[Originally posted 08/10/2017]
This weekend, I took a day-trip up highway 4 in the Sierras with a group of Expedition Portal members. On the to-do list for the day: Slick Rock, Corral Hollow. I decided after talking with a friend who had recently been to Slick Rock that I would be sidelining my 4Runner for the trail, and riding along with V_man. I had been told that the trail had gotten considerably tougher over the winter due to the mother nature’s placement of some good sized boulders. I do have a set of bomb proof sliders, however, my lack of ground clearance and skid plates forced my decision. I was thinking that I would be bummed to not be able to tackle the trail myself, but the day went very well and I saw great benefit in walking the trail, spotting the other drivers, and observing how their rigs navigated the trails. Krister was great to watch as he has the future incarnation of what I want my 4Runner to end up looking like. Getting the opportunity to spot a solid axled 2nd gen, a 5th gen, and two 3rd gens, really showed me the differences between these generations of the 4Runner and it helped me learn how to run different lines with different gear. All around, a great learning experience.
5am start time from the Bay Area
I had to park here, but I found another 4Runner to park next to, and because there was a Search and Rescue training day basing out of Bear Valley that day, the parking lot was full of Sheriff vehicles from many different California counties. Safest. Parking. Ever.
We met up with the rest of the group at Slick Rock, and pup and I got ready for our hike down the trail.
Things look smaller up here in V_man’s tall rig. After Maeve and I loaded up in the taller 4Runner, we hit the trail!
This was a technical section of the trail, that require high clearance, good spotting, and a bit of a squeeze at the end. The only damage were some scraped diff’s (see above photo), and a bit of rear quarter panel damage on Rochmpr’s 5th gen.
(This is where I stopped being a photographer, and became a spotter)
Moving along…
We ran into a T4R member (Magnetic4R) outside Union Reservoir before we had lunch.
We then headed back the parking lot to pick up my truck, and then head down the highway a few miles and up the Corral Hollow trail on the North side of the highway. Overlooking a canyon, we pulled over for some drone shots and to enjoy the view before we ran back down the mountain. We still had a long drive home ahead, so we had to keep this portion of the trip shorter than we would have liked. Another day, another adventure.
The bittersweet air up at the end of the day. I cannot wait to re-visit Slick Rock when I have upgraded my suspension and my undercarriage. As for the Corral Hollow, I would like to come up when winter hits (and the trail is still open) to run it in reverse with hopefully less dust to deal with. Great day with great people. What more do you need?
More to come…
