I’m impressed by the quality of your videos. Professionally done, almost on par with some travel shows on tv. Good content!

@MrKeenaz

2 жыл бұрын

I agree. Great content.

spent 3 hours going down into a canyon, totally nuked a tire,spare was junk too... wouldnt hold air, took 3 DAYS of constant winching to drag her back up out of that one... on 3 wheels .... 'adventures' .. Merry Christmas !!

This is where I have to say "Welcome to my neighborhood!" The Owyhee uplands seem small on the map, but there is more to see and experience out there than a person can do in a lifetime. Every time I'm out there I have that same question in my head: "Why would anyone go to the effort of making this road out here? Where does it go?" And the biggest thought of all is "OMG! Watch out for those rocks!" *Crunch!* 😣

@swidahooverlanding2867

2 жыл бұрын

I guess this would be our back yard;-)

@maggiesfarm7970

2 жыл бұрын

The Owyhee back country is my back yard. I LOVE it!

@yungdolphin9130

2 жыл бұрын

What a great place for some reason I never knew there was Desert terrain like that in Oregon

Great job as usual Donald, its great to see the trip through your perspective. Jason

Oh that sky footage on the beginning of your decent was glorious!

Well done as usual Donald. I appreciate the time you took for all the camera angles, not to mention the editing it takes to mold all the shots into a cohesive story. Looking forward to the rest of this series!

It's always a pleasure to watch your videos Donald

wow those snow covered mountains beautiful scenery. could stare at that for awhile

That is rugged country and the rattlesnakes are there in herds! Spectacular, I go there for the hot springs. I tried the road you took but turned back because I was alone and not willing to risk it. Earlier, I got caught in a dust storm that was nearly a complete brown out. Yes, great adventure, thanks for bringing it to us!

Thanks for sharing your adventure. You and Jason sure get out to some beautiful places. Places I’ll never get the chance to visit....

Nice track. Eastern Oregon is such a stark contract to the Western half of the state. Quite inspiring. Thanks for putting up a state map with your route, provides critical context. Look forward to next episode.

This is the kind of trip where a few suspension upgrades start to move up the list.

@softroadingthewest

2 жыл бұрын

That's been been near the top since the beginning, I just can only do/afford so much at once. :-) I more than blew my budget just buying the truck and the topper and haven't really spent any real money on the rig since then, but hopefully 2022 will include suspension!

@marcericdavis

2 жыл бұрын

@@softroadingthewest Big tires and lifts come with their own set of compromises, so waiting until you are sure what you really need consistently is a good idea anyway. Most people rush into a big lift and tires without really engineering a solid solution. They often end up with a less capable rig overall than they started with. Perhaps just a winch and skid plates is the best solution for you overall. Time and experience with this rig will tell.

@charliemartin5482

2 жыл бұрын

Skid plates are well worth the money .

Nice to see a different perspective from Jason. I do appreciate the narration.... Also nice to see a fairly stock vehicle doing this. I agree with the hesitation on the water and lake bed stuff. Perhaps too much age or too many "Matt's off road recovery" videos. Having experience in an area makes all the difference.

Great job again Donald. Thank you

Pure cinematography

That leer cap is really growing on me ! Milwaukee makes a 2 AA 300 lumen magnetic flood light that's a nice neutral to warmish tint. Glue a few galvanized washers on the cap in key spots inside and out for the magnet to stick to, and these are great camp lights. It has a high and a low setting, and the warmer the color temp, the less bugs you attract, and it's easier on the eyes.

That truck is serving you well! You'll appreciate the lift when you get it.

Great job as usual! I love the diversity of the trail on this trip, and looking forward to the next episodes.

Awesome adventure. Thanks for sharing!

I am so excited this series has started!! I loved this and look forward to the rest of the trip!!

An expertly -crafted video of some epic country. Thanks for posting.

When you were driving with some anxiety through the lake bed I was thinking "Matt's Off Road Recovery" in their next you tube video might start out by saying "So we got a call from two you tubers, Donald and Jason. stuck out on the lake bed. Ed, what's the weather?" LOL I am looking forward to following you on this journey...the scenery looks simply stunning so far.

@om617yota8

2 жыл бұрын

My thought too!

@softroadingthewest

2 жыл бұрын

Haha! That would be quite the recovery bill, though at least I'd finally get the shirt! :-)

Beautiful.

Can’t wait till next episode. Actually excited about this series.

Well done video. You got skills! Thanks for sharing Oregon's beauty.

Loved it. Even my 4 1/2" lift with 37's would have to be careful there :)

Great adventure! And the 2 rigs are a lot of fun to watch, each in its own category.

I really enjoy these SE Oregon adventures. Thank you for taking us along and showing these epic views. The scenery is amazing.

Great video as usual!! Happy Holidays and safe travels!!

Awesome work once again. I just spent a few days out there in this winter snow storm, brrrrr

Starting to get a little beyond soft roading on some of that trail. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the trip

100% with you on the fear of lake bed mud.

Really nice Video Donald. Waiting for the next one.

Looks like such a fun trip

Nice trip ,can not wait

Feeling the adventure! Glad you and Jason get to venture into unexplored territory together. Safe AND fun.

@softroadingthewest

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Sam! I enjoy the slightly nervous edge that comes with exploring solo, but it is definitely more relaxing to get out like this with the reassurance of a backup vehicle and a buddy to help with problem-solving. :-)

Ok. This was an amazing video! Great tests for the 4x4's with beautiful cinematography! Thanks Donald!

When you said you were going to Owyhee with Jason I couldn't wait!....so cool to the wonderful area again...thank you...can't wait for the next episode and to see Jason's vids too! The exhaust and intake for my HS2000 are on the roof of my trailer and I have no issues with mud cloggin them up.

Wow, gorgeous area with stunning views!!! 🤗👍 Your storytelling and videography is amazing!!! 👌😁👍

Happy Christmas and New year!

Great video, Donald!

Subscribed. Won me over as a fellow Frontier Pro-4x owner. (Plus your videos are good and entertaining)

Rewatching this series hopefully I can do this trip soon

great adventure episode Donald. I always prefer to drive up a trail rather than down. Like you mentioned, it's nice to be able to see your obstacles, but another reason is you'll automatically have the right of way if you come across head on traffic.

Glorious! Magnificent. At 11:59 the ambient light changed considerably, and revealed that tortuous road. Well done.

Looks like you guys had some serious fun! Looking forward to watching this series! Really great shots and beautiful country.

@softroadingthewest

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! This trip did not disappoint in any way (well, except maybe for some of the weather, haha). Gorgeous, unique & interesting scenery all the way through. :-)

the road at 12:20 - looks pretty knarley -- exciting !

Supreme editing there Donald! You are Rocking IT!

Great places, great camera work…thanks

Great video man! Looking forward to the next ones in the series!

@softroadingthewest

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Jaren!

So I am not the only one that has issues with Gaia lagging lol and looks to be a very fun trip for sure and glad to see the logo getting miles as well!

I love the Owyhee country. My grandmother grew up in Silver City in its heyday - I’ve been back into the canyon area on my motorcycle, and hope to go again in the next year or two. Nice filming!

I camped there on the way to descend on bend, was absolutely amazing

Great video Donald! You definitely put the 4wd to good use. I like how you in-laid (is that even a word?!) the old videos from the Subaru into this one.

Great trip. If Oregon wasn't so far awayyyyyy

Thanks for the video you did a great job as always. We got to see the truck do some rock work! I would be reluctant to go through that mud/water also without another vehicle for help. Take care and be safe. Have a good New Year!!!

@softroadingthewest

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Frank! Hope you're enjoying the holidays!

I got PTSD watching this. Looks incredible during the day. I only saw it in the dead of night haha. I don’t know how we got through that road all the way to the canyon rim, in the dark, in a full size 10,000 pound truck without damage TWICE… lucky

@softroadingthewest

2 жыл бұрын

Haha, I would not have wanted to drive your rig down and up this trail even in full daylight, let alone in the dark! :-)

Nice job (again) fellas. Thanks for taking the time to pull together this labor of love - not an easy task but one that is appreciated by many. I took that rocky rip rap descent down to the river last year on my 690. Got about half way (solo) and came to my senses that I still needed to get out. Made it back clean to your 12:30 mark where the bike decided to take a rest on its side. Will take the Cherokee next time.

@softroadingthewest

2 жыл бұрын

The story we've heard from numerous locals is that getting all the way to the river on this road is next to impossible. Apparently someone recently rolled a rig where the road had sloughed off lower down, and then during the recovery, someone else rolled a side-by-side all the way into the river and drowned. That's the current lore anyway. We just wanted to get down to a landing well above the river, but ultimately decided even that wasn't worth further risk. It's FAR easier to get down to essentially the same spot along the river by coming down the east side (and a lovely drive getting there). Thanks for watching!

@gregmunn9908

2 жыл бұрын

@@softroadingthewest Yikes. I'm not set up to rock crawl and it sounds like that way down might tip the risk/reward scale too far in the wrong direction. I haven't been down the other side yet but did notice it on the map and have seen it in other vids. Itching to get back out there. Thanks again for your work!

Yay! Just gorgeous. I find my Gaia arrow sticks to the track better in the follow mode with the red reticle rather than the direction-up mode.

Cruising The Cut brought me here.

I can remember when the road to the top of the Steens looked like that rocky trail. I love E Oregon. Spent a lot of time out there with my Grandpa. He was a game biologist with ODF&W. He knew that area like no one else.

Go Frontier, makes you wonder how the pioneers came so far with wooden wheels and spokes.😟

While viewing your videos, I can sure get lost in the story you are telling and the grandeur of the area you are exploring. So, I happily give in and are excellently entertained. Then, I watch it a second time to understand and appreciate all the painstaking detail and camera angle labor you go through to bring a feeling of really being with you on the journey. I don't have a clue of the hours of editing time you invest to make this fantastic product, but I sure appreciate your talent. In these days of "anybody can upload their iphone video to KZread." You Sir, are a Real Artist! Thank You!

@softroadingthewest

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the kind words, and thank you for watching! Much appreciated!

I sincerely appreciate the style and content you've developed, Donald. What you do, and how you present is very grounded and obtainable for the avg person. Btw, nice job catching that beautiful rainbow at 10:48. Also, I have to have a little fun with you... Yeah, that trail would be VERY difficult without tires, lol 😉 (21:14) Safe travels my friend.

@softroadingthewest

2 жыл бұрын

Haha! Thanks Dave!

Yes, finally muddy frontier.

Throughly enjoyed the well made video. Reminds me of doing the Larsen-Applegate trail a couple years ago. Truly getting in the Outback is my favorite either and horseback or my Tacoma. We did it with four vehicles extra fuel, water, tires and tools. Most these roads are a result of wagon routes, ranch cattle grazing and exploring. Your video captured the feeling snd actually got my blood racing. Thank you. Subscribing to see more.

I know that second playa! My daughter's first time driving (7 years old) on it. That sand on the exit (i use it as an entrance) can get quite soft in the summer. There's a fun route from that playa into the north end of the Alvord. As for that trail. I've busted a CV coming out of there once. Lil bit of rain came through in the morning and I had too much wheelspin and gained traction at the same time. Love that area

I’ve only just started using Gaia on a recent trip and thought it was my imagination when it didn’t show me in the correct spot a couple of times. I’ve used a couple of other mapping apps on the same hardware, iPad Air 3 cellular and never had this happen, so it must be a problem with Gaia. Thanks for mentioning this problem as I can now stop worrying that it’s my brain that is going soft with age. 😊🧠

Great area to explore! To bad we missed each other by a few hours. Looking forward to the rest of the story. I already know some of those areas by your trailer. George.

@softroadingthewest

2 жыл бұрын

Definitely love it out there, and once again realized there is yet more I need to go back and explore. Thanks George!

@yungdolphin9130

2 жыл бұрын

Sounds like you're having a good time enjoy the trip

My kind of terrain being traversed by my kind of people! I'm on northern Vancouver Island, temperate rain forest stuff. Any time I find areas like you are in on a road trip it seems I'm on another planet. You sure enter/hit standing water faster than I would be comfortable doing.

@softroadingthewest

2 жыл бұрын

Anytime this ultrafine silty ashy soil is wet, it can turn into super boggy mud, and some momentum is needed to keep moving through it. I came VERY close to getting stuck several times on this trip when I entered mud puddles too slowly, and Jason got brought completely to a halt at one point. I realize it looks like gratuitous & unnecessary splashing, but some speed was essential to ensure we'd get through. :-)

@metaxaanabeer

2 жыл бұрын

@@softroadingthewest I understand but I worry...your engine can hydrolock or think about this: both differentials, the transfer case and the transmission have breather holes. Unless you extend them using hose they are all sucking in that crap too. Plus hot wheel bearings and brake components and cold water can be issues.

Looking into Owyhee and this came up! Some good info. Hard to decide which part to visit. Its huge!

@softroadingthewest

10 ай бұрын

Yeah, Jason and I have spent two separate weeks exploring various segments of the canyonlands, plus I spent a couple of days on my own a few years ago, and there's still so much I haven't seen, as well as areas I had to breeze past that warrant spending more time. This area has yet to disappoint.

❤

Nice adventure leg. My brother and I had fun exploring many roads coming off the East side of the main Alvord playa last June. We did try to cross Coyote Lake playa (perhaps the one you crossed) but we hit significant water a half mile out so we turned around as we were soloing it. The hardest part was connecting East across the 95 as we found gate after gate locked to cross the road.

@softroadingthewest

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Rob! Yes, that was Coyote Lake. Yeah, I would balk at water on it for sure, especially solo. I don't quite understand how sometimes a wet lakebed can feel as solid as it did when we drove it, and sometimes just swallow a rig. :-)

I LOVE THAT THE LANDSCAPE HIDES A LOT OF JEWELS / SPOTS THAT YOU DIDN'T EXPLORE & HAVE SATELLITE IMAGING TO SEE WHAT YOU'RE MISSING NEAR YOU ! LOVE THE LANDSCAPE AS YOU EXPLORE CHANGING AROUND YOU & IF YOU GET A LITTLE BORED FROM SOME IT CHANGES EVENTUALLY ! WHAT PLY TIRES WOULD BE BEST TO HAVE / BUY ? AWESOME VIDEO WEATHER LANDSCAPE DRONE FOOTAGE SCENERY VIEWS ! GREAT JOB FILMING COULD HEAR YOU PERFECTLY 👍 & CRYSTAL CLEAR FOOTAGE 👌 THANK YOU 🙏 BE SAFE ! ENJOYED 🍨 🍨 🍨 🍨 🍨 🍨 🍨 🍨 🍨 🍨

Great video! I need to get down there and explore that area in my Jeep. I thought you were having ice cream for breakfast at 17:30 :D

😎👍

🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

Looks like an awesome trip. The canyon looked good. Have you guys ever thought about using your drones to scout things out?

Great video. Truth is you haven’t yet pushed the capability of your rig. Get some sliders and push it a bit so you know the limits.

I’d like to do this trip. Looks like fun.

@softroadingthewest

2 жыл бұрын

I believe Jason will eventually be updating his Bend-Alvord route page with this new extension, though ultimately it's not too hard to plot your own course with a little map/satellite scouting. It's pretty hard to go wrong out exploring this area. Every time I've been out here, I've loved it all. Thanks for watching!

Enjoyed. Look forward to rest of series.

Keep at it. You'll get better at 4x4. But, like anything else, experience breeds excellence. The easy road doesn't teach anyone much.

I'm always puzzled when people say "there's nothing out here".... of course there's something out there. You just might need to look closer.

Your Frontier setup is cool. I also have a Pro4X - a 2019 King Cab with an OVRLND camper. Question: is you bed mattress set up diagonally to maiximize length?

@softroadingthewest

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, the truck has a 5' bed, so diagonal is the only way I can kinda sorta stretch out. :-)

Some of the mud-pits look as if you could possibly drive around them, wondering if that’s against the trail “rules” out there? Great work as usual, love the two truck system and you geological interests.

@softroadingthewest

2 жыл бұрын

It's generally frowned upon if not outright forbidden, as it effectively ends up widening the roads. I've seen places where a little dirt road turns into three lanes from people driving around mud holes, and new mud holes forming in the bypasses, which other people then bypass even further. It becomes a big ugly gash in the landscape, so we do try not to contribute to that. People often refer to this type of unpaved travel as "off road" but really we are supposed to stay ON the roads. :-)

Donald, why don’t you just fly a drone up to find roads or courses that you intend to be on? They would also be handy in finding out where that trail my head to. Love your vids. Stay safe. Kind regards from Mario. 🇦🇺

How much extra fuel do you need to bring? Beautiful video!

Jesus would have lost me at the first mud. 😁

@softroadingthewest

2 жыл бұрын

But future archeologists would be thrilled with the find. "Johnson! Come over here! I think I've found a perfectly preserved specimen of the early 21st century filmmaker!" "Aww, poor sap. Probably got sucked down into the mud by the weight of that A7iv."

@MattCookOregon

2 жыл бұрын

@@softroadingthewest dear God but look at his bone structure he must have been really really really, really good looking!

@softroadingthewest

2 жыл бұрын

@@MattCookOregon 😂😂

Donald! when are you going to tell us about the rearview mirror display??

As someone who aspires to do the same kinda of things you guys do, including traveling across the Alvord, is 4wd a must? For health reasons, I need more head room than even a normal van provides. Can a box truck with limited slip / posi do much of this route?

@softroadingthewest

2 жыл бұрын

The Alvord is easily drivable in 2WD. It's not unusual to see passenger cars and RVs out there. The BLM access points can be a little gnarly to drive back up off the playa, but I believe there is a nice flat access by the hot springs near the north end. That access is via private land and I think they charge people $5 to use it. For the rest of the route, I can't recommend 2WD, even with a rear locker. Might be okay, but might not. Some of the time we were on well maintained gravel roads that I could drive in my mom's Toyota Camry, but the route also employs unmaintained primitive dirt tracks. Plus, an unexepected shift in the weather (which has happened on each our trips out here) such as rain or snow can turn a relatively tame trail into a treacherous trap. Even on a dry day, some of these lingering mud holes nearly stopped us.

happy christmas from France Donald...

@softroadingthewest

2 жыл бұрын

Merci! :-)

Do you have a GPX file for this route? We’re heading to the Owyhees this weekend and wanted to connect over to the Alvord desert. I watched a video that Will made from venture to roam, and they kept hitting a lot of private property.

When you got the truck, you mentioned you’d be doing something to protect your paint…is that still planned?

@softroadingthewest

2 жыл бұрын

After buying the truck and cap, I couldn't afford a wrap (and that's definitely beyond my DIY level,) but I HAD to start getting back out on trips, so the truck is already in the process of getting scratched up. So far nothing serious that wouldn't buff out easily. Hopefully one day I can get it wrapped with something tough to cover whatever scratches it accumulates in the meantime. Functional upgrades are simply a higher priority than esthetics...I had to get it campable, and as seen in this video, some lift/suspension upgrades are really in order, and I really need to install a winch on that winch mount. I also have to devote some of my meager budget to video production equipment and have some long overdue needs there as well. So...yeah, the paint has had to take a bit of abuse as a back-burner priority. :-)

When are you heading back out that way again?

Solar Panels; Donald, I noticed you have a Jackery, is there not a reason to have the solar panels on the roof of the truck? (I'm watching on 8/01/2022 so if this happened since then, disregard.) You and Jason make a great team, I love being able to view your adventures.

So what did your buddy think about your new ride?

imagine doing this in the subie! not way! the Nissan xterra/ frontier platform is very capable!

@softroadingthewest

2 жыл бұрын

The Forester would've been fine doing everything - including the drive *down* into the canyon - with the exception of the drive back *up* out of the canyon, heh. Lacking low range gearing, getting over some of those rocks while going uphill would've been impossible to crawl, and the momentum it would have required to go up that trail would've had the car bouncing off rocks and certainly damaging something. The Frontier SO calmly climbed right up, as slow as I wanted to go...it was simply awesome how well it handled the terrain, completely stock aside from the tires. :-)

Damn, the one time you coulda used a Subaru, lol.

How are you communicating? Ham, CB or GMRS?

@softroadingthewest

2 жыл бұрын

GMRS. There's a link to my Midland radio in the description. I'm not sure which radio Jason is running.

@Rusted_Link

2 жыл бұрын

@@softroadingthewest I have radios thank you. I was just wondering. Thank you for replying.

20:03 Drone or UFO.....? Lol 🛸

@softroadingthewest

2 жыл бұрын

There are many reports of sightings out that way. ;-)