The Great Smaug

[campfire]

Listen to the video. How often has this Burb been described as "fast"?

Not many. It's hard to gain a reputation for speed when you spend your entire life as a pile of broken pieces. I bought it in 2014 and drove it <2000 miles. Then from 2015-2018 I drove it approximately zero miles. Then I used this trip as its first test drive. It hasn't had any opportunities to set land speed records just yet.

 

[campfire]

Pictures from the trip back down. Some pretty neat shots ruined by wrong camera settings.
















This is the same slab of rock that I showed in the 2016 pictures. Very different results this time.











Back at the bottom of the trail. We stopped here to meet back up with the Grand Cherokee and re-install his receiver rack. Then we split up, with 4 guys heading through the gully and the rest taking a much longer route back to the highway.

 

[campfire]

The last obstacle on the agenda wasn't a normal part of this trail. In June this area received massive flooding, and several of the routes we had discussed using were destroyed or damaged. This one Luke had scouted ahead of time and 4 of us decided we would give it a try. The rest of the convoy turned around and headed back to the highway, planning to meet up at the last campsite.

But first everyone inspected the gully.





Adam went first. Made it look easy.






Luke went second.

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Wes went third.

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And I went last (as Luke already posted).

Great Smaug in the berm

• Blue85
• Jan 14, 2019

I went last because I figured I was the most likely one to snag up. Turns out I was right, the receiver scraped at the bottom, and the muffler touched at the top. But it did better than I had expected.

 

[campfire]

Some internet images of the carnage after the Copper Country Flood of June 2018. Houses were swept off foundations as the water rushed toward Lake Superior. Roads disappeared and gullys undercut the landscape in just a few hours. They did a good job piling dirt up to fill in the gaps in the road network. But many smaller roads and trails were still closed, and lots of scars were still visible when we rolled through the area in August.

Somewhere on here I posted a picture I took of a bus that got swallowed by a gully that formed around it. Water is freaky stuff when it gets mad.

Of course, that makes the very dry & dusty weather in July and August all the more ironic. But that's life in the Midwest, eh?

 

[78K30]

Thanks for continuing work on the trip report Ethan! And enjoying the fruits of your labor/patience

 

[campfire]

After crossing the gully we headed out to the last Lake Superior campsite. The trail was dusty. But you were all expecting that by now.




At the campsite the thimbleberries were thick. Might be worth coming back here during season next year.



Baby likes the Swampers.



Enjoying the Lake one last time...






The group had whittled down again by this point. The 'official' plan was for everyone to head home the next morning. We opted to head home that night instead of hanging around.

We took a brief tour of Calumet on our way back to the bridge.








Back to the mainland!



This building makes a neat scene. Since Luke likes to guess locations, I'll leave this one vague.



We cut out early so we could get an early start on the Blazer's emergency engine swap. My brother and I both had taken the next day off, planning on additional explorations. But with his offer of help, we scrapped those plans and yanked the worthless engine out first thing in the morning. Had the new long block almost finished by dinnertime and had it stabbed in before he had to hit the road the subsequent morning.

Not quite how I planned to spend the last day of UPO, but lots of plans fell apart this year.

 

[campfire]

All in all, UPO was a blast. Despite missing several of the stops, we completed most of the trail miles. Aside from (temporarily) burying the truck on one of the stamp sand climbs, I don't think the tires ever slipped. It far exceeded my expectations. And we finally made it to the Cliff Mine overlook, after 4 failed attempts.

We're getting better at camping with kids. With the drivetrain mostly sorted out, I should be able to finish up the interior this year and make gear storage much more efficient. We're talking through various camping arrangements. We're currently looking at a platform bed combined with either a fold-out floor (like a pop-up trailer has):

Or just a cheap generic SUV tent.

But the $35 tent is pretty well shelled out after the last 5 seasons. 2 broken poles, busted zipper, starting to leak in heavy rain. I like it, but it's time to get on with the vehicle camping that we've been talking about for years.

 

[campfire]

Oh yeah, within the month we're expecting baby #3. That'll change the dynamic yet again. I continue to be glad for the extra room & extra doors. Blazers are useless vehicles.

 

[Blue85]

This building makes a neat scene. Since Luke likes to guess locations, I'll leave this one vague.

View attachment 292023

That's kind of cheating since I never go through Crystal Falls. That makes it fair for me to look it up.

Blazers are super rad vehicles.

Fixed the heresy before the mods come in.

 

[campfire]

That's kind of cheating since I never go through Crystal Falls. That makes it fair for me to look it up.

Fixed the heresy before the mods come in.

Neither cheating nor heresy. I ran a predictable route home, and the darkness tells you I was well past the bridge. It's fair to make you guess that one. Maybe next time I'll photograph something less iconic...

I think that shot was just because the hippy hadn't photographed that building before. He's new to the area, eh?

I do recall that we drove past without stopping. Exactly 100 more miles to go from that corner. Go ahead and ask me how I know that.

 

[campfire]

Blazers are super rad vehicles.

Since you're such a fan, I look forward to seeing you fit all your kids (and wife) inside your K5 next year. No quadrasteer Suburban, no Yukon XL, it'll be just like the olden days.


See you all at the trailhead.

 

[Blue85]

To be fair I've seen whole families in Jeeps, Range Rovers, etc, so K5 is doable. I do have 6 seatbelts and a roof rack. It's the 12 hours of highway in each direction that damps those spirits more than a day of trails and camping. We all know they aren't useless.

Fixed again:

Blazers with broken cranks are useless vehicles

 

[imiceman44]

To be fair I've seen whole families in Jeeps, Range Rovers, etc, so K5 is doable. I do have 6 seatbelts and a roof rack. It's the 12 hours of highway in each direction that damps those spirits more than a day of trails and camping. We all know they aren't useless.

Fixed again:

Blazers are great trucks and I had a bunch of them all my life, now with the bigger family the suburban is a better vehicle.

 

[campfire]

To be fair I've seen whole families in Jeeps, Range Rovers, etc, so K5 is doable. I do have 6 seatbelts and a roof rack. It's the 12 hours of highway in each direction that damps those spirits more than a day of trails and camping. We all know they aren't useless.

Fixed again:

Yes, 6 can fit in a K5. And there's more than enough volume to carry all the people and all the gear. It's just not a very efficient layout. The K5 interior layout is so full of compromises that it's not particularly good at any one thing. I don't need more space, but I do like having 6 doors rather than 2 + tailgate. And if the hippy comes back next year I'm going to need that 6th seatbelt.

For your 6th seatbelt, do you strap someone down to the top of the fridge?

As for the 12 hours, you know the easiest way to remedy that...

 

[campfire]

Blazers are great trucks and I had a bunch of them all my life, now with the bigger family the suburban is a better vehicle.

I agree with you. But I'd rather have a Tahoe (if such a thing had existed in 1984). I don't often need the extra length, and it's not an asset out on the trail. Turning radius is ok, but it's not going to keep up with a K5.

Luke, if I were in your situation of ditching the kids every time I headed out on the trail, I'd stick with something small. Like a flat-fender Willys. Even with the kids, we've talked of switching to a Wagoneer. I don't think that's going to happen given their pricing and...umm...mechanical reputations. But the conversation has happened.

The Chevy K5: making trails wider since 1969.

 

[imiceman44]

I agree with you. But I'd rather have a Tahoe (if such a thing had existed in 1984). I don't often need the extra length, and it's not an asset out on the trail. Turning radius is ok, but it's not going to keep up with a K5.

Luke, if I were in your situation of ditching the kids every time I headed out on the trail, I'd stick with something small. Like a flat-fender Willys. Even with the kids, we've talked of switching to a Wagoneer. I don't think that's going to happen given their pricing and...umm...mechanical reputations. But the conversation has happened.

The Chevy K5: making trails wider since 1969.

I had a wagoneer at the same time I had a k5.
It was a few inches narrower outside almost the same inside .
A couple of inches longer wheelbase and 4 doors.
A bit lighter and had a lo of gm parts.
What broke was the th400 and I can't blame it.
If I didn't have too many vehicles and it being so valuable even broke I would still have it.

 

[Blue85]

Yes, 2-doors is the limiting factor, but it's much better once the kids can climb in and buckle themselves.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

More than a few of us in here grew up riding around in K5’s.

Born in ‘78. Brother born in ‘83. Parents bought a ‘76 K5 new and replaced it with a new ‘92 Blazer K1500 that I bought in ‘98. Spent my whole childhood going in and out of fullsize Chevy 2 door SUV’s.

Only thing I can say is my girls’ carseats are a hell of a lot bigger than mine was.

 

[AgDieseler]

Yes, 6 can fit in a K5. And there's more than enough volume to carry all the people and all the gear. It's just not a very efficient layout. The K5 interior layout is so full of compromises that it's not particularly good at any one thing. I don't need more space, but I do like having 6 doors rather than 2 + tailgate. And if the hippy comes back next year I'm going to need that 6th seatbelt.

For your 6th seatbelt, do you strap someone down to the top of the fridge?

As for the 12 hours, you know the easiest way to remedy that...

#burblife

Loving the updates and how you're making great use of the truck.

David

 

[campfire]

#burblife

Loving the updates and how you're making great use of the truck.

David

Thanks!

I have no more crankshaft failures scheduled, so I should be able to get the interior buttoned up for this year's camping season.