The Gettin off club in the SF bay area did their annual trail clean up in the sierras this last saturday. Candido (Ctapia) and I joined them to pick up trash and close some illegal trails. Most of the attendees were lifted toyotas from all 3 generations. All were locked in at least 1 axle except for me, I was open.

Most of us met up at the Arco station in Tracy at 7:30am and made the 3 hour drive up to the ranger station near Arnold, CA. There we met a couple others and the forest ranger who followed us up to the adopt-a-trail.

After we aired down we hit the trail and stopped at the first camping area where we picked up trash. Then, a couple hundred yards up the trail half of us stopped and helped the ranger block a couple illegal trails. The other half of the group proceded up to the last camping area and picked up more trash.

We watched the ranger whip out the chainsaw and cut down a dead tree to use as a road block. After some pushing and tuging we got the tree to block access to the road and prevent further damage. Candido finally got to use his winch and the plasma cable.

Once the trail cleanup was done most of the day was gone. The planned trip to run Deer Valley was canceled and an impromptu trip to Slick Rock done instead. This was probably a good thing as Deer Valley had a traffic jam from a group of tacomas and tundras.

We got to the trailhead just as the sun was going down. So we ended up doing the trail in the dark and in about 1 hour. Terry (the president) was instrumental in getting me through without too much damage and in a timely manner. There were a couple places where we had to stack rocks to get me through.

All I have to say is that I'm glad I have sliders and rear sliders, because I wouldn't be able to open my doors and I wouldn't have a rear bumper now. Although, I am impressed by the strength of the stock chrome bumpers on the 2nd gen. One guy came down really hard on one corner and there wasn't much of a dent. Sure, the whole thing was tilted up about 1/2 inch, but a lot less damage than I thought.

One other thing I noticed, it sure is nice traveling with a bunch of toyotas. They're all just as underpowered as I am!

Here's some pics. Click on Slick Rock 2 and Slick Rock 3.

Enjoy,
Steve

 

Hey Steve, looking at the pics as I type this.
Looks like it was fun.

That's cool Candido got to use the winch.
I have also used mine at a friends property out here to move some trees he cut down to pull them closer to his home.

I like the pic caption that said "Oops, don't tell the wife."
There went the running board

 

Nice pics Steve. I saw a couple of pics I didn't recognize. Were all of those taken on the Slickrock Trail? Did you run the entire trail from Utica to Alpine with no locker?

 

No, some of the pics are of the adopt a trail and not slickrock. I should probably rename those folders. I don't know where that trail is though, but it was a nice trail. There was a large flyfishing river next to it the whole way.

Yup, made it all the way without lockers and without taking the slickrock bypass. I got hung up in several places where the other guys with lockers and lifts just drove right over. Terry, the president, stacked rocks and spotted me in those spots so the credit really goes to him. He even got me up the crack in the slickrock portion.

I'm thinking I need rock lights now, they would have helped.

Steve

 

lol...that sounds familiar...take a look at this pic and notice who's guiding me through that very same spot.



Does Terry have a running truck yet?

There is one 20' section of the trail that I have not run yet. It's the rocky section near the creek crossing. My buddy's Xterra took on some major sheetmetal damage there--so I wasn't too inclined to go through that after pulling him out. :chicken:

If you ever remember how to get to the adopt-a-trail or ever feel like taking me up there, let me know!

 

Ha ha that's cool. I see roger brown's 4runner up there too. That's about the same line I took too.

No, terry doesn't have his truck done yet. I don't know if you knew, but Allpro forgot to put in axle seals or didn't put them in right so all his gear lube drained out as he was filling. So the last I heard, he took off his axle and was ready to ship it back. It'll be 2-3 weeks before he gets it back.

You're talking about the stair steps? That's where everybody bashed their chrome bumpers. Even I got a couple small scratches there despite my rear sliders. Last year, in my extreme newbieness, I made it up the stairsteps complete with running boards and bald street tires. I did take the pseudo bypass though, so I didn't have to go up the final 10 feet. Now that I look back, I'm not sure if it was a bypass, but I don't think it could have caused any trail damage since it is all monolithic rock.

The adopt a trail was pretty short and easy, maybe only 2 miles round trip. But pretty scenic and a couple people were flyfishing and deer hunting. Yeah, if we ever go on an Xterra trip together, that would be a pretty good side trip.

Steve

 

Yup, good eye.

I have heard people refer to the bypass--if you are going up the stairsteps, are you referring to the line to the left? If so, that's where my buddy smashed his rocker panel. Sliders would have saved it---but he has them now! I am asking for trouble running an Xtra Cab through these trails without them.

Let me know if you ever want to hook up for a run Steve.