Surrey Obstacle Course
The Herd of Turtles hosted this year's BC 4x4 Association AGM, and as part of the festivities, the Herd organised an obstacle course at a SECRET location in Surrey. Here is Wes, single-handedly digging the course with his own shovel, blood, sweat, and tears. I couldn't attend the event itself, but Wes was kind enough to let me try the course and help fine-tune it.I think I was third or fourth to test the course.
The course was a variety of terrains, with logs, rocks, bogs, steep grades and scary pits. I actually almost rolled in the first section, observing a
35 degree bank to the left before levelling (chickening) out. Wes took note of the near-impossible sections and adjusted the course accordingly. Here is one of the steeper inclines-- it had to be attempted at speed; it's worse than it looks, and slippery!
This was the first time out with my Rancho shocks, and they provided much more travel than the stock ones. Beneath the dirt and clay is a bed of smooth rocks and other discarded items, which made for some tough cornering and poor traction. The course was built over a former commercial hothouse, so there was lots of debris around.
Long wheelbase? Ha! No problem! This section is immediately following the log bridge, which was a breeze, even with an open rear-end, probably because of the length of the truck. Of course, there's a downside to a long footprint, too.........
...like impaling yourself on a simple outcropping, with both rear wheels a clear foot above the Earth. I came down HARD on this mound, but no damage was incurred. Well, this was the last time I ever saw my factory mudflaps. After a lot of rocking and tranny riding, they were all gone, and two were never found at all!
At least I wasn't the only guy to get stuck. By the time this pickup tried the course it was pure mud and slippery clay. But, heck, it just wouldn't be a day out without seeing a Toyota pulling a Jeep out of something, would it?!