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Showing results for tags '4x4 travel'.
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In this HD video, catch a glimpse of the magazine's neighborhood. Less than 40 minutes from the office, we were following wild horses at 6000 feet elevation the first week in March. Temperatures dropped into the teens that night, the wind blew 80 mph over the ridges. These tough horses make good role models! This video was originally filmed for the Q&A Vlog at the magazine. The video is now available at Vimeo as well, reaching a broader viewing audience. Enjoy! Moses
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Forum member Alberto from Colombia has a 1989 Jeep YJ Wrangler built at the Brampton, Ontario, Canada Plant. "Brampton" brings back great memories, Alberto! In 1988, the heyday of film photojournalism, I covered the Jeep Cup Rally Finals at Ontario. In those years, you could fly from the U.S. to Canada without a lot of fanfare (no passport required), and my flights took me from Southern California to Toronto. I competed at 1987 and 1988 Jeep Cup Rally regional events as a media driver. 1987 was the first-year of the EFI 4.0L Jeep XJ Cherokee 4x4. My co-driver was Chuck Williams, and we drove a spanking new model from San Diego to Placerville, California. My resulting cover story for OFF-ROAD Magazine depicted the new Jeep YJ Wrangler negotiating a steep and rocky, wheel off the ground turn on a Sierra Nevada trail. The next year, I did the Reno, Nevada Jeep Cup Rally Regional in a YJ Wrangler, scaling the rocks from Lockwood to Virginia City. Jeep® had just been acquired by Chrysler Corporation, and the rally finals would be held at Ontario, Canada. The finals included a visit to the Brampton Plant and chance to meet the enthusiast workforce that had come of age with AMC/Jeep® and now operated under the Pentastar banner. Our driving route for the Finals was the wooded wetlands, old mining and logging roads and stream crossings above West Nipissing. The competition day began awkwardly when my open 35mm camera case fell unceremoniously out the door of a new Jeep YJ Wrangler...The driver, unaware that I was standing outside the vehicle and reaching for a lens in the camera case perched on the passenger seat, let out the clutch to merge our Jeep with the procession. I used Nikon FE2 bodies with a full lens complement, and all of this rolled out and across the ground. Quite fortunately, nothing but one relatively inexpensive UV filter received damage. This camera equipment lasted for many years after this shoot... On assignment for three magazines, one in the U.S. and two abroad, made this a tight shoot. The country was rough, muddy and wet, and as the day unfolded, I forded icy streams afoot to catch memorable images, that eventually made covers and center spreads. One shot in particular captured a pair of controversial, square YJ headlamps that danced at the waterline of a swift moving north stream crossing. Following its magazine exposure, this color image came to life once more on the back cover of my Jeep Owner's Bible. These were 4.2L Jeep inline six powered 4x4s that never missed a beat—with their Carter BBD carburetors! We drove similar Jeep YJs over the Rubicon Trail and at other Jeep Cup challenges. As new models, the carbureted 4.2L Wranglers proved their mettle on challenging and tough two-track trails. The trip home from Canada was uneventful, though I did wonder about the images still undeveloped on Fuji 100 film. Those were the early years of X-ray baggage checks at airports, and our journalists' lead-lined film pouches got tested. There was no room for error with 3,000 miles of travel to the photo lab! All turned out well, the three publications each got unique images from that bell-to-bell assignment. The Jeep YJ Wranglers did well, too, and the journalists and drivers enjoyed the many challenges. This all shined through on the pages of magazines across the globe. Moses
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If you ever get the chance, you have to make the drive up the Alcan! My first trip up was in 2003, when two friends and I set up a moose hunt about 30 miles north of Tok, AK in the 40 Mile area. My oldest son was stationed at Fort Richardson with his small family, and they were expecting a third child during the time my wife and I were up there. I hit the road at 4 am on a Friday morning, drove up I-15 from my home in SE Idaho, through Great Falls, one of my old stomping grounds, then on up through Calgary, Edmonton, and finally putting tires on the Alcan at Dawson Creek. Odometer said right at 2,700 miles traveled when I parked in front of the son's base housing unit on the following Monday morning. BTW, I made the trip up on the first of September, and by that time of the year, didn't suffer the frost heaves that can make the trip an abusive, excruciating drive earlier in the year. While there, the wife and I, and the son's family also drove down to Seward for lunch, and back to Anch for a great 'day trip', but we didn't get a chance on that trip to make it the rest of the way around the Kenai Penninsula to Homer, nor down to Valdez. Another trip, perhaps after the wife retires, and we can meander around and take our time doing what we want to without a compressed time schedule. Besides, I want to finally do some salt water fishing, and perhaps tie into a 'barn door'. I do love Halibut and Salmon!! I took the time to prepare the 'Burb by replacing anything, and everything that I could imagine might be worn or questionable. It paid off! I took along a full set of tools, two spare tires, u joints, bearings, well, pretty much what you'd prepare for any extended 'way-back-country' expedition. Pay for everything in Canada with a credit or debit card, and let the bank worry about the exchange rate. The locals I ran into along the way weren't really entertained when having to calculate the exchange rate between US and Canadian currency. I only took $200 cash through Canada, and stopped in Great Falls at a bank, and exchanged it there for Canadian currency. I spent the last two dollars on a bag of chips before we re-entered Montana on the way home. Oh, for those who might not have had the experience of engaging some of the Kanuks before, there's some things you absolutely must know. Do NOT ask who the ugly lady with the crown is in the photograph above the counter when you check in at the Canadian Customs! Especially not at 3 am!!! Do NOT try to keep pace with a Canadian when drinking! EVER! You will never learn the correct way to enunciate 'Canadian speak', so don't try to come off sounding like the boys in "The Great White North", eh? The Mounties WILL be behind a tree, no matter where along the way, if you try to go a couple of miles over the speed limit. (Remember to adjust you speedometer, or change your GPS to read kilometers per hour!) Also, they have NO humor for 'foreigners' trying to explain their way out of a ticket. There is no "seven miles an hour over the speed limit" rule up there, except on the major highways between and around Calgary and Edmonton, where your outfit had better be able to do the quarter in about twelve seconds, and be able to get to and maintain somewhere around 85 mph. Best comparison I know of is trying to merge into traffic around Dallas/Ft Worth, or Oklahoma City on I-40 or the business loop around OKC. ALL females northwest of Edmonton are absolutely gorgeous! Even if they have no teeth and weigh upward of 300 pounds or more. Also, they ALL have a huge, hulking male attached to them that will jealously protect them. The only thing that they value more than a woman is their sled dogs! Also, it is impossible for a mere American to come out ahead in a drunken altercation with a backwoods Kanuck! Do not try it. The speed limits are posted in kilometers per hour, you purchase gas and diesel by the liter, AND northwest of Dawson Creek, fuel up every chance you get, as it can be a VERY long walk or wait for help. Cell phone service, at least by 2005, my last trip, is spotty at best. Get the little card from your insurance company that specifically states that you are covered in Canada!!! Do it! Don't try to sneak or take a handgun of any sort through. The RCMP has absolutely NO humor. If in doubt, find someone in Alaska who has an FFL, and ship your guns up prior to traveling, pick them up there, and ship them home. Finally, remember to never, ever, disparage the Queen. Or hockey..........
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One sight that most folks enjoy is horses running free on their natural habitat. In the Far West, this has become more common since the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act, which originated at Nevada with the efforts of Wild Horse Annie and others. When I was high school age at rural Nevada, we four-wheeled in the Pine Nut Range east of Carson Valley, at Smith Valley and across northern Nevada. This feral horse country has been a big part of my outdoor life. The article that accompanies this HD video is available at the playlist for the magazine's 4WD Travel and Adventure Channel. We're fortunate with our ready access to wild horses. The 4WD Mechanix Magazine base at Fernley, Nevada places us within ten minutes of wild horse country. Some folks within the city limits see feral horses within their neighborhoods. Our family at Virginia City and Silver City avoid planting flowers—local feral horses will eat them! When we drive the local secondary highways at night, we're vigilant about watching out for wild horses crossing the road. Horses mixing with cars can be deadly. In a world of 24-hour news and "reality TV", there's something liberating about watching and filming wild horses in their habitat. Access to these animals has an affordable price of admission: some fuel, a reliable 4x4 or quieter dirt OHV and some decent hiking boots for a trek in the backcountry... Moses
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Spent late night R&R last week streaming the two documentary series by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. The "Long Way Round" and "Long Way Down" have generated hordes of bucket list entries from off-pavement motorcyclists, rough country travel buffs, 4x4 enthusiasts, cultural anthropologists and others interested in untainted and remote parts of the World! Fantastic footage, this on-the-ground HD video travelogue provides a unique look at the natural world and "underdeveloped" (lucky for them!) countries in Central Asia, Siberia and Africa. While David Attenborough and National Geographic have done wonderful work with wildlife and human cultural coverage, the spontaneity, authenticity and grassroots insights from McGregor and Boorman take this to a new level. There's nothing more humbling or physically demanding than riding a primitive road on an overloaded BMW motorcycle...Uncontrived, un-staged, and anything but "reality TV", this is a viewing you will never forget...Both series are available from Netflix, get on it! I'm inspired—and prepping for a more accessible and affordable venture of our own: the 4WD Mechanix Magazine HD Video Network filming of the vast Nevada outback, sharing its diverse and challenging Great Basin geography and remoteness, visiting the first people and sharing their cultures, exploring the Silver State's rich mining history, and poring over the contrasting landscapes. The on-the-ground challenge for motorcycles will add more adventure and color this travel! I'm converting at least one of our vintage four-valve XR Honda motorcycles to a street-legal, dual-sport for the brief stints on asphalt and long stretches on dirt. (The magazine's base is mere blocks from the Lincoln Highway/Highway 50A access at Fernley; U.S. 50 across Nevada is known as the "Loneliest Highway in America"—our kind of asphalt!) Part of the plan is affordability, riding and camping at the high desert, rugged mountains and remote, primitive routes without compromising our life savings...This is the yet "under-exploited world", right in our backyard...Stay tuned! Moses -
Although it isn't a place for serious off-roading, some of the roads at Happy Valley can be a bit rough, especially in the early spring or late fall. Although 4 wheel drive isn't a necessity there, it is still a nice place to go and drive down some of the roads, check out the dam and the lake and maybe have a small picnic. It is perfect for people who just want a place to go that isn't full of crowds, like malls and shopping centers. Happy Valley is located on route 104 outside Mexico, NY, which is north of Syracuse, NY and south of Watertown, NY, off of route 81. According to the DEC website, the exit is exit 34, off route 81. The place is actually described as a protected state lands area, and there is a DEC office on the property. The property is about 9000 acres total, with roads, some old abandoned farm buildings, the lake, and a few campsites. They do allow overnight camping, but you have to reserve ahead of time. They don't allow alcohol on the site except by permit as far as I know. ATV's and UTV's are allowed in the summer, and snowmobiles are allowed in the winter once the snow gets deep enough. Also, for you adventurous fisherman, just north of Happy Valley, in Pulaski, NY, is the Salmon River that has salmon fishing in the late fall and steelhead from October to early spring. The NYS DEC website will have more information on when the season starts and ends for each type of fish. I know, I sound like a tour guide for Oswego County, but I lived there for quite a few years and loved it there because there were so many things to do summer and winter. Along with touring Happy Valley and fishing, it isn't very far from Lake Ontario, and a couple hours south of the Thousand Islands. There is also dog sled racing, hundreds of miles of snowmobile trails in the winter and ATV racing and trail riding in the summer, boating on Lake Ontario, and a bunch of historical areas for the history buffs—like Fort Ontario in Oswego, which has a very diverse history, or the lighthouses that are scattered up and down Lake Ontario. Oswego, NY also has a major boating festival in the mid summer, called Harbor Fest, that lasts for an entire week, but you don't have to own a boat to be a part of it. Harbor Fest isn't really an activity for kids, it's mostly to promote the boating and local alcohol-making establishments in the area. -
I know this is considered a popular off road place to visit, but after what you said in another post about short wheelbase vehicles being better there, i have a couple questions. Is the Rubicon something that a medium, or even long wheel base vehicle, such as my 1994 Dakota, or your 05 Ram, wouldn't be able to do? I hear people say that a jeep or dune buggies are the best vehicle for the Rubicon, so what would be the drawbacks to a vehicle like my 1994 Dakota? And what are the minimum reccomended upgrades to any vehicle that would run the Rubicon Trail?
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Want solitude without lakes and forests? We have the Black Rock Desert just 70 miles from home. Just don't plan a trip here during the Burning Man, as the quietude turns to a temporary swell of 50,000 people! The BLM and Burning Man have an agreement that after this event each year, the desert playa must be completely restored. The revenue from this annual event is more than sufficient to do so...At the week's end, thick alkaline dust of the Playa tracks its way down the asphalt from Gerlach to Fernley, Nevada, our town, then onto I-80 in each direction! The local Walmart, Starbucks and restaurants do a thriving business during the event week, catering to the ghostly looking participants! In addition to the Black Rock Desert, there's High Rock Canyon, where Oregon Trail wagons left their mark on the canyon walls at Fly Canyon—where they were lowered from the cliffs by ropes! This is the "oasis" after the treacherous desert crossing, and Mud Meadows' artesian springs spew cool water from the earth, feeding people, livestock and local wildlife! Moses
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Each of us has places we would like to go 'wheeling or dirt motorcycling...Some plans are readily fulfilled, others get placed on your "bucket list". Regardless of the intensity and obstacles, this is the forum to share your most sought after trip ideas and get realistic feedback from others who have been there! Whether you travel by 4x4, OHV or a dual-sport motorcycle, use this forum to post inqueries about trails, routes, foreign travel and safety concerns surrounded trips you have planned!—Moses Ludel
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Each of us has places and tales to share! What's four-wheeling or dirt motorcycling if not travel to places that create memories? It's not always the grandiose trip that leaves a lasting impression, either. Sometimes it's the convergence of time and place—in a most unusual way! I have four-wheeled since the mid-'sixties, and my appreciation for Jeep vehicles began with my folks' 1964 CJ-5, purchased new in the fall of 1964. On a chilly Friday night in the early spring of '65, we headed for Tonopah, Nevada in that four-cylinder CJ. It had the 1/3-2/3 seat, which accommodated all three of us, and we hunched toward the wafting heat from the dealer-installed heater...I drove with a learner's permit, so I was still fifteen years old and not ready to get my driver's license. The F-head four-banger droned along U.S. 95, and with Nevada's basic speed law, cars and trucks sailed by us at twice our speed, headed to Las Vegas. The Mizpah Hotel, a welcome sight, is a Turn-of-the-Century artifact with a gold town history and the first elevator in the State of Nevada...From Tonopah, we headed to the ghost towns of Belmont and Manhattan, then up the long Smoky Valley to Austin—in those years a hundred miles of dirt road, likely with no other vehicle in sight. Next was the Rubicon Trail in 1967, an evening campfire at Rubicon Springs with the Diablo Four-Wheelers, the Sluice Boxes, parking at Buck Island Lake to put on swimsuits and dive into the icy water...This was the trip when my folks thought I'd borrowed their CJ-5 for a "camping trip" with some folks I met—and it was—after all, we did camp overnight at the Springs! I drove prudently and did not damage the stock step plates that hung below the door entries—despite the 30-inch diameter tires...Worth noting, the Rubicon Trail was much milder in 1967, although an I-H Scout that passed through our Springs camp at dawn was later found stalled on the Sluice Box rocks, the engine's starter ring gear had been knocked off the flywheel. We towed the Scout to the top of the Sluice Box and freed the trail for traffic. In the mid-'70s, it was camping with wild horses in the Pine Nut Range after a winter deep freeze furloughed our work crew till spring. We were constructing the I-80 bypass of Winnemucca where the wind blew 30 mph and the temp dropped to minus-8 degrees F on the 10-hour night shifts. Unlike the Alaska Pipeline job, our heavy Cat equipment did not have the benefit of reverse fans, engine cowling and enclosed cabs. A scheduled two hour maintenance break between shifts one Sunday allowed the freshly spread, wetted and uncompacted fill material to freeze 18-inches deep, and the Nevada Highway Department shut down the job. Back at Carson City, in early January, I found the horse band roaming at 6,500- 7,000 feet elevation. Temperatures dipped well below zero at night. My body was still acclimated to extreme cold from the Winnemucca job—where I had worked night shifts in the open air and slept days in an unheated camp trailer. The SWB 1970 Chevy K-10 4x4 pickup had a canopy, so wind chill was not a factor. That April, I drove to the Operating Engineers' school over Highway 88 in a blizzard, discovering at Jackson that the road had been officially closed. I had pushed snow with the front axle of the K-10 from Hope Valley to 4,000 feet elevation on the westside, wipers caking with icy snow that required opening the driver's window and slapping the moving blade away from the windshield to dislodge the snow, all the while continuing to forge ahead. Carson Pass summit is 8,600 feet, and late season storms can lay down volumes of snow quickly. In the late '80s, I once again drove the Rubicon Trail with eight-year-old son Jacob and the Washoe County Search and Rescue group. I wheeled the first FJ40 Land Cruiser project built for OFF-ROAD Magazine. Taking two Geo Trackers on the Rubicon during the mid-'nineties was a deja vu and a successful publicity stunt for Chevrolet...By then I was guiding press launches, working with G.M. 4x4 SUVs and trucks at Moab and going coast to coast with Mercedes Benz for the ML320 debut. I could go on—in far more detail...You have your stories, too! Plenty of exciting trips to share, sometimes ordeals with a positive ending. That's what four-wheeling and OHV travel is all about, and that's why we do it! Share your experiences, details and insights with a community that can appreciate adventure!—Moses Ludel
