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![]() The Herd of Turtles' 4x4/GPS event was kind of like a digital scavenger hunt. We started at a location (Wendy's parking lot in Chilliwack) where we were given the GPS coordinates for the first waypoint. Using our GPS, we had to figure out which roads to take in order to get to that waypoint. Once we reached that waypoint, we searched for a little Tupperware container that contained the coordinates for our next waypoint. We repeated this process over the next few hours until the last waypoint instruction directed us to go back to the Wendy's parking lot where we began our day. By the end of the event, we had covered 70 kilometres over a period of almost 7.5 hours. The waypoints were all located on Vedder Mountain in the Fraser Valley, and it proved to be an excellent way for Vedder Mtn newbies like me to be introduced to the trail system. The roads were quite narrow and featured several off-camber sections that were similar to what I've seen on Vancouver Island. There were also some large mud holes but they had firm bottoms so I didn't have to exercise my winch. Besides the dense network of interesting trails, what impressed me about Vedder Mtn. was the signage that indicated that motorcyclists, ATV'ers, hikers and equestrians were working together to manage the trails. Mark (my co-driver) and I were entered in to the Hard+ class, along with the other half of our team, Dave, Chris and Michael Lippmann in Dave's big yellow Bronco. We ended up spending the entire day with Phil and Rich in Phil's bobbed CJ5, and Gord and his passenger in Gord's TJ. All of us were in the Hard+ class so it was natural that we would end up bunching up together since we were searching for the same waypoints. Wes (HOT4x4 member) hinted that there would be at least one difficult mud section so I had serious doubts about whether I should be in the Hard+ class. A bad experience in an extremely deep mudhole was the reason for the costly demise of my TF999 transmission a few years ago. Since then, I've avoided deep water or mud whenever possible. But as I already mentioned, the mudholes turned out to be pretty manageable. No one in our group needed a tug or the services of a winch, so we made very good time. But even so, we were among the latest groups to return to Chilliwack. Part of the problem was that we a longish route to one of the later waypoints but the chosen route turned out to be a private road which meant that we had to turn around and drive right around the other side of a peak to reach the waypoint. Back in Chilliwack, we caught up with everyone at Boston Pizza where they went for dinner and to hand out the draw prizes. Carnage included a hydrolocked engine, a dinged windshield, torn sidewall, and various tree rashes. Prize donors included NSOR, Dale McGregor, BC4x4.COM (you might've heard of it), and the Herd of Turtles 4WD Society (HOT4x4). We had a great time and met some great fourwheelers, some of whom I had only known via their online personas on the BB.BC4x4.COM message board. I'd like to thank HOT4x4 for putting on this event. It must've taken them many, many hours of planning and trail clearing, plus the fact that some of them still had to go back after the end of the event to collect all the Tupperware containers. They're truly a fun bunch of people to 'wheel with. Here are some photos from the event. I apologize for the fact that virtually of them are from our little Hard+ group. What can I say? There was no one else around to photograph but us. ...lars
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