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4 Wheeling with Land Rover
7 Dec 02
20 Sept 03
7 Dec 02
Our first serious off-road
adventure . . . on 4 wheels.
About once a quarter, Land Rover of
Thousand Oaks gives it's customers a chance to sign up for a day of guided
off-roading . . . a chance to see what the vehicle is capable of and to gain
some experience and incite into the world of 4-wheeling.
I had signed up before, but always
had a conflict when the day was picked. This time, they picked Saturday, 7
Dec and no conflicts. There were 18 customer vehicles and 4 Land Rover of
TO vehicles.
So Jerry (my son) and I get to Land
Rover at 7:30a for a complimentary breakfast buffet and then at 8:30a we
head for a remote section of Bouquet Canyon . . . about 15 miles north-east
of Valencia.
We drive deep into Bouquet Canyon and
finally get to the trail-head . . . this first section is rough fire road,
steep, but not difficult. I have the Land Rover's transfer case in high and
transmission in 3rd. These aerial photos are
courtesy of Ansel Rodriguez . . . he took me flying and I got some great
shots.
 As we
climb to the ridge line, I am wondering what to expect next. At the
top of the ridge we stop let everyone catch up and are told to put our
transfer cases in LOW, it's going to get more difficult and that after lunch
(yes, they also provide lunch), we will really be challenged . . . CAN'T
WAIT ! ! !
 The
fire road up from Bouquet Canyon.
This is where we leave the fire road and go over the ridge
line.
The Rover goes up most any hill in 3rd or 4th with the ABS making sure power
goes to the wheels with traction. It also has an electronic Hill Decent
Control. . . with the push of a button and the transmission in 1st, you take
your foot off the brake and let the computer control braking on each wheel
independently . . . no slipping or sliding, just a very controlled decent at
about 3 or 4 mph. It's unbelievable!
We find a spot that will hold all 22 of the Land Rovers
and we stop for lunch. This is about 4,500 feet and the temperature was
only 43 deg., but clear as a bell . . . you could see forever.
 What
a view . . .
After lunch, we head straight down .
. . sort of, toward the reservoir. I have to admit to a degree of fear
accompanied by an incredible adrenaline rush.
There is no way I would have done
this alone.
 These next
shots will give you an idea of the ROAD (if you could call it that)
conditions. As we were descending, we came across 4 guys on
motorcycles that had just come up this same trail. They asked if we
were really going to go down this . . . and were we crazy. They
stopped and watched us for the next 20 minutes, shaking their heads.
You had to see the size of the ruts and rocks to believe it. At times
I was only on 2 wheels.
I have a new found respect and admiration for my Land Rover and these
pictures DO NOT do it justice.
I love my Land Rover . . . in the last photo, I was only on the left front
and right rear wheel.
I am ready to go again . . .
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