Another Weekend at Tahuya ORV
By Tom Neal
Bigfoot Trails Basecamp | Independent Adventure Media
Tahuya Gatekeeper
Tahuya Parking/ Staging area
We decided to take another trip up to Tahuya ORV over the weekend. My wife had not seen our son’s Toyota in action on the rocks, and I wanted to play in the trails a bit and watch Tommy do some rock crawling.
The weekend before we went, we received about six inches of rainfall at home. We were guessing they received eight to ten inches at the park.
It was full of water!
Tahuya is not known for mud, but they have some nice trails and some great rock gardens.
As we rolled up to the staging area, we noticed it was PACKED, so we turned out and parked at the other staging area where there was plenty of room. At this entrance, there is a rocky gatekeeper that my wife was a bit nervous about going through.
Now, keep in mind, this girl doesn’t do any off-roading. She came from a family of drag racers, so this is fairly fresh to her. She is not a fan of heights, steep angles, or getting tossed around like a salad.
Thirty seconds in, and she gets tossed like a salad for sure.
But the fun was just about to start!
As we meandered through the trails, tackling tight trees, water holes, rocks, and roots, we enjoyed the scenery. It’s very pretty here, and thankfully no one has really trashed it. Everyone seems to clean up after themselves.
At one point on the trail, we came up to a group coming the other direction, and we were in a fairly good area to pull out and let them pass. I had my window down and could hear air brakes hissing on and off constantly.
I must be hallucinating.
I can’t think of a rig that would attempt Tahuya that has air brakes.
Then we saw it.
Yep. A military 6x6 truck stuck between a couple of trees!
Holy crap. Some of these spots are tight enough for my Jeep. I couldn’t imagine running this huge rig through here.
I told my wife he better not get stuck, because no one out here can recover that thing!
We followed this rig for a couple hundred yards before he pulled off and let us through.
A little later down the trail, we came to a split. As we decided to take the turn, a guy jumped out of a brand-new Toyota Tacoma and flagged us over.
He talked with my son, since Tommy was running point for us, and asked if he and his wife could tag along with us.
He was new to off-roading and had only a tow strap for recovery gear.
We allowed him to tag along. My wife asked if I thought his rig would make it, and I told her he was actually better factory-equipped with an e-locker in the rear than I was. My Jeep is open front and back.
I have the tires and a bit more ground clearance, and of course the approach and departure angles are WAY better on the Jeep, but he should be just fine.
Then we noticed he was still running the paper plate from the dealer.
He JUST bought this beautiful black Tacoma and took it wheelin’!
This couple followed us through some tight little spots and was doing pretty good.
Then we took him over to Yellowjacket Hill.
My wife and I were wondering if our new friends were going to consider attempting this hill.
I hope not.
I won’t even try it with my Jeep yet.
After my son staged his truck at the base of Yellowjacket, our new friends got out and asked if we thought his truck could do it.
I told him not to even try.
He WILL have damage.
Tommy had made this climb a couple of times before in the truck, but it was during the summer. On this day, we had slick rocks, mud, and slick logs to climb.
He didn’t do so hot today.
Even our new friends were having a great time watching, and Leif ended up throwing rocks with me, trying to help Tommy get traction.
After his failed attempt, we watched a built Jeep make the hill, and another Toyota attempt it and fail as well.
Of course, they blamed us for digging holes and moving rocks.
LOL.
It was all in fun, though. We had a great time watching and heckling.
After Yellowjacket, we figured we would head over to Buggy Hill. I had watched Tommy make this one with ease the last time through.
On the way to Buggy Hill, he attempted the short rock garden and got both differentials stuck on rocks at the same time.
All four tires were airborne and spinning!
We rocked him a bit and stuffed rocks under the tires to get him out.
He told me at this point he was done for the day. He wasn't doing Buggy Hill. He obviously wasn’t on his game today.
So we continued on through the trail, got to the base of Buggy Hill, and turned around.
We went back out the same way we came in, through the gatekeeper and back to the trailer.
As Tommy loaded his truck, I watched our new friends go through the gatekeeper, smash their tailpipe, rip off a mudflap, and do some minor damage.
Leif got out of the truck, and I don’t think I had seen anyone as happy as I saw him.
He was having the time of his life!
That’s what it’s about right there.
We exchanged information and talked about whether we go out there much and if he could tag along again. We discussed a few things he needs — or should — do to his Tacoma before doing anything tougher than what we just did that day.
As we rolled out of the staging area, we saw our new friends had turned around and were headed back for more, with a HUGE smile on his face.
That made my day right there.
The Video
We put together a video of the trip too.
About the Author
Tom Neal is the founder of Bigfoot Trails Basecamp, an independent adventure media project built around real experiences. He’s spent most of his life around vehicles, motorcycles, racing, travel, and projects that tend to take longer and cost more than originally planned.
After decades of doing all that stuff, he’s learned that the best stories usually aren’t the ones you planned. They’re the people you meet, the places you stumble across, the things that go wrong, and the moments you never expected.
That’s what he wants to capture with BTB.
He doesn’t want to write about adventure from the outside. He wants to go experience it, then tell you what happened.
Bigfoot Trails Basecamp | Independent Adventure Media
