theksmith
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About theksmith
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Expedition Expert
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17th Annual Holiday Party (BBQ, Gift Exchange, Cookie Contest)
theksmith posted a calendar event in Community Calendar
Join us for big time fun with your Offroad Passport friends at our annual Holiday Party! We bring the burgers & dogs for a potluck lunch, plus there's the infamous cut-throat white elephant gift game, and the delicious cookie contest everyone can participate in! Exact location TBD (somewhere in central AZ for sure)! Save the date - details & sign-up thread coming soon... This event is open to anyone on the forum, you don't have to be a club member to attend! -
Coffee & Crawlers meetup at Desert Rat in Tempe
theksmith posted a calendar event in Community Calendar
I'm planning to attend this meetup on Saturday: https://www.facebook.com/share/1DjjBKd3kj/ let me know if any of you will be there (just PM me)! -
untilJoin me on a difficult rated run from Devil's Canyon all the way up to Pinal Peak (over 7k feet elevation) then back down to the Chilito Mine trail. This is an exploratory run as I've only done about 1/3rd of the route. On that trip I encountered a boulder that I had to winch out of the trail, a huge washout that I had to navigate a creek to avoid, lots of other smaller washouts, and downed trees! The area doesn't get a ton of traffic but does seem to get a lot of flooding. Come with your explorer hat on prepared to do road repairs, cut trees, and possibly even have to backtrack to alternate routes. The higher elevation portion of this adventure is easy graded gravel roads, and most of the route is moderate rated tight shelf trails. However there's also some difficult rated terrain similar to Hackberry Creek trail (though not as extreme). We'll plan to camp in the lower sections at 3k to 4k feet elevation, which should be good for a mild AZ winter weekend. Note that this trip will be postponed if there's rain or unexpectedly freezing weather. Save the date - details & sign-up thread coming soon... Note this is an Offroad Passport Club members-only event. View membership options →
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10/3 - 10/7/2013: Comb Ridge and Nearby Trails, Utah
theksmith replied to dzJeepChic's topic in Trip Reports & Photos
it was a wild ride! here's a link to all my photos - since all my embedded ones in the trip report stopped working: https://photos.app.goo.gl/BwPveHqrgVEpVPZi9 -
spent the weekend out scouting for a future ORP overnight run... there's a trail somewhere in there... encountered a boulder in the middle of the trail on a shelf road area that i couldn't squeeze by. probably could have crawled over it, but i was alone and that would have pitched me really hard towards the edge so seemed prudent to winch. next issue was a tree and a major washout. fortunately i was able to use a creek-bed as a bypass for about a quarter mile to get around those. there had been some MAJOR water flow in the area recently. i walked the creek route first make sure i wasn't going to sink Gadget in some bottomless mud hole. i was in rolling hills for a while after that, so i took the only tiny flat spot i could find (the start of a short spur trail) as my camp spot for the night. had a bright-ass full moon for the evening. climbed up from around 3k feet to over 7k where i had endless views and even a small pine and oak forest. now this part really was just a forest road! found next to a random fire ring, someone had a bath here! tiny but bright flowers. i only scouted about a third of the route i had planned. so watch for a future difficult rated "exploratory" overnight trip in the Superior area - maybe early December!
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crazy nice sunsets this week here in Phoenix - these first 2 shots are directly out of the phone camera without any edits:
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all of us, talking to normal peeps that don't spend all their money on a 4x4 and camping equipment...
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also tagging @Nillabean1999, @Dan.K with 4runners, and @Lichen who has a FJ Cruiser, and @Bradywgn71 & @Mick Bowers with their Lexus - any words of wisdom about essential upgrades for a 4Runner or experiences with particular yota/lexus specific aftermarket vendors? other good forums for yota tech questions besides IH8Mud?
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we usually rate trails with in general terms of easy, moderate, or difficult. you'd be fine on anything we call easy, and on the lighter end of moderate too. take a look at what you have for factory skid plates - i think you'd be better served by upgrading any deficiencies you find there and investing in some rock sliders rather than more lift and/or tire size right away. @mynr1 & @lofreqjeff have 4-runners, maybe they can chime in here?
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I was just recently telling someone about this magic hole in the desert, then ran across this little summary on FB recently...
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i don't think we're having a call-in or web conferencing option this time... but to anyone that can't make the in-person, please go ahead and reply here with what ideas you have - let's start a virtual meeting right here! @Ladybug, @Bradywgn71, @shellback91
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not too shabby for $20!
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untilTh 18th annual Dirt Gala will be at the Cinders again! Come spend the weekend camping with us at the O'Leary group site near Sunset Crater in your tent, trailer, or RV. Saturday we'll do a moderate trail run into the Cinders OHV area, including driving into the bowl of a (long dormant) volcano! The trail ride is optional - you could also just hang out at camp, go into Flagstaff and play tourist, or explore on your own! Chock full of friends, family, games, prizes, laughter and dirt – there’s fun for everyone! So grab the whole family and join us. Don't be that person hearing about all the awesome stuff you missed for the next whole year! Save the date for now! Sign-up thread and full details coming soon... Note this event is open to all (you don't need to be a club member to attend)!
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another great ORP Gala in the books! thank you all so much for coming out!!!
