Just got back from Uwharrie after wheeling with the NC/SC TLCA guys & gals. Mucho thanks to everyone for being so supportive and helping me stay in the right line. Here are the pics my bud took of us wheelin. Great day, great condtions, great group...nuff said. Glad Chrisngrod made the 5 hour drive for a nice day.
edit...more details of the event. Our group was sponsored by Upstate Cruiser TLCA club (SC) as a joint event with the Old North State Cruisers (NC). We started at the area's usual gathering spot where gas/food/air/etc. is available as well as being able to leave tow rigs. There is a $5/day fee or you can buy an annual pass for $30. The park was very busy since this was the last weekend of the season, the park closes for winter on 12/14.
Eldorado Outpost
4021 Nc Highway 109 N
Troy, NC 27371
From there the group decided to start the day off with Daniel (rated extreme difficult, 1.6 miles) which is off county road Cotton Place rd. It the most difficult trail in the park with a handful of rock ledges with steep climbs which is what makes it "extreme". I was originally set against doing Daniel since I was told by some the lowly FJ wouldn't survive. However, I changed my mind through some peer pressure and seeing the stock FJ with running boards going. I figures that he would be my gauge ahead of me as to the possible damage I may incure if any.
I did use my ATRAC hack (locked rear w/ATRAC) to get up some of these since I'm on stock "street" tires. I cleared them without issue. The stock blue FJ with running boards did have some issues with clearance but he made it through everything also. Daniel dumped up onto county road 553 with a parking area and bathrooms.
From Daniel, we hit Rocky Mountain Loop (rated difficult, 2.3 miles total) whose difficult feature is "Kodak" rock (the section with the white Landcruiser pic). There are several routes which all the FJ (including the FJ40) took the "easy" route on the right. I think I could have managed one of the other option routes but after seeing several others suffer damage (body, suspension and wheel) and ~30 people chanting FJ carnage, I elected to hear the boos instead of having to be recovered from deep in the park.
After Rocky Mountain Loop, we hit Sawmill (moderate, 1.2 miles), Slap Pile (moderate, 1.0 miles) and returned to Rocky Mountain Loop back to the main road (county road 553) where we gathered up for the group picture. The Upstate Cruiser club had a raffle of gifts for all of us, giving away some shirts, year subscription to Toyota magazine and a gift certificate for a dealer in SC. And, they gave me a club sticker...all just for showing up.
At the outpost, ready to hit the trails
Making the turn up the first trail of the day...Daniel (rated Extremely Difficult)
The line up for the first climb on Daniel
Up the first climb of the morning
Next climb on Daniel
Cresting the climb
The first real obstacle on Daniel
After clearing the ledge
Chris coming to the ledge
Chris clearing the ledge
Trailing a very fresh FJ
A tight squeeze past the tree
The "easy" line
Coming up the easy line
Chris coming up next
Bill coming to the next obstacle
Following a "real" FJ through the line
My turn
Through the obstacle
Just a piece of Kodak rock
Going up the hard way
Going around the easy way
Making a slight adjustment to the line
Bottom line...everyone was impressed with how well the FJs did. The blue one (Bill) still had the "paper plate" and was dead stock. His running boards took a beating but he got through everything with few issues. This thing continues to impress me with it's capabilities. Some better shoes will definitely make a big difference.
Linear Mode
