2010 Meet Location

[stevec]

I've talked to a few different people about next year's meet, and I'd like to get a little more feedback, so I'm looking for everyone to post comments here. Since the 2009 meet was in Moab, I'd like to do something a little closer for the Canadians.

The Black Hills area is a bit farther north, and also not too far for those coming from the midwest (i.e. Smuz, Myers), but I know next to nothing about 4WD trails there. Idaho is much closer for me and the Canadians, and I have a couple of ideas, but a bit farther for those coming from the midwest. The two Oregon sites are closest to me, probably about the same as Idaho for the Canucks, and I have more knowledge of them, but they are also the farthest from the midwesterners. We've never done a sand/beach run, and Oregon Dunes NRA is a huge area on the southern Oregon coast that would be awesome. TSF is a lot like Liberty, lots of shorter trails, but like Liberty, there aren't any motels very close (15-20 miles away minimum)

The meet will be in late June or July next year, as I already have too much happening in August.

Please vote if you think you can make it, and also post your preference and why. Please note that past LJ meet attendees get preferential treatment!

[lj20Colorado]

i think somewhere in arkansas i just think we have had to many meets in the north west and we sould try eather for south to south west but if its of the choices you have given to us i would think south dakota

[dolomite phil]

hey this is phil i hade the yellow suzuki at the meet with my son jake.

i think the 2010 6th meet should be in Grand Junction Colorado only because were one would be 4 wheeling would be right on the border of utah and colorado.

[russmehl]

I still won't be able to take enough time off to get west of the Rockies until 2011, so my vote doesn't count. Most of my vacation is still getting used to haul college students.
I like the July part, but I was thinking real serious about Zukimelt on July 10-11. (Much closer!)
I'll put up a thread early next year...

[tweeder]

i think somewhere in arkansas i just think we have had to many meets in the north west and we sould try eather for south to south west but if its of the choices you have given to us i would think south dakota

i can dig this

any further than a couple hours outside this state, i can't do. SOMEBODY'S gotta work while the bossman is out playing

[stevec]

any further than a couple hours outside this state, i can't do.

And that, my boy, is why we just have the four choices above.

[SuzukiTom]

Well, I'm voting for South Dakota, but I'd really like to check out Idaho, too. What a conundrum!

Tom

[stevec]

I pulled up mapquest, and Rapid City, SD is about 1100 miles from my house; about the same as Moab, so that's two days travel each way for me. I haven't been out there since I was a kid though, and I'd like to show the girls Mt. Rushmore (they really liked the "National Treasure" movies!) Has anyone been out there before, or have any info on trails? I'm sure they won't be as established as Moab, so it would be nice to have some inside information!

[Glen Friesen]

humm, I have not voted yet as it would depend on what rig I can take. I really want to go do the dunes with the ToyZuki but the run would have to be later in July so I had some time to work on it next summer.
Badlands would be fun except that google says that it would take 21 hours 28 minutes to cover the 2210 km. I would have to make sure I had a tow rig for that run.
I may just have to wait and see what spring brings for me. Until then I will let the rest of you fight it out!!

[SuzukiTom]

The Black Hills area of South Dakota has an well established 4-wheeling club, the appropriately named "Black Hills 4-wheelers". They've got a nice website http://www.bh4wheelers.com/index.htm with some information on the trails in their area. Maybe they would like hosting the LJ10.com meet?

Tom

[Myers]

Most of my vacation is still getting used to haul college students.
...

Russ, enjoy this task while you can. You can go always go to to a meet after you get old like me.

[troy]

I've never done much trail riding, but I have camped and Mt. Biked in SD. Spearfish, SD is my favorite South Dakota city, but all of the state from the Badlands west to the Wyoming border is pretty nice.

I was googling and found this trail that looks LJ suitable:
http://www.4x4now.com/96dcc.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I got the link from this site, but the other trail looks pretty hardcore.

[tweeder]

Most of my vacation is still getting used to haul college students.
...

Russ, enjoy this task while you can. You can go always go to to a meet after you get old like me.

but Russ IS old!

[stevec]

The Black Hills area of South Dakota has an well established 4-wheeling club, the appropriately named "Black Hills 4-wheelers". They've got a nice website http://www.bh4wheelers.com/index.htm with some information on the trails in their area. Maybe they would like hosting the LJ10.com meet?

Tom

I had looked at their website before; I see they have a couple of Samurai's in their group.

I was hoping someone here would have some in-depth knowledge of the area, but if not, I plan to contact them.

[russmehl]

Most of my vacation is still getting used to haul college students.
...

Russ, enjoy this task while you can. You can go always go to to a meet after you get old like me.

but Russ IS old!

And getting older...
and now I'm going to haul in style... once I find a trailer hitch to fit the GMC

[stevec]

Well it looks like most prefer South Dakota, so let's go with it. There are a couple of LJ owners in South Dakota, including Golddigger whom I've been talking to about this, and I'll also try to get hold of the local clubs and FS offices.

July 4th is a Sunday next year, so Monday the 5th will likely be the holiday. Let's plan this for midweek the last week of June, say June 29th - July 1st. That way people can just take the week off, and have a few days on either side of the meet for sightseeing or travelling. If people have plans for the fourth, they should have time to get home in time for that, or they can take a couple of extra days to get home.

I seem to have the only kids going to these anymore, and the last day of school is scheduled for June 15th, so unless we have more than eight days to make up (from snow, floods, windstorms, etc.) we should be fine.

[Myers]

Sounds good. That is a busy tourist area so give us notice asap as to the location. Us non-campers will need to get an early start on reservations.

At Waiparous, AB, we drove nearly 80 miles round trip each day from our room in Cochrane to the camp site. Will not be surprised to see something close to that in mileage for SD. In the past few years we have stayed at Custer, Rapid City, and Deadwood so expect to get a room in SD for less than Cochrane's $200 per night Motel 8.

BTY - In Moab we met a lot of people from France staying at the motel, visiting the National Parks, etc. Mentioned this to one French couple and they said Arches was a must see if you were from France. Maybe the Euro/Dollar issue also had a little influence.

I am wishing my life away but "hurry up 2010"

[stevec]

I will try to firm up a location as soon as possible. You will notice that this is again planned for mid-week (like Moab this year, though Waiparous was a weekend run) and the week before July 4th to hopefully avoid the worst of the crowds.

I see a couple more people have voted for the beach run, though there are no responses here, so I don't know who they are. I am planning to do the beach run myself later in July; let me know if you're interested and I can put a meet together.

[woodchopper]

I will try to firm up a location as soon as possible. You will notice that this is again planned for mid-week (like Moab this year, though Waiparous was a weekend run) and the week before July 4th to hopefully avoid the worst of the crowds.

I see a couple more people have voted for the beach run, though there are no responses here, so I don't know who they are. I am planning to do the beach run myself later in July; let me know if you're interested and I can put a meet together.

yes weekend before your July 4th holiday is our July 1st holiday

I'll have to dig out a map to see what works best, and if there is a Cabellas somewhere on route


Ok researching

Black hills SD 1644Km 18h16min easiest route
Oregon Dunes 1895m 20h13min tougher route crossing the rockies
Tillamook State 1617Km 17h30m same as above
somewhere Idaho, about the same as Black Hills

now for cabellas Billings Montana and Rapid City SD are on route to Black hills and there is a cabellas in Boise and in Post Falls ID

so for me its a toss up either Black hills SD or Idaho work well

[stevec]

There's a Cabelas in Lacey, near Olympia WA. WHy do you need one? Will they let you stay overnight at some (like Walmart?) We stopped for lunch at the one south of SLC on the way home from Moab, and there were "no overnight stays" signs all over the parking lot.

[woodchopper]

There's a Cabelas in Lacey, near Olympia WA. WHy do you need one? Will they let you stay overnight at some (like Walmart?) We stopped for lunch at the one south of SLC on the way home from Moab, and there were "no overnight stays" signs all over the parking lot.

reloading stuff there are things I can't find here

I can't bring back ammo or guns or powder, but reloading dies and bullets and brass are OK.

[SDZuk]

My name is Kelly Brown. Smuz asked me to stop by. I don't own an LJ but I do daily drive an 1987 Samurai.

I lived in Hill City (15 miles from Mt. Rushmore) until January. I now live in White River which is on the edge of the Badlands. I was a member of the Black Hills 4Wheelers before it turned into a group of let's see what we can tear up type of club. Don't get me wrong they are nice folks just not my way to wheel.

I would be happy to provide what info I can about either area.
General info:
Black Hills:
1. Can snow in the hills in June so bring jackets and long pants for nights and mornings
2. Geared more to tourists so motels and campgrounds should be reserved early
3. Lots of other things to see for other members of the family
Mount Rushmore
Crazy Horse Monument
Custer State Park
Bear Country
Reptile Gardens
Deadwood ...if you like to gamble
Dinosaur Museum
1880 Train

Badlands:
1. milder weather but can be windy, as the site posted before stated wet gumbo means really stuck
2. motels and campgrounds are scattered if you want quiet and the trail to yourself this is the place

Either one is beautiful to see but are as different as day and night
The badlands are blocked from public use except for certain areas... I have not been on the trails that were posted earlier but I can go look if you want me too.
The Black Hills are losing trails and they rotate which are open or closed to motorized vehicles. But there are thousands of miles of forest so something fun will be open.

I'm not up to speed on what you folks like to do and how long you plan to wheel. 2-3 days of wheeling with possible catered evening meals etc?

I would be happy to get more in depth and provide pictures and links if you wish.

[stevec]

Welcome Kelly, and thanks for the info!

... with possible catered evening meals etc?

Not that it wouldn't be nice, but like most Suzuki owners, we're cheap! In fact, I think last year's meet was the first where we actually paid for a campsite!

Most of our rigs are stock, and a few are nicely restored, so we aren't looking for anyhting really hard core, where vehicle damage is inevitable. In Moab this year, we ran moderate to difficult trails, 3-4 on a scale of 1 - 5, though I think these ratings were more for SUV's. A stock LJ10/20 will work as well offroad as a Samurai with a 4:1 t-case and 30" tires, since it is smaller, lighter, and geared lower. The preference is towards shorter loop trails, where we can do a morning run and an afternoon run, if possible. I personally can do without the mud, but that usually depends on the weather as much as anything else. There are a few modified rigs in our group, so trails with optional obstacles are great. I prefer trails with something to see (i.e. lakes, mines, nice views, etc.) as opposed to just "let's see if we can make it through this." Finally, we do have a couple of people who don't camp, so there should be hotels nearby (within 20-25 miles is fine). For food, we usually have a potluck dinner one night, but the rest of the meals are "on your own".

From maps I've looked at online, I can't find much in the way of 4WD trails around the Black Hills area, jsut a lot of FS roads.

[SDZuk]

The Black Hills National Forest does not do like other government lands and have designated 4 wheeling trails. What they do is allow vehicles on certain forest service trails. Some of these trails can only be seen by wagon wheel ruts full of grass. They are not well traveled trails as such. Every year they put out a map of trails that can be used. With all the mining that went on in the Hills there are miles of wagon trails and logging roads etc. None are developed as a designated trail.

To map you out a route I would have to get a new map and see what is open in 2010. There may be a way as a group to be allowed primitive camping in some areas with fire pits. Fires are only allowed in pits. The forest service leases the land to ranchers in the summer so don't be surprised if you have cattle in you camp in the morning.
Just to let you know its snowing there now. Some trails will be washes out this spring but ok by the dates you are looking at.

So you want 2 or 3 days broke into trips with a return to the main camp at noon? If I can get you into the Castle Peak campground (trees are restrooms) you would be 30 miles from Lead/Deadwood and 15 from Hill City, they both have plenty of motels but again it is their busy season so be wise and book rooms early. There are paid campgrounds around that area that cater to campers that want water, sewer and electricity. Your nearest fuel and groceries would be about 15 miles away in 2 directions.

I daily drive our Samurai and trail ride it too. It is our only vehicle at this time so I understand fun trails but no damage if possible.

As to the Badlands I know some private land owners in the area and may be able to get a campground set up in that area. The BLM used to allow the Black Hills 4-Wheelers to have Baja style races in the Badlands but it has been years. There is a KOA close to the area and a small town of Interior with a bar and convenience store. Wall would be 20-30 miles away and has motels, restaurants etc.

If I could present a proposal to the head Ranger of the Badlands National Monument of a group of adult, responsible folks in small four wheel drives that are going to leave the land as we found it we may be able to work something out for land use. Since your vehicles are "collector" (don't want to tear them up) type vehicles that may go a long way to prove you will tread lightly.

I know this is early and a guess but how many rigs, people, tents, camper/motor homes are we talking? Forgive my ignorance of your groups size.
or put it this way in general numbers

# of rigs on rides
# of total group
# that use tents in a primitive site
# of motel rooms needed
# of full service camp sites needed

I just need a general idea so I can help find you folks something you can use and enjoy.

Kelly

[stevec]

# of rigs on rides
# of total group
# that use tents in a primitive site
# of motel rooms needed
# of full service camp sites needed

I just need a general idea so I can help find you folks something you can use and enjoy.

Kelly

From past meets, figure on about 10-12 rigs, average of about persons 2 per rig (some may have driver only.) We usually have more who plan to go, but then life happens, and a few have to drop out at he last minute. I think Myers is the only person who would look at a motel room; he's good about booking early. Hopefully doing this meet midweek will help with that as well. The rest of us will be camping, in tents, campers, trailers, and motorhomes, but I don't think any of us need hookups. This year was the first year we had a campground with hookups, and while nice, I don't consider them necessary. If others have a different opinion, please chime in! For a group site, we would need room for tow rigs and trailers (with a top speed of about 50mph, none of us are driving all the way there!)

If I could present a proposal to the head Ranger of the Badlands National Monument of a group of adult, responsible folks

Don't tell them about Smuz then!