Expeditionr

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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