Runner, which has seen more use than my truck lately since she's been wanting to learn more about off road driving.
I like it a lot. setup is really simple, but it does involve building some sort of platform system in the bed, which serves a few different purposes for me. I don't have any pics of the setup right now, but will try to take a detailed set next time i'm out. Basically, it involves simply using tiedown straps to the inner legs, running them over the side of the bed and attaching them to the frame of the truck inside the wheel wells. It's a rock solid setup and takes no more time to do than setting up an actual RTT. Cool thing is you just enter from the bed of the truck instead of having to use a ladder. I'm actually thinking of getting a one person version for my solo trips. I bought the 2 person version so my dog could go with me, but now that I have a GF, that spot is hers when needed. Haha.

Here are, I think a couple of decent views. They are the closest shots I have right now.

 

Also, probably not going to make this one. Headed to Utah/Arizona this weekend. Will start hitting the local desert more after this trip.

 

Thanks for the insight im thinking of getting one for my solo adventures. Does it feel small inside.

 

No prob! I don't know that it feels small. It's definitely smaller than an actual RTT, but the two person version at least has enough room to sit up and dick around inside if needed. I personally don't need a lot of room, since generally, the only reason I'm inside is to sleep. But I will say that you will want to add an inflatable/insulated sleeping pad like a Klymit or something. It makes a huge difference.