Yeah if it's actually a watershed area I'll probably stay clear of it then; having seen what ends up happening in other places I can respect that. Maybe a bit later in the year I can convince my girl to put on some sensible shoes and go for a hike up there with me.
We actually went to Mt Sicker instead and had a pretty good day, nice and quiet, barely anyone was out there.
I just put on my super slider rails so I've been itching to try them out. I noticed the rails stiffened up the body a bit, reducing the flex noticeably and even eliminated an annoying body squeak it had so yeah bonus there!
It's been a long time since I've been out to the mine trails and of course I ended up getting lost and side tracked a bit on the way but it was all good. I'm still feeling out the limits of my off road capabilities but so far I've been really impressed what I've been able to do with a modest 2" suspension lift and and 1" more height over stock with the 29" AT's. I get a bit more brave with it each time I go out and I don't really like to push my luck without a winch by myself out there and so far it's been eating up all the stuff i used to get nervous about driving stock. I have been sailing over shelves and rocks and roots I would have bottomed out on for sure before so that's a nice feeling not having to cringe in anticipation of those obstacles anymore. The quality of this OME suspension is what impresses me the most though and I always sound like a commercial for ARB when I talk about it but yeah, it was totally worth the money. The stock suspension was still in it and nearly shot when I bought it though so maybe that's partly why the new hardware has made such a difference in the ride. I thought it was a risky and pricey move to spend that kind of cash on a street rig that isn't really worth that much to sell but I plan on keeping it long after it's DD days are over so I'm glad I let myself get talked in to it because I am now convinced it was money well spent based on the improved ride and off road performance. I definitely plan to do a lot more offroading this summer now.
Aw man, I bet that's going to be a blast!
FYI, I recently went up Mt Prevost Road just to see what was up and most of the trails are wide open except the really fun looking one near the bottom that's gated and claims to be under video surveillance, although it's obvious many ATV's and dirt bikes have gone in around it anyway.
You shouldn't have any problems getting in or around most of what's there. After a lot of bombing around on the dirt roads and side trails on Prevost and ending up at Hillcrest Road we went back over to Sicker on the branch G road I think... the first major branch road off Prevost on the right side going up at any rate. One gate was open and one was closed but I managed to make it to the tailings pile to the east of the clay pits. I wasn't sure if I could make it over to the other side from the tailings piles without taking some damage and scaring the piss out of my girlfriend in the process. I have been meaning to go up the easy way from Mt Sicker Rd and check it out from that side but that last time I was in the neighborhood was before I got my new tires on so I didn't make it very far up on stock clearance and road tires before the rotten snow made me a bit too nervous to continue an unplanned detour at night so we turned around before we got ourselves stuck. I honestly can't remember the last time I went up there. Man, I may have to find an excuse to be in Duncan this weekend or something now, just so I can check it out, because I am really curious now why nobody was coming up that trail on anything but a dirt bike. The guy in the Nissan we talked to on the way out said the trail went right through so now I really want to know just how ugly it really is. While I was standing on the tailings pile I could see a stock Vitara staring back at me from the other side, probably wondering how I got over there but not willing to try from that side (it must look at least as ugly over there too I guess). I am still feeling out the limits of the new suspension but so far I am actually really impressed what 3" more clearance and ditching the shot Delco stock suspension for some quality OME parts has done for my ride. It's still my DD and needs a couple more mods done for better offroading so I doubt I'll be joining any Jeep trail runs any time soon.
I just got a Retevis RT5 VHF/UHF radio for Christmas and have been playing with it quite a bit. It's actually a pretty good cheap radio and if you can still find the rev.1 units, you get a little extra bandwidth and transmit power since they neglected to put the band and power caps on that model, which makes them technically illegal here since they are capable of transmitting on restricted frequencies. If you avoid those, you should be fine to use them though, like anyone is going to know the difference. I have been told that the "official" BC 4x4 channel is 146.460mHz simplex. I have yet to hear a single peep on that frequency yet but I have it permanently programmed in as a priority channel just in case someone actually uses it. I also have all the Marine VHF frequencies, all the resource road control and loading frequencies, including all the FRS/GMRS and MURS channels as well, and I scan them often while off road. Sometimes when I'm out in the boonies I do hear some traffic on GMRS channels but everything else is usually pretty quiet while I've been scanning. It seems most people just use the cheap walkie talkies to com car-car. CB is dead and even the repeaters here are eerily quiet unless it's a bunch of digital noise coming over it. VHF only seems to be used commercially still.
I don't usually put any bling on my ride but those are some nice looking decals. I like to keep it looking plain on the outside and just like every other white 2nd gen Tracker out there because it looks like a service vehicle and puts a scare in to the kiddies when they see me coming, thinking i'm going to tell them to GTFO. ;-)
Don't even get me started about the gates and "the big 3" or I'll go off on a rant again....
A cordless Dremel with a flex cable and a pack of cut-off wheels is becoming essential trail hardware for island wheelers. Not that I would cut a lock to get access but one minute a gate could be open while someone with a firewood license is back there cutting so you cruise in thinking it's all good and an hour or two later it can be locked again and you're effed. It happened to a family out in Nanaimo Lakes and probably countless others who'd rather not admit they were "where they weren't supposed to be". If you've been in the Koots for ten years you have missed the gatepocalypse that's been happening here. I graduated highschool in the Okanagan and the only gates you usually run in to there are cattle gates. Here, it's a real gamble planning a trip somewhere you thought was open only to be greeted by a big locked gate and no reasonable way around it. The only places I can think of that are always open to some degree are Mt Sicker/Prevost, most of Forebay and Timberline in Jordan River. Muir Main has opened up a few times but never to the public, only for private magnesium mining and logging operations. There is a bypass trail at the start of blueberry flats but it's still an active area so I steer clear of it. Butler Main is now Shuttler Main. That gate never seems to be open. You can roll right over the gate if you have an ATV in a cube van with a 4' deck and ramps and just back up to it though (and I have the pics and vid of that) ;-) No more access to Bear Creek Rsvr from either since last year unless you have a quad or a well equipped small ORV. They even put a gate up at Loss Creek for no other apparent reason than F-you. I loved going for an impromptu camping trip up there at the mining claim site when it was hot in the summer because it was always cool and damp back there. A lot of the places you used to be able to go west of Shawnigan Lake are now gated off and/or dug out so you can't sneak in to some of these places from the back roads. Really makes me wonder just what it is "they" are doing back there that they have gone to such measures to keep the public from seeing, except the obvious over-logging and sadly inadequate reforestation and conservation efforts. When creeks are running brown with the flood runoff in April and entire hillsides have collapsed after being cut, you may have overlogged a bit IMO but hey what do I know.. I haven't buggered around much on the island yet this year but it's hard to get motivated to explore when a lot of places are permanently closed to the public and are even being patrolled by air during the week. I swear to you I had a frickin helicopter following me around overhead for well over an hour while I was trying my luck on an old overgrown trail for something to do on a weekday afternoon because I noticed a gate was open and decided to go for it. I don't know much about the areas up around Nanaimo, Coombs, Errington, Port Alberni and such and how much the access restrictions are actually enforced if you do manage to find a way in. The last time I had an offradable ride and went out that way was probably 8 or more years ago now. I remember camping up by Rowbotham Lake overnight and getting in pretty much right off Errington Road. the next day I went to Rhodo Lake and as far up to Mt Moriarty as you can go with a vehicle. I imagine they tank trapped that way in so you'd need a mog to get through now but next time I'm up there I'll do some poking around and see if I can find another sneak way in. The offroad enthusiast on the island is faced with many more challenges now than ever before with regard to access to wilderness lands, it's not about how well built your rig is anymore, it's about how you fudge your way around all the lockouts and dodge responsibility for "trespassing" in undeveloped wilderness. Aww crap, I just went off on a rant again didn't I... OK well at least now you know what you missed here while you were on the mainland and how frustrated some enthusiasts have been.
Yeah if it's actually a watershed area I'll probably stay clear of it then; having seen what ends up happening in other places I can respect that. Maybe a bit later in the year I can convince my girl to put on some sensible shoes and go for a hike up there with me.
We actually went to Mt Sicker instead and had a pretty good day, nice and quiet, barely anyone was out there.
I just put on my super slider rails so I've been itching to try them out. I noticed the rails stiffened up the body a bit, reducing the flex noticeably and even eliminated an annoying body squeak it had so yeah bonus there!
It's been a long time since I've been out to the mine trails and of course I ended up getting lost and side tracked a bit on the way but it was all good. I'm still feeling out the limits of my off road capabilities but so far I've been really impressed what I've been able to do with a modest 2" suspension lift and and 1" more height over stock with the 29" AT's. I get a bit more brave with it each time I go out and I don't really like to push my luck without a winch by myself out there and so far it's been eating up all the stuff i used to get nervous about driving stock. I have been sailing over shelves and rocks and roots I would have bottomed out on for sure before so that's a nice feeling not having to cringe in anticipation of those obstacles anymore. The quality of this OME suspension is what impresses me the most though and I always sound like a commercial for ARB when I talk about it but yeah, it was totally worth the money. The stock suspension was still in it and nearly shot when I bought it though so maybe that's partly why the new hardware has made such a difference in the ride. I thought it was a risky and pricey move to spend that kind of cash on a street rig that isn't really worth that much to sell but I plan on keeping it long after it's DD days are over so I'm glad I let myself get talked in to it because I am now convinced it was money well spent based on the improved ride and off road performance. I definitely plan to do a lot more offroading this summer now.
Aw man, I bet that's going to be a blast!
FYI, I recently went up Mt Prevost Road just to see what was up and most of the trails are wide open except the really fun looking one near the bottom that's gated and claims to be under video surveillance, although it's obvious many ATV's and dirt bikes have gone in around it anyway.
You shouldn't have any problems getting in or around most of what's there. After a lot of bombing around on the dirt roads and side trails on Prevost and ending up at Hillcrest Road we went back over to Sicker on the branch G road I think... the first major branch road off Prevost on the right side going up at any rate. One gate was open and one was closed but I managed to make it to the tailings pile to the east of the clay pits. I wasn't sure if I could make it over to the other side from the tailings piles without taking some damage and scaring the piss out of my girlfriend in the process. I have been meaning to go up the easy way from Mt Sicker Rd and check it out from that side but that last time I was in the neighborhood was before I got my new tires on so I didn't make it very far up on stock clearance and road tires before the rotten snow made me a bit too nervous to continue an unplanned detour at night so we turned around before we got ourselves stuck. I honestly can't remember the last time I went up there. Man, I may have to find an excuse to be in Duncan this weekend or something now, just so I can check it out, because I am really curious now why nobody was coming up that trail on anything but a dirt bike. The guy in the Nissan we talked to on the way out said the trail went right through so now I really want to know just how ugly it really is. While I was standing on the tailings pile I could see a stock Vitara staring back at me from the other side, probably wondering how I got over there but not willing to try from that side (it must look at least as ugly over there too I guess). I am still feeling out the limits of the new suspension but so far I am actually really impressed what 3" more clearance and ditching the shot Delco stock suspension for some quality OME parts has done for my ride. It's still my DD and needs a couple more mods done for better offroading so I doubt I'll be joining any Jeep trail runs any time soon.
I just got a Retevis RT5 VHF/UHF radio for Christmas and have been playing with it quite a bit. It's actually a pretty good cheap radio and if you can still find the rev.1 units, you get a little extra bandwidth and transmit power since they neglected to put the band and power caps on that model, which makes them technically illegal here since they are capable of transmitting on restricted frequencies. If you avoid those, you should be fine to use them though, like anyone is going to know the difference. I have been told that the "official" BC 4x4 channel is 146.460mHz simplex. I have yet to hear a single peep on that frequency yet but I have it permanently programmed in as a priority channel just in case someone actually uses it. I also have all the Marine VHF frequencies, all the resource road control and loading frequencies, including all the FRS/GMRS and MURS channels as well, and I scan them often while off road. Sometimes when I'm out in the boonies I do hear some traffic on GMRS channels but everything else is usually pretty quiet while I've been scanning. It seems most people just use the cheap walkie talkies to com car-car. CB is dead and even the repeaters here are eerily quiet unless it's a bunch of digital noise coming over it. VHF only seems to be used commercially still.
I don't usually put any bling on my ride but those are some nice looking decals. I like to keep it looking plain on the outside and just like every other white 2nd gen Tracker out there because it looks like a service vehicle and puts a scare in to the kiddies when they see me coming, thinking i'm going to tell them to GTFO. ;-)
Don't even get me started about the gates and "the big 3" or I'll go off on a rant again....
A cordless Dremel with a flex cable and a pack of cut-off wheels is becoming essential trail hardware for island wheelers. Not that I would cut a lock to get access but one minute a gate could be open while someone with a firewood license is back there cutting so you cruise in thinking it's all good and an hour or two later it can be locked again and you're effed. It happened to a family out in Nanaimo Lakes and probably countless others who'd rather not admit they were "where they weren't supposed to be". If you've been in the Koots for ten years you have missed the gatepocalypse that's been happening here. I graduated highschool in the Okanagan and the only gates you usually run in to there are cattle gates. Here, it's a real gamble planning a trip somewhere you thought was open only to be greeted by a big locked gate and no reasonable way around it. The only places I can think of that are always open to some degree are Mt Sicker/Prevost, most of Forebay and Timberline in Jordan River. Muir Main has opened up a few times but never to the public, only for private magnesium mining and logging operations. There is a bypass trail at the start of blueberry flats but it's still an active area so I steer clear of it. Butler Main is now Shuttler Main. That gate never seems to be open. You can roll right over the gate if you have an ATV in a cube van with a 4' deck and ramps and just back up to it though (and I have the pics and vid of that) ;-) No more access to Bear Creek Rsvr from either since last year unless you have a quad or a well equipped small ORV. They even put a gate up at Loss Creek for no other apparent reason than F-you. I loved going for an impromptu camping trip up there at the mining claim site when it was hot in the summer because it was always cool and damp back there. A lot of the places you used to be able to go west of Shawnigan Lake are now gated off and/or dug out so you can't sneak in to some of these places from the back roads. Really makes me wonder just what it is "they" are doing back there that they have gone to such measures to keep the public from seeing, except the obvious over-logging and sadly inadequate reforestation and conservation efforts. When creeks are running brown with the flood runoff in April and entire hillsides have collapsed after being cut, you may have overlogged a bit IMO but hey what do I know.. I haven't buggered around much on the island yet this year but it's hard to get motivated to explore when a lot of places are permanently closed to the public and are even being patrolled by air during the week. I swear to you I had a frickin helicopter following me around overhead for well over an hour while I was trying my luck on an old overgrown trail for something to do on a weekday afternoon because I noticed a gate was open and decided to go for it. I don't know much about the areas up around Nanaimo, Coombs, Errington, Port Alberni and such and how much the access restrictions are actually enforced if you do manage to find a way in. The last time I had an offradable ride and went out that way was probably 8 or more years ago now. I remember camping up by Rowbotham Lake overnight and getting in pretty much right off Errington Road. the next day I went to Rhodo Lake and as far up to Mt Moriarty as you can go with a vehicle. I imagine they tank trapped that way in so you'd need a mog to get through now but next time I'm up there I'll do some poking around and see if I can find another sneak way in. The offroad enthusiast on the island is faced with many more challenges now than ever before with regard to access to wilderness lands, it's not about how well built your rig is anymore, it's about how you fudge your way around all the lockouts and dodge responsibility for "trespassing" in undeveloped wilderness. Aww crap, I just went off on a rant again didn't I... OK well at least now you know what you missed here while you were on the mainland and how frustrated some enthusiasts have been.