Where did I just come back from? Oh yes, NXM 3 at Windrock Park (formerly Coal Creek OHV)

It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks. No sooner than I get back from the Cove for the Big Dogs Offroad Main Jambo, I was back out the following weekend for National Xterra Meet in Oliver Springs, TN.

The drive seemingly took forever. It took forever to get off of work. I hadn't packed..blah blah blah. But I had a good time and avoided any serious carnage. It rained balls. Most of the morning it rained balls. I stopped to buy some body panel fasteners on the way down to reattach the front part of the replacement radiator skid; however, I never even got them on until I got back home.

I have some video uploaded to my youtube page. Check the link to the right of the page.

I'll just post some pics and start typing:

 A little bit less chrome...

My replacement winch cable arrived on Thursday (9/19). It seemed like a good opportunity to look at removing the bull bar. It has been bullied terribly over this past year and a half. I chopped out the cross-member to accommodate the winch. I drilled more holes for lighting. It got walloped up at Rausch Creek and earned a nice gouge under the driver side. After Big Dogs, I added a matching cave-in on the passenger side. I thought I'd have to remove the full bumper to gain access to the winch cable attachment point. It turned out this was not necessary. In the process of trying to remove this thing, I did discover that the two weld nuts on the driver side found inside of the frame (opposite the frame horn where the stock recovery hook would mount) had both broken free. I couldn't drop the attachment bracket on the driver side. I first looked at using the Sawzall to cut through the bolts, but I decided to leave the bracket on the driver side, remove from the passenger side, and then resnug the assembly by applying leverage to the bull bar mounting bracket in order to create enough tension to keep the weld nuts from spinning freely as I ratcheted them down. I had thought about removing the front receiver hitch, but I do still like that, for the time being, it shields the radiator, sway bar, and lower control arms from taking direct hits if I plunge down into something a bit too aggressively. In the offseason, I plan on reworking the front end to provide some recovery points and a pre-runner style skid.

 This was a truck stop somewhere in TN where I couldn't read the sign and ended up on the trucker side of the rest stop. I feel, when this happens, that my 8-1/2' steel whip antenna gives me a free pass to be in there.

 One of the few Solid Axle Swapped Xterras that I saw. He also had the Rhino Liner or Line X job on the lower rocker panels and up over the fender flares.

 I parked over here with another misfit Frontier. I arrived basically on the last full day; so, no one really knew who I was or why I had shown up at this point.

 At first I thought, "Ok, who has taken Daddy's Lexus out on the trail?" But then I heard tales of what this machine was doing out there, and I instantly humbled myself. Those tires are reportedly 35s and thing came off the assembly line with rear (and I was told also front) lockers. If that is the case, I bow down to thee, oh mighty Lexus. My truck felt so little compared to some of these other rigs with larger tires and lift kits.

 Speaking of lift kits. I spent probably 10 minutes enjoying some real-live truck porn. I told people not to mind me, I was just going to spend some alone time admiring this Xterra. Forty-nines. Yes, 49" of rubber.

 So a lot of these pictures are going to appear hazy. It was raining balls as I said. At the drivers meeting, the trail guides basically put the fear of the divine into us. A lot of folks bowed out and returned to their cabins and tents. I thought, for a second, perhaps I should do the same after getting my tail end handed to me at Big Dogs. But I figured I hadn't driven all this way not to at least try. The rain was coming down pretty good which we were told would turn moderate trails into difficult ones, and difficult trails into "are you f-ing kidding me"(s). Nevertheless, I journeyed on. I saw Mike as the moderate group was heading out; I knew he'd be in the difficult group. That's where his Frontier belongs. But as we set out, I noticed many of the Xs in the convoy were of the Offroad and Pro-4X variety.

 It turned out, for the most part, the trails were rather tame. A few technical portions were to be found, with some enhanced difficulty due to diminished traction, but nothing too crazy. We splashed through some tire deep puddles which made for a fun, muddy mess.

 I did manage to get 'stuck' one time. And it was embarrassing. I follow my learned mantra of "Put your wheel on it!" I did this, apparently to a fault. There was a sizable rock in the trail on a descent. I went to put my passenger side wheel on it. It broke free before I got up on top of it and we slid 2 or three feet surfboard style, until it lodged onto a larger rock. However, during our slide, it shifted from being in front of the tire to in front of the lower control arm. I also got a bit sideways and lost traction in the rear. I couldn't back up the incline and I had no grip behind me to plow over it. I thought about deploying the newly repaired winch, but it turned out easier to get a quick tug from one of the drivers behind me. My rear tires hooked up well about a foot into the recovery, and I was able to reposition and drive around the wedge rock. This was like 300 yards from our last trail's end. Otherwise, Veronica and I had done well for the day.

 Just over top of the side view mirror, that boulder kind of dares you to drive over it...and then plunge 2-3 feet down to the trail below. Veronica and I went around.

 We regrouped here a few times in between trail loops.

 There were drivers from NC, SC, Indiana, Mississippi, another state, and then Mr. Maryland.

 Veronica, sans bull bar. She looks a lot cleaner without it. I do want to get my Pep Boys lights back on there somewhere. I saw another truck with them and I felt proud.

 Lining them up. Nissan actually sent 3 models of the Xterra 2014 pre-production out there. There is a SWEET wheel package option that comes with them.

 I think they also brought a Juke and a Rogue, but those didn't go out on the trails.

 I think they said there were over 57 trucks out at this year's event. It was the largest ever; so, it was cool to be a part of the tradition growing. The organizers had teased about it some prior, but they actually are going to do a National Frontier Meet concurrent with NXM next year. I meant 'tease' in the sense of foreshadowing. I expressed interest in being involved. So maybe you'll read more about my potential involvement in that regard.

 Maddy is so camera shy. She'll be looking at me until she sees me reach for the camera. Then suddenly there's something to the left or the right that she needs to look at. She came with me to the East Coast Nissan Truck meet, but there was no offroading to be done there. This was her first time going offroading and camping with me. She did...ok.

A funny thing happened on the trail. I take some lumps here and there. At one point I didn't see a rock or something and slipped off and down onto it...hard. So hard in fact that there was, for a short time, a weird rattling and I feared that I had lost rear wheel drive. Anyway, I hit that bump and Maddy jumped...(and I mean literally, squatted down and then sprang forward) out of the back seat and into my lap before burrowing her head into my arm pit. And she REFUSED to relinquish this position. It was during one of the more technical portions of the day. I couldn't really stop to reposition her. I tried to continue driving but she continued to nestle further into my arm pit. I finally had to one hand it and kinda toss her back into the back. So seat dividers and/or canine restraint will be needed. It was cute and annoying at the same time.

Other than that, she settled down much sooner into the drive this time around. She generally just laid down in the back seat. At some points, she actually seemed to show interest in our destination and would sit up and perch her head forward to look through the windshield and see where we were headed.

And of course, everyone seemed to love her on this trip too. She got spoiled several times with belly rubs.

 This was our little camp setup.

Some lessons of things needed.

Camping Lessons:
-Maddy needs her own little collapsible crate inside the tent. She kept getting up and walking around. And she does not pay good attention to where her paws go. A couple of times she basically walked on my face.

-There were a few brews had after the trail ride. I needed to keep leaving the tent for relief. I want to bring one of those hospital things so I don't need to leave as often.

-A pillow would be nice instead of improvising with a sweatshirt.

-My cushion is not nearly as cushiony as I remember it being in Moab.

-I need a 'dry storage' compartment inside of the cooler. I need to bring my big boy sized cooler instead of my "Cool Cube".

-Although I like being a bit less conspicuous without the rooftop rack and basket, it would probably be helpful to clear up some space in the truck bed without having both spare tires positioned back there. I'm not sure that I'll have that worked out by this next weekend.

And I'm not sure if this will be the last trip for me for the season or not. It was the last 'scheduled' thing that I had looked at way back in March, but I've since learned of a few more outings. We also did a family budget and there are some things that the Mrs. presented which will...alter...my plans for the truck and the time which I thought was spare. I suppose that is a part of being an adult. Adults like to have toys and play time too, but we also have to be the ones to say when the toys have to be put away.

I had hoped to try to organize maybe one more club outing, but it could be good to take a break and work on some of the homework assignments that have come up from these past few outings.

I got Maddy a Bug-Out Bag. I thought this might be a good time to debut it. The instructions say to try it out with your dog empty. I didn't quite do that. It only had a bottle of water on each side and her collapsible bowl. I had hoped she would wear it up to the event area so we could replenish her water as the day went on. She would take a few steps and then flip out. Take a few more, spin wildly. She figured out how to toss it in such a way that she could get a good bite at it.


We'll try it again later.

Maddy and I chilling in the tent.

I recall riding trails #2...maybe #14, and then one other. I needed to add that note for when I go back.

Oh, we also rode the service road from the parking lots back up to the event area. The terrain isn't too crazy under ideal settings, but the rainfall made the steep ascents and climbs a bit nerve-wracking on the narrow paths with precipitous drops to either side. The Nittos again made me offer some props for their ability to grapple in moderate amounts of mud. I will have to remember to add some commentary in my next review cycle which is up this week.