4X4ing is fun

So...this fall I experienced a redneck rite of passage...a weekend of 4X4ing in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. It was fricking great. As some of my dear readers know, I own a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado that I imported from Japan last fall. Up until this, my first weekend of off-roading, it was what is commonly referred to as a "Pavement Princess." Well, no more...we've got the dents, bends, and scratches that prove we experienced our first wilderness hazing and lived to tell the tale.

Here's a quick rundown of the weekend: Friday night, left straight from work, drove to the "Chewed Bridge Ranch" up west of Sundre, Alberta. Arrived in the dark, settled in for a good night's sleep in the back of the truck. Next morning, up at dawn. Plenty of activity about. Pancakes are served, preparations made. Wayne Smith, the trail boss for the day, looks over my semi-bald street tires and deems them useless. I spend a few minutes swapping on an even balder set of 31" tires, which may seem senseless, except that these tires were equipped with chains on the rear. Sweet.

The morning run is decided upon - a 1 hour jaunt along a short loop - maybe 12 km total. Around camp, engines fire up and a string of 14 Land Cruisers of all descriptions heads to the trailhead. Somehow, I find myself second in line. No probs, it's supposed to be an easy day. Hmmm...well, without going into too much detail, the 1 hour run turned into closer to 6 hours, with a whole bunch of stucks and mechanical problems along the way. It was a blast. I had no idea that my little 'Cruiser would be so capable off road. We crossed streams; we descended hills that I would never have dreamed possible; we ascended hills that were tricky to walk up...we pulled each other out of mud puddles; we crossed bridges designed for quads...we had a lot of fun. Here are some pics...

Above: the first stuck cruiser of the day. They winched themselves out. Thanks to the chains on my rear tires, I was able to power through this mud-filled ditch.

Here's a fellow named Roy crossing a quad bridge in his BJ60. His tires are hanging about 4" over either side of the bridge. This is where you want a trustworthy spotter to guide you across, because you can't watch both sides at once!

Wayne drives a 1990 PZJ70 (5-cylinder diesel) with 36" tractor tires. He overheated his engine pulling people out of the mud and up some hills. The tow strap got a lot of use out there!

I don't want this post to get too long, so I won't get into some of the specific stories. Suffice it to that that I came away from the weekend with a bunch of new friends and a new respect for the ability of these amazing vehicles. The next run is May Long Weekend 2007...anyone care to come along?