5th gen 4Runners in scenic locations

#1 - Curt Gowdy State Park campsite - Cheyenne, WY - my buddy's Revel Sprinter (the mothership). #2 - Trailhead to Leverich Canyon Trail, Bozeman, MT.

Notice - All five vehicles in the parking lot are Toyota's.

 

Shaffer Trail

 

The switchbacks on this trail are awesome, if you're not afraid of heights.

 

Heaven

 

Went up to go backpacking and found a nice yellow post camp off a newly opened forest road. Decided to camp there and explore the area a bit.

Idyllwild, CA.

 

What tent is that? It looks like maybe a Tarptent Stratospire.

 

Pretty close! ( I had the Stratospire Li before this one). This one is the Durston XMid Pro 2.

 

How do you like it compared to the Stratospire? My favorite 1p is the Notch, but I'm looking for a new 2p to replace my ancient Rainbow.

 

I had the Notch Li before the Strat. I liked it, but it was a bit too small for me. And when I started bringing a dog, a lot too small.

I like the XMid better than the Strat but it's close.

Pros for the XMid Pro v.s. the Strat Li:
It's easier to set up then the Strat.
It's bigger inside (or at least feels bigger) because it's not a double wall tent like the Strat (the regular XMid is double wall, but not the Pros).

Cons:
You can't set up the XMid inner-only or fly-only like you can the Strat.
Some people prefer double wall because they feel it reduces condensation.
The parallelogram interior seems odd at first but you get used to it.

They both have giant footprints so it's somewhat difficult to find a sufficiently sized tent site. Being trekking pole tents, neither are freestanding.

The Double Rainbow Li looks to be a pretty good option too but I've never tried it.

Strat:



Notch:

 

Thanks for the info! I figured the Stratospire might be a bit fiddly. One thing I don't like about the Double Rainbow (non-Li) is setting that long pole. Depending on the temperature, it can be moderately difficult to darn near impossible to get the ends engaged. The one I carried almost as long as the Notch was the original Contrail, but it wasn't nearly as good in bad weather as the Notch.

 

Somewhere west of Moab.

 

fuck the boomers

 

Converse Basin, Sequoia

 

India at Whitmore Canyon, AZ...



...and hiking down to the Colorado River from the Grand Canyon's North Rim.

 

This thing is amazing. I got stuck in deep sand in 2H... then put it in 4H and easily pulled me out. I am in love

Wharton SF

 

A hiking trailhead in NY

 

Where exactly in NY?

 

Greenwater, WA

 

Catskills

 

NY has a hiking trail? Huh? Who knew?

 

Right?! I thought NY was a concrete jungle!

 

Exactly. Native New Yorker here, and NEVER heard anyone I grew up with ever say, "Let's go hiking." NEVER! NOT ONCE!

 

Decided to play in the mud on New Gingercake Rd after spending a couple of nights in Linville Gorge

 

Packed up Max and attempted to take the 4Runner out to Valley of the Moon (Jacumba, CA) with an optional plan to stay the night if things went well. Valley of the Moon is accessed via a 4wd road. There are two ways in. A blue trail and a black diamond trail. I chose the easier one. Got to use 4hi going up and 4Lo on the way back down to keep from using the brakes too much on the downhill. Tested out the skid plates in a couple areas.

I don't have much (any?) experience on rougher trails (plus I was alone) so I stopped at a spot that looked a bit too hard to me to get through and parked just below and hiked up to one of the sites I had planned on seeing - Smuggler's Cave. Luckily, it was just up the hill.

On the way back, a father and son- father in a full-size pickup and son in a stock Limited stopped at the same place. We brainstormed, they moved some rocks and were able to make it through without issue. They offered to spot me going up, but I would be coming back down alone so I said thanks anyway and drove back down. Ended up going to Desert View Tower just down the road.

Neat place. I'd been there once before a long time ago. The caretaker told me of a nice overlook spot many people don't get out to called Sacatone Overlook so I opted to extend the day's adventure and head out there on the way home. Rough(ish) road about 2 miles off the main road. Neat road just hard enough to make it fun. Did not need 4wd.

Not the adventure we planned, but an adventure nonetheless.

Parked off the side of the trail:




Tough spot:



Smugglers Cave:





Desert View Tower:





Sacatone Overlook: (with views of "The Impossible Railroad")

 

Great picture!