Seanz0rz's California, Oregon, Washington trip 2009

[Seanz0rz]

Well we are starting the trail today! Had a rough night last night sleeping in the truck. No hotels and it was pouring rain.

Eating at jerry's in lakeview, OR (highly recommended!)

I'll update as I can. Taking lots of pictures!

[4x4mike]

Cool man. Did you guys all sleep in the truck?

[DHC6twinotter]

Well sweet! Looking forward to reading about this! :thumbup:

[YotaGirl]

Well sweet! Looking forward to reading about this! :thumbup:


X2.

I'll definitely be following this thread. Have fun and stay safe out there!

[Seanz0rz]

im now sitting in a motel room in Lakeview, OR.

thats how well this trip is going...

pictures to follow soon.

[DHC6twinotter]

How's the weather been holding up? I noticed Lakeview has a frost advisory out for tonight.

[Seanz0rz]

heres the first clue we should have turned back:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/IMG_1127.jpg

after making it about 15 miles in, through some nasty boggy mud, i finally got stuck in a snow drift:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/100_0837.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/100_0838.jpg

1 hour later and i turn around (i have video of this to come later) after walking up the trail and seeing even larger and deeper snow. we just decided to cancel the trip. about 50 yards back down, we hit this:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/IMG_1133.jpg

that took over 4 hours to get out of. it would snow for about 30 minutes and then be super clear for another half hour. snow would melt, sucking me even deeper into the mud. coupled with not sleeping for over 30 hours, i was done. all i wanted was to get out. we finally dug the 4runner out, not after ruining several pairs of shoes, several articles of clothing, and a few floormats.

trip is over... we plan on just doing some normal campsites along the highway.

[4x4mike]

Now when you say cancel the trip?

Looks like you need a winch for that there winch bumper.

[Seanz0rz]

once we got stuck in the snow, we knew we coulnt do it. it was snowing while we were working on extracting the 4runner from snow, stopped when we finished, and started again just after i got stuck in the mud.

even if i had a winch, im not sure i would have been able to use it. no trees to winch off of from the mud pit. a pull pal would have worked great though! its now on my list of stuff to buy when i have money some day.

for my parents, it wasnt worth soggy camping. if it was me and you guys, i would have been game, but i dont need to put my parents through that. nothing has really gone particularly well this trip, so we figured we quit while we were still not too far behind!

[2ndGen]

i guess digging snow in shorts and T's wasn't fun either, .... you don't need a stink'n winch, just a bigger shovel.

[Seanz0rz]

yeah the shorts and tshirt was no fun while we were working in the mud, it was super windy and the snow made it extra miserable. actually while being stuck in the snow, i was quite comfortable.

i feel like i should add:

this trip would be AMAZING in good weather. what little we saw was most spectacular. i will post all the pictures at a later time. i was thinking it would be good in August or September, when the chance of snow is very low!

[4x4mike]

So you're not heading to your final destination? I thought you guys were seeing family. I figured if it got bad you were hitting the highway and continuing.

[corax]

once we got stuck in the snow, we knew we coulnt do it. it was snowing while we were working on extracting the 4runner from snow, stopped when we finished, and started again just after i got stuck in the mud.

even if i had a winch, im not sure i would have been able to use it. no trees to winch off of from the mud pit. a pull pal would have worked great though! its now on my list of stuff to buy when i have money some day.

for my parents, it wasnt worth soggy camping. if it was me and you guys, i would have been game, but i dont need to put my parents through that. nothing has really gone particularly well this trip, so we figured we quit while we were still not too far behind!


It's too bad you didn't get to hit that part of your trip, but at least you didn't get too stuck for self extraction. do you think the trailer is what halted your forward progress? would wider tires on the trailer (flotation) made a difference?

[Seanz0rz]

we are still traveling to southern washington to see family. we are going to spend 3 days traveling and hit some campsites here and there along the way.

heading out this morning to find a campsite and enjoy our time. really bummed we didnt get to do the OBCDR. while digging out of the mud, we came across ALOT of bear poo. once we found that and saw their food source (some plant we have seen them eat while in sequia and other parks), the shotgun was loaded and one of us was always standing watch while we were digging. luckily we didnt see any!

im sure the trailer contributed to me getting stuck, but honestly i would have gotten stuck in that mud with an empty 4runner. maybe it would have been much easier getting unstuck, but i cant say for sure.

to get out we ended up unloading the trailer nearly completely, disconnecting it, dragging it around and parking it in a way i could come pick it up after i backed out of the mud pit. we dug out my diff and lower shock mounts and lower control arms and i finally got out. i think we all honestly thought we would be spending the night there.

the trailer never really dug in. it just floated on top of everything since it wasnt digging in with steering and power.

[Erich_870]

That's a shame! :(

I commend you for attempting the trip with your parents :bowdown: Mine would never be so adventurous :argue:

I'm honestly STUNNED that you had so much snow. I lived in Klamath Falls for 5 years and have treked all over between there and Lakeview and never heard of such weather this time of year. Thunderstorms are the mud producers, but not snow!

Definitely give it another try some time :thumbup:

Did you by chance get any GPS info on the stretch you drove? :hillbill:

Erich

[04 Rocko Taco]

Sorry this trip didnt get any further than it did Sean! This just means you'll have to plan it a different time, and give me time to get my junk out there, and go with you!

[Seanz0rz]

Back to the civilized world. Had fun camping here and there. I'll make a full report when we get back home.

[Erich_870]

Waiting for full report... :hillbill:

Erich

[slosurfer]

Waiting for full report... :hillbill:

Erich


x's 2 :thumbup: Sounds like this will make for some nice stories around the fire. :D Also, be sure to include your mom and dad's thoughts on how it went. :thumbup:

[Seanz0rz]

Will do. Weather has been great up here. I fear we might have been a day early. Had we gone a day or two later I think it would have went much better. Ohwell. We've been camping here and there and shooting and spending time with the fam. Dad thanked me today for taking them camping and such. It's been far too long since we had a good fam vacation. Although it didn't go as planned, it's been great!

[slosurfer]

That's good to hear! Sounds like a fun time and you got some good stories out of it. :thumbup:

[Seanz0rz]

so since the OBCDR trip was so short, im going to use this thread to chronicle my entire california, oregon, and washington trip. even before the offroad incident, we set out to see some of the stuff along the highways, and really tried to stay off the major interstates and stuck to the scenic byways.

one big thing on our list was the Japanese internment camp, Manzanar, located on 395.
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_1122.jpg

we drove up 395, through nevada, and back into california. by the time we reached Susanville, it was around 10pm and every room in the town was booked up! so i set out to keep driving up 395, getting closer to the trail head. we finally stopped around 2 AM on the side of the road, none of us able to drive or keep our eyes open any longer. mom and dad got a few hours of sleep sitting up in the car, i did not. at 5am, i started the truck and kept driving. only a few miles down the road was a very nice town, with a few very empty hotel parking lots!!! ohwell! we drove into oregon (past the trail head) and had breakfast and gassed up. drove back to the trail head and started the trail. once we got stuck in the snow and walked up the trail and found it got worse, we decided that it was time to turn around. 50 or so yards later, we get stuck in the mud. 4 hours later we managed to free the truck. the pictures of getting stuck in the mud are in the final album, but i really rather not post them. afterward we cleaned up the mess as best we could. come christmas when i get some extra cash, ill be making a large donation to tread lightly or another offroad organization. i feel awful about not exactly treading lightly through that spot, but i feel like my options were extremely limited at that point.
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/100_0827.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/100_0828.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/100_0829.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/100_0830.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/100_0832.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/100_0838.jpg
here you can see just how nasty it was. my rear tires are in a low spot. as we were stuck and working to free ourselves, it would snow and melt, adding to the water and the muck.
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_1131.jpg

after we freed our selves, we returned to the trail head, drove back into oregon and stayed in lakeview. we were very tired, very wet, and very cold. mom was showing very early signs of hypothermia, so the last hour or so i locked her in the truck with the heater going. it was nice to sleep, and the next morning we woke up and got on the road.


since we had all of our camping gear with us, we went camping!

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/100_0843.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/100_0848.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_0039.jpg

this campground was in Collier Memorial State Park, and was VERY NICE. good showers, nice bathrooms, nice campsite. there were chipmunks that would run up your leg to get what you were eating, and would dig through your bags and even mom's purse looking for food! very very tame and very annoying!!!

from here we drove to crater lake
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_1145.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_1146.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_1149.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_0048.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/100_0852.jpg

to be continued...



here is the full album with all the pictures:
http://s103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/?start=0

[Seanz0rz]

after crater lake we drove through some very beautiful forest traveling towards the I5. we stayed that night in a nice but creepy campground is what i think might have been a former religious resort. we were all taking about it yesterday on the drive back and decided the creepiest thing about that campground was the nicely manicured grass... not to mention the one wild turkey that walked about 5 feet from us while i was eating a turkey sammich! this place was not really worthy of a picture, so i dont have any!

from there we drove up interstate 5 from southern oregon, through portland, and into southern washington. this area i am very familiar with, having visited every summer for the last 6 or 7 years, and driving for the last 4. we stopped off in woodland for groceries and firewood and continued up past cougar on the way up to the south side of Mt. St. Helens. we stayed in a campsite we saw last year and liked, Beaver Bay. this campsite is on the Yale lake and is very nice. showers, nice flush toilets. we stayed there for two nights. camp hosts were very nice and i recommend this campsite highly!!! our fire ring was brand new, still had the shipping tag on it!
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/100_0857.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/100_0858.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_1170.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_1179.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_1180.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_1184.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_1186.jpg

every year while visiting family in Vancouver, WA, we travel up this way and hike the Ape caves. every year ive wanted to do the upper cave (much harder) but no one would go with me or i felt unable to. this time i went for it, and traveled alone. it was fairly easy, just huge bolder piles to climb and two sheer lava falls to ascend. the first is about 8 feet high and there is one foot hold about 3 feet above the floor. the fave is pitch black, and i found two sources of light to work best, my headlight and my LED mag light. climbing this fall i had to put my mag light in my backpack. when i reached the top, it fell out of my backpack, 8 feet down. i had to jump down and get it. still works great! climbed it again. one skylight near the end where i took some pictures. highly recommended!!!!
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_1190.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_1192.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_1193.jpg

i found this on the return trail:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_1202.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_1203.jpg

when we were done camping, we drove back south to spend time with family. one day we drove to long beach in washington. it made me miss pismo, and i even got to pull someone out!
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_1208.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_1209.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_0070.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_0071.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_0074.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_0075.jpg

the next day we went shooting!
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_0083.jpg

my uncle brought his 50:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_0086.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_0088.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_0090.jpg

i also have video of that, posted later.

more to come!

[Seanz0rz]

after shooting, we went back and cleaned all the guns. the remaining days were spent with family doing family things. we were suppose to return to beaver bay with some of my family but they flaked out on us. we went camping anyway! we were met with some nasty neighbors whos vocabulary only consisted of "man" and "f$%&". they were very loud an annoying. other than that the campsite was great. A33 is highly recommended! its close to the bathroom but secluded enough too. most campsites there are pull-thrus too! the next day we traveled back up the mountain and hiked part of lava canyon.
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_1253.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_1255.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_1256.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_1261.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_1265.jpg


one more post...

[Seanz0rz]

here are all the other glamor shots i have of the truck:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_1264.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_1276-1.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/IMG_1273.jpg

we drove down US101 from newport, OR to ventura, CA. scenic route was worth it. driving through san fran wasnt! we saw a bear somewhere in the redwoods when we pulled off at a picnic place for a bathroom break. we were suppose to stop in and see slosurfer but after 20 or so hours of being in the car, we just really wanted to get home!

pulling the trailer i averaged about 16 mpg with all the hills and whatnot. driving down parts of the coast i was getting over 21!!! driving 55mph sucks!

both my parents have said that this is the best trip they have ever had! despite the getting stuck with the bear poo and the snow, even the offroad part was great! i really had a wonderful time, and with the exception of being in the truck for a long, long time, i never got irritated at my parents, something i was positive was going to happen within the first few days. no pictures of mom have been posted at her request (silly women...)

truly an epic adventure! not one single thing went to plan on the trip, but never due to an equipment failure or a failure on my part in terms of driving. this trip could have been planned much better, but hindsight is always 20/20.

i hope you enjoy the pictures. feel free to comment and ask questions, except for the part where we got stuck. those questions have been answered or addressed, and its something that i would like to put behind me as its not a high point in my offroading tenure.

bonus points for finding soda cans as usual!

[DHC6twinotter]

Awesome pictures Sean! Crater Lake is really cool. What moutain is that in the last picture? Mt Hood?

I spot 2 soda cans.

[4x4mike]

Very nice dude. I'll have to read the whole thing tomorrow at working during my "smoke break." It'll give me some time to look for the cans as well.

[Seanz0rz]

dan, that is mt st. helens. easy to spot because the top is missing!!! i love it up there, something magical about that place! if i remember and get some time, ill post links up to a bunch of the places we visited. i also have some more pictures to upload from our drive yesterday (i dont think there are many though)

i also think i might have missed a few pictures featuring cans, ill have to go back and see.

[Seanz0rz]

here are the videos of the 50:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/th_MVI_1246.jpg (http://s103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/?action=view&current=MVI_1246.flv)
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/th_MVI_1247.jpg (http://s103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/washington%2009/?action=view&current=MVI_1247.flv)

i was going to shoot it but i was already having shoulder problems that day, even our mini 14 and shotgun with target loads was too much for me. my other uncle got popped in the eye by the scope, nothing big just a little bruised. that is one powerful weapon!!!

[corax]

Awesome pics Sean :thumbup:, the forests of the Northwest are amazing

I must be losing my edge, I only spotted 1 can of Dr P

[strykersd]

I wonder how the 4runner would have handled that with a front locker and some swampers. Maybe even some snow chains and a winch. After getting stuck in 2.5ft of fresh snow last winter up in Big Bear I'm building the 4runner up hopefully to be able to go back next year and plow through the fresh snow. These darn BFG ATs won't help much, but hopefully a front locker and snow chains will. Plus I want to pick up one of Harbor Freights new hitch winch mounts so I can mount my winch on the back of the 4runner to pull myself out if need be.

Seeing your pics makes me want to head up to the Pacific Northwest this summer! Thanks for sharing! So are you going to make it up to Big Bear at the end of the month?

[Seanz0rz]

No. Not making big bear this time. I might go up with a smaller group later. Not into going with a huge group.

As for tires, some mud tires would be enough. At tires wernt cutting it!

[CJM]

Yea MT tires woulda cut it, those ATS just wont work in the snow-bfgs?

[Dramarama]

Aww that looked like such a nice trip :) Glad you had fun! Miss you!

[Seanz0rz]

the bfg at were ok in the snow. when i got stuck i spun my tires, melting the snow and it instantly turned to ice. i had to chip the ice away from under the tires with an axe and a shovel.

i also was not aired down at all.

thanks sarah! miss you too!

[CJM]

Airing down might have helped..

Went to this offroad trail system by my house, friend took another friends jeep rubicon. We got stuck in a small mud hole, all lockers going and the tires just wouldnt grab and they were MT's too. My friend refused to air down which might have worked. Instead we had to call someone to get us and go get another truck.

[slosurfer]

Sean, looks like a good trip, even without getting to do the trail. :thumbup: NIce pics too!


To bad you couldn't come through SLO this time. :(

[Seanz0rz]

yeah sorry we couldnt meet up in slo. we were all so exhausted and just wanted to get home as quickly as possible.