Lone Tacoma
This past weekend, we were invited to Wisconsin Jeep Owners’ Jeep Camp #5, which was organized by our newfound friend, Cindy, and although, we were the Lone Tacoma, we had a blast! The event was sponsored by various off-road organizations and was held at Cindy’s house located in the Nicolet National Forest. Why were we of all people attending a Jeep group function? Well, we are never one to turn down the camaraderie of fellow off-road enthusiasts and like-minded folks.
Soon after arriving, we were guided to our spot to set up camp. You could quickly tell that the overlanding scene is bleeding into the jeep community, as our closest camping neighbors, both had well-prepared off-road trailer/roof-top tent combos. One of which goes by the panhandle, XJ Prepared, on Instagram and if you have time should definitely check it out. His rig had everything from a nice drawer system, refrigerator, on-board water and air, and everything in between. It was fully kitted for overlanding.
As we set up camp, we were immediately welcomed by a group of folks, who were probably thinking that we had lost our way being the only Tacoma at a Jeep event. Once completely set up, we fired up the skottle and made some delicious “street” tacos and invited everyone to join in. We got quite a few takers as the aroma of the yummy goodness spread throughout camp. Following dinner, there was a 2-hour night trail ride. We rode with Cindy in her jeep, as we stuck to our #1 rule of no wheeling anywhere at night especially in unfamiliar territory. There were 14 jeeps total that evening and there may or may not have been a little cell phone incident that caused part of the group to become lost. As we tried to converse over walky talkies, CB radios, and cell phones, we finally were able to meet up with the other half of the group and completed another section of trail before calling it and heading back to camp for our first night of registered campers’ raffle. We won a giant Jeep emblem and since we are kind of partial to Toyota (and did not want any bad luck), we quickly traded it for an awesome pair of handmade mittens. We nestled by the campfire to warm up before calling it a night. With the temperature dropping to the low 40s, it was a nice change of pace to be able to set the thermostat on our Four Wheel Camper and have the furnace take the nip out of the air. Besides a bit of snoring/roaring of the legendary Gorilla Bear that haunts the property, we both slept like babies.
The next morning, we whipped up a fresh ham steak, eggs, and salty potatoes (brined a little too long), packed up, and quickly made it over to the morning driver’s meeting for trail riding to start at 10am. As more jeeps rolled in, there were upwards to 50 rigs ready to hit the trail. We lined up in our chosen level of difficulty and soon were on our way, led by our knowledgeable trail guide, Chris. It was an awesome day (with the exception of Topher getting stung by a hornet on the lip at lunch) completing 18 miles of pure trails and dirt roads as we weaved on and off trails throughout the spectacular 5 hour trail ride. We were impressed with how the truck and camper did on the hill climbs and rock obstacles. We also might have impressed a jeeper or two with being able to take our “apartment” on wheels through many of the same trails as them. We broke off from the group around 3 because they were going to go on a tighter trail that had several low-lying branches and we didn’t want to damage the camper, plus Topher needed some ice on his lip and a nice frosty beverage. We hung around until the next raffle at 7pm in which we won a t-shirt, hat, coozies, knife set, and a handmade rocket stove (review coming soon) made by Dennis of Konyn Custom Fabrication & Welding. As others got ready for another night run, we made some Chili Frito Pie for dinner and sat under our awning listening to the sound of the rain around our campfire in our tiny but trusty Weber grill. There is just something magical about being dry and warm while sitting around campfire in the pouring rain. Shortly after eating and talking story with our new friends, we called it a night. We snuggled into our sleeping bags for the evening and drifted off to sleep while listening to the soothing rain on our aluminum roofed camper.
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There was another quick raffle the following morning before everyone packed up to head home. The last few remaining diehard campers gathered around our camp for a bacon, egg, and apple/banana bread breakfast. Before we knew it, it was 11am and time to hit the road and get ready for work/school the next day. And of course, we always have to find a pit stop along the way. We found this awesome turnout from the road to stop and take a peak at Wolf River.
Once again, big thanks to Cindy and every one else who contributed to making Jeep Camp 5 a fun and successful event!
