Expeditionr

Check out the newest footage added to the Videos section of the site. These latest videos were all shot during the 2011 FJ Northeasters event at Rausch Creek Off-Road Park in Pennsylvania. We spent two fun days running blue trails, many of which were overrun with water flow and mud. But despite the high water, drizzling fog, and lower-than-normal temperatures, it was still a great time with great folks. For anyone else who is interested in attending this event in the future, you can get more details at the FJ Northeasters forums. In my opinion, this is one of the best events to attend, whether you’re new to off-roading or an old-school rock crawler. Thanks again to Tony and Rich for all the video capture and a huge thanks to Pete, Jacques, Brian and all the other organizers who help put this event together every year! I hope to see many of you again soon at future Rausch Creek events!

I’m currently working on another update to the electrical system and hope to have the article up soon. In the mean time, I thought you all might enjoy a few videos from various excursions over the last few years. These are not professionally shot by any means, but a few friends were kind enough to hang back and take some shots while we played, so I’m more than happy with the results. Over the last couple of years, I’ve discovered that one of the biggest challenges to writing articles is capturing events as they transpire. Whether the format is audio, video or still photograph, and extra pair of hands is usually required to ensure the time line of events is properly tracked.

In the case of installation, it becomes rather a nuisance to have to stop at every step in order to detail progress after the fact. So much of the time, my photographs only tell part of the story. When I have the privilege of participating in off-road events, event capturing will oftentimes translate to standing in the bushes, hanging from tree limbs, or sinking knee-deep in the mud if necessary, in order to do the shots justice. It also means hanging back from the group while everyone else gets to play. For those of you who are willing to go this extra mile, I extend my whole-hearted thanks. Without folks like you, I’d be left with only memories of events past.

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It’s that time of year again folks! The countdown has officially begun and as of this writing, we’re less than 90 days away from one of my favorite runs of the year. The FJ Northeasters run is hosted by FJNortheasters.org and our friends at Rausch Creek Off-Road Park in Tremont, Pennsylvania. The park features miles upon miles of trails with ratings ranging from mild green to hard-core red. There something for everyone at Rausch Creek so I highly encourage anyone even remotely interested in this event to attend. This year’s (2011) run is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, the 22nd and 23rd of April. Like previous years, the FJ Northeaster is officially slated as a two day event, however, attendees are more than welcome to stick around on Sunday as well for an informal day of trails.

Currently, event organizers behind the scenes are busily working to get registration forms online, arrange for sponsors, etc. I am told they hope to have the registration web site ready in a week or two. But like most events of this size, it takes a lot of hard work and coordination to make it all come together. So please be patient and in the mean time, hit up the FJ Cruiser or FJ Northeaster forums for more details. I’ll update this post with a registration link once the forms are up and ready to go. I look forward to seeing those of you who regularly attend and hope to see a fresh batch of new faces as well. See you on the trails!

Update:

The registration form is now live and ready for sign-up! Once again, I’d like to remind everyone that even though this event is FJ-centric, registration is completely open to anyone who wants to join in the fun. There are no limits based on vehicle brand or manufacturer. If you’re looking for a great gathering of folks and enjoy wheeling, rock crawling, or off-roading in general, the FJ Northeasters run is a great event to attend.

As much as I’d prefer to keep this blog in sync, I also believe that certain events are worthy of mention, even though they disrupt the chronological order of the posts.  It’s been almost ten months since the last Northeast Run at Rausch Creek which means only a couple more months before they do it all over again.  That’s right folks, the FJ Northeasters are at it again, playing host to an event chalk-full of excitement, friends and fun!  Round three of this annual FJ Cruiser event is scheduled to take place during Easter weekend, specifically the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of April, 2010.

Registration forms are not yet online but should be up shortly for anyone interested.  Accommodations for the area can be scarce if you wait until the last minute so I highly suggest researching your options now.  The folks at Rausch Creek have made it pretty easy by providing a nice compilation of nearby campgrounds and hotels.  So don’t wait.  Make those reservations now!

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Just to avoid any possible confusion, the following post details events that occurred during the 2nd Annual FJ Northeast Run, in April of 2009.  Event details for the 3rd Annual FJ Northeast Run can be found here.

Despite my mad-dash efforts to complete all mods prior to our first trip to Rausch Creek, I was not able to complete everything I had planned.  With some advanced planning, however, I did make remarkable progress towards the end goal, acquiring and installing a host of different options that would make the FJ a bit more capable and the passengers a bit safer.  In preparation for a winch and other accessories, I upgraded the electrical system using the Dirty Parts Dual Battery Kit.  Having the new Icon suspension now in place, meant ride quality was dramatically improved.  The new Nitto Terra grapplers would not only give me additional ground clearance beyond that of the Icon lift, but better traction in the mud and rocky areas too.  To increase traction further, I planned to air down the tires prior to hitting the trails.  Pressure restoration would be completed with my newly installed Powertank setup.  Interior cargo items were now more easily secured using the Springtail Solutions MPAC rack systems and the Gobi ladder and roof rack were also available for any additional cargo that wouldn’t easily fit into the rear of the FJ.  And last, but most certainly not least, the BudBuilt skids were now affixed in rock-solid position, awaiting the inevitable clashing of rocks, stumps and whatever else happened to obstruct our path.

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I’m almost ashamed to admit that it took me well over a year of FJ ownership before I reached a stage where I was comfortable with the thought of trail damage. As a sport, rock crawling is a new thing for me. I’m used to driving off the beaten path through mud, snow, etc.  But the concept of intentionally putting a brand new vehicle in harm’s way completely escaped me.  I’ve always been taught to take care of the things I own in order to make them last as long as possible.  So for the first year or so, I enjoyed the FJ in relatively stock form (minus a few previously mentioned upgrades).  That was, at least, until a forum post caught my eye in January of 2009.

The post indicated that one of the better known FJ Cruiser organizations on the Atlantic, the FJ Northeasters, was gathering sponsors and participants for their 2nd annual run at Rausch Creek in Pennsylvania.  The key difference between to this event and previous gatherings, was that this particular event focused on folks who were new to rock crawling and trail runs.  This became even more obvious as they gathered confirmations for trail types, where  the majority of folks who responded to the invitation were signing up for the green-rated trails.  For those unfamiliar with color-based trail ratings, the green trails are generally considered the easiest to navigate and are the least likely to result in unwanted damage to your vehicle.

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