My 2016 in Pictures - Share yours too!

[cruiseroutfit]

Another year has come and gone and we are left with nothing but photos and stories (and perhaps a scar or two?) to remember the adventures had. While the stories are best told around a campfire, the pictures are fun to sort through and recollect. I hope by sharing these you find some places you want to visit in 2017 just as I expand my bucket list by vicariously watching the adventures of others throughout the year. With that said, I give you My 2016 in Pictures, chronologically ordered:

Pony Express Trail with Wasatch Cruisers

King of the Hammers

Parker 425 Desert Race

Explored the San Rafael Swell a bit Last Year

Toyota's Invading the Moab Easter Jeep Safari

ExpeditionUtah's Ghost Town Run

Rattlesnake with the Wasatch Cruisers

The San Rafael Swell Overnighter at Cruise Moab

The BOR Vernal Desert Race with Canguro Racing

Overland Expo

Old School Rock Crawl

Floatapalooza - Annual Float Trip in the Swell

Drive to the Summit Pre-Run - Henry Mountains

Caliente Desert Race with Canguro Racing

ExpeditionUtah's Annual Relic Run & Retro Ramble Event

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Drive to the Summit - Toyota & Expedition Overland

Made many trips this year exploring the mines of American Fork Canyon

The Mackenzie Trail with Expedition Overland (Photo by XO)

The Canguro Racing Team at the Vegas to Reno Finish Line

Hanging with the Fam at the Homestead (Photo by Candace W)

CruiserFest Crew Along Skyline Drive

Exploring Cardiff Canyon

ExpeditionUtah's National Public Lands Day Trail Adoption

Hiking the Napali Coast in Hawaii (Photo by Candace W)

Cruiser Outfitters Annual Customer Appreciation BBQ

ExpeditionUtah's Nine Mile Canyon Area Tour

SEMA and Catching Up With the Drive to the Summit Team

Beach Camping at Baja

Toyota's Competing in the Baja 1000

The Finish Line at the Baja 1000 with Team Canguro

Outlaws Run

ExpeditionUtah's Freeze Your Tail Off at the Lucin Sun Tunnels

New Years Eve Desert Exploring

Thanks to everyone for making 2016 such a rewarding year, I can't wait to see what adventures 2017 has in store. Last but not least, thanks for any photos I borrowed, I've collected them throughout the year and tired to credit them when not my own, if you see one that belongs to you and want credit, lmk and I'll gladly do so. Previous year in pics: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2015

Now, let's see your 2016!

 

[nnnnnate]

I'll play. I've had a pretty big year wheeling and camping, for me at least.

It started out at the sand dunes with WC in February. Here I am not stuck.

Then in the swell with the club in March. It was this little guys first night camping. I think this was Black Dragon, someone may have been changing out a tire that may have gotten its sidewall slashed.

A quick rattlesnake run in April

Here Kurt is trying to talk me into getting a new bumper as I try and get up and over the main obstacle on the Devils Racetrack in the Swell. (Cruise Moab in May, minimal damage)

In June we took a road trip to the Redwoods and then up the Oregon coast. Here we are in the Jedediah Smith camp ground.

And just across the Oregon border where we stopped for lunch and to see the ocean.

A week and a half after the Oregon trip I took some scouts down to Bryce and Zions NPs. This was the first night in our new RTT.

I made a mid week night run to South Fork with a few WC guys. The trail got really narrow and I got a bunch of pin striping. It was pretty though.

On NPLD with ExUT and WC up American Fork canyon, we got some rain and some snow. It was muddy but lots of fun.

Labor Day weekend I made it up to the Uintas with my brother and his wifes family. Eli and I took a drive to Elizabeth Ridge on Sunday. I had never been over there, it was neat. I need to explore that area more.

I managed to plan a long weekend in Moab over Columbus Day weekend. There were lots of new faces and some good trails. This is on Jax Trax at the tail end of our day.

The next weekend my rig got stolen because I'm an idiot and left it unlocked while not removing the spare trail key. It was found a couple days later by a club member.

And finally, I got to go down to the Comb Wash area for a GPS checkpoint rally in the middle of November. This is another area I hadn't really gotten to explore before so it was fun to have some free time to drive around. This also got me my 29th and 30th camp nights out and a completion of my camping goal for 2016.

It was a banner year for sure for me getting out. Along with making my camping goal I also was able to spend time in a bunch of places I had never been to or that I hadn't have time to explore which was neat. I'm looking forward for another great year and am hoping to get a few new places visited.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Great year Nate!

 

[RockChucker]

January marked driving my Jeep for the first time in 18 months. And starting a new career outside the off-road industry.

February marked finishing up the details of my jeep and driving it ~1000 miles to break in the gears and t-case

March was my first wheelin trip with wheelbase out to 5 mile. And a 36 hour jaunt to jeep safari packed with 9ish trails and not much sleeping.

April was more 5 mile playtime and my first time up eagles nest unassisted.

May was down to Hanging Tree with some good buddies.

June was Moab.

 

[RockChucker]

July was up mineral basin and Mary Ellen gulch.

August and September was more time out at 5 mile and up AF canyon.

October was a leafy run up Mineral basin and down to sand hollow.

November was sand hollow again.

December was a rainy month with a sweet snow run up to the Mercur mine overlook on New Year's Eve.

What a year! Such good times with family and friends! Can't wait to expand on it more this year!

 

[cruiseroutfit]

That's a great year!

 

[smfulle]

Started out the year at the Easter Jeep Safari Friday Flat Fender Fun Run. Here we are on Wipe Out Hill.



Here we are pretending we have big jeeps with big tires and big flex in the standard pose.



Tried out some spring snow wheeling in Southern Idaho near the little town of Clifton. Tried the dual wheels out. Didn’t help that much with the NDT tires in the snow. Fun time anyway.


Got hailed on a little. Check out the hat brim.



Tried out some different fat tractor tires for snow wheeling near Soda Springs Idaho. Did a lot better. Stayed on top of the snow for miles. There’s probably 2 to 3 feet of snow under the tires in this pic.



Took my wife for a short ride over Avon pass near Eden, Utah. She won’t ever ride with me so this was a big deal and a beautiful day for it.



Went to the Black Hills with a group of Flat Fender enthusiasts. Beautiful area.



Spent the 4th of July around Bryce Canyon. Lots of beauty there.




End of July found us back with our Flat Fender friends in Northern Colorado.







Then we ran down to the south part of Colorado to check out the trails around Ouray and Telluride. This was the greatest jeep adventure of my life. Loved it!
















Here we are on “The Wall” at Poughkeepsie Gulch.



In September I went to the last day of the Flat Fender Fall Color Tour near Nathrop Colorado where some of us took on the Grizzly Lake trail. That Gatekeeper obstacle is a bear.










October found us near the little town of Mayfield Utah for the annual deer hunt. My brothers and nephews hunt, and I take the kids for jeep rides.





This winter I pulled the transmission out for some work on the synchros, and after putting it back together we ran up near our home and got this shot of this mountain called Ben Lomond that overlooks North Ogden, Utah, and that always says home to me when I see it looming in the distance. Not really an all-out adventure, but a fun hour out in the winter sun.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

That Willy's rocks!