Builds Ozzi, 2000 HZJ78 in Canada - travel/maintenance/build (3 Viewers)

[janyyc]

The drive on this day was a scenic one, and we stopped in Terrace for coffee and in Smithers for some supplies. Along the way, we witnessed a tractor-trailer rollover being righted, giving us a good opportunity to get out, stretch our legs, and witness the process.

We headed out on an active logging road to find our intended camp for the night, a disused fire lookout that has been taken over by a community association and is available to sleep in. The road in was more of an ATV track than a road, and in a few places we were thankful for the narrow track of the 70 series. It was steep, somewhat slippery, and sometimes off-camber. Nothing extreme but definitely fun!



And best of all, the destination was amazing - as one would expect, the fire lookout had a spectacular view, and we were completely alone. The cabin had a wood stove, and firewood available on site, so we could keep warm and toasty in the cold and windy high plateau. Because of the elevation, we also had one bar of 5G - a luxury in Canadian wilderness camping.

And an outhouse with an amazing view...

 

[janyyc]

There was a little pond near the cabin, which provided us with water for a refreshing, cold, windy shower.

The interior of the hut was basic, but there were some chairs and a table, and most importantly everything was intact. We hung up some lines to dry our ever-wet towels, and set about making dinner.

We were visited by a curious Canada Jay of course...

A "Wild Sour" sounded fitting for the occasion, purchased on the way in Smithers at a local brewery (it was very good!).

...paired with some excellent and decadent hors d'oeuvres...

 

[janyyc]

The evening colours were spectacular, but dinner was "leftovers" - coming to the end of our trip, we were clearing the stock of "emergency rations" we no longer required. Luckily we're not fussy, are capable of sprucing up a basic meal, and additionally had a supply of wine to make it all more sumptuous.

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I decided to stay inside, placing my mattress + sleeping bag on a tarp on the floor, while my dad preferred to stay outside on Ozzi. Both of us had a good nights' sleep, though my dad was a bit cold in the morning!!

We relit the stove and made breakfast directly on it.

Soon afterwards, we headed back out the way we came and resumed our course South-East to get home.

 

[janyyc]

Stopping in Burns Lake for a coffee, it turned out to be quite the international visit... By chance, we parked behind some Swiss "overlanders" in their big rig doing laundry...

Then we entered the coffee shop, I noticed the owner had Polish traditional pottery on his shelf. He himself was from Africa, and his wife was from Germany - a fun international experience.

After driving through Prince George and refuelling at the Costco ("I know a car is serious when it has that thing for water crossings on it", said the lady next to us), we headed east. Our camping spot for the night was above McBride, on a road that was variously reported as open and closed... We drove up, and saw where it had been repaired - and subsequently washed out again - but passed through without any issues (and without any signage indicating a closure), and found a very nice, clean recreation site with garbage & recycling bins, and even an outhouse! Soon after we had started setting up, a big Ford pickup pulls in, and a volunteer firefighter gets out with his daughter. Very friendly, they were happy we were there and asked how we found the spot, while emptying the garbage and checking the TP in the outhouse. A good sign that you found something special... With a sprawling view over the valley, it was an amazing place to spend the evening and the night.

The day was crowned by a beautiful sunset behind the Rockies.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

Did you leave your Heinz Ketchup at home?

 

[janyyc]

Did you leave your Heinz Ketchup at home?

Oh man, you’ve discovered the true reason behind my posting delay!! I’ve had to painstakingly photoshop out the Heinz Ketchup bottles out of every single picture!

 

[janyyc]

We woke to an amazing view - the valley below shrouded in a low fog.

After the morning chores, we drove up to the end of the road and hiked the short distance to the historic fire lookout to which the road used to go (the final section has been closed to vehicular traffic, which I appreciate, since it's a beautiful alpine meadow). But then, since we had the amenities of town so close, we were lazy and headed down for breakfast, which we had in the old railway terminal which now serves as a cafe (but is still functional for the six trains a week that pass through!). We were alone until departure, when a bus of German tourists pulled in, and had a hearty breakfast and good conversation with the friendly staff.

 

[janyyc]

The plan for the day was to drive up Canoe Mountain. The highest publicly-accessible road in Canada, it goes up to 2660m (8770 ft) elevation, with a gain of 1809m (~6000 ft). Obviously it's only passable in summer, and more specifically in August (because the snow at that elevation doesn't melt until very late in the season), and the weather looked perfect to enjoy it. The "road" is not marked on most maps, but is visible on satellite view, so we turned off the main highway, crossed a major construction site for the Trans-Mountain Pipeline, and headed up. The track soon turned rough - it wasn't impassible, but very narrow and uneven. At the start, the views weren't that great, because they were obstructed by the very lush vegetation, and we were mostly focused on driving.



There were some sections which were smooth and easy, others which were loose and rough. We don't have any body or drivetrain armour on our Troopy, no lift, no lockers. I would say we were at the limits of what the vehicle is capable of in its stock form, but not pushing them. Also, one must keep in mind it's a N/A 1HZ between 1000-2660m ASL... That being said, we were certainly thankful for the narrow-body once again, since we were still catching countless branches on the narrow track. As I found out later, only a few days prior, a big group of 4WD enthusiasts had gone up the mountain and cleared the track of the major branches - thank you!

 

[janyyc]

As the treeline (damn you autocorrect for not knowing the word!) receded, the views opened up and were truly spectacular.



Of course the landscape became more barren, the track became loose, jagged rock - and many marmots were luxuriating in the sun.

There were a few structures at the top (of course, as no road in Canada goes somewhere purely for recreational purposes!), and a spectacular view. We were truly fortunate, since often the summit is in the clouds, in which case this whole adventure would be no fun...

 

[janyyc]

iPhone GPS evidence of the altitude achieved - and yes, 1 bar of 5G to FaceTime home!

Just really can't get enough of these views...

 

[janyyc]

We headed down, happy we managed the whole trip without any issues, and headed into Valemount for a well-deserved beer. Good thing we had the whole day to climb the mountain, because we needed it...

We camped on the shore of Kinbasket Lake, a beautiful spot with a view onto the mountain we had climbed earlier in the day, completely alone, and could take advantage of an impressive existing fire-pit and the ample driftwood to make the cool evening warm.

I found a single mushroom, which was very handy for our dinner - scrambled eggs. Haha.

Once again, the day concluded with a stunning sunset.

 

[janyyc]

The night was absolutely still and silent.

There's this sound of the mountains, those that have camped extensively will recognize it - the complete silence interrupted only by the distant waterfalls with their constant hum.

We headed out and into prime tourist-land. Yes, very beautiful, but yes, lots of people. Jasper National Park, Icefields Parkway - all places we know very well and usually visit in winter when there's only crazy people, those - like us - that like to brave the cold temperatures to escape - all alone - into the wilderness. In the summer, though, there's crazy people stopping on the side of the road to take a picture of a moose despite the countless signs telling you not to. And all the crazy rigs. Such as this one at the visitor centre.

 

[janyyc]

The views along the way are incredible, and I do encourage everyone to come and visit this area. But in all honesty, just fly to Calgary, rent a car - any car - and drive around. No need to trek up here in your fully kitted-out, heavily modified behemoth.

But also, lots of tourists.

Being back home meant cleaning out the Land Cruiser, which is super simple with our setup.

Post-trip mileage:

Post-trip car wash:

 

[janyyc]

A few days later, I had a work trip to Seattle, and as I was browsing 'Mud at the hotel in the evening, I came across @bryce0225's thread in the Expedition Builds forum (1993 HDJ80 Platform DIY build - Camping & Daily Hybrid use - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/1993-hdj80-platform-diy-build-camping-daily-hybrid-use.1282795/) and noted he had just bought HEST mattresses. Having never heard about them, I read up a little, and found their headquarters were in Seattle, near the Museum of Flight which I was planning on visiting anyways...
After doing some calculations, I found I could fit a Foamy Wide & standard and it would be the ideal width. Not inexpensive, but hey, why not. No shipping & duties... So, on the way back from the museum (by public bus, mind you), I walked to their HQ, picked up my order, and walked back with a very unwieldy two large boxes, finally making it back to my hotel. Thankfully my ticket included a very generous luggage allowance, so I happily made it back home with my new mattresses.

The Hest factory dog:

The mattresses spread out in my living room:

Loaded up for the first trip, a quick one-night escape, which would turn out to be my last of the year.

A beautiful place near Calgary. An established campground, but almost always completely empty. Silent. An abandoned railway track runs nearby, rails removed but bridges intact.

 

[janyyc]

Continued...

Afterwards, we had planned to stop at the only car wash with a lift in Alberta... in Red Deer. It's nothing compared with the car washes in the UAE, but better than not having one at all.

Unfortunately it was a trip completely in vain because the lift is too wide to fit our narrow track.

 

[janyyc]

And now, finally some tech!

Had the chance to replace the dash speakers... and wow, I'm surprised we were able to hear anything with the OEM speakers!

Using the right tools...

Replaced the courtesy light bulb, which had burnt out. Had a spare one in my stash of parts from our long-sold Volvo 240DL...

Was tempted to keep these as a memento, but instead they went to the trash bin.

 

[janyyc]

A little more "tech" & camping, and we'll be up to date. The whole winter Ozzi was parked away. My dad did some trips after and before mine, but I'll skip those and go straight to May this year, which was the first time I was home in anything resembling spring or summer.

Firstly, I went about attaching something I had ordered from Australia a while back...

The 4.2 had been on Ozzi when he came from Australia, but the Diesel wasn't there. With some washes and sun, the 4.2 also became loose and it was finally time to remove and reapply.

Then we went camping the first time in 2023, same spot as the last camp of 2022. We had some very severe fire bans, but they didn't apply to this campsite, so it was ideal.

 

[janyyc]

Here's the final result of the sticker install... I'm sure I gained a few hp

I bought some naan mix in Japan on one of my trips in April, and decided to try it out...

Cool!

We woke in the morning to beautiful clear skies, while all my friends in Calgary were sending terrifying pictures of the smoke that had suddenly rolled in and was worse than I've ever witnessed.

Soon after we left camp, we witnessed "apocalypse" ourselves, unfortunately just the beginning of a particularly difficult summer.

For a few weeks this will be a pause on this thread - I haven't been home since, but my next trip will be an epic adventure, and there'll be plenty of cool pictures, I promise.

 

[janyyc]

I'm sorry, I lied, one tiny piece of tech - I ordered this very cool piece of powder-coated metal from Exped Innovations in Germany when I was in Munich in December 2022. Installed them in the meantime - a great use of otherwise totally-wasted space for ever-needed 70-series storage:

Link: 2x Ablagefach / Seitenfach vorne LandCruiser J7 Set, 2 Stück (Links und Rechts) - https://exped-innovations.com/produkt/2x-ablagefach-seitenfach-vorne-landcruiser-j7-set-2-stueck-links-und-recht

 

[Lo2aY]

Beautiful transformation! I bet that 3rd door is coming in handy. Sometimes, I wish I had side access like this in my troopy.

If a 76 was on the 78 chassis, it would be perfect.

What size tire are you running? the Ko2s look great on it.

The camping pictures are awesome! You're making me want to visit Canada even more!