Influencer II
I'm going to meet up at the north gate hopefully no later than 10:30. I'll be monitoring 146.460
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Sent from my iPhone using Overland Bound Talk
Good time today folks. Cool rigs, some great info and a great time driv8ng around.
Hope everyone got home safe
Hope everyone got home safe
Member III
It was a good day. Funner trails than I expected, everybody learned something new, cool people, unique terrain, plenty of laughs. But we didn't get a group shot so I guess we gotta go back.
Snakeskin mud and charcoal pinstriping.
Snakeskin mud and charcoal pinstriping.
Influencer II
Yeah I was going to try and get a group shot at the end but the road was too small. I think I got a few of the whole group though. I got home safe but the LR3 has a funny smell kind of like something burning but not like I've ever smelled before. I keep checking and can't find a source. I'll wash it in the morning maybe it's the mud.
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Sent from my iPhone using Overland Bound Talk
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Influencer II
I'll be posting some of my photos and the link to all of them tomorrow or Tuesday.
Sent from my iPhone using Overland Bound Talk
Sent from my iPhone using Overland Bound Talk
Benefactor
New wheeling spot, check.
New wheeling buddies, check.
It was great meeting everyone today! The weather was fantastic, and the trails offered more than I was expecting. Nothing hardcore, but not just a graded road either. The amount of burnt manzanita was rather impressive. So impressive it broke the antenna mount for my HAM radio. The gate at the Northern Staging Area was locked so we just made our way south and came across some interesting locations.
Most notably were the large storage container in the morning, and a small mud pit later in the afternoon. Around the container you could find years-old refuse everywhere you looked. It's always sad to see an otherwise great looking area detracted by litter like that. The mud pit on the other hand was loads of fun. Just about everyone got at least one pass through the slick stuff. It dried quickly on the hood and quickly flaked off like dead leaves. I think this is the smell the Bear has in his truck. It can get pretty bad once it hits things like the engine and exhaust.
There will be many more trips out there so if you missed this one, be sure to look out for the next. Here's a gpx file of the day's travel.
New wheeling buddies, check.
It was great meeting everyone today! The weather was fantastic, and the trails offered more than I was expecting. Nothing hardcore, but not just a graded road either. The amount of burnt manzanita was rather impressive. So impressive it broke the antenna mount for my HAM radio. The gate at the Northern Staging Area was locked so we just made our way south and came across some interesting locations.
Most notably were the large storage container in the morning, and a small mud pit later in the afternoon. Around the container you could find years-old refuse everywhere you looked. It's always sad to see an otherwise great looking area detracted by litter like that. The mud pit on the other hand was loads of fun. Just about everyone got at least one pass through the slick stuff. It dried quickly on the hood and quickly flaked off like dead leaves. I think this is the smell the Bear has in his truck. It can get pretty bad once it hits things like the engine and exhaust.
There will be many more trips out there so if you missed this one, be sure to look out for the next. Here's a gpx file of the day's travel.
It was good meeting you @Disco2Guy . I was pretty impressed with your rig and the othersthat were there. Look forward to the next meetup
Influencer II
Influencer II
I can't get this to show in BaseCamp.
I was able to import it into Garmin Connect. Weird.
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Influencer II
Influencer II
My Day started out with a large cup o' coffee and I was on the road. I took why 37 to 29 and came through Yountville and Saint Helena. I thought that traffic was a little heavy, especially for this area but then it occurred that all these winery's I was passing weren't just decorations. I was driving amongst all the wine freaks and tasters.
I got to the north gate at Knoxville at the exact same time Brenton, Pedram, Will and chris were pulling in. It was kind of creepy how good of timing that was!!
Stony126, Northern_XS and Nick in his newly purchased Pathfinder met up with us after a night of camping. After some short introductions we were off.
Not far into the trail we got to our first trail closure. This was on the northern side where there was a lot of trials on the map that we wanted to explore.
This is where it set in, the scale of how big the Valley Fire was. The fire literally ran through here. It burned over 76,000 acres and destroyed 1,955 structures and killed four civilians. It took
Total Fire Personnel: 248
Total Fire Engines: 15
Total Fire crews: 10
Total Helicopters: 3
Total Dozers: 2
to contain the fire.
We turned around and made our way down the trail heading south. Eventually we got to the bottom of a valley. Mike advised Pedram that he should probably leave his full size pickup because of some tight switch backs. Will in his Range Rover offered up a seat to him and all of us then stumbled upon a Conex Box with some random stuff in it and other debris. Brenton scouted up the trail ahead and deemed it passable so we kept going. Manifest Destiny!!!
Did any one want some custom pin striping from mother nature? well we got it. The torched Manzanita wasn't gentle. After climbing to the top of this ridge we were gifted with the sight of one of the most beautiful valleys I have ever seen!!!
After traversing some more terra firm we broke for lunch and everyone pulled out one of their trustee hoagies. After lunch and libations we had a very informative class on winching. Brenton hooked his winch up to the rear of my trustee steed and winched it up... well it was pretty flat but thats not the point.
I'm not entirely sure if this is where the hill climb fits into the timeline but lets just say it is. At this point we're back on the trail and headed to the mud pit. I take point and find a nice little hill climb. I go up it with what seems little effort from the LR3. Everyone else follows. Nick takes the hill in his Pathfinder with a five speed manual transmission and makes it to the top and three wheels it, loses some momentum and traction and can't go any further. Without hesitation he backs down the hill like a pro. I had no idea this was his first time out driving off road. Nick you're a natural my friend. Keep it up!!
Click image for video
We then make it to "the Mud Pit" and have a little fun.
Nick decided to take the "pit" less traveled and got a little stuck. After some rocking back and fourth he got himself out.
After this we made our way to the south gate where we would air up if needed and say our good bye's. This was a really fun trip. We had 8 rigs and then 7 when Pedram parked his truck. It was nice to see each others set up's and learn from another. Thank you to everyone who joined.
P.S.- On my way home I traffic on 680 was a little slow in one lane so I looked ahead and saw this driving on the shoulder.
This is a series I Land Rover. Pretty much the one that started it all. I pulled up next to him and waved and honked and got a wave back. I tried to cruise with him but he couldn't go over 50mph and it was hard for me to not keep up.
Link to all my photos.
https://nclrbear.smugmug.com/Knoxville-Trip-42416/i-497v5r8
Link to upload your own.
https://nclrbear.smugmug.com/upload/C2dCh6/Knoxville
I got to the north gate at Knoxville at the exact same time Brenton, Pedram, Will and chris were pulling in. It was kind of creepy how good of timing that was!!
Stony126, Northern_XS and Nick in his newly purchased Pathfinder met up with us after a night of camping. After some short introductions we were off.
Not far into the trail we got to our first trail closure. This was on the northern side where there was a lot of trials on the map that we wanted to explore.
This is where it set in, the scale of how big the Valley Fire was. The fire literally ran through here. It burned over 76,000 acres and destroyed 1,955 structures and killed four civilians. It took
Total Fire Personnel: 248
Total Fire Engines: 15
Total Fire crews: 10
Total Helicopters: 3
Total Dozers: 2
to contain the fire.
We turned around and made our way down the trail heading south. Eventually we got to the bottom of a valley. Mike advised Pedram that he should probably leave his full size pickup because of some tight switch backs. Will in his Range Rover offered up a seat to him and all of us then stumbled upon a Conex Box with some random stuff in it and other debris. Brenton scouted up the trail ahead and deemed it passable so we kept going. Manifest Destiny!!!
Did any one want some custom pin striping from mother nature? well we got it. The torched Manzanita wasn't gentle. After climbing to the top of this ridge we were gifted with the sight of one of the most beautiful valleys I have ever seen!!!
After traversing some more terra firm we broke for lunch and everyone pulled out one of their trustee hoagies. After lunch and libations we had a very informative class on winching. Brenton hooked his winch up to the rear of my trustee steed and winched it up... well it was pretty flat but thats not the point.
I'm not entirely sure if this is where the hill climb fits into the timeline but lets just say it is. At this point we're back on the trail and headed to the mud pit. I take point and find a nice little hill climb. I go up it with what seems little effort from the LR3. Everyone else follows. Nick takes the hill in his Pathfinder with a five speed manual transmission and makes it to the top and three wheels it, loses some momentum and traction and can't go any further. Without hesitation he backs down the hill like a pro. I had no idea this was his first time out driving off road. Nick you're a natural my friend. Keep it up!!
Click image for video
We then make it to "the Mud Pit" and have a little fun.
Nick decided to take the "pit" less traveled and got a little stuck. After some rocking back and fourth he got himself out.
After this we made our way to the south gate where we would air up if needed and say our good bye's. This was a really fun trip. We had 8 rigs and then 7 when Pedram parked his truck. It was nice to see each others set up's and learn from another. Thank you to everyone who joined.
P.S.- On my way home I traffic on 680 was a little slow in one lane so I looked ahead and saw this driving on the shoulder.
This is a series I Land Rover. Pretty much the one that started it all. I pulled up next to him and waved and honked and got a wave back. I tried to cruise with him but he couldn't go over 50mph and it was hard for me to not keep up.
Link to all my photos.
https://nclrbear.smugmug.com/Knoxville-Trip-42416/i-497v5r8
Link to upload your own.
https://nclrbear.smugmug.com/upload/C2dCh6/Knoxville
Influencer II
Influencer II
yes Mike, Nick and Mark camped there. There is a nice camp ground near the south entrance there.
Influencer II
I'll have to check this out this summer, as I'm working every Saturday for the next five weeks. I wonder how windy it was Saturday night up there. It got pretty windy in Napa Valley on Sunday.
Influencer II
It was a little windy during the day. but the camp ground was at the bottom of a valley and may not get a lot of wind.
Influencer II
