wreckdiver1321
Overlander
Yep, that's my major hangup. I don't know how it would affect the winter performance, and I do t know that I want to drop the money and work on it without being sure.
"Lola" - WreckDiver1321's 2005 Frontier CC/SB Nismo Build and Adventure Thread
- Thread starter wreckdiver1321
- Start date
Yep, that's my major hangup. I don't know how it would affect the winter performance, and I do t know that I want to drop the money and work on it without being sure.
kootenay
Intergalacticsuperintendent
I was hung up on this as well. All the research I found on forums said it would be bad in snow. But none of these were first hand accounts. In snow I found it handles better. At least in the way I like to drive. Off the throttle in corners and use the throttle to catch the tail. In slippery corners It is a little more prone to understeer, but it is not bad or dangerous. You just need to be more mindful of your approach speed to corners. The inside tire can no longer dump excess speed like it used to. It is very similar to an aggressive LSD in a FWD car. I also need to mention that I am not the type to use 4wd because there is snow on the ground. I only use it in snow to get unstuck or continue forward travel when 2wd has stopped providing enough traction. I like to feel and know how slippery the surface is that I am on. That way I can accurately gauge the available traction for braking and cornering.
The Lokka is surprisingly friendly to drive, and an excellent upgrade. Who doesn't want better traction when in 4wd all the time, and with the way it allows cornering you don't have to turn it off or on.
wreckdiver1321
Overlander
That's excellent information. Thanks!
It's too bad we don't live nearer. I'd love to test drive one first.
gophere
Adventurer
Wow, it took me forever to get through all your pictures! Great write ups!
The Boulder River road/ Independence is also one of my favorite places in the state. Love that easy line to Livingston.
Man I need to hurry up and get over to that side of the state again.
Plans for this summer include Bighorn Canyon and Goose Lake.
Super excited for Goose lake as I've never been there before.
How many miles are on your truck now? I probably missed it somewhere.
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The Boulder River road/ Independence is also one of my favorite places in the state. Love that easy line to Livingston.
Man I need to hurry up and get over to that side of the state again.
Plans for this summer include Bighorn Canyon and Goose Lake.
Super excited for Goose lake as I've never been there before.
How many miles are on your truck now? I probably missed it somewhere.
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kootenay
Intergalacticsuperintendent
We are not that far away. I do head down to Montana erratically, if I am headed down anytime in the future I will let you know. Although winter would be the better time to try it. Also the hiking and skiing etc up this way is not to horrible,
wreckdiver1321
Overlander
That's true. That'd be awesome if we could meet up and I could try it.
Haha I know. I have a love affair with Canada, some of the most fantastic places I've ever been. I'm making my way up this summer again, but back to the Alberta Rockies.
wreckdiver1321
Overlander
Haha yeah I'm a busy guy. Thanks!
Yeah those routes are awesome. I really love the Boulder. One of my favorite spots in the state. I scouted it a few weeks ago and the snow pack is letting up fairly fast.
Hey let me know when you're planning on doing Goose. We can try to meet up and make it happen. There's a guy here with a Tacoma that wants to do it, and I'd like to try running it again at some point. Keep me in the loop.
As of now, Lola has 157,700 miles on her. Still working like a champ. Needs a new catalytic converter (throwing a code) and I'm planning on replacing the LCAs soon due to dying ball joints and mushy bushings, but otherwise she's flawless.
kootenay
Intergalacticsuperintendent
Are you thinking of going with LCA's that are 2.5" wider? As in TITAN??
wreckdiver1321
Overlander
mouse007
Explorer
After that trip, I had a bit of momentum going. So, a few days later, we decided to go do some exploring for a few hours just outside of the town of Red Lodge. Red Lodge is one of my favorite haunts, and it boasts easy access to some truly amazing places.
I tried gaining access to the Glacier Lake hiking trail, which is on the end of the very scenic Rock Creek Road, but the road looked like this.
With the rising temperatures, the snow was getting crusty and sticky, so we decided to abandon our pursuit. Making our way back towards Red Lodge, we decided to make a shorter hike towards Greenough Lake and beyond to see what there was to see. The trail to Greenough itself is very short, only a quarter mile. But beyond, the scenery gets better and it's a nice hike through the woods.
We decided to stop at this viewpoint, which overlooks the rising Beartooth Plateau. we hung around for a little while, but soon had to turn back so we could make it home in time for people to scurry off to work.
About a week later, I was itching to get out again. I had read about a scenic dirt route between Big Timber and Livingston, MT that doubled the time it took to get there. Sounded right up my alley! While I was in the area, I had to check out the Main Boulder Road, the start of my favorite off road trail going up to Independence Mine. The valley is a very special place to me and to my soon-to-be wife, who tagged along for this run.
The Absaroka-Beartooth mountains rise up around you as you move into the valley. It feels like they're beckoning you back to a life of adventure and simplicity. I love it. After driving a ways into the valley, we happened upon a landmark that always had us curious. There's this bridge that goes over the Boulder River with no markings, no trail map, nothing. So we figured we needed to go see where it went.
Once across the bridge, we were immediately swallowed by the forest. It was a wonderful feeling. Unfortunately, we never found a trail marker or a sign of any kind, and had to head back to the truck.
Now for the fun part - the West Boulder/Swingley Road backcountry route to Livingston. I kind of knew about the existence of this road for a while, but never went looking for it until now. Now we had an afternoon to kill, an unexplored route, and plenty of gas. A perfect recipe for a great day trip! I turned off onto the West Boulder road and aired down.
The route itself is nothing difficult. Most cars will have no problem here. It's just a fun way to get into the backcountry and see some real Montana backroads. Airing down helps with the washboards but it isn't really necessary. The road really is a gem though.
It winds it's way through some great scenery. This particular offshoot takes you to a campground and the start of a hiking trail. It would be an awesome place to go fishing, as the river runs right by the campsites. The day was a bit damp though, so I saw a lot of this.
And, because we were in ranch country, a lot of these.
After enjoying the offshoot, we joined back up with the main road as the rain kept falling. We just sat back and took in the scenery.
Soon though, the dirt came to an end and we rejoined polite society before rolling into Livingston. This is a town that has taken me completely by surprise. I used to think Livingston was a boring, uninteresting, windy place that you passed through when you were on your way to Bozeman. Turns out, it's actually awesome. It sports a charming downtown district, lots of cool old homes, two (yes, two) breweries, and tons of great places to eat. Add in the cool little shops, a short drive to the Chico Hot Springs resort, and a slightly longer but even prettier drive to Yellowstone, and you've got the makings of one great place. To add to our list of Livingston visits, we pulled in to one of the coolest little places I've ever eaten.
This awesome little spot is Mark's In-And-Out Burger, a drive-up joint that has been in constant operation since the 1950's. Serving tasty 50's Americana wrapped in cheap paper, it's a must stop place in Livingston. We loved how tasty it was. And for two full meals, it was only $10.50! You can't even get that at most fast food joints anymore. This little burger shack will receive quite a few more visits to me before too long! While we were sitting out eating our burgers, a nicely-equipped UZJ100 rolled up for some dinner. Noticing my truck, he came over and we started to chat. We talked about places to go in the state, some of my mods, and various other things. Really nice guy.
To round out this visit, we popped in at one of the local breweries for a tasty pint. We sat and chatted for a little while to catch up to each other while enjoying one of Livingston's fine flavors. As we were sitting there, we hatched a plan to escape to Chico for a late afternoon dip in the naturally-fed pool. Trouble was, we didn't have any swimsuits. Lucky for us, Livingston has a perfect little cheap gift shop where we could pick up some low-brow swimwear and be on our way.
Chico is one of Montana's little secrets. This naturally-fed hot spring resort is in the heart of the aptly-named Paradise Valley, which forms the northern entrance (via Gardiner) to Yellowstone National Park. Chico has been used for countelss centuries as a place for people to relax in some naturally warm water. Eventually, it was bought from the local indigenous people and used as a resort. Then, during the early 1900's, Chico was purchased for the enormous sum of one cent. The buyer turned it into what it is today, and the rest is history. It's now one of our favorite haunts, and a great place to unwind while grabbing a beer from the poolside window.
We spent a few precious hours at Chico, enjoying the cool mountain air, fresh beer, and warm water before hitting the road and heading home. But not before talking about our next day trip.
WOW...!!! Man you take some awesome pictures. Every time I read about your trips I get lost in them, amazing...!!!
Trikebubble
Adventurer
Love the pictures. It sure brings back memories of Beartooth Pass. I'd love to get back to Red Lodge sometime. Have friends there, a great little town.
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wreckdiver1321
Overlander
Thanks! And thanks for reading. I really enjoy the trips and writing about them, so I'm glad people are enjoying them.
Thanks man. I really love that part of Montana.
Nice, glad to see your back at the trips!! I just wrapped up a short 3 wk trip to the sw BC to do some mountain biking with a buddy. Took some
Scenic roads back to Vancouver Island. I love the Rockies.
Sadly, I have to go to Vancouver for work for a few weeks, ugh, I so dispose that place, way to many people, horribly laid out and it takes forever to get out of the city. Can't complain to much though it is paying the bills for now.
Regards
Steve
Scenic roads back to Vancouver Island. I love the Rockies.
Sadly, I have to go to Vancouver for work for a few weeks, ugh, I so dispose that place, way to many people, horribly laid out and it takes forever to get out of the city. Can't complain to much though it is paying the bills for now.
Regards
Steve
gophere
Adventurer
Will do! I have a couple buddies wanting to go also. As things look now it will be towards the end of August.
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wreckdiver1321
Overlander
I might be able to make that happen.