Im back from the fires. Next weekend should work great for me
FJ40 Cross-Country Expedition: Will YOU join us???
- Thread starter hecrod
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ginmtb
'74 FJ40 - my first!
Shoot @John McVicker our window may have closed...
. Let’s hope the storm blows through earlier and it’s just cold.
John McVicker
SILVER Star
Yep,we will have to keep an eye on things. I am
adjustable if necessary. If the snow comes, the east gate out of Yosemite down to Mono Lake may be closed. The alternative may be thru Sacramento...80 over to Reno & down to Mono.Shoot @John McVicker our window may have closed...
View attachment 1564189
ginmtb
'74 FJ40 - my first!
We had been planning this leg of the cross country adventure for quite some time. But with so many schedules to coordinate and work on our cruisers things kept getting pushed out. I wanted my hard top to be installed and if you follow my build, that took a bit longer than expected. But it was critical to have a "water tight" roof driving through high altitude in late October - I did not want to risk getting caught in a freezing downpour with a non-water tight soft top.
The original plan was was mid-October but then I got my dates mixed up. So then it was pushed out 10/28-29. But then the horrific fires in Sonoma and Napa counties set things back further (hardly an issue considering all that was lost there), since @CaliFJ grew up in that area and needed to help out friends and family. In the meantime, @John McVicker was patiently waiting for us to sort things out and was ready to meet us at Mono Lake at any time.
With the weather history of Tioga Pass, we knew getting into November was a dicey proposition. In some years, it closed in late October! It was looking like this trip was going to be pushed into mid-November which had a high probability of it not happening and having to wait until next year. The decals I made indicating 2016-2017 would've needed to have the 2017 struck out and 2018 written in its place (still likely to happen). Major dilemma here - we could always go around up to Sacramento/Reno and then down the 395 but that is a much less scenic drive and adds a ton of mileage. The whole point of this leg was to showcase the beauty of Yosemite (oh and our cruisers). What to do?
Below is the route we were planning on taking. As you can see it was a nice due east shot from my house. Lot of miles one way and this would be an out and back trip. So 400+ miles to get the baton, err, toolbox. I think some others have done longer legs so not looking for any sympathy here - particularly since I think that Arizona leg was a brutally hot leg.
We kept an eye on the weather and it wasn't looking good. This screen grab was taken on Halloween (10/31). Holy cow! 11 inches of snow in the Yosemite Valley (which is at around 4,000' elevation). What would that look like on Tioga Pass which is nearly 10,000'? If there is enough snow, they pretty much shut down the pass for the year. Man, the weekend of 11/4-5 was not looking good...
I was texting back and forth with CaliFJ that night - we really wanted to make this trip happen but it was looking bleak. So we decided at the 11th hour to go for it the next day and beat the storm! We were able to re-arrange our work schedules some to take the two days off and we got our cruisers ready that night. He even got his son out of school to join us (I'm sure he was disappointed missing some school). John McVicker was available for us to meet him at Mono Lake on 11/2 so we were a go! Kind of crazy and I felt like there was still work to do, but we needed to make this happen! Threw in a bunch of warm clothes and multiple sleeping bags, food, and water just in case we got caught in the storm.
Here we are at the start of the trip. It was beautiful out, looks like no weather concerns here...
The first part of the drive was freeway and then fast roads winding through unpopulated areas in the valley. Not exactly the best for our slow moving machines, but we left my house at about 1pm so we weren’t much of a nuisance as the traffic was pretty light and there were ample opportunities for people to pass us. We stopped just outside of Groveland (home of California’s oldest saloon est. 1852 150 Years of Slinging Drinks: A Visit to the Iron Door Saloon) as I needed to make a pit stop and figured I would fill up since we drove about 110 miles. I decided to calculate my MPG’s and to my shock I was at 15.2MPG! Holy cow! Granted the geography was pretty flat, other than the New Priest Grade right before Groveland which gained about 1,500’ of elevation at 4% over 5+ miles. Hardly a pass compared to what we faced ahead… Surely our gas mileage would suffer up those passes and while driving at elevation. Of note, CaliFJ decided not to fill up at this time as his Dakota Digital still showed a good amount of fuel. Hmm…
We made good time to the Yosemite park entrance and pulled over to discuss our plan – initially we were going to just drive through Yosemite straight to Mono Lake and then visit the scenic spots on the drive back the next day. But it was early enough we decided to drive to those scenic spots now instead of waiting. Glacier Point was the main goal – this route would have us drop into the Yosemite valley down to 4,000’ and then climb to over 8,000’ and add over 60 miles to our leg. First stop though was Tunnel View as it was en route. Reason it’s called Tunnel View? It is right at a pretty long Disneyland like tunnel. The view here is spectacular and I’m sure if you’ve seen any shots of Yosemite, you’ve seen this view. We decided to be scofflaws and parked in the “NO PARKING” spot. Mid-week, off season, no worries.
There’s Half Dome, I was just up there a couple of months ago! View never gets old, still took my breath away as we came around the corner and it appeared while dropping down into the valley.
To be continued...
The original plan was was mid-October but then I got my dates mixed up. So then it was pushed out 10/28-29. But then the horrific fires in Sonoma and Napa counties set things back further (hardly an issue considering all that was lost there), since @CaliFJ grew up in that area and needed to help out friends and family. In the meantime, @John McVicker was patiently waiting for us to sort things out and was ready to meet us at Mono Lake at any time.
With the weather history of Tioga Pass, we knew getting into November was a dicey proposition. In some years, it closed in late October! It was looking like this trip was going to be pushed into mid-November which had a high probability of it not happening and having to wait until next year. The decals I made indicating 2016-2017 would've needed to have the 2017 struck out and 2018 written in its place (still likely to happen). Major dilemma here - we could always go around up to Sacramento/Reno and then down the 395 but that is a much less scenic drive and adds a ton of mileage. The whole point of this leg was to showcase the beauty of Yosemite (oh and our cruisers). What to do?
Below is the route we were planning on taking. As you can see it was a nice due east shot from my house. Lot of miles one way and this would be an out and back trip. So 400+ miles to get the baton, err, toolbox. I think some others have done longer legs so not looking for any sympathy here - particularly since I think that Arizona leg was a brutally hot leg.
We kept an eye on the weather and it wasn't looking good. This screen grab was taken on Halloween (10/31). Holy cow! 11 inches of snow in the Yosemite Valley (which is at around 4,000' elevation). What would that look like on Tioga Pass which is nearly 10,000'? If there is enough snow, they pretty much shut down the pass for the year. Man, the weekend of 11/4-5 was not looking good...
I was texting back and forth with CaliFJ that night - we really wanted to make this trip happen but it was looking bleak. So we decided at the 11th hour to go for it the next day and beat the storm! We were able to re-arrange our work schedules some to take the two days off and we got our cruisers ready that night. He even got his son out of school to join us (I'm sure he was disappointed missing some school). John McVicker was available for us to meet him at Mono Lake on 11/2 so we were a go! Kind of crazy and I felt like there was still work to do, but we needed to make this happen! Threw in a bunch of warm clothes and multiple sleeping bags, food, and water just in case we got caught in the storm.
Here we are at the start of the trip. It was beautiful out, looks like no weather concerns here...
The first part of the drive was freeway and then fast roads winding through unpopulated areas in the valley. Not exactly the best for our slow moving machines, but we left my house at about 1pm so we weren’t much of a nuisance as the traffic was pretty light and there were ample opportunities for people to pass us. We stopped just outside of Groveland (home of California’s oldest saloon est. 1852 150 Years of Slinging Drinks: A Visit to the Iron Door Saloon) as I needed to make a pit stop and figured I would fill up since we drove about 110 miles. I decided to calculate my MPG’s and to my shock I was at 15.2MPG! Holy cow! Granted the geography was pretty flat, other than the New Priest Grade right before Groveland which gained about 1,500’ of elevation at 4% over 5+ miles. Hardly a pass compared to what we faced ahead… Surely our gas mileage would suffer up those passes and while driving at elevation. Of note, CaliFJ decided not to fill up at this time as his Dakota Digital still showed a good amount of fuel. Hmm…
We made good time to the Yosemite park entrance and pulled over to discuss our plan – initially we were going to just drive through Yosemite straight to Mono Lake and then visit the scenic spots on the drive back the next day. But it was early enough we decided to drive to those scenic spots now instead of waiting. Glacier Point was the main goal – this route would have us drop into the Yosemite valley down to 4,000’ and then climb to over 8,000’ and add over 60 miles to our leg. First stop though was Tunnel View as it was en route. Reason it’s called Tunnel View? It is right at a pretty long Disneyland like tunnel. The view here is spectacular and I’m sure if you’ve seen any shots of Yosemite, you’ve seen this view. We decided to be scofflaws and parked in the “NO PARKING” spot. Mid-week, off season, no worries.
There’s Half Dome, I was just up there a couple of months ago! View never gets old, still took my breath away as we came around the corner and it appeared while dropping down into the valley.
To be continued...
ginmtb
'74 FJ40 - my first!
The road to Glacier Point was windy and hilly and there were definitely stretches where the ol’ cruiser bogged a bit – 3rd gear was definitely our friend. But overall they both performed quite well considering they’re both stock engines (74 and 76). We stopped short of Glacier Point to take in a spectacular view and @CaliFJ said he needed to fuel up as his fuel gauge gave him a low fuel warning. Luckily he had a 5 gallon jerry can. There was a gas station at the entrance to Tioga Pass, but would it be open by the time we got there? Another “hmm…” moment. 
We finally got to Glacier Point and the view did not disappoint! The sun was setting and with a little bit of smoke from the controlled burns, the conditions just spectacular. And a near full moon decided to join in on the fun too. I literally ran to the overlook point to capture the fast departing sunset.
Sadly there was no way to capture our Cruisers with this particular backdrop. But we got close here just back down the road.
We said farewell to the Glacier Point and the next stop was Tioga Pass! Woohoo! Well, the gas station was our next stop. Tioga Pass was 56 miles so it would’ve been pretty unlikely that @CaliFJ would’ve made it on 5 gallons (56 miles of Tioga Pass + the 30 miles or so getting down from Glacier and back up from the valley floor). We got there and the store was closed! Uh oh. But thankfully the gas pumps still worked and we both refueled and were off on the pass!
It was pitch black at this time so no views. I kept waiting for a bear to dart out in front of me but figured with our loud machines they had more than ample warning. Never did see one. But we did see a spun out sedan that was stuck in the ditch. A park ranger was there assisting but it didn’t dawn on us until the next day that we could’ve gotten him out of the ditch since we both had winches! Whoops. Long day, bodies and minds were tired.
We got to our motel in Lee Vining, the El Mono Motel. Had gotten good ratings and was clean. We checked in at 8:50pm and asked about food in town. Only one place still open, closed at 9pm. A quick call for a takeout order and we were good to go. No, we weren’t that customer that sits down 5 minutes before closing. Having grown up in a restaurant I remember those times when you just wanted to go home but someone decided they needed to sit for 30 minutes past closing. Ugh. This photo was the next morning. Probably can’t see it but there was a nice layer of frost on our roofs.
Unloaded the Cruisers, locked them up and went to bed. We probably accumulated at least 7 hours of seat time – as you all know that is a long time in these vehicles.
To be continued...
We finally got to Glacier Point and the view did not disappoint! The sun was setting and with a little bit of smoke from the controlled burns, the conditions just spectacular. And a near full moon decided to join in on the fun too. I literally ran to the overlook point to capture the fast departing sunset.
Sadly there was no way to capture our Cruisers with this particular backdrop. But we got close here just back down the road.
We said farewell to the Glacier Point and the next stop was Tioga Pass! Woohoo! Well, the gas station was our next stop. Tioga Pass was 56 miles so it would’ve been pretty unlikely that @CaliFJ would’ve made it on 5 gallons (56 miles of Tioga Pass + the 30 miles or so getting down from Glacier and back up from the valley floor). We got there and the store was closed! Uh oh. But thankfully the gas pumps still worked and we both refueled and were off on the pass!
It was pitch black at this time so no views. I kept waiting for a bear to dart out in front of me but figured with our loud machines they had more than ample warning. Never did see one. But we did see a spun out sedan that was stuck in the ditch. A park ranger was there assisting but it didn’t dawn on us until the next day that we could’ve gotten him out of the ditch since we both had winches! Whoops. Long day, bodies and minds were tired.
We got to our motel in Lee Vining, the El Mono Motel. Had gotten good ratings and was clean. We checked in at 8:50pm and asked about food in town. Only one place still open, closed at 9pm. A quick call for a takeout order and we were good to go. No, we weren’t that customer that sits down 5 minutes before closing. Having grown up in a restaurant I remember those times when you just wanted to go home but someone decided they needed to sit for 30 minutes past closing. Ugh. This photo was the next morning. Probably can’t see it but there was a nice layer of frost on our roofs.
Unloaded the Cruisers, locked them up and went to bed. We probably accumulated at least 7 hours of seat time – as you all know that is a long time in these vehicles.
To be continued...
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ginmtb
'74 FJ40 - my first!
Next morning we woke up and grabbed breakfast at the same restaurant we got our takeout from. We were able to connect with @John McVicker and he was right on time at the Mono Lake visitor center. We finished up our breakfasts and made the short 3 minute drive over there to meet him.
It was very cool meeting John – he is the original owner of his Cruiser. You could tell he had some epic adventures in that well used and loved vehicle. He even showed us his recent accident where he tipped over his Cruiser just a few miles from his house. Amazing how unscathed it came out – new passenger side window, a couple of dings, but otherwise good to go. Added some additional character to it – how’s the saying go? Our wounds tell a story… I kind of felt like a poser having only owned mine for 3.5 years and having not really taken it on any adventures – until now.
We looked for a good spot for the group photo and toolbox handoff. Got to drive offroad just a little bit. You can see Mono Lake through my windshield and that is John and CaliFJ in the rear view mirror.
And here’s the handoff! I'm not smiling because I have one of the toolbox lollipops in my mouth lol.
It was cold but the weather was still holding for us. But we were told Tioga Pass was going to close down at 5pm today. So we hung out for a little bit with John (wish we could’ve spent more time, love hearing from the Land Cruiser OG). However, we needed to make sure we got back over the pass in time. We put our Cross Country Expedition decals on our windows and took off.
This part of the adventure was probably the most worrisome to me. I had only been on the Tioga Pass one time before and I remember it being a beast. How would our 40+ year old vehicles handle it? 10,000’ is up there and less oxygen doesn’t help anyone or anything. Yup that’s a long way up!
There were a couple of sections where we bogged down under 30 MPH but otherwise our oldies handled it quite well. I was paying close attention to the temperature gauge and it got to about 190 but really all things considered was really good. We made it to the top and then searched out a few more scenic vistas. With that part of the trip over with, essentially we were all downhill from there!
If you look carefully, there are climbers on the rock behind us.
To be continued...
It was very cool meeting John – he is the original owner of his Cruiser. You could tell he had some epic adventures in that well used and loved vehicle. He even showed us his recent accident where he tipped over his Cruiser just a few miles from his house. Amazing how unscathed it came out – new passenger side window, a couple of dings, but otherwise good to go. Added some additional character to it – how’s the saying go? Our wounds tell a story… I kind of felt like a poser having only owned mine for 3.5 years and having not really taken it on any adventures – until now.
We looked for a good spot for the group photo and toolbox handoff. Got to drive offroad just a little bit. You can see Mono Lake through my windshield and that is John and CaliFJ in the rear view mirror.
And here’s the handoff! I'm not smiling because I have one of the toolbox lollipops in my mouth lol.
It was cold but the weather was still holding for us. But we were told Tioga Pass was going to close down at 5pm today. So we hung out for a little bit with John (wish we could’ve spent more time, love hearing from the Land Cruiser OG). However, we needed to make sure we got back over the pass in time. We put our Cross Country Expedition decals on our windows and took off.
This part of the adventure was probably the most worrisome to me. I had only been on the Tioga Pass one time before and I remember it being a beast. How would our 40+ year old vehicles handle it? 10,000’ is up there and less oxygen doesn’t help anyone or anything. Yup that’s a long way up!
There were a couple of sections where we bogged down under 30 MPH but otherwise our oldies handled it quite well. I was paying close attention to the temperature gauge and it got to about 190 but really all things considered was really good. We made it to the top and then searched out a few more scenic vistas. With that part of the trip over with, essentially we were all downhill from there!
If you look carefully, there are climbers on the rock behind us.
To be continued...
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ginmtb
'74 FJ40 - my first!
This would’ve been an even more beautiful shot had said moron not pulled in behind us - and he was in no hurry to leave. Wasn’t even a Toyota.
One last stop at the same gas station at the start/end of the Tioga Pass and we were ready to leave Yosemite. It is there where you could see the weather start changing and the storm rolling in. Luckily we got out in time and only had to deal with the crappy windshield wipers that basically smears water around on the windshield.
Overall quite the epic adventure. This trip gave me new confidence in my Cruiser – I had not driven farther than from Georg’s (@orangefj45) shop in Stockton to my house – about 60 miles. It performed very well and in the end I calculated just a fraction under 15MPG (probably would’ve gotten 15 as there were some sections where there was no signal and my GPS couldn’t track the distance). Nearly 500 miles! Pretty impressive really. Only concern I had was coming down Old Priest Grade (2 miles at 15% with sections as steep as 20% - Closures planned for notoriously steep Old Priest Grade). I drove in 2nd gear the entire way down and noticed white smoke blowing from the exhaust. Once I hit the flat it was fine. I’ll have to run some tests to make sure. But again, really enjoyed the trip and looking forward to the next one!
Speaking of next one, now the toolbox is in the Bay Area, CA. Who is going to take it north so it can make its journey to the Pacific Northwest?
One last stop at the same gas station at the start/end of the Tioga Pass and we were ready to leave Yosemite. It is there where you could see the weather start changing and the storm rolling in. Luckily we got out in time and only had to deal with the crappy windshield wipers that basically smears water around on the windshield.
Overall quite the epic adventure. This trip gave me new confidence in my Cruiser – I had not driven farther than from Georg’s (@orangefj45) shop in Stockton to my house – about 60 miles. It performed very well and in the end I calculated just a fraction under 15MPG (probably would’ve gotten 15 as there were some sections where there was no signal and my GPS couldn’t track the distance). Nearly 500 miles! Pretty impressive really. Only concern I had was coming down Old Priest Grade (2 miles at 15% with sections as steep as 20% - Closures planned for notoriously steep Old Priest Grade). I drove in 2nd gear the entire way down and noticed white smoke blowing from the exhaust. Once I hit the flat it was fine. I’ll have to run some tests to make sure. But again, really enjoyed the trip and looking forward to the next one!
Speaking of next one, now the toolbox is in the Bay Area, CA. Who is going to take it north so it can make its journey to the Pacific Northwest?
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69 4 fun
SILVER Star
I am working on schedule as we speak. How about a meet up on the north side of the golden gate? Also does anyone know who is next in line after me? Trying to get a scenic route planned as well!
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Duh! Reading this makes me realize...I never took a sticker for myself! How do I get one now?
ginmtb
'74 FJ40 - my first!
ginmtb
'74 FJ40 - my first!
How far north of the Golden Gate? That is a pretty long haul for you - but definitely more scenic than heading up I-5. I know there is @reddingcruiser who might be able to help out taking it north...
69 4 fun
SILVER Star
I don't mind meeting in San Francisco or maybe just north on 101. I have a project in mill valley and will be going to bodega bay the whole week of thanksgiving. If @reddingcruiser could take a hand off in the north end of the state that would be great. Right now I think I am supposed to take it all the way to Florence Oregon. Would be nice if we could get a couple more participants but if not we will make it happen.
ginmtb
'74 FJ40 - my first!
Ok cool I’m sure we can make that happen and hopefully get a few more people to make that leg. If you are available that weekend before thanksgiving it is seeming like I will be around then vs. traveling. Thanks for making the trek down here!
69 4 fun
SILVER Star
I will stay in touch. Are weekends best for you? I will be arriving in bodega Sunday so Monday would be best.
Thanks Chris
69 4 fun
SILVER Star
If there is anyone up the coast I can drive up highway 1 the week of thanksgiving.
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myquestoyota
SILVER Star
Waiting for it to hit Portland, I'm a couple hours north of there and waiting patiently....
ginmtb
'74 FJ40 - my first!
Ideally but I may be off that entire week - still trying to figure out our travel plans. Will keep you posted.
If one of the legs come anywhere near the middle of the Willamette Valley I would like to participate. However, I will have to ride with someone else (non-smoker) as my 40 is not driveable.
Don
Don
Thanks for the invite GIN!!!!!! I can drive the leg to SF across the GGB That would be pretty epic
