5th gen 4Runners in scenic locations

Simple Camp in East Tx

 

Little Grand Canyon. San Rafael Swell. Last Wednesday.
The next morning.

 

Ran a trail I use to run all the time in my Rubicon. Hackberry in Superior AZ. Its been about 8 years since I've ran it. Back then it was a solid 4/5 trail rating. It's probably a 4.5/5 now. Weather has eroded it so much.

I beat the hell out of this poor thing today. Rear bumper is missing lots of paint now and the skids have been beat to shit!She did really well all things considered! Surprises me more and more each trip. I know Toyota didn't design these to be rock crawlers but that departure angle is so bad lol.

 

Banff area

 

Campsite outside of Page AZ....




With a nice sunset....

And a decent sunrise...

 

Beautiful, looks like Gunsight?

 

Yea, Alstrom pt

 

I thought the towers in the background looked familiar! It’s been a few decades since I was out that way, was hoping to visit last summer but hurricane Hilary axed my plans to meet up with some buds as I got to the Nevada-Utah border on hwy 319

 

Dinner and baking cookies at Catwalk Recreation Area, NM...




...unfortunately, after impassable roads due to snow drift x3, self-extrication/recovery x3, and the straw that broke the camel's back, a downed tree bailed on NMBDR to try some other day(s).

https://youtu.be/7KLTnCun6oA

 

Looked like a great trip despite needing to perform a self recovery out in the middle of nowhere!

 

Our first outing since we picked up our 4Runner. Location: Cherry, AZ

 

How's the trail to get to Alstrom Pt.? Did you start at Big Water?

 

Slo-Runner in the wild.

 

do you have a build thread or anything? looks like you've done some cool/interesting things to your truck.

 

GREAT pics. What's your lift? Thanks.

 

Yea, left the highway at Bigwater. The trail is fairly simple until you get about 300 yards from Alstrom Pt. There is a short hill you need to climb which has some big moguls and will test your droop, but definitely passable. Coming back down it you can't see any of the drop in front of you. The rest of the road was a mix of high speed sand and fairly smooth gravel, especially at the beginning. Lots of twists and short hills are fun. Lots of places worthy of a photo, especially with a low sun.

 

Specs in sig and numbers are 2.25” front and 2.5” rear lift from average stock heights.

 

Awesome thank you. I'll be in southern Utah in May and want to do a couple trails but nothing too crazy as I'll be quite far from home and with my wife and kid.

 

Hard to believe after all the precipitation we got last year that Lake Powell is still so low. Here's a pic from 2016:

 

If you have the time and it looks interesting to you go check out White Pocket in AZ. It will take a solid half day if you start in Page.

 

Is that lake a water source for those in desert SW?

 

Yes it is. It part of the Colorado River system which has two major reservoirs...Lake Powell in Utah and Lake Mead on the Nevada/Arizona border. Every state along the Colorado is slurping water out of it...Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California. Las Vegas, a city of 2.5 million people, gets all of its water from Lake Mead. The Imperial Valley in California, along the border with Mexico, grows all those fresh vegetables you eat during the winter in fields watered by the Colorado River. Used to be the Colorado River, which originates in the high Rockies in Colorado, ran out into the Gulf of Mexico. No more...its all used up before it gets to the Gulf.

So yes, Lake Powell not only generates electricity for a lot of the Southwest at Glen Canyon Dam, the water flowing from Lake Powell provides most of the water used in the Southwest.

 

The river begins in Rocky Mountain NP, north west of Denver.

 

Actually White Pocket does look interesting. Do you have a link to reliable trail directions? I don't put a lot of faith in Google for off highway trails.

 

We use All Trails app for our directions but I do think Google is pretty reliable for this one. Parking lot is located at 36°57'18.9"N and 111°53'36.4"W

 

The road to White Pocket is not easy, but it’s a fun challenge navigating and driving there. Depending from where you start (Page AZ or Kanzb UT) if will be about a 3.5 hour journey through deep sand and some rocky areas to climb over. Carry gear in case you get stuck in sand (shovel, traction boards). People often get stuck there and tow/rescue costs about $1K. Carry food and water. No cell service. Use an offline GPS navigation map like Gaia. And get the National Geographic paper map
“Paria Canyon, Kanab
Vermilion Cliffs National Monument
Grand Staircase-Escalante NM”.
The forest service road signage can be confusing.
It’s Bureau of Land Management bordering on wilderness so pay attention to where you can go and camp. The scenery there is outstanding.
https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/documents/files/AZ White_Pocket_PDF.pdf

PS: Heed the warning for “deep sand” red-lined routes. Do not go there. It’s *really* deep and on a hill. Follow the yellow highlighted route.

Also, it’s so awesome you should spend several hours there exploring. Allow a full day for travel and exploring.

 

That sunset photo is a wall-hanger! Absolutely spectacular!

 

I was hoping to see your ORP perched on that tower!

 

Haha that would be an epic picture. Actually, launching a gas power RC car off the features of White Pocket would be wild, but:

 

Been there, done that!! Didn't get any t-shirt!