On Saturday a couple friends and myself decided to check out the off-road route from Forest Hill to the back of Soda Springs (Just outside Donner/Tahoe). It was about 34 or so miles of dirt trail, with one or two semi-sketch spots for the Subys, but we made it through without issue.

Heading over the famous Forest Hill Bridge (highest in California and 4th in the US).


I keep my tires at a high PSI since I commute so much for work, so as soon as the road ended, and the dirt started, we aired down. I only dropped to around 27, my friend in the Taco went down to 22.


Downloaded off-line maps for Google Maps to keep our directions going, you will absolutely loose cell reception.


Little pit stop. We stopped 4 or 5 times over the 30+ miles. Bathroom breaks but mostly to enjoy the views. We wanted to get out there and explore this since the storms are coming in this week, which means snow for where we were at. It was cold enough where the ground was still covered in frost.

 

First spot that was a little eh for the Crosstrek. It was a fairly steep grade, and a lot of loose rocks that were the size of softballs or larger. Had to pick a decent line and went after it. Friend in the Outback said it handled it like a champ. I think spots like this is where the advantage of having a CVT shine lol.


One of the stops we made. Absolutely beautiful view of the canyon. Snapped pics and buddy in the Taco got some drone footage, cant wait to see that! Would love to head back here when there is a bit of snow cover.

 

Getting close to the end


We passed over a couple small creek passings and a (at the time) dry creek bed. This was the largest over the American River.



Prior I had mainly used the ARB compressor to top off my tires during rotations or seasonal changes. This was the first time I got to put it to real use to air the tires back up.
Did all four of mine from 27 to 40 PSI. Then did the Tacos larger tires from about 22 to 30 PSI. Good enough for him to drive back on.


It was an awesome drive, will absolutely do it again. Would love to do it in the snow, at least part of it. It really depends on how much snow is down as the roads leading out to the trail are not plowed.

 

Welp ive been MIA for a few weeks. Normal end of year time off and not wasting it online at home haha.

Last week I went up the hill to our family cabin in Truckee as no one had been there yet this winter. Checked around the place and shoveled the snow off the deck. I was staying the night as I planned on snowboarding the following morning.

So before it go too dark, it made my way out to the local lake to snap some pics and wait for some decent night shots.

I also threw on some colored Lamin-X for the ditch lights and added some holiday lights to the roof, tis the season haha.







Some 3 wheel snow action

 

Darkness started to set in





Not the Crosstrek, but I got the other Subaru up and running. Hadnt driven it in at least 3 months. Battery was beyond dead, so I got a replacement. Also still planning on putting it up for sale very soon here, and wanted to keep the Enkei RCT4s. I bought my buddy's stock Evo 10 wheels as they're the same bolt pattern and they had been sitting in the garage for months. They were just the wheels, so I bought some new tires this week to throw on. Also removed the red mirror caps and now it looks like a whole new car.

 

Ended up doing the oil/filter/tire rotation yesterday. Also because my next part finally arrived lol.



Here are how the washers were going to work with the supplied Primitive Racing skid plate.



These are the front nuts





The rear bolts





Installed after my oil change








So the fronts still poke slightly, but majority of the nut is protected and should still leave more than enough to get a socket onto if I were to really hit something to mess em up. The rears are totally protected.

 

The other mod that finally arrived yesterday were my hood struts. They did not come with instructions so i made another thread with step by step pics for install.

https://www.subaruxvforum.com/thread...nstall.176741/

Finished product

 

Jesus... Those are the biggest struts ever.

 

bit large. Reminds me of ones off the rear of a truck camper shell to raise/hold up the glass back lol

 

The only thing holding me back from buying the Grimmspeed struts for the wagon is that they attach low like that. Does it feel pretty stable? I have the GS high lift struts on my STI.

 

Ya totally stable! Ive probably only popped the hood once, maybe twice, since installing though haha.

 

Newest mod




Full write up: https://www.subaruxvforum.com/thread...ghting.177193/

 

TOO BRIGHT

My hood prop finally failed and Grimmspeed had the stayathome sale so I picked up the struts for it. Works great.

 

Niceeee!

 

Next mod finally arrived!
New hard shell RTT from Outer Tents!



After unboxing it to inspect for any shipping damage, the guy offered to put it on the car so I didnt have to lift it.



Strapped it down and drove it home. Going to take it down and check out the inside later today once it cools down outside (currently 101* F haha).