2014 Xterra Pro-4x Build and Adventure Thread
- Thread starter Jhberria
- Start date
A snorkel happened this past weekend. The install was NOT fun.
Advocate II
Surgically attached to your left thigh? That could cause all sorts of hygiene issues, Steve.
So I took most of last week off of work for a 5-day camping/hiking/wheeling trip from the Olympic Peninsula down the Oregon coast. I didn't take too many pictures, but I enjoyed every bit of the experience, nonetheless.
Starting Wednesday, I drove out to the staircase region north of Lake Cushman. The lake is beautiful this time of year.
Once I got to my campsite, I set off on foot to conquer the trail to the Flapjack Lakes high in the Olympics. It was about 5 miles up the Skokomish River trail to the Flapjack Lakes trailhead branch off. I should have done my research, as once I got about a mile up Flapjack, the altitude climbed rapidly and I was walking on packed snow and ice over dozens of felled trees. Being that it was 75 degrees at my campsite when I started my foot trek, I was not prepared for this. Ended up turning back a couple miles shy of the Lakes. The Skokomish trail offered some pleasant wooded vistas, so no regret there, but I'll conquer the flapjacks later this summer.
I got back down to the campsite in the early evening, cooked some burritos, and enjoyed some honey bourbon by the fire while reading some Tolkien. Yes, I'm a Tolkien nerd (if you couldn't tell by my signature).
Woke up Thursday morning and began my drive down the coast and over the Columbia River to Oregon. I stopped at Lake Cushman one last time on my way out to enjoy the weather and scenery.
The drive across the bridge (and subsequently state lines) was rather long and enjoyable. This was my first time crossing this bridge into the Beaver State.
I ended up stopping Thursday in Warrenton, at a Campground adjacent to Fort Stevens State Park. The Park is basically a small peninsula the juts out into the the Columbia River delta, where it meets the Pacific. The park memorializes Fort Stevens, a WWII era naval battery which famously was the only location in the continental United States during the war that directly engaged the Imperial Japanese forces. Japanese submarines attacked the Fort which resulted in an exchange of artillery. Much of the old battery still stands.
I also ventured out to the Northwestern tip of the park, represented by a jetty that guides in waters of the Columbia into the edge of the Pacific.
After meandering down the beach for a couple miles on foot to appreciate the wildlife (had the pleasure of watching two Bald Eagles hunt fish in the tidal pools for a good long while) I decided to change the paradigm a bit and drive out on the beach. Coastal Oregon has miles and miles of drivable beach, and Fort Stevens is no exception. I spent a couple of hours tooling around on the beach in the Xterra befor retiring to my campsite and repeating the previous night's activities.
.
The next day I cleared my campsite at Fort Stevens and headed south on 101, as this was the day I was meeting a few guys from the Northwest Xterra Club at Tillamook State Forest. The drive on 101 down the coast is breathtaking, as you're essentially following a narrow band of asphalt down a cliff side straddling the ocean. Needless to say, I stopped for a few pictures along the way.
I rolled into our pre planned dispersed camp site in TSF around 3pm, and shortly there after was joined by @Trixter404 , @Snowtrout , and the other members of the club. We spent Saturday doing some rather technical wheeling, camping both Friday and Saturday nights. I don't have many pictures of this, as I was driving, but I'm sure some will turn up eventually and make my their way to my build thread. In the meanwhile, here's a few I took of other folks trucks on the trail.
Trixter404 after a rather gnarly climb up a tight rock shelf:
Snotrout after the same climb.
Here's a photo another member (Jeremy) took of three of us Xterra folk. I'm in the middle, Snotrout in front, Trixter bringing up the rear.
Overall, great trip. Was it better than working? The answer to that would be an unequivocal "yes".
Starting Wednesday, I drove out to the staircase region north of Lake Cushman. The lake is beautiful this time of year.
Once I got to my campsite, I set off on foot to conquer the trail to the Flapjack Lakes high in the Olympics. It was about 5 miles up the Skokomish River trail to the Flapjack Lakes trailhead branch off. I should have done my research, as once I got about a mile up Flapjack, the altitude climbed rapidly and I was walking on packed snow and ice over dozens of felled trees. Being that it was 75 degrees at my campsite when I started my foot trek, I was not prepared for this. Ended up turning back a couple miles shy of the Lakes. The Skokomish trail offered some pleasant wooded vistas, so no regret there, but I'll conquer the flapjacks later this summer.
I got back down to the campsite in the early evening, cooked some burritos, and enjoyed some honey bourbon by the fire while reading some Tolkien. Yes, I'm a Tolkien nerd (if you couldn't tell by my signature).
Woke up Thursday morning and began my drive down the coast and over the Columbia River to Oregon. I stopped at Lake Cushman one last time on my way out to enjoy the weather and scenery.
The drive across the bridge (and subsequently state lines) was rather long and enjoyable. This was my first time crossing this bridge into the Beaver State.
I ended up stopping Thursday in Warrenton, at a Campground adjacent to Fort Stevens State Park. The Park is basically a small peninsula the juts out into the the Columbia River delta, where it meets the Pacific. The park memorializes Fort Stevens, a WWII era naval battery which famously was the only location in the continental United States during the war that directly engaged the Imperial Japanese forces. Japanese submarines attacked the Fort which resulted in an exchange of artillery. Much of the old battery still stands.
I also ventured out to the Northwestern tip of the park, represented by a jetty that guides in waters of the Columbia into the edge of the Pacific.
After meandering down the beach for a couple miles on foot to appreciate the wildlife (had the pleasure of watching two Bald Eagles hunt fish in the tidal pools for a good long while) I decided to change the paradigm a bit and drive out on the beach. Coastal Oregon has miles and miles of drivable beach, and Fort Stevens is no exception. I spent a couple of hours tooling around on the beach in the Xterra befor retiring to my campsite and repeating the previous night's activities.
.The next day I cleared my campsite at Fort Stevens and headed south on 101, as this was the day I was meeting a few guys from the Northwest Xterra Club at Tillamook State Forest. The drive on 101 down the coast is breathtaking, as you're essentially following a narrow band of asphalt down a cliff side straddling the ocean. Needless to say, I stopped for a few pictures along the way.
I rolled into our pre planned dispersed camp site in TSF around 3pm, and shortly there after was joined by @Trixter404 , @Snowtrout , and the other members of the club. We spent Saturday doing some rather technical wheeling, camping both Friday and Saturday nights. I don't have many pictures of this, as I was driving, but I'm sure some will turn up eventually and make my their way to my build thread. In the meanwhile, here's a few I took of other folks trucks on the trail.
Trixter404 after a rather gnarly climb up a tight rock shelf:
Snotrout after the same climb.
Here's a photo another member (Jeremy) took of three of us Xterra folk. I'm in the middle, Snotrout in front, Trixter bringing up the rear.
Overall, great trip. Was it better than working? The answer to that would be an unequivocal "yes".
Pathfinder III
Influencer II
Nice Xterra and great trips! I've always been impressed with the capabilities the X has!
Sent from my iPhone using Overland Bound Talk
Sent from my iPhone using Overland Bound Talk
Contributor III
@Jhberria What is your average gas mileage on the road? I wanna do some mods to my 4x but I also have a 45 minute commute to take into consideration [emoji23][emoji23]
Sent from my SM-N910V using Overland Bound Talk mobile app
Sent from my SM-N910V using Overland Bound Talk mobile app
Daily driving I get about 14.5 MPG. Although that's including quite a bit of driving on a military post, which is essentially the same as stop-and-go driving in a city. On the highway, at or around 60-65 MPH, I get around 18-19 without the tent up top. If the majority of your commute is highway, fuel efficiency won't be hurt too badly.
The wife and I spent the weekend camping and exploring the Mount Adams recreation area around Trout Lake, Washington. It was my first time enjoying this area of the state, and we were not disappointed.
We met up with a few other members of the Northwest Xterra Club Saturday morning, and spent the day tooling around the mountain, enjoying the vistas, and getting stuck in snow.
Taking a break next to Steve (Trixter404).
Parked at the climbers base camp, a jumping off point for those wishing to reach the peak of Adams.
Enjoying the view of the mountain with the group.
....and we're off again.
It sure is purr-tee.
Now at one point, we encountered a rather lengthy stretch of sloppy snow on the trail. Was it necessary to keep going? Not at all. Did we do it anyways? Hell yes we did. Trixter404 and myself were the only souls brave enough to chance the snow drift, and boy was it fun. It was tricky, and some of us had more trouble with the snow than others (*cough*Steve*cough*). I'll let Trixter tell that story, though.
Now the only time I got hung up was towards the end of the snow patch.
The group began to unspool Steve's winch line to tug me out, but alas! It wasn't necessary.
MaxTrax to the rescue. Worked like a charm.
In the end, good times were had by all.
We met up with a few other members of the Northwest Xterra Club Saturday morning, and spent the day tooling around the mountain, enjoying the vistas, and getting stuck in snow.
Taking a break next to Steve (Trixter404).
Parked at the climbers base camp, a jumping off point for those wishing to reach the peak of Adams.
Enjoying the view of the mountain with the group.
....and we're off again.
It sure is purr-tee.
Now at one point, we encountered a rather lengthy stretch of sloppy snow on the trail. Was it necessary to keep going? Not at all. Did we do it anyways? Hell yes we did. Trixter404 and myself were the only souls brave enough to chance the snow drift, and boy was it fun. It was tricky, and some of us had more trouble with the snow than others (*cough*Steve*cough*). I'll let Trixter tell that story, though.
Now the only time I got hung up was towards the end of the snow patch.
The group began to unspool Steve's winch line to tug me out, but alas! It wasn't necessary.
MaxTrax to the rescue. Worked like a charm.
In the end, good times were had by all.
Off-Road Ranger I
Overlanding Xterra.....gas mileage.....
.....I gave up long agoMyself, Trixter404, and another member of the NWXC, Matt, decided to make a try at the Fortune Creek Trail the weekend before last. Matt didn't have his X, as it was being shipped up to Alaska for one of his epic trips, but he did show up with his other trusty steed, a nicely sorted Disco.
We weren't able to make it all the way to the lake, but we were able to cover about 90% of the trail and enjoy some nice scenery along the way.
Normally, this trail is not too difficult. However, winter was not kind to it. While still not difficult, the trail was significantly tougher than when I last ran it in October. Long story short, a bent up a couple bolts from my helper springs and split a CV boot. Both issues have since been remedied.
Hope you enjoy the pictures.
This is the snow that stopped us....just a little shy of the lake. On or about 5500 ft of altitude.
We weren't able to make it all the way to the lake, but we were able to cover about 90% of the trail and enjoy some nice scenery along the way.
Normally, this trail is not too difficult. However, winter was not kind to it. While still not difficult, the trail was significantly tougher than when I last ran it in October. Long story short, a bent up a couple bolts from my helper springs and split a CV boot. Both issues have since been remedied.
Hope you enjoy the pictures.
This is the snow that stopped us....just a little shy of the lake. On or about 5500 ft of altitude.
Expedition Master I
- 5,079
- First Name
- Drew
- Last Name
- Hawley
- Member #
-
1537
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- WRBZ674
- Service Branch
- USN veteran
Regardless of the fact that I have a great history with Nissans I'm a big fan of your X and this thread. Fantastic stuff.
Thanks! I've really come to enjoy the Xterra.
As an aside, I'm currently looking at Subarus (namely the Crosstrek) to replace my wife's VW GTI. I've loved the Crosstreks since they were debuted.
I haven't really updated this thread much recently, so I thought I'd throw in a few pictures of my recent trips to Naches, the Olympic Peninsula, and Mt. Ranier.
There's been no significant additions to the Xterra other than 1 inch BORA wheel spacers and an ARB awning.
http://s819.photobucket.com/user/jhberria/media/IMG_20161023_162039787_zpsaxuktt0j.jpg.html]
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Following @Trixter404 down a trail near Ranier.
http://s819.photobucket.com/user/jhberria/media/IMG_20161126_113729815_zpssh1cvzip.jpg.html]
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http://s819.photobucket.com/user/jhberria/media/IMG_20161126_145316594_HDR_zps7bwhuqem.jpg.html]
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A little muddy on the Naches Pass Wagon Trail
http://s819.photobucket.com/user/jhberria/media/received_660670194104471_zpsyyrpxtve.jpeg.html]
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There's been no significant additions to the Xterra other than 1 inch BORA wheel spacers and an ARB awning.
http://s819.photobucket.com/user/jhberria/media/IMG_20161023_162039787_zpsaxuktt0j.jpg.html]
[/URL]http://s819.photobucket.com/user/jhberria/media/IMG_20161023_162201430_zpsedllpyae.jpg.html]
[/URL]http://s819.photobucket.com/user/jhberria/media/IMG_20161106_113005385_zpsnh0toza1.jpg.html]
[/URL]Following @Trixter404 down a trail near Ranier.
http://s819.photobucket.com/user/jhberria/media/IMG_20161126_113729815_zpssh1cvzip.jpg.html]
[/URL%5http://s819.photobucket.com/user/jhberria/media/IMG_20161126_145316594_HDR_zps7bwhuqem.jpg.html]
[/URL]A little muddy on the Naches Pass Wagon Trail
http://s819.photobucket.com/user/jhberria/media/received_660670194104471_zpsyyrpxtve.jpeg.html]
[/URL]http://s819.photobucket.com/user/jhberria/media/received_660670137437810_zpsto8pluvi.jpeg.html]
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