Originally posted by Huey:
I think the club (NCCX) has reached the point where there are three experience groups.
Newbie (or new to the sport) and would like to get a better understanding of 4wheeling and use 4lo. Would also like to get a better feel of the Xterra before getting dings or scratches to the paint.
Experienced stock or slightly modified. Been on a few trails and would like to see more. Confident about following a good line as shown by a good driver ahead of them and knows when they need to be spotted though a tough spot. These are the folks I'd like to take on the slightly rougher trails (ie Pardoe and Slick Rock). For me this is wheeling in an Xetrra! Not too rough and all about scenery and just enough challenge to make a trip fun and worth the exploration.
And then there are the crazies that push their grocery getters to the limit. I need not have comment on them. :p
I'd like to suggest another category:
This category is a step above the middle one Huey described, and includes the attributes of that category:
Experienced and/or modified; capable of
self-spotting through difficult obstacles as needed by exiting the vehicle to pick the optimum line, or through moderate obstacles
without having to exit the truck; exercise caution to avoid body damage, but don't think the end of the world is coming if a tree branch scratches the paint; not afraid of scrapes and dings on the undercarriage. Only the most difficult obstacles should force a driver of this classification to require a spotter.
(I put myself somewhere along the spectrum between Huey's mid-category and the one above.)
Of course, the last category that Huey mentioned is one that I'd prefer not to go wheeling with. Drivers in this category often have little regard to personal property, will often use excessive throttle to overcome obstacles, may experience mechanical breakdown, and will ignore the advice of spotters. This type would consider taking a stock Xterra where only modified trucks can travel without properly preparing, will break down and block the trail, then expect someone else to bail them out. (There were a few like this at goneMOAB '03.)
Huey, I realize you might have meant that last category to refer to the more enthusiastic of us (names withheld...
) in the club, but even though we do push our "grocery getters" to the limit, we still try to do it without scratching the paint.
And I'd have to disagree with anyone who thinks a stock Xterra can make it through the Rubicon unaided (even if it's an insurance write-off by the end). One might make it through attached to the Class III receiver of a modified truck, but no way on its own.