wreckdiver1321
Overlander
Yeah it's a great little town. Super nice people.
I don't think we ever caught his name. He was really good though. His commentary was great and the flight was textbook.
"Lola" - WreckDiver1321's 2005 Frontier CC/SB Nismo Build and Adventure Thread
- Thread starter wreckdiver1321
- Start date
Yeah it's a great little town. Super nice people.
I don't think we ever caught his name. He was really good though. His commentary was great and the flight was textbook.
This thread does two things to me:
1.) Gives me a serious case of truck envy. I've been assembling parts for my truck but I just want to get this build started ASAP.
2.) Makes me regret my decision to not head to Montana for school. Like many choices, it came down to money, and a local school (or several, as it would turn out) won out. Glad I get to live vicariously through this thread. I was actually planning to head to Missoula this spring, but plans may have me heading to Montauk, NY instead.
Thanks for the great reports!
1.) Gives me a serious case of truck envy. I've been assembling parts for my truck but I just want to get this build started ASAP.
2.) Makes me regret my decision to not head to Montana for school. Like many choices, it came down to money, and a local school (or several, as it would turn out) won out. Glad I get to live vicariously through this thread. I was actually planning to head to Missoula this spring, but plans may have me heading to Montauk, NY instead.
Thanks for the great reports!
MNCarl
The Moose
Wow ok.... I am all caught up on this thread.
wreckdiver as always such excellent writing skills, story telling and photography.
Thank you for taking the time to share with us.
Can we nominate you for best line in an overlanding thread ?
This:
"I even got to use my winch on my wedding day!"
I am still laughing as I type this.
wreckdiver as always such excellent writing skills, story telling and photography.
Thank you for taking the time to share with us.
Can we nominate you for best line in an overlanding thread ?
This:
"I even got to use my winch on my wedding day!"
I am still laughing as I type this.
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wreckdiver1321
Overlander
Haha I remember reading through several threads before with other people's builds and how jealous they made me. An awful lot of people on here have been great about sharing their stuff, and I've been fortunate to learn from their ideas, as well as come up with a few of my own. It's been a long and expensive road, but I'm pretty happy with where the truck is at now. She's been bulletproof reliable and an absolute blast to adventure in.
Yeah Montana is such a great state. If I'm honest though, I don't think I'd ever live in Missoula. It's a nice area, but it's full of hipster college kids on bikes that block up the roads and are horribly disrespectful to anyone driving anything that remotely looks like it drives off road. Which is a shame, because Missoula is close to some of the best scenery in the state. If I had my choice I'd prefer Bozeman. It's a nicer town, and still has access to a lot of awesome places, some arguably better than what you can get to from Missoula. But I hear you on school. I'm on my second-to-last year, and in-state tuition is expensive enough. If you do end up making it out this way, let me know. I'm always happy to show people around.
You're welcome! Thanks for reading.
Hey Carl!
Yeah it's kind of a ridiculously long thread at this point. I'm kind of a prolific poster. I go over a lot of stuff, and I like sharing with everyone.
Haha yeah that was a fun moment in that trip. It's almost like that situation was tailor-made for me to tell that story. :sombrero:
wreckdiver1321
Overlander
A (Sort Of) Overland Honeymoon - Part 5
Excitement isn't a strong enough word. My wife and I were over the moon at what we were about to do. A 30-minute helicopter flight over the vast Canadian Rockies is one of those things you never want to forget. We were quickly weighed and given a pre-flight safety lecture before sitting down to wait for the helicopter to return. Shortly after it landed we were ushered out and near the pad, where we waited for it to be refueled. Not long after, we were guided to the doors, ducking under the wash from the rotors, and climbed aboard.
We strapped in and off we went. The pilot climbed from the base near Abraham Lake, where we were able to get some amazing views of the Rockies as they began to climb to their highest peaks near Mount Columbia.
The colors staining these high peaks are incredible. It only adds to the beauty of these massive mountains. It didn't take long until we were climbing higher still.
Before long, we were over complete wilderness. Areas that are difficult to backpack to, and the landscape became truly incomprehensibly massive.
The vertical wall in the photo above should give you a little sense of scale. That wall is, at it's shortest point, a little over a thousand feet tall. That's a relief of over 1,000 feet! And there's a waterfall that spills from the lower lake, known as Lower Michelle Lake, over the wall to the forest below. I cannot imagine what it would be like to stand at the foot of that wall and look up.
Then we banked over the North Saskatchewan River Valley, and we were met with one of the most truly awe-inspiring, humbling, and unspeakably beautiful sights I've ever seen in my life.
Flying at just under 10,000 feet, we felt so very small. These huge and jagged peaks rose around us, giving us the sense of being on another planet. The scale of it cannot be expressed with words. Those peaks surrounding the valley rise to a height of nearly 11,000 feet from the floor at 4,700 feet. That's a vertical relief of about 6,000 feet! That towering mountain you see in the background, pushing into the clouds above all the others? That is Mount Columbia, the second tallest peak in the Canadian Rockies, and the tallest in Alberta, rising to 12,293 feet. It's absolutely massive. in a rather funny comparison, it's still shorter than the tallest mountain in Montana, Granite Peak, which is 12,808 feet in elevation. Nevertheless, Mount Columbia and the incredible wilderness surrounding it are a sight unlike any in the world.
We hovered there for a short while, floating near Mount Wilson, which was soaring some 500 feet above us. We banked off, turning away and back towards Abraham Lake and the helipad.
On our way, we once again passed by Michelle Lakes, this time from the other side. This is another view that gives you an idea of scale.
From there we flew east around Mount Cline, with an astonishing view of a glacier.
A little while later, we continued on.
Flying over Abraham Lake, we got a glimpse of the turquoise blue waters, and a sandbar disappearing into the lake.
But sadly, our flight had to come to an end. We approached the helipad, still riding the rush of excitement from this amazing experience.
As you can see, we were quite pleased with our decision.
Our next stop was Hinton, following our final stretch of the Forestry Trunk Road. From there, we could continue on into Jasper, where even more adventure awaited us. We just had to make one detour first.
To be continued...
Excitement isn't a strong enough word. My wife and I were over the moon at what we were about to do. A 30-minute helicopter flight over the vast Canadian Rockies is one of those things you never want to forget. We were quickly weighed and given a pre-flight safety lecture before sitting down to wait for the helicopter to return. Shortly after it landed we were ushered out and near the pad, where we waited for it to be refueled. Not long after, we were guided to the doors, ducking under the wash from the rotors, and climbed aboard.
We strapped in and off we went. The pilot climbed from the base near Abraham Lake, where we were able to get some amazing views of the Rockies as they began to climb to their highest peaks near Mount Columbia.
The colors staining these high peaks are incredible. It only adds to the beauty of these massive mountains. It didn't take long until we were climbing higher still.
Before long, we were over complete wilderness. Areas that are difficult to backpack to, and the landscape became truly incomprehensibly massive.
The vertical wall in the photo above should give you a little sense of scale. That wall is, at it's shortest point, a little over a thousand feet tall. That's a relief of over 1,000 feet! And there's a waterfall that spills from the lower lake, known as Lower Michelle Lake, over the wall to the forest below. I cannot imagine what it would be like to stand at the foot of that wall and look up.
Then we banked over the North Saskatchewan River Valley, and we were met with one of the most truly awe-inspiring, humbling, and unspeakably beautiful sights I've ever seen in my life.
Flying at just under 10,000 feet, we felt so very small. These huge and jagged peaks rose around us, giving us the sense of being on another planet. The scale of it cannot be expressed with words. Those peaks surrounding the valley rise to a height of nearly 11,000 feet from the floor at 4,700 feet. That's a vertical relief of about 6,000 feet! That towering mountain you see in the background, pushing into the clouds above all the others? That is Mount Columbia, the second tallest peak in the Canadian Rockies, and the tallest in Alberta, rising to 12,293 feet. It's absolutely massive. in a rather funny comparison, it's still shorter than the tallest mountain in Montana, Granite Peak, which is 12,808 feet in elevation. Nevertheless, Mount Columbia and the incredible wilderness surrounding it are a sight unlike any in the world.
We hovered there for a short while, floating near Mount Wilson, which was soaring some 500 feet above us. We banked off, turning away and back towards Abraham Lake and the helipad.
On our way, we once again passed by Michelle Lakes, this time from the other side. This is another view that gives you an idea of scale.
From there we flew east around Mount Cline, with an astonishing view of a glacier.
A little while later, we continued on.
Flying over Abraham Lake, we got a glimpse of the turquoise blue waters, and a sandbar disappearing into the lake.
But sadly, our flight had to come to an end. We approached the helipad, still riding the rush of excitement from this amazing experience.
As you can see, we were quite pleased with our decision.
Our next stop was Hinton, following our final stretch of the Forestry Trunk Road. From there, we could continue on into Jasper, where even more adventure awaited us. We just had to make one detour first.
To be continued...
Trikebubble
Adventurer
Can we vote this as favorite thread of the year? Just brilliant, loving coming back to read updates and look at the amazing pictures. I feel guilty that the Rockies are so close to home, yet I've never driven to experience them. Something I just have to resolve to witness. Thanks again for the great read.
Sent from the Mountains
Sent from the Mountains
It's funny you mention that, I was planning to go to MSU in Bozeman. Only reason to head to Missoula is a friend of mine lives there now. He made the move on a more permanent basis after a few years of guiding seasonally.
Trikebubble
Adventurer
Montana is simply an epic place to visit. We have good friends in Lolo, and try to visit once a year. We've ridden extensively in the state, and toured around in the Xterra as well. The big sky is just surreal to experience.
Sent from the Mountains
Sent from the Mountains
bijanjames
Adventurer
Incredible pictures Tom!
wreckdiver1321
Overlander
Oh okay gotchya. That's pretty cool. My mom and dad live an hour outside of Missoula in the Swan Valley, so I can't hate on the area too much.
That it is. Even after I inevitably move away, Montana will always be home.
Thanks Bijan! I've been talking to some local guys, and I'm super stoked about Morrison! I have a friend with a yellow X who wants to join on too.
Nothing affords greater photo opportunities than flights through remote locations. Some of the best pictures I have in my limited personal photographic gallery came from flying between bases in remote parts of the world. As always, I'm jealous of your travels, Tom.
Morrison? Do tell.........I've been aching to do that trail since Season 1 of Expedition Overland.
Morrison? Do tell.........I've been aching to do that trail since Season 1 of Expedition Overland.
Cdn4Runner
New member
Right, no truck updates, so it's time to catch up on some trip reports!
Last weekend, my fiancee and I drove down to the southern end of the Bighorn Canyon down in Wyoming for a day trip. We were searching for some trails that run through the area that I had read/heard about previously. Unfortunately, we searched for half the day fruitlessly. We ended up stopping in a parking lot above a canyon in what appeared to be Montana's southernmost desert. Luckily for us, not being able to find the trails we were looking for ended up putting us in a great spot for lunch.
We used the opportunity to go on a short hike. The view was well worth it.
After that, we made our way back north to a limestone cave formation in the Pryor Mountains. This cave is perpetually filled with frozen water, and is a wonder to experience. It sits at the end of a 4 mile trail covered in rough granite chunks.
Soon after, the sun started to go down and clouds were coming in, so we called it a day.
I know this is an older post, but did adding the third Yakima Control Tower help with your roof top tent? Looking at possibly going with this setup for my truck. Thanks!
wreckdiver1321
Overlander
Yeah, Bijan and I have been planning on doing it next year. When we met up this summer, we decided next year after he got moved out to Bozeman would be the perfect time to do it. I've also got at least one other ExPo member from my neck of the woods (MTaco) who wants to do it, as well as a couple local friends. We're planning on Morrison and Goose Lake during the same trip as of right now. Should be a cool run. I'd love to persuade you to finally get your ******** out this way too. I'll bring beer. :sombrero:
Yes, it did quite a bit. Made it a lot more solid, and I'd recommend it if you felt like just having the two was a bit too wobbly.
Blackdawg
Dr. Frankenstein
What type of vehicles are they going to be bringing up Morrison?
wreckdiver1321
Overlander
Gen 2 TRD Taco on 33s, Xterra on 33s, another Frontier on 33s, and a Gen 2 4Runner on 32s. And me.