ZUKIWORLD Online | Suzuki 4x4 Editorial and Forum
ZUKIWORLD Discussion Forum => Adventure (Let's GO WHEELING!) => Topic started by: derekj on August 03, 2009, 04:26:02 PM
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After many months of waiting on this trip it was finally time to go ;D We left Canada with 9 trucks on a Saturday morning and hit the I5. Took 2 days to do the drive down to California as some of us were limited as to how fast we could go on the highway. We arrived in Georgetown on Sunday evening after swinging thru Sacramento to pick up my wife who was in San Francisco before hand for a few days. We had called ahead and booked hotel rooms for the group so we would not have to sleep in our cars. A few of us stayed at the Rock Creek Inn and the rest stayed at the other hotel in town.
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Getting ready to head out first thing Monday morning. After a yummy breakfast at the local diner we headed out to the ranger station for campfire permits and off to the trail head!
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We had to make the quick detour to see Uncle Toms Cabin and take a few pictures before heading on. Was a little to early for a beer though.
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We finally got to the trail head and aired down wondering what was ahead.
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We decided to take the Wentworth Springs entrance as it is a little bit more trail driving and was supposed to be a bit harder. A few miles into the trail we passed thru Wentworth Springs Campground.
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Not too long after that we hit the first granite slabs of the day. Would be just the beginning of what was to come.
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And then the rocks began. If you have not driven this trail before it is rocky! And the rocks only get bigger.
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The first obstacle was Devils Post Hole. Here Paul and his X are working his way thru and also where I got high centered for the first time.
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Next we made our way up into Granite Bowl. It is really neat how big this whole area is.
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At this point we seem to be making good time and haven't had any mechanical issues except for a broken valve stem which we fixed with some vulcanizing tape. Next up was Little Sluice. By this point we had broken up into 2 groups as it was taking me a bit longer to get over stuff that the 37" tire crowd just walked over. Didn't get any pictures of the guys going up Little Sluice as I was off in the bush looking for a geocache. I elected to take the bypass on this one.
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This picture kind of gives you the idea of some of the narrow parts of the trail - definatley not full size friendly that's for sure.
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Coming down off of Little Sluice it started to get pretty rough for me - it's a good thing the rock sliders were there.
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Buy this time it was getting close to dinner but we decided to push on and try to get to Buck Island Lake campground.
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Coming down Old Sluice and the trail finally claimed it's first victim. One of the Jeeps broke his pitman arm and was stuck there for the night. Our small group had four trucks so one stayed with Tom and me and Mike pressed on to camp. It was 9 pm by this time and was starting to get dark out. The ride down Old was rough and wet. The wife had had enough buy this point so no pictures of night wheeling. As we made it out onto the granite 2 guys from camp walked out to find us as we had no idea where we were going at this point. I got a flat tire here so we quickly changed it to my spare and rolled into camp at 11.30 pm! That made for a 13 hour day on the trail :o After a few cold beers off to bed we went.
We spent the next day at camp while we figured out how to get the broken truck back to camp. After finding a loaner pitman arm we got Toms Jeep back to camp. Went swimming in the lake and just took it easy for a day. It was a welcome break from the trail and gave the wives a break from the bouncing and banging. I would recommended this campsite over Rubicon Springs as you can swim in the lake at Buck Island.
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Ben checking out the flex on his new JK at camp.
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Wednesday morning and off we go! With only Big Sluice and Cadillac Hill ahead of us we hoped that it wouldn't be another 13 hour day on the trail. A small group in front of us were moving slow so the mornings progress was a little slow. Just more rocks...
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Wes lining up to drop into Big Sluice and a group shot.
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And me about to get high centered again...
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The other group had a breakdown so we got to pass them and made it to Rubicon Springs for lunch.
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Next we tackled Cadillac Hill - wasn't too bad. It had rained a few days before we were there so some sections of the hill were a little greasy but that's what we are used to driving in anyways. Every one made it up ok and I had to stop at the top to let my clutch cool down. The altitude (7000 ft) and lack of gearing was making it hard for me to get over some of the steeper rocks and climbs so there was lots of clutch slipping and such to try and keep the engine from bogging down. But we finally made it to the top and stopped for the token lookout shot.
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About another hour and a half and we are at the other trail head and airing up.
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Off to Lake Tahoe for a shower and warm meal!
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So would I do it again - yes! In this truck - no! The recommended minimum tire size is 33" tires. If the truck had some more flex and larger tires and gearing in the t-case it would have been easier. A little bit more power would be nice as well. The truck took a bit of a beating as the pictures below will show but this is its last year of use so I kind of didn't care about the body damage.
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The only mechanical problems I had was one flat tire (valve stem) and my front struts were shot by the time the trail was done.
After we left Tahoe the wife and I spent another week and a half camping our way home up the coast of California and Oregon. I meet up with Bigzook at Sand Lake for a day of playing in the dunes and a BIG thanks to Eric for giving me used set of struts to help me get home.
Some random pics from the dunes - it was a bit foggy when we were there. This was the first time for me on the dunes so it didn't take long for me to get stuck but quickly figured out that it is kind of like driving in the snow - its just not as wet. Would love to go back and spend some more time there. Thanks to Greg for showing me around!
(http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/derek_j/IMG_2727.jpg)
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Cheers!
Derek
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looks like a great adventure Maybe some day I'll get to go
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Thanks for sharing... I'm almost ready to go back and enjoy the trail again. :)
-Eric
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Thanks for sharing... I'm almost ready to go back and enjoy the trail again. :)
-Eric
Lived in Cali for the better part of 13 years; off-roading about 11, and never been to the 'Con. It's on my "bucket list" (yes, i have one of those: thank you, Morgan Freeman). I'd love to see it on the 2010 Adventure Series.
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Nice pics! It was good to see ya again man. Coming down for PF?
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Will be there for PF for sure!
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That place looks beautiful. Thanks for sharing!
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I finally had time to read this and admire the pictures. Looks like a great time. Beautiful shots. :)
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Wow, what an adventure! Great shots and great story!!! Fantastic job putting your Zuk to the test and pushing the limits!!! And you still drove it home, yes?!! Judging from the pics I'd guess all those other guys have a few thousand more invested in their rigs. I think it takes more driver ability (& a Zuk!) to do it with less equipment advantages and less $. Kudos to you!!! And the body damage, is just a souvenir!!! I smile every time I see my Zuk's scars cause they remind me of some of the best days on the trails! Thanks for sharing!!!!
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Yup, drove it home - just over 2600 miles in 2 weeks. Half the drive home was with shot front struts too. Having been home for a while now I can't wait to do it again! Thanks for the positive comments Lil Red! It is kind of neat being able to run with the big boys in my club. Most of them know what my little truck is able to do and they are always really encouraging when we are on the trail.
Derek
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After seeing your rig evolve in the last couple years it was a little sad to see all the new scars. After seeing all the rust I do understand. I still remember PF a few years ago when it was your GF car and you could NOT get a dent.
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Can you give some specs on your rig?
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I went through the con in my first tracker on close to the same setup as you about 9 years ago I think. I was not locked, no 4to1 on 32s. I had a blast. Locked and a 4to1 and I would do it again, and again and again...
Thanks for shareing ;)
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I went through the con in my first tracker on close to the same setup as you about 9 years ago I think. I was not locked, no 4to1 on 32s. I had a blast. Locked and a 4to1 and I would do it again, and again and again...
Thanks for shareing ;)
Next Summer?
-Eric
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Next Summer?
-Eric
You have no idea how down I would be fore that. The year I finally got a Rubicon ready Suzuki - TT pulled out of their annual Rubicon runs :'( I've been trying to get a group to go ever sense.
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I went through the con in my first tracker on close to the same setup as you about 9 years ago I think. I was not locked, no 4to1 on 32s. I had a blast. Locked and a 4to1 and I would do it again, and again and again...
Thanks for shareing ;)
Next Summer?
-Eric
If I can get a street rig togather by then I wont rule it out.
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Can you give some specs on your rig?
2" body, 3" suspension - stock arms, rear lockrite, rock sliders, 32" tsl's and that's about it.
Derek
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Open front, no gears?
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Can you give some specs on your rig?
2" body, 3" suspension - stock arms, rear lockrite, rock sliders, 32" tsl's and that's about it.
Derek
How does the lockrite handle on the road? I've been thinking of adding that to my list, but its a daily driver.
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They aren't ideal in the back on a DD, but if they are setup correctly you can live with it. If you are designing an adventure rig/daily driver you might want to look at saving up and spending the extra money on a Selectable Locker or one of the Limted Slip rear ends that Trail Tough is selling.