Exploring the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Bears Ears and more! (Oct 2018)

[turbodb]

F.U.Rain Day 9 - "Seriously?"

The wind and rain continued steadily all night, though we were fortunate to not have any more lightning and thunder, given our exposed position. With earplugs I slept soundly - rocked now and then by the wind on the tent - until 7:30am, when I'd normally be out of the tent enjoying the sun peeking over the horizon.

Not today though - today the rain was coming down hard and I was thinking to myself, "We're going to have an interesting trip out of here..." But that would come later, and for the time being, I read my book and waited - hoping for a break in the weather.

Turns out, so were Mike @Digiratus and Monte @Blackdawg - so, when the rain let up at 8:30am, we all simultaneously climbed down out of the tents - onto the most saturated surface we'd experienced so far. I'd expected this the night before, and had entered the tent on the passenger side - leaving the rain fly on the driver side down to shield the rain just a bit more.

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As we looked us, it was clear that the break in the rain was going to last a little while, but that there was no hope that the weather was clearing. So, Mike got started on coffee, I ate a bowl of Cheerios, and Monte had the breakfast of champions - Hostess Donettes.

The evening before, I'd noticed a rock cairn built on the edge of the cliff, on a plateau perhaps 75 feet below our camp - so breakfast wrapped up, I set out to explore. The cairn turned out to be much larger in person - nearly 4-feet tall, and naturally the view of the lake from it's perch was amazing.

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But we could see the weather was coming, so Monte (who was also out looking around) and I headed back up to stow our tents and gear - wet again - before we'd be caught out in the rain ourselves. Packed up by 10:30am or so, pulled out shortly after - just as the rain started coming down again. Needless to say, it was muddy.

Very muddy.

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Splashing through puddles, we made our way toward what we knew was the biggest obstacle we'd face that day - the deep canyon and wash that Brett had warned us about - that we'd struggled through when it was dry the day before. As we did, we climbed up and away from the lake - the last 12-hours of rain adding a new dimension to our surroundings.

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As we got closer, it became more evident that the rain we'd gotten wasn't just a small cell - it was a true storm. Washes that we'd not even noticed the previous day were running strong, water spilling in - over the ledges - from all directions.

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The further we went, the wetter and muddier it got - the mud flicking itself up onto our trucks, mine especially with SCS Stealth6 wheels that stick out an inch further than my original wheels. I wasn't loving it - but looking back now, I had nothing to complain about at this point!

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It took us a couple hours to make it through the mud - past larger and larger washes. We stopped at several, trying - I'd say futilely - to capture the rushing water running over the normally-dry landscape. While this definitely wasn't what we'd anticipated, it was something not everyone gets to experience - so special for sure!

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Finally, we spotted the main wash through the canyon. Still a half mile or more away, it was clear to us at this point that we were likely to have a problem - the wash, which had been completely dry the day before, was a rushing river, all the washes we'd passed so far feeding into it.

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At that point we knew that the smart call was to wait. Wait until the rain stopped; wait until the water drained off the ledges; wait until the smaller washes drained into the larger ones; wait until the water level in the main wash receded.

But it wasn't just the wash we had to contend with - in fact, the wash wasn't even our main concern. You may recall that our trip up and down the canyon the day before was sketchy even when the ground was dry. Today, with the ground saturated, it could be a disaster - if we started slipping down, there'd be no way to stop - a trip over the edge always a risk.

So we made our way - over the last off-camber washout in the road, our trucks flexing awkwardly - to the final landing above the descent into the canyon and got out to further evaluate the situation.

- - - - -
Don't miss the rest of the story, and all the remaining photos - it'd all be included here if it fit. But until then...

Keep reading the rest here
F.U.Rain Day 9 - "Seriously?"​

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[turbodb]

F.U.Rain Day 10 - The Slot Canyon's of Grand Staircase-Escalante

The rain continued lightly through the night - I'm not sure if it ever really stopped, but it never poured and the weather around us stayed calm - resulting in a restful night's sleep all around. It also meant that there was no need to get up early for sunrise, and so it wasn't until 8:45am that we all - simultaneously for the most part - climbed down out of our tents to greet the drizzly-gray morning.

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Despite the weather - which we hoped would clear - this was going to be a special day. In fact, where Mike @Digiratus had been waiting for the visit to Alstrom Point, Monte @Blackdawg had been waiting for the main event of today - the slot canyons of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

To get there, we'd descend through Left Hand Collet Canyon - atop which we'd just spent the night - with a handful of stops along the way. Several (of course) would be for photos, but one would be special - some anceint dinosaur tracks were apparently waiting to be discovered.

Before we could leave, Monte and I decided that with the rain light, now was as good a time as any to add our spare fuel to our tanks - Mike having performed the task already the day before, the Redhead a thirsty girl. Quick to give me a hard time for the difference in speed between his pouring spout and my siphon, Monte was kind enough to let me use his spout to make the transfer.

Which was a great idea until we discovered that the hole in the filler neck for a 1998-2000 Tacoma is about ½ an inch smaller than the hole on a 2001-2004. So yeah, his spout didn't fit, and I got to hear about the speed of my siphon once again. ?

And so it was that by 10:30am or so, we headed out of camp - plenty of fuel in our tanks for the day's adventures, and high hopes for what we'd see - dramatic views starting immediately as we entered the canyon.

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Despite the rain over the previous 48 hours, the road near the top of Left Hand Collet Canyon was in reasonably good shape. Largely rock and sand, it still flung around a bit, but it didn't have the sticky-clay consistency of the day before. Nice!

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Winding our way down, we lost elevation quickly. I don't recall how much or how quickly, but it was a significant amount over the course of less than 1-hour. As we went, the canyon walls dominated the views around us. They were of course shorter than the walls we'd seen in the Grand Canyon or at Lake Powell earlier in the trip, but they were just as dramatic - pocked with holes, textured by years of relentless wind and water.

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We stopped plenty of times on our way down the canyon, views beckoning us out of the trucks, misty rain urging us back in. This canyon would be an awesome place to explore with nicer weather - tons of rock outcroppings to climb, small side canyons to investigate. As it was, we limited our exploration to the road an it's immediate surroundings - lots of evidence of the recent rain.

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And then, as we rounded a corner, there was a boulder the size of several trucks, perched atop a pillar a fraction of it's size. It looked as though it had been shimmed in place - carefully balanced - and ready to fall with the simplest of shakes.

Monte parked under it. Of course.

Mike didn't. Naturally. Or did he? It sure looks like he stopped to me - I guess we'll never know ?.

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Of course, once Mike had pulled by, there was no question where I was going to park for a quick shot or two. I mean, that rock has been there for thousands of years, right? ?

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"Balanced rock" behind us, our next stop was an "Undercut-of-the-wash," fun in that Mike was now asking us why we always stopped under things that could crush our trucks. And yeah, I guess he's right - we do generally do that. Hope it doesn't come back to bite us someday, 'cause it's pretty fun.

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At any rate, we were now nearing the bottom of Left Hand Collet Canyon - the ground starting to level out, the canyon walls transforming into rolling hills. And the sun was trying to break through. I can tell you - it had three cheerleaders in trucks, that's for sure. Not that the mud hadn't already worked it's magic, hahahahaha.

- - - - -​

Don't miss the rest of the story, and all the remaining photos - it'd all be included here if it fit. But until then...

Keep reading the rest here
F.U.Rain Day 10 - The Slot Canyon's of Grand Staircase-Escalante​

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[JohninDetroit]

great trip.

 

[turbodb]

F.U.Rain Day 11 - We Follow the Burr Trail to the Henry Mountains

In perhaps the most uneventful morning of the entire trip - a good thing! - it was 8:45am before I woke up and climbed out of the tent, our perch at the mouth of Escalante Canyon beautiful under clear blue skies.

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I wandered around a bit exploring the edge of the canyon, torn between wishing that I'd gotten up early to go explore the canyon itself, and the 8-hours of uninterrupted sleep I'd gotten. I suppose that, given the canyons we'd seen so far, the sleep was likely the better option, even if I hadn't made it purposefully ::. And so, I headed back to camp to see what I could do about accelerating the drying of my tent (already happening in the sun, but it never hurts to speed that up).

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As I was toweling off the stargazer windows on the top of the tent, Mike @Digiratus and Monte @Blackdawg ventured out into the day - likely awoken by the ruckus I was making, but the reward far outpacing the pain of getting up. Like me, Monte wanted to see the canyon up close, and so headed out immediately as Mike and I got going on our morning breakfast rituals, the tents continuing to dry off.

But the canyon was pretty far away - probably a good ¾-mile or so - and it was with a tinge of the same regret I'd felt that Monte returned to camp to get everything packed away and ready for another day on the road. A beautiful day.

We were out of camp by 10:30am, our tents mostly dry (dang the shady side!), and definitely drier than they'd been the previous couple days - a win in our book. Today, we were headed northeast - through the town of Boulder, UT and then to the Burr Trail, which would take us through the colorful, varied landscape of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Capitol Reef National Park, and finally to the base of the Henry Mountains.

Our first stop was just before we reached Boulder at Head of the Rocks Overlook. This viewpoint on highway 12 provides amazing views out over the Escalante Canyons, one that allowed us to see our entire route for the day - the Henry Mountains far to the north.

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Excited, we headed back to the trucks - eager to get off the highway and back onto dirt. More eager perhaps, than we should have been, it turned out! We made our way up the canyon to Boulder, where we stopped briefly to top off our gas tanks and pick up a few things at the attached surprisingly-well-stocked store. I forget exactly what all we picked up, but the store's selection of Newman's Own products was extensive - and Monte couldn't resist a few vanilla Oreo-style cookies.

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The Burr Trail splits off of highway 12 in Boulder - so after our quick pit stop, we were officially on our way - a sign alerting us to a 72-mile dirt road ahead. Score!

But then, as we continued on, pavement. Lots of pavement. I joked over the CB, "Perhaps the sign meant 72 miles to the dirt." There was no laughing. Of course, pavement is just a road covering and though not our favorite covering, it didn't do anything to detract from what we'd consider the main attraction - the views down into Long Canyon beckoning us in.

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Long Canyon is a special place to say the least. It's dramatic walls rise high over the roadway, the reddish-orange sandstone brilliantly reflecting the sun into the canyon, casting a warm glow on everything around. Contrasted with the deep blue of the sky, it felt like we'd stepped into a different world, the rules of color different than our own.

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From towering walls, the road continued to wind up the canyon - the walls turning to needles and hoodoos, reminiscent of those we've experienced elsewhere in Utah, most recently for me in The Maze, and reminding me that a trip to the Needles District in Canyonlands National Park needs to happen in the near future.

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Our progress through this wonderland slow (as usual), it was already early afternoon, we were still on pavement, and we hadn't eaten lunch - so when we came to a pass at the top of the canyon, it was the perfect place to stop and enjoy a sandwich, overlooking Capitol Reef National Park stretching across the landscape, our destination - the Henry Mountains - still far off on the horizon.

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With lunch complete and our bellies satisfied, it was time to get some serious miles behind us. Headed down the pass, we finally got what we'd been craving since heading out on the Burr Trail - dirt, and a sign telling us we had 12 miles to Capitol Reef and some 50 miles to our destination. Not too bad, if we could keep the wheels spinning. Already aired down, we were ready to go!

- - - - -
Don't miss the rest of the story, and all the remaining photos - it'd all be included here if it fit. But until I can include more than 20 photos in a post...

Keep reading the rest here
F.U.Rain Day 11 - We Follow the Burr Trail to the Henry Mountains​

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[turbodb]

F.U.Rain Day 12 - Walloped by Wind, We Head to Bears Ears

I'd gone to sleep with all the tent windows and doors tightly zipped closed and earplugs in - to protect me from the wind raging through our camp. I've been in windy conditions before - in fact, our night at Point Sublime just a week before was a pretty windy affair - so I wasn't all that concerned - in fact, the wind rocked me to sleep a bit as the tent and truck flexed under its force.

But then, at 3:30am I was awoken by a whole new sensation - my tent was trying to kill me. I quickly realized that the wind was the real culprit - so strong that it had lifted the fold-out portion of the tent off the ground, even as I lay on it, attempting to close it up with me inside. And then it did it again.

This couldn't be good for my tent I thought as I put on my clothes - convinced that the right thing to do was to close everything up and spend the rest of the night in the cab. As I unzipped the door, a blast of wet wind tore into the tent - that's right, it was so windy I couldn't hear that it was also raining!

That put a quick end to my previous idea, and instead I hurried back under the covers and spent the next several minutes evaluating the structure of the tent as it flexed wildly in the wind. Though it sounded terrible, it looked OK - a testament to CVT's (@Cascadia tents) quality so I eventually put my earplugs back in and tried to go back to sleep - the truck now bucking haphazardly rather than rocking gently on its suspension.

Eventually the rain must have stopped, but the wind never did. I'd set my alarm for sunrise in the hope that the wind would clear out any cloud cover, and sure enough it mostly had! It was a beautiful morning, the last remaining clouds already past us and moving further south.

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After a few photos and a bit of procrastination under the warm comforter, I finally pulled myself out into the wind just as the sun was peaking over the horizon and lighting the Henry Mountains behind camp. We might have had a rough night, but we definitely knew how to pick dramatic sites!

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For the next little bit, the sun climbed higher in the sky and I enjoyed every minute of it. Eventually, it was up and over the remaining clouds, and camp was fully illuminated.

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And that's when I noticed that I hadn't had the worst night of the group. Mike @Digiratus had. Or at least, his tent had - one of the poles blown out of it's anchor and haphazardly wedged under his rain fly.

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By this time, Mike and Monte @Blackdawg were getting up as well and as we fixed the pole in Mike's tent, we all had a good - dare I say nervous - laugh about the weather we'd experienced the night before. Needless to say, we were all keen to find a place a little more sheltered for the remainder of the trip.

But everything was OK, the tents were dry, and the sun was out - so we enthusiastically completed our morning routines and got on the road just after 10:15am as we watched a second gen Tacoma drive by, headed west - like us.

We didn't get far before encountering the remains of the Starr Ranch. Selected as the headquarters for his mining operations in the 1880's, Al Starr hired a builder to construct the home and cellar. Neither was completed however - drought and loco weed killing most of Starr's horses before any ore was produced.

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Surprised the second gen Tacoma hadn't stopped as well, we figured we weren't going to see it all day as we pulled back onto the trail towards Utah 95 and Hite, the snow-capped Henry Mountains still dramatic as we skirted around their base.

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Enjoying ourselves in the beautiful morning, it wasn't long before we hit one of the prettiest stretches of Utah 95 that I've driven. West of Canyonlands National Park, and south of the Poison Springs Road trail that I'd run with Ben @m3bassman and Zane @Speedytech7 earlier in the year, it cascaded down through the canyon towards Hite, UT. Still aired down, we struck a leisurely pace.

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We eventually found ourselves at the Hite Overlook where we opted for the short stroll from the parking lot to the overlook proper. As we did, the Colorado River peaked out far below - the water level some 70 feet lower than it's been in the past, rendering the Hite boat launch unusable.

The views though, were as usable as ever.

- - - - -
Don't miss the rest of the story, and all the remaining photos - it'd all be included here if it fit. But until I can put more than 20 photos...

Keep reading the rest here
F.U.Rain Day 12 - Walloped by Wind, We Head to Bears Ears​

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[turbodb]

F.U.Rain Day 13 - Our Dangerous Move Into Capitol Reef National Park

It rained on and off through the night. We were more sheltered though, so it wasn't too bad - and I'd definitely prefer rain at night to rain during the day. Well, assuming it stops early enough to dry out the tent!

I woke up around 7:30am, the rain still coming down and decided there was no reason to rush out of bed - so I didn't. Instead, I read the last of my book for an hour, waiting for the rain to let up. Coincidentally, just as I finished the last page, the rain stopped and I hurried to get my clothes on and get myself out and about to investigate the situation around camp.

No surprises here - it was cloudy and wet, the wash in the canyon behind us now running, where it hadn't been the night before.

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Of course, what I really should have been doing was putting away the tent, even though it was wet - because it's always better to put away a tent when it's not actively raining on you! I wasn't the only one who made this miscalculation however, and as the rain started to fall again, Monte @Blackdawg, Mike @Digiratus, and I all gathered under Mike's awning to wait it out.

His awning really had been a lifesaver this trip.

After an hour, we finally decided that we'd stood around long enough - it was time to get going, despite the rain. So we each headed out, donned our gloves, and attacked our tents, trying to get them folded up as quickly as possible while keeping everything inside as dry as possible. Obviously. Dare I say we packed up in record time.

Having opted to stay aired down on the way back to the highway from our camp site, once we hit the highway we found the first big pull-out where we could air up our tires - we had some pavement to hit today, our route taking us to Halls Crossing, then across Lake Powell on a Ferry that only ran every two hours, off the ferry and through the town of Bullfrog, and finally north into Capitol Reef National Park where we hoped we wouldn't get stopped by snow.

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But I'm getting ahead of myself, and plans never unfold as expected. So we were aired up and headed west towards Halls Crossing and the ferry - the next departure scheduled for 12:00pm. We had 75 minutes to make it 65 miles, and we had to fill up with fuel before boarding the ferry. It was going to be close.

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As we drove, the rain slowed and stopped, eventually the sun starting to poke through.

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With no traffic along the way, we made good time - enjoying the views of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area yet again - eventually arriving at Halls Crossing around 11:45am. Plenty of time to refuel and head down to the dock, where we got in line for ferry, this it's last week in operation before shutting down for the winter.

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Within minutes they had us all loaded up on the ferry, our mud-covered trucks catching the eye of several other passengers and prompting several conversations during our 45-minute crossing of Lake Powell.

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As we did, the sun continued it's attempts to break through the clouds - spots of light illuminating distant shores. It was just a matter of time really - the rain clearly done for the day in this neck of the woods - to our delight.

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It wasn't long before we approached the Bullfrog marina, home to hundreds of houseboats - several of which we'd seen on the lake as we'd camped along it's northern shore, all of them clearly competing in a water slide competition. "They keep having to rebuild this marina." a local told us, "The water level is now down 64 feet from it's normal levels and 38 feet from one year ago." Holy smokes, guess that explains why we were driving off onto a temporary ramp - the concrete boat ramp was no longer long enough to reach the water.

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Off the boat, we made our way into town and to a picnic area for lunch and a flushable bathroom break. And, an hour later, we were on our way north towards Capitol Reef National Park. Our plan was to take what we thought was a a lower-elevation route through the park, making our way north towards I-70.

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We didn't make it far - in fact, we were still aired up and on pavement - before we came to a major wash. Now, I think that most days, this was is totally dry, but today it was by far the fullest, deepest, fastest-moving wash we'd encountered. As a BLM ranger pulled up behind us, Monte tentatively ventured in.

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Moving slowly, it was quickly apparent to him that he'd perhaps made a poor decision. From shore, it was apparent that there was no "perhaps" in that equation - the upstream water halfway up his door, and nearly spilling into the bed as he pulled out of the wash.

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And, while he had to stop in the wash to shift into 4Lo, he made it - the only casualty his passenger foot well, now saturated with water that'd made it's way around the door seal.

It was Mike's turn next. As he dropped into the wash, two cameras clicked away, catching him from each direction - the danger we were in more apparent now that we'd seen Monte make the crossing.

...but that would be photo #21...​

Don't miss the rest of the story, and all the remaining photos - it'd all be included here if I could include more than 20 photos...But until then...

Keep reading the rest here
F.U.Rain Day 13 - Our Dangerous Move Into Capitol Reef National Park​

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[turbodb]

F.U.Rain Day 14, 15 - Impassable Roads and Unforgettable Memories

I woke up on the last real day of our two-week adventure having slept well through the night. The rain stopped a couple hours after we went to bed, and as I looked out the tent window at an orange sunrise, I could see that most of the clouds had been blown away as well - it was going to be a beautiful day.

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With no rain to worry about, my first order of business was to sleep for another couple hours - the tent warming up and mostly drying off in that time. Perfect.

I couldn't hole up all morning though, and with the sun up over the Henry Mountains to the east, I pulled myself out of the warmth and ventured out around camp. It was our first real opportunity to see the landscape around us - most of it obscured by clouds the evening before - and it was great, Capitol Reef's Golden Throne a bright backdrop to our trucks.

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Unlike previous mornings, as I walked back to camp neither Mike @Digiratus nor Monte @Blackdawg were stirring. That was just fine with me - I pulled out my Kindle and started in on a new book, my back warmed by the morning sun. And so we were until 10:00am when the heat in the tents must have gotten overwhelming, driving Mike and Monte out of bed.

It was 11:15am when we finally rolled out of camp - one of our latest mornings onto the trail, but also one of our most pleasant. Our goal for today was to complete the northward trek through Capitol Reef National Park to UT 70, where we'd spend one last night before parting ways.

Almost immediately we were reminded how lucky we were for such a nice last day in the wild. The mud was thick; the pit holding it long.

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It got everywhere. Again.

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Hoping the entire trail wouldn't be this way, we continued onward - pretty quickly coming to drier ground as we moved north. the sites in Capitol Reef continued to be some of the most striking of the trip in my opinion, the layers of the rock so bright and colorful. Some formations - like a long, narrow, white sand dune - alien in their own surroundings.

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We continued on - through muddy patches, through washes (muddy but no longer running), and over small ledges - for several miles until - as we rounded a corner, we saw two trucks approaching from the opposite direction. As they neared, they were the same two Nissan Xterra's we'd seen the day before. They were covered in mud and gesturing for us to stop.

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"The road is impassable up there, you might as well turn around here." they said. "We were flinging mud everywhere and made it up the first climb, but there was no way we were going to make it up the second - it's a lot steeper."

Well, we weren't sure these were the right guys to believe that the road was impassable, but we were sure that we didn't want another day of 6-inch deep mud - especially our last day on the trail. So after a quick pow-wow on our next move, we decided that we'd head back to the highway and then north to Torrey and Loa, and then over the mountains to Solomons Temple and the Last Chance Desert.

Even travelling west on UT 24 through the national park, there was nothing to complain about - the views were still amazing, the sun was still shining. It was a great day, even if we were on pavement for the next 40 miles.

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On the main route, we played tourist a bit as well. On the side of the road, the old Behunin Cabin. Built in 1882, Elijah Behunin and his family (a wife and 13 kids!) were some of the first to settle in the Capitol Reef area. Within a year, the family moved away to higher ground near Fruita - repeated floods of the Fremont River ruining their irrigation system and washing out their crops in this unforgiving landscape.

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From there we continued on to an overlook dubbed "Panorama Point." That's perhaps the most promising way to describe an overlook for the three of us, and so we buttoned up the trucks in the packed parking lot and set out on foot - a 500 foot stroll to the point. The views there were reasonable - nice even - but nothing like some of the panoramic vistas we'd seen so far - so spoiled we'd been on our own.

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Continuing on, we soon found ourselves in Torrey, UT - our bellies hungry and Slacker's Burger Joint beckoning. We drove past at first, but a quick chat on the CB confirmed we were all thinking the same thing - a burger and shake sounded delicious. So we spun around and lined up the trucks outside.

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Burgers were ordered and thoroughly enjoyed. "Seems like we're easing ourselves back into normal life." I mentioned as we sat back after eating - no apparent rush to get back on the trail. We couldn't stay forever of course, and eventually we were back on the road and headed up towards Hens Hole Peak - snow clearly in our future, hopefully without too much associated mud.

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But almost as soon as we started, we were stopped in our tracks again - the road closed ahead of us. Turns out there was a fire fighter training exercise going on sometime between July and October, and the good folks of the BLM didn't want to expose the public to any unnecessary danger.

- - - - -

Don't miss the rest of the story, and all the remaining photos - it'd all be included here if I could include more than 20 pics... But until then...

Keep reading the rest here
F.U.Rain Day 14, 15 - Impassable Roads and Unforgettable Memories​

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[turbodb]

Rig Review: F.U.Rain Trip - What worked and what didn't?

Rig Review is a new type of post that I'm going to try to write up after most trips, where I'll note any things that worked really well, or could have been better. The idea has always been to optimize the Tacoma build and setup over time, so there's nothing really new from that perspective.

I won't talk about everything I've got going on - just new equipment to the trip and/or any outliers that deserve a mention. At the very least, I figure that long-term, real-world reviews of the products I use are good for everyone!

October 16, 2018.

F.U.Rain 2018 was two more weeks in the wild, hot on the heels of The Re-Tour. The truck once again performed well, getting me everywhere I needed to be with relative ease. The difference with this trip was the wet and muddy weather. Certain pieces of kit worked well in those situations, while others ...didn't.

Coleman Camp Stove/Grill (new this trip)

I like this new Coleman Camp Stove/Grill. Seems to have the benefits of a smaller camp stove from a packing and propane usage perspective, while retaining the ability to grill (for a family of 3-4). Definitely better than the previous setup. Two non-ideal things that I'll need to fix over time: the dials for the burners seem overly sensitive - they seem to have "off" and "high." More importantly though, the latches to keep the wind screens attached to the top are very easily dislodged, causing the whole thing to "fall apart." It's loud, and inconvenient, though doesn't affect the cook performance.

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Military Medical Storage Containers (new this trip)

These are some new containers that I got on a recommendation from Monte @Blackdawg, because they fit well in the bed of a first gen Tacoma. I've got to say, so far I'm impressed. They are relatively light (for their size), waterproof, and durable. Oh, and they fit really well in the bed (as expected).

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Stealth Custom Series (SCS) Stealth6 Wheels (long term)
TL;DR - I love the look of these Stealth6's, but I'm on the hunt for new wheels; or at least some solution to the amount of mud that gets thrown into/onto the truck when I run around in wet weather.

I've really loved the look of the SCS Stealth6 wheels since I installed them. They are 16"x8" with 3.5" backspacing, which means they sit about an inch further outboard than stock wheels. That means that in muddy terrain, the mud gets everywhere, since they protrude an inch or so past the fender flares.

Apparently I haven't been on a really muddy trip since I installed them, until the F.U.Rain 2018 trip. Actually, it's probably more correct to say that the type of mud was different on this trip - it was clay-based, and so clumps up in the tires, gets flung up into the air, and then sticks to whatever it lands on - in my case, the sides of the truck, the roof, the windshield, and the bed (the parts that aren't fully covered by the tent).

When I returned from the last trip, I had over 13 gallons of dry mud I removed from the truck before I even started washing it, and another 10+ gallons that were removed by the pressure washer. It was a colossal mess - especially in the bed, where it gets on everything - and an issue I want to solve moving forward.

I don't as yet know how. New wheels? Bigger fender flares? A combination?

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CVT Roof Top Tent - Rubber Cover Zipper (long term)
The zipper for the rubber cover got dirty (muddy, not dusty) and that made it really hard to get closed. I'm going to clean it well, and then keep an eye on it over time, since I've never had an issue with it before.

Seemingly solved from previous Rig Reviews

1. The Coleman Classic Camp Stove and Lodge Cast Iron Grill/Griddle - details above.

Unchanged from previous Rig Reviews
There are some things that have been featured in Rig Reviews that are - as yet - unchanged from when I originally reviewed them. Rather than highlight those things again, I'll simply link to them here.

1. The Swing-Out Table - as expected, it was unusable on this trip.
2. The Electrical System - continues to have the limitations of a single battery system.
3. The Ham Radio Antenna - continues to have the shortcoming mentioned.
4. The CVT Roof Top Tent - stargazer windows in the rain fly continued to be a significant issue.

 

[turbodb]

So, that's the trip! Hope you enjoyed the story and are looking forward to the next one! If you don't want to miss anything, feel free to sign up for emails when I post something new.

​

 

[GB_Willys_2014]

Good stuff!

Thank you for sharing!

 

[Pskhaat]

So, that's the trip! Hope you enjoyed the story and are looking forward to the next one! If you don't want to miss anything, feel free to sign up for emails when I post something new

Can't wait to re-read and comment and ask! Thanks!!

 

[Pskhaat]

Stealth Custom Series (SCS) Stealth6 Wheels (long term)
TL;DR - I love the look of these Stealth6's, but I'm on the hunt for new wheels; or at least some solution to the amount of mud that gets thrown into/onto the truck when I run around in wet weather.

I've really loved the look of the SCS Stealth6 wheels since I installed them. They are 16"x8" with 3.5" backspacing, which means they sit about an inch further outboard than stock wheels. That means that in muddy terrain, the mud gets everywhere, since they protrude an inch or so past the fender flares.

I totally don't wanna be "that guy," but may I ask what drove you to both those wider wheels and that offset/backspacing? I've done my share of epic trips into/out of the mud and for that reason (and also in order to keep the KPI/scrub steering geometry as close to stock as possible) I've kept my tires inside the wells. Yeas ago I had a topless LC40 in those scenarios and swore I'd never repeat even when I could eventually afford doors and a top.

1. Maybe some skinnier tires on some stock steel wheels with about +7mm spacing for KPI correction?
2. Big front mud flaps (even if rally-poseuresque) are a godsend. I don't admit this much, but I've bolted some custom-cut "weathertech" floor mats to front wheel wells before: they work great to do their job and still collapse fine without damage when rock crawling.

 

[turbodb]

I totally don't wanna be "that guy," but may I ask what drove you to both those wider wheels and that offset/backspacing? I've done my share of epic trips into/out of the mud and for that reason (and also in order to keep the KPI/scrub steering geometry as close to stock as possible) I've kept my tires inside the wells. Yeas ago I had a topless LC40 in those scenarios and swore I'd never repeat even when I could eventually afford doors and a top.

1. Maybe some skinnier tires on some stock steel wheels with about +7mm spacing for KPI correction?
2. Big front mud flaps (even if rally-poseuresque) are a godsend. I don't admit this much, but I've bolted some custom-cut "weathertech" floor mats to front wheel wells before: they work great to do their job and still collapse fine without damage when rock crawling.

Don't worry about being "that guy" at all, hahaha - these kinds of questions are great IMO!

There were a few reasons I went to the SCS wheels. The main factor for me at the time was the desire to upgrade my Tacoma's brakes. To install Tundra brakes on a Tacoma, 16" or larger wheels are a requirement (the Taco originally came with 15" wheels).

The second reason was one that I think many folks fall into - getting some "cool" wheels. SCS are still (and definitely were at the time when I bought them) the cool wheel to get - in fact, it was hard to find any in stock. And the wider stance did look cool (to me at least, hahahahaha).

Now - regarding the wheels themselves. They aren't that much wider than stock wheels (8" vs. 7.5") but the killer is that the backspacing is 3.5" instead of 4.5" - sending them 1" further outboard on each side. Really, 1.25" due to the wider wheel. At the time, I didn't think that'd be too bad - the flares still seemed to cover them when I looked straight down...but of course, mud flung at a slight angle - or that is clinging to the tire - is the real problem.

For tires - I'm actually running pizza cutters already @ 255/85R16 - they are slightly narrower than event the stock tires for the vehicle.

It turns out for me, that the real solution was to go back to what I know - choose functionality over popularity. As such, after this trip, I pretty quickly found myself a set of used 16" 4Runner 5-spoke wheels and replaced the SCS. With 4.5" backspacing, the tires are now back where they belong, and I've basically solved my mud problem.

Mitigating the Mud - 4Runner Wheels for the Tacoma

 

[Pskhaat]

already @ 255/85R16 - they are slightly narrower than event the stock tires for the vehicle...pretty quickly found myself a set of used 16" 4Runner 5-spoke

Ah! Yeah quite a fantastic size tire for your truck. (and most vehicles ☺) of course! For what it Is worth, LOVE the OEM look ?

255/85/R16 tires? Thoughts?

Firestone Destination AT for me. Three sets have worn like iron. Mud is not my friend with the AT.

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[DzlToy]

I have followed these types of adventures on various boards for years and I must say this is the most well written and well documented trip report that I have ever read. It towers over the crap that I see posted on many boards, some of which is produced by staff writers who write as if they left school when they were 10 years old. I am astounded they were ever hired as professional writers for magazines, websites and news outlets.

Maybe some people ignore poor grammar, spelling or layout; maybe they don't care to read every word of an RR, but I do. This thread should be posted at the top of the front page as an example of how to write about and photograph a trip properly.

Poor grammar indicates laziness and a lack of respect for yourself and the reader. It’s the literary form of bad manners and exposes the writer as someone who isn’t to be taken seriously.

Very well done, sir.

Cheers