Late October, I went to the Cove in Gore, VA for the annual T4R.org meetup. This is a trip I look forward to all year! Unfortunately, my wife wasn’t able to make it with me this year, so I had to drive solo which was too bad, because it’s nice having her out there with me.
Last year, before the dawn of my 4th Gen purchase, we took my wife’s 5th Gen out on the trails and, as so many have said before us, we were blown away at the capability of a near stock 4Runner. Albeit a little slower, we hung with a group of well modified trucks without any damage (thank you Shrockworks and RCI). This year was different though, my truck has been modified, and I was really excited to get out again with that crowd and see what my truck could do!
I’ll start off saying, I love my truck! I was so happy with the way it performed. Before hitting trails, I always get a bit envious of those that have factory e-lockers, but I’ve yet to get in a situation that A-TRAC hasn’t been able to get me out of. Some of you will say that means I’m not trying hard enough, and maybe that’s true, but I’m still having a blast with good people and that’s why I go out.
Anyway, let’s get to the good stuff. Most people got to camp at the Cove on Friday, I had to work, so I rolled in early Saturday morning to make sure I could catch the morning runs. Last year we missed it by like 10 minutes! When I got there, I soon realized that my haste was unwarranted since it seems like the crowd had a little too much fun Friday night.
As I unpacked my truck, my buddy Tom of Outbound Overland was handing out breakfast which was kindly provided by Mountain House. I’d never had them before, but the breakfast skillet was surprisingly tasty. And of course it’s super easy to make. Boil some water, pour it in, wait a couple minutes, enjoy!
The morning run ended up being a huge crowd, so we had to split it up into two groups. Unfortunately, it was cut short because we approached an obstacle that only a handful of people felt comfortable attacking. Rather than split the group up even more, we decided to stick together and turn back around.
After a quick lunch we regrouped with a few new faces and headed out again. I had a blast. We hit everything from thick mud, rocks, SUPER tight and steep switch backs in the woods. I got to put my Shrockworks sliders to work on a few obstacles, but one in particular really saved my butt. I took a really hard hit on the driver’s side and ended up with about a baseball sized dent in the rail. So glad that wasn’t my door!
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| Tom with Outbound Overland taking the lead |
Also this afternoon was the first real trail damage I’ve ever experienced. I was stuck in a pretty deep mud rut, and while I did eventually get out on my own power, it wasn’t until after I dented in the rear bumper from rocking back and forth.
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| Baseball size dent on my Shrockworks sliders |
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| Baseball size dent in my Shrockworks sliders |
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| Sad Bumper |
After hours of fun it was time to wrap it up and head back to camp for some dinner and the obligatory adult beverage. Unfortunately, the fun was cut short by some incoming rain which led to probably one of the worst nights of sleep on record.
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| The lineup |
My cheap little Ozark Trail tent did keep me dry, but the rain was so loud and I started getting puddles around the inner perimeter of the tent. Had morning come later, I would have gotten soaked. It was a tough way to end a great weekend, but what would a weekend camping be without some hardships?
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