fireball
SILVER Star
Can’t believe you won the rear bumper. Sounds like an insider job!!! 
Events/Trails HIH9 Trip Report (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter paflytyer
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Can’t believe you won the rear bumper. Sounds like an insider job!!!
So I’ve been really close to registering for this event twice now but Each time I end up not clicking the register button. I’m just curious why the dates always start and end in the middle of a week, W-M instead of like a M-Sa or Sun-Fri? The way it’s set up people from the east coast, and I’m guessing anyone else, essentially have to take two weeks off of work to come out there to be able to do the event instead of one week. It makes it rather difficult to pack into a calendar. I’d love to come but each year the dates leave me scratching my head. It’s obviously a great event and loved by everyone who attends, but why are the days of the week selected that way?
A lot of people don’t actually go for the entire time. The 2 years I Have attended, I showed up a day late, and left a day or 2 early. I live in LA and it’s about a 1k drive each way. Even for 3-4 days being there, it’s worth it to me. I’m weird, but enjoy the driving to and from the event too. I have just taken only 3-4 days off work and used the weekend each time. I always wish I had more time there, but reality is life is busy and even though I am self employed, I need to pick and choose how I spend my time off / away. You need to get in first though. Good luck with that. All the HIH insiders already take the majority of the slots. 
A ton of folks generally leave on Sunday, Monday is kind of an empty field with the last stragglers cleaning up/packing up their sites and heading out.
And Wednesday is again kind of a half-day/setup day - the meat of the event is Thursday-Saturday, they do trail rides on Sunday too but again, there are less of them and a lot of folks head out.
I don't have any insight into why the days were selected, but good/bad/indifferent it is what it is. I think any way you look at it, an east coast person is going to be looking at taking at least a week and a half off for work unless you fly out and back and ship your rig.
Lots of people leave on Sat and Sun. You just have to be gone by Monday.
You can always ship the truck and fly in; will add a fair amount of cost to the trip, but you'll save time not driving back and forth from the east coast. Aaron from Summit Auto Transport has been a sponsor / preferred vendor for guys that ship.
You're going to have 2-3 travel days each way, 25 hrs for me. Travel the weekend before. Camp a few days in CO. Get to the event on Wed. Leave early Sunday and book it back in two long days. I take 6-7 days off. Most years, I drive from CO straight to Orange Beach, AL for continuing education classes starting the following Wednesday. SiriusXM, coffee and Buccees are your friends.
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This is what we do coming out of South Georgia and it works really well. It’s actually setup perfect for us.
You need to get in first though. Good luck with that. All the HIH insiders already take the majority of the slots.
I so wonder how many slots are left after sponsors and others are registered.
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Sponsors and Insiders don’t count towards the 100. So the answer would be 100
- Thread starter
- #212
Good question and a lot of folks have given great insight already. It began as just a weekend gathering. (Fri-Sun). It didn't take long to see that we wanted an extra day together so everyone started arriving early on Thursday. Once we moved to Kendall, we had the space and wanted to offer an extra day. Instead of adding that day on the backside and having it go deep into the following week, we added it on the front side. The bulk of the gathering activities still happen over the weekend. (Friday night pot luck and Saturday night dinner/raffle)
Any attendee is welcome to arrive/depart whenever they'd like. Come and go as it fits into your schedule. FWIW, most events run a similar schedule.
Wednesday is the registration day and opening night ceremony. Impromptu trail runs are always available but most folks are just getting acclimated to the altitude and enjoy the relaxation after a long drive. Thursday is the first day of trails. Friday, Saturday and Sunday are full trail days as well. A lot of folks run trails Thur-Sat and head out on Sunday. That's the best answer we can give. Those are just the days we like and it's always worked. Chris and I believe in the "If it ain't broke, don't break it" motto. Monday-Friday isn't a bad idea, it's something we'll discuss moving forward. HIHX dates are set in stone for 2020.
@Riverrunner can get you good quotes on shipping the truck back. When you only get 13 mpg, it isn't necessarily cheap to drive back. This also makes it possible to fly out of Denver easily because that is where they would pick up the truck from as I understand it.
Remember that at the end of your life, most people's biggest regrets are the things that they didn't do!
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Riverrunner
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Thanks guys. Yes, Denver will be your pick up and drop off location for the event if you're requesting a quote through the website. You may be surprised at the cost depending on where you're shipping from/to.
I have shipped my truck to @Riverrunner the last two years and drive back to Austin. It is well worth it to ship your rig with camp stuff loaded. In the past Aaron has let me ship my truck to his place, the flights are very inexpensive from Aus to Den, 100/person one way. Your rig and it's contents are safe both in transport and at Aaron's. The drive from Denver to Silverton is beautiful and only takes about 6hrs. If we get in this year, this will be our plan again. Hope this helps.
hope you guys have fun this year, I'm not gonna make it. Gonna use the vaca time for a few other trips. I can't handle the stress of registration again...
I'm sure this has been asked before, but for those of you with small children, how did they handle the event? I have a 5 year old, and 2 year old (both boys). They love trucks, but I don't know how much trail riding they can stand. Did your kids like the trail rides, or did they do a few, and then hang out at camp otherwise? The event looks awesome, but I don't want to spend this amount of time with whiny children (not that kinds do that kind of thing...)
Thanks!
Thanks!
I guess that depends on the kids, but I had my 2/5/7 year olds along last year and they did great. Tire them out and they’ll sleep for half the trail ride. My oldest complained the most and would have been happier just living at camp. The one day i did leave him and the wife behind
I think we probably spent upwards of 100 hours in the car on that trip and no one died
It is looking like I’ll be returning by myself this year with my two younger ones (assuming I retain my insider status)
I think we probably spent upwards of 100 hours in the car on that trip and no one died
It is looking like I’ll be returning by myself this year with my two younger ones (assuming I retain my insider status)
bluecruiser
SILVER Star
I've never heard a parent say that they wish they would have just stayed home with their kids after attending HIH. There will be a lot of kids there, always are. In my opinion, this is the perfect even for kids/families, but of course I have a bias....
I've been the last 2 years (HIH 8 / 9) with my two toddlers (now ages 4 / 2.5) and they handle it great. There are enough stops on the trails to get out and stretch the legs, get some wiggles out, potty break, etc. Camp is always super fun for the kiddos - tons of kids of all ages and you're back earlier enough in the afternoon for there to be plenty of play time. We are hoping to be able to attend again this year. I've heard you get insider status after 3 consecutive years and then you're in for life
