Sometimes, It’s Best To Relinquish Control — A Newbie’s Backcountry Adventure Report

[Shigeta]

"I think it's my adventure, my trip, my journey, and I guess my attitude is, let the chips fall where they may.” — Leonard Nimoy​

There are two kinds of people in this world. The first kind is someone who succeeds through a well-developed schedule with a backup plan and a backup to that backup plan. This person is who you see at the gym every day at the same time. They arrive 15 minutes early to the meeting with a prepared agenda and always remember their significant-other's anniversary and birthday.

The second type of person is a polar opposite of the first type. They thrive off spontaneity. The best weekend is one with no plans and a full tank of gas. Internet down? No problem! They'll read a book at their favorite coffee shop. Last minute invite to a BBQ party? Great! They didn't really want to cook food at home anyways. Tight schedules ruin their mojo and prefer to take life by the horns instead of by a calendar.

What type of person am I? I'm definitely not the kind of guy who appreciates swapping a transfer case in my camping buddy's Range Rover Classic just days before the trip I had planned out months prior. I wasn't thrilled when he called the day of, explaining he still hadn't left his house for our rendezvous point 3 hours after our agreed departure time. As sure as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, I wasn't happy when we arrived at our camp at 5am— nearly 12 hours after we were supposed to arrive.

Everything seemed to be going wrong. I hated every time he'd call me over the radio with a burning (literally) reason to stop our midnight scramble up Hwy 108 towards Leavitt Lake. (our planned dispersed camp site) Going into it, I knew that he is the “second” type of person, yet as I sat on the side of the road, waiting for him to finish inspecting his engine bay, I thought to myself, “Why didn't I just go myself. I'd be on schedule and much more comfortable.”

“Much more comfortable.” Over the course of the trip, I came to realize it's not all about comfort zones. This isn't so much of a “Hell-yeah!-Wheelin'-and-mud-and-rocks-and-Amurica!” report as it is a reflection on a trip where all plans were thrown to the wind and we were forced to improvise, adapt, and overcome.

The sun was just beginning to light up the sky by the time we had both set up camp. He came with a tent in unknown condition and was ill-prepared for the bone-chilling gusts that swept the barren campsite we chose.

I opted for a simple sleeping setup in the bed of my truck. I studied weather reports and brought extra gear— former boy scout conditioning kicking in. “Be prepared” is my packing mantra.

Our arrival was extremely delayed due to random breakdowns, gear checks, off-road obstacles, and utter frustration on my part. (true conflict of personality in stressful situations) Despite all of this, none of it mattered when I woke up from a few frigid hours of “sleep” to see this:

I cooked up the bacon we picked up on the way at a 24hr. Walmart and enjoyed the incredible atmosphere and scenery.

(Of course— beer for breakfast!)

We packed up camp with a plan to depart and visit the abandoned Chemung Mine. I bought all my gear to allow me to camp on my motorcycle, so my pack is small, light, and quick to pack up. My buddy doesn't share my mindset when it comes to packing. Slow and steady is his pace while I was chomping at the bit to get going.

Just as he finishes packing, he opted to finish reassembling the Rover interior that wasn't put back together after the Transfer Case swap earlier that week.

Just after I fell into the groove of relaxation, I was jolted out by his seemingly irrational desire to work on his vehicle instead of spending precious daylight exploring the backcountry of the Toiyabe Nat'l Forest. Not feeling inclined to wait around, I told him I'd head out and come back for him in a little while.

The scenery I was able to experience was incredible. This was my first trip in my new-to-me '88 Toyota Pickup and I really fell in love with the lifestyle.

Sitting around taking snapshots of the truck, I realized how much I was enjoying myself. I began to see that despite having a wrench thrown in the plans on which I depend, I could enjoy myself depending on the lens through which I viewed my situation.

I came back from my little tour and he was wrapping up and getting ready to roll. We headed down to the Chemung Mine.

We ran into an FJ Cruiser group from CA & NV. Great folks to spend a few minutes with as we crossed paths.

We caught some incredible late-afternoon landscapes as my buddy (once again) did a thorough inspection of his Rover at the perceived whiff of “burning rubber.”

At this point, I became less annoyed at the constant pit stops and began to take the opportunity to enjoy the beauty that surrounded me.

We found the end of the trail and noted how quickly we transitioned from desolate backroads to developed civilization. I snapped this photo after I hopped out to release my lockers up front and realized what an incredible view was right in front of my eyes.

 

[Shigeta]

I jumped back in the truck and we planned our dinner plans before finding a new campground. I engaged the clutch to throw it in gear when I realized we’d be stuck here for a while. The clutch dropped right to the floor.

I slid under the frame to investigate. Slave cylinder = blown.

Then, I realized I may have hustled this over a few too many rocks at too fast a pace. Front shock destroyed.

Owning a 1988 Toyota Pickup typically means that one could find replacement parts locally without too much trouble. My mind immediately went into emergency-situation-control-improvise-adapt-overcome mode and I began searching on Yelp Mobile for a auto parts store. As I pulled out my phone, I saw a nice International Scout coming down the road and turn down the street I was on.

“That’s a pretty nice build. I bet they’d know where an auto parts store is locally,” I rationalized with myself aloud. As the Scout pulled up, I flagged the driver down. After asking for advice on a local parts store, the owner (who turned out to be a fellow automotive photographer/editor of sorts from the same area of LA I am from) told me to tow the truck into her yard and we could work out a game plan from there.

My first plan was to fix it that night. O’reilly Auto Parts in Sparks, NV had a shock I could use to limp home and the slave cylinder I needed to get the truck into gear. My buddy made room in his Rover (Ironic that the Toyota broke down) and we set off for Sparks, NV.

His CEL came on 10 miles into the trip, so we headed back down to the home of our gracious hosts to admit defeat and call AAA for a tow home. At 8pm, they said they had no drivers in the vicinity that would be willing to tow us ~180 miles back home to the Bay Area that night.

My buddy got his Rover patched enough to limp home, so I sent him on his way, assuring him that I’d be right behind him. I might have slipped a joke in there about beating him home after the tow truck would pick me up in the morning.

(This is the point in time where I neglected to take much of any photos, but in hindsight, this is the time in which I wish I had taken the most photos of the trip. Lesson leaned.)

I was planning to sleep in my truck as to not impose on my hosts. They invited me around their patio for beers and conversation with the local sheriff and fire chief. After the night became morning, they insisted I stay in their home. Apparently, the fire chief was cooking his famous French Toast for breakfast in the morning and “I needed to be properly rested" for that.

A few hours of sleep later, I woke up with the same group of people that were gathered around the night before. Laughter and great conversation filled the air as everyone prepared breakfast and watched Squeak, the cat, hunt for field mice.

Unfortunately, AAA was a few hours late. Quite frankly, I’m a bit disappointed that they showed up at all. I begged the eager tow truck driver for just a few more moments to say my goodbyes and feebly attempt to express the depth of my gratitude. In less than 12 hours, I felt that I made some of the best friends in my life. They treated me as if I was a brother or son. The best part of this trip was breaking down and meeting my welcoming, hospitable hosts.

See? Sometimes it is best to relinquish control.

"I think it's my adventure, my trip, my journey, and I guess my attitude is, let the chips fall where they may.” — Leonard Nimoy

Until the next adventure...

 

[mtnbike28]

Great report!

 

[pmatusov]

Great report, and great take on trying to force things when they aren't cooperating. Been there...

 

[sixstringsteve]

That is a gorgeous pickup in a gorgeous location.

 

[crazyexplorer]

great report. Glad everything worked out. Making something bad into something good thing.

 

[wanderer-rrorc]

Great report man!! Pictures make me wanna pack up right now and follow the sun going down!

 

[Gallowbraid]

Great job making the most of the moment you're in!

 

[owyheerat]

This is an awesome trip report. Very well done. I love your pickup, I had an 87 yota, very similar to your's.
Good job of making 'great memories'. This was a good reminder for me.

Thanks.:smiley_drive:

 

[zelatore]

ha...funny to stumble across this. I just read Chad's (the RRC driver) report on the NCLR club site.

 

[SmoothLC]

Oh come on. You can't post that (^^ Chad's report on the NCLR club site) and NOT include a link! We gotta hear BOTH sides.

Anyway, glad things worked out and really enjoyed the story.

Have to agree - you captured some amazing landscapes.

 

[Shigeta]

Hey, thanks a lot for the responses guys. I really like photography and it's a good excuse to get out and take some photos. I used to do amateur freelance automotive photography before I started my career up here in the CA Bay Area and I loved every minute of it. Recently, I haven't had as much of an opportunity to get out and shoot, so I cherish times when I can squeeze in a bit of practice.

Writing is one thing I really enjoy doing. Writing + photography = one of the best combinations for trip reports. How can I improve my photos or writing & report for my next trip?

Also, don't get me wrong... Chad is one of my best friends. He's a genuine, loving guy— we just don't see eye to eye in a lot of situations. This trip was a great chance for me to practice patience and learn to be tolerant of those who aren't exact clones of me.

I haven't read his report yet. I'm sure it goes a lot like, "My a**hole friend James was an intolerant dweeb." In for a link as well

 

[AdvRovr]

I think it would be more along the lines of "My a**hole friend James is severely lacking in perspective."

We should duke it out here on Expo. We could charge for admission, like a Payperview e-fight.



Anyway, I would disagree with your binary description of personality types. The ability to plan and the ability to execute often are somewhat exclusive personality traits, not a pair. You lean more towards execution, and I towards planning. And a young family and demanding career will definitely force you to learn to roll with the punches and not stress as much. Particularly the young family. LOL.

Unfortunately I had some urgent work needs crop up last minute, which also necessitated bringing my computer and working at the lake, which was definitely NOT something I preferred to do. It epically sucked leaving that late, no argument there. Sometimes things are unavoidable and I would rather make the best of something than cancel it. You shouldn't forget who brought the stove, propane, lanterns, pots, pans, plates, trash bins to pack it out, cooler, extra supplies, etc. And yes, all those things do take longer to clean and pack than a sleeping bag and blanket. Just sayin'.

Overall, I would not characterize it as a conventionally "good" trip. There were good elements, and even great elements, but also too many challenging elements. I think it was a great adventure, but it was definitely not relaxing or smooth. It's not how I usually like to run things either (which you know, a**hole. ) But in the end, knowing everything, would I choose to do it again exactly as is, or sit home on the couch? Hell yes, I'd do it again!

But most of all, my main focus of the trip report was how awesome it was that the 20 year old Range Rover pulled home under its own power while the most reliable truck in the world rolled in on a flatbed. You'll never live that one down. Bwahahahaha.

-Chad, the RRC driver (and long time expo lurker but new poster)

 

[AdvRovr]

I'm not sure if this is accessible to non-members of NCLR or not, but here's the link:

http://norcalrovers.org/forum/index...rtle-speed-offroad-Classic-build)#entry164119

 

[LR Max]

How can I improve my photos or writing & report for my next trip?

It is best to get photos eye-level with your subject. For vehicles, the headlights are "eye-level". Unfortunately this usually means that you have to be in some sort of bent over/squat position to get the photo just right. Exercise and building your core will help with this.

I don't know your level of photography, but its a tip that has helped me.