Collected Stories
Much like jagged stones from the mountain that eventually turn into the rounded stones you find on the beach, the multitude of thoughts that would otherwise occupy space on My Soapbox occasionally coalesce and refine themselves into succinct stories. Some of those stories have actually been published in either magazines or on the Internet. It seemed appropriate to give them a separate home, so here they are!

1. Limiting Vulnerability
2. Who’s Compromise is it Anyways
3. Restoring a Landcruiser
4. Life in the Slow Lane
5. Cleaning the Mini Blinds
6. Engineering the Weak Link
6. The Gift In The Rocks
7. Markguyver Part 1
8. Arriving in Olancha

1. Limiting Vulnerability.

[As seen in the January 2005 issue of Toyota Trails]

When I received my current issue of TT and saw the Lexus on the cover, I had to pause. Then I let it go. Since then, I have come to realize that several others also paused, and some did more. I thought I would take a minute to explain both why I paused, and why I let it go.

I got my first 4x4 24 years ago. It only took me three days to figure out that it was capable of going places where AAA wouldn’t come and get me! That’s when I realized it would be a good idea to start learning about auto mechanics.

I had always been mechanically inclined, just not particularly interested in auto mechanics. Most of my early ventures were motivated by curiosity. When it came to trucks though, I would have to say that it was in equal part motivated by vulnerability. As it turned out, I gradually found that the theme of vulnerability runs through many parts of our lives, from our choice of jobs and life partners to where we live, who we hang out with, how much we save, …as well as our choice in vehicles.

While I was working my way thru college, with each new thing I learned, from cabinetry to framing, stucco, plaster, cement and tile work, roofing, plumbing, electrical, etc I felt not only a sense of accomplishment, but a lessened sense of vulnerability to being taken advantage of. I would listen to the older members of my four-wheel drive clubs talking about getting ripped off by contractors or mechanics, and was happy to know that that wasn’t going to be my fate.

I bought my first Landcruiser 19 years ago to use as a rolling laboratory to learn auto mechanics on. It didn’t run, and hadn’t run for a while. I taught myself how to overhaul the steering and the brakes, and eventually fixed the engine. My love of the landcruiser was born of the result. My 68FJ40, which I call Ruftoys, was far from reliable at first, but I had the firm belief, for the first time in my life, that I could fix whatever went wrong with my vehicle. I fell in love with the idea of having a vehicle that I did not feel vulnerable taking anywhere! By the time I had opened my shop in 1990, I was a confirmed retro-grouch. I did not own a fuel-injected vehicle, and pretty much figured I never would. I used my new soapbox to preach the benefits of this Neolithic vehicle that had become my passion.

So when my parents asked me to come look at the new mini-van they were going to purchase in 1993, I passed, reminding them that computerized vehicles could only make you more vulnerable. When their brand new mini-van broke down on the way home from the dealership, fates were sealed! I felt completely vindicated in my position. But facts were facts, and the facts were that my parents were not going to go back to a carbureted vehicle, unless that vehicle could be bought brand new. So we agreed to disagree. And I agreed to smile every time they had to leave the vehicle at the dealership to diagnose a new mystery.

My predisposition against all things computerized even led me to turn a blind eye on the FJ62 and the FJ80. In my mind, they stopped building ‘real’ landcruisers in 1987. To me, the retro-grouch, computers were the essence of vulnerability: everything I had worked to avoid. So a computerized Landcruiser seemed like an oxymoron. And who would own an oxymoron!

Finally, somewhere in the last 10 years, it dawned on me that some people buy new cars on a regular basis for EXACTLY the same reason that I cling to old ones: it makes them FEEL less vulnerable! The media bombards us with images of how the new and improved whatever not only makes life easier, but leaves you less likely to be stranded or hurt, and that is the essence of vulnerability. A chink in my armor.

Then in Feb 2004 I joined the Pirate Bulletin Board. That’s when I got a whole other level of education as to how far people will go to increase reliability and decrease vulnerability. Not just disc brakes, but blingfields. Then billet knuckle arms, Dana axles, cryo gears. And a pervasive infiltration of EFI.

As each new level of upgraded durability was invented, marketed, and its limits met, the mythical search of these pioneers continued. Suddenly, a bone-stock FJ80 and I had more in common than I realized. With only minor suspension and gearing changes they, like I, were much less likely to actually break their trucks on the trail than most of the guys on Pirate! And for the price of a FSM, an ECM, a few sensors and a coil, they could have about the same level of vulnerability as me and my carb kit!

Once I met the owners of the cool 80s at the Rubithon this year, and found out that they were ordinary guys just like me [that just happen to drive very expensive trucks!] I pretty much closed the book on my old prejudices. Now I figure everyone is welcome on the trail, as long as they are prepared to deal with their vehicle’s particular vulnerability. So, to make a short story long, when I saw the Lexus on the cover of TT, that’s why I let it go.

2. Who's compromise is it Anyway?

[As seen in the March 2005 issue of Toyota Trails].

At many points in the evolution of their Landcruisers, owners must stop and consider the trade-offs of modifications that make their rigs more trailworthy, but less street-able. Tires at some point overcome the engine's ability to hold highway speeds at reasonable operating temperatures and fuel economy. Suspensions reach the point where the unfortunate but essential high-speed maneuvers of city driving become perilous. Other more subtle changes, like transmission and axle gearing changes that make it easier to crawl off road, also make the vehicle less comfortable to drive on a daily basis. So for many like myself, the process of modification is effectively 'compromised' by their interest in keeping their vehicles road-worthy.

With the emergence of the newest breeds of machine, the buggy, truggy, or cruggy [as you like], capable of easily conquering obstacles once considered impossible, we are reminded that our otherwise very-cool, very well-built machines are nonetheless now second class citizens in this new world order. Freed from the compromising world of windshields, doors and fenders, these machines articulate, both literally and figuratively, in ways a road-worthy truck simply cannot. Watching and listening to that articulation is like the call of the sirens [a little knowledge of Greek mythology helps here]full of lure and yearning. Some refer to it as the call of the 'dark side.'

Following one of these machines down the trail is like watching a caricature of our own rigs, because everything performs in the superlative, the way things do in cartoons. Engines scream, with little discernable forward momentum from the truck. Axles and springs respond with super-hero speed to overcome all obstacles in their path. Tires bulge and splay beyond belief. In fact, having traded a substantial amount of their sheetmetal for caging, they appear to be able to layover and right themselves with no discernable harm. Before now, that only happened in cartoons! Surely this is the super-world of no fear and no compromise, right?

But have you ever stopped to ask yourself why is it us that takes on this badge of compromise. I think it's really the other way around: the trail machines are the real compromise!

I submit to you that we, the heretofore mischaracterized, have our own lure, our own freedom, that must be championed. That is the ability to raise the windshield, air up the tires, and continue the journey at the end of the trail. While these once proud machines were once able to make this journey alongside us, they must now be loaded on to trailers, strapped, chained and lashed down like Gulliver or King Kong, their freedom compromised. They gave up their headlights, their windshields, their highway speeds and functionality for the glory of the trail.

THEY are the ones that compromised. THEY are no longer able to cruise all the land. And that, to me, is the definition of a Land Cruiser.

3. Restoration of a Landcruiser

[As seen in the May 2005 issue of Toyota Trails]

When most people think about Landcruisers, the first image that comes to mind is of a multi-purpose, go anywhere, bad-ass four-wheel drive with point-shoot-and don't-worry-about-the paint legendary status. Old-school landcruisers were NOT the definition of style; they were, and still are, the definition of function. Landcruisers represented the outdoors, the outback, and all the places you wouldn't take the family sedan (although some of us did!) In contrast, restorations were about museums, shows, and all the indoor places you would take the sedan. And then the inevitable happened: the restoration craze came to the Landcruiser.

Even though I already owned a Landcruiser business, my involvement with restorations was more or less a fluke. I was perfectly happy with my trail-ready FJ40, and just wanted to have a pickup truck to haul parts in. The fact that I found a removable top swb45 was just a coincidence. The fact that it came to me completely disassembled just meant that I had a chance to paint it before I put it together. The fateful moment was going to see my brother-in-law about a paint job. He worked at a restoration shop that was doing a gullwing Mercedes. When they opened the hood, and I saw factory fresh paint EVERYWHERE, the seed was planted.

In the process of 'restoring' the swb45, I learned a lot about the do's and don'ts. I didn't do anywhere near enough research on parts availability. I cleaned some parts up before I realized they were junk. Once I was finished, the truck was like a magnet for other people interested in restorations, which in turn caused me to learn a whole lot more. Now I would like to start sharing some of what I have learned.

For this, the first in a series of articles about restoring Toyota Landcruisers, I would like to start with what I would call the ground rules. While many people like to think that they are the exception to the rule, and in some cases they are, I have seen some common themes in Landcruiser restoration which help me gauge the potential for success. And believe it or not the most critical component in the restoration process is not the vehicle. It is the owner.

Anyone who has successfully restored ANYTHING will tell you that the most important element in the restoration process is patience. Patience beyond belief. Every component in an assembly begs for attention to detail. In my SWB resto, I spent 3 weeks on just the valve cover! Three more on the lid for the air cleaner! From linkages to hardware, what strikes me most about a restoration is the crisp contrast of well-defined boundaries between one part and the next. These contrasts are highlighted by detail, and that detail takes incredible amounts of patience. And time. In an Internet-driven world, this may drive you crazy; it could also be your ticket to slow yourself down. Restoration work is my Zen.

In direct contrast to the amount of time the project will take is the time you can commit to it. After a full time job, a spouse, children, home repairs and ordinary maintenance, there just isn't a lot of time left for starting, much less finishing a Landcruiser restoration. I distinctly remember one marriage that ended in divorce before the restoration was finished. You almost have to be pessimistic about how much time you are going to have when you try to calculate how long you can afford to have a disassembled rig hanging around. Then, if you progress faster than planned, you can celebrate. At least you won't be disappointed! Over the years I have picked up dozens of rigs from guys who have disassembled them for the restoration process, only to give up 6 months, a year, or even 2 years later, well short of the goal.

Time and patience also play a big part in the next factor: the budget. While the rate at which NOS parts disappear sometimes seems alarming, patience is often rewarded here too. If you can avoid the rush to purchase anything and everything you can think of that might be obsolete by the time you need it, you will often find that there are alternatives. Vendors and enthusiasts alike will often step forward to make and or market reproduction parts that won't cost anywhere near what the last NOS one will. Windwing weatherstrips are a perfect example. Also, parts show up on Ebay and bbs from time to time from people that have moved on to a modified setup, or another vehicle altogether. I have even heard stories of guys that waited long enough and an even better project vehicle showed up! More on this in a later article

Yet another owner-based aspect that must be considered is intention. If you approach the project with the intention of reselling it, your intention will infect the project with endless compromises. Every time you walk back over to the project, those compromises will be there, staring you in the face. I purposely saved myself from this infection by throwing away all the receipts for the truck except the one from the paint shop. I have never counseled anyone to attempt a restoration that considers it an investment. In fact, I will always do the opposite. I know there are people who have made money at this, but I am not one of them. Generally, you can easily put out two or three times what the vehicle is worth in time and effort to restore it. If you intend to restore, keep it and enjoy your cruiser for many years, that's great. Otherwise, consider it a pretty distraction from which you may someday recoup a fraction of your investment.

Which brings us to the next ground rule, and my next theme: NOT EVERY LANDCRUISER IS WORTHY OF A RESTORATION. The whole concept of restoration has been blurred by an endless supply of Ebay sellers hawking professionally-restored V-8 FJ40s. A Model T with a 5.0 or a 351 Windsor is not a restoration just because it still has a Ford engine in it, so why should a modified Landcruiser be. Even an FJ25 with a 2F engine will not qualify in my book for a restoration. I am not saying you shouldn't keep the 2F engine and improve the body to the limits of your abilities. I just draw the line differently on calling it a restoration. Now that I have alienated a good portion of you with a purest philosophy, I have to tell you that even my well-repaired SWB45 is not a restoration in the strictest sense. I cut myself out of this category when I opted to remove the 3 on the tree tranny for a 4 on the floor. Of course I'm too picky. However, if you've ever been to a car show, you know that's what it's all about. Resto is resto, custom is custom.

Likewise, I have had several people approach me over the years for restoration inquiries that have been rather disappointed when I told them that their truck was not a worthy candidate in my opinion because the truck had been rolled at some point in its life. While there may be some who would argue this point, I think that by and large, there are just too many hidden issues in a rollover that preclude getting a good result. These trucks can still produce good-looking daily drivers, mechanically sound and straight. However that is not a restoration in my book either. I have seen dozens of beautiful FJ40s that you could not put a factory hardtop on. Rollovers, each and every one. If you cannot get each and every part that was available for that truck to fit onto it, it is not a resto.

In contrast, I do not think a restorable landcruiser has to be rust free. If you own an FJ40, pretty much all you need these days is a solid cowl. The rest can be found in aftermarket replacement panels. Perhaps I am overly optimistic, but I think the odds are improving for seeing reproduction panels for the FJ45 and FJ55 in the near future as well. On the wagons, I would add door pillars to the non-rusted equation. Beyond that though, restoration returns to the primary element of patience. Tech articles abound on methodology for cutting out and removing rust. I used the angle iron method on my 40 because I knew it was gonna stay a trail rig. I paid a shop to deal with the SWB, painstakingly duplicating the look of the original spot welds on the replaced sheetmetal that had none. Detail.

Looking ahead, I plan to cover particular tools and methods I have found successful in refurbishing old parts, as well as criteria for refurbishing versus replacement. There are also a lot of does and don'ts about the order of things, some of which I learned the hard way, and I would like very much not to see repeated.

4. Life in the slow lane, or 'To H55 or not to H55' (that is the question)

[As seen in the July 2005 issue of Toyota Trails]

For the last 6 or 7 years now, I have had the good fortune to drive a basically-stock FJ45lwb as my daily driver. Generally my commute is 30-40 miles round trip, which is not enough to have any issues with this very well-maintained truck. The F135 was rebuilt and balanced about 10k ago and purrs smoothly at 60mph. I rebuilt and re-bushed the three on the tree tranny at the same time. The manual steering box has zero freeplay and the manual brakes are firm with 1" of pedal travel. Retro cool, fun to drive, and basically in as-new or better condition.

Problem is, I drive this truck EVERYWHERE, and on the longer trips I feel guilty running the F135 over 60mph for extended lengths of time. Probably due to good balancing, the motor has no objections to going 70, and seems willing to give me more. Quite frankly, I've reached that point in my life where I'm more interested in seeing how long things will last than how far you can push them. So I started thinking about overdrives.

Why not get some bigger tires or swap in some 3:70s to drop a few hundred rpms you ask? Simple: 1st gear in the 3 speed is already at its comfort limit launching the truck with 4:11s and 32s. Optimally, I figured it would be nice to pick up a lower 1st gear to appease that never-ending internal dialogue about upsizing tires at the same time as getting a freeway friendly 5th gear.

Once I started thinking 5 speed, I pretty much focused on the New Venture NV4500 and the Toyota H55. The NV has a lower 1st than the H55, which makes it the superior choice for a rig that is going to spend a lot of time in the rocks. My LWB is NOT that rig. It also has a taller OD 5th than the H55 (27% vs. 16%) A buddy that runs the NV in his naturally aspirated Chevota 40 told me that 5th gear bogs his motor below 70mph, which is pretty much the top range I would want to drive my FJ. Since I felt that both 1st and 5th were beyond my useful range, I started to focus on the H55.

I don't mean in any sense to suggest that the H55 is a second choice, or an inferior tranny. The 4:86 1st gear is still very capable for rock crawling, while the closer range between the gears makes the tranny more road friendly. Add to that the fact that it slips right into the 74 and newer bellhousing and is a more compact conversion within the confines of a 6 cylinder FJ40 and its benefits shine. The fact that you can buy a brand new H55 for under a 2k is also very nice.

So I bought one! Then, I bought another one! As good fortune has often had it, once I become interested in trying something new on one of my rigs, one or more of my customers seem to get the same urge. In this case, one of my newer customers (who shares many of my tastes in old school charm) was also looking at more freeway-friendly options for his soon-to-be daily driver. We agreed that he would get his transplanted first, which saved me from myself. You see, I have this tendency, shared by many cruiserheads, of rapidly expanding a project with related 'improvements' once the initial project starts, and basically decommissioning the vehicle in question for, ahem, lets just say an 'extended' period of time!)

[Of noteworthy difference: his 69FJ40 sports a F145 with one of my tricked out Aisan 2bbl carbs, a Downey Tri-Y header and 35"BFGs.]

Once I completed the install, of course I had to 'keep' his truck for a while until I was done with the 'test drives' (insert smilie here). As I had suspected, much like my H42, 1st gear had about the same utility as in an old VW bus: good for about 10 feet! 2nd, 3rd and 4th responded much like a 3speed, right up to the normal highway pitch at 55. Then, the Holy Grail: the extra gear I had been dreaming of reaching for for the last 17 years. Shift, release clutch. Whoosh. Sanity restored!

Still a typical noisy FJ40. Just more like the noise level at 40 mph, which is a lot more livable for me. Motor is a little sluggish, but will still accelerate reasonably on the flats. Push a little, 60. Push a little more: 65. Then, a novelty: keeping up with the flow of traffic IN AN FJ40! Then it hits me: all the noise of 55 is back, but with a vengeance. The motor is back to the same noise level it had at 55 in 4th, but with the added road noise of 70! Arrgh!

Two weeks down the road my H55 is in cold storage while I reconsider. Do I really want to go thru the effort, lose not only my 3 on the tree, but my dash-mounted T-case controls AND cut 2 holes in my virgin tranny hump and factory floormat just so I can go fast enough to finish off what is left of my hearing? Now I am thinking that the venerable H42 may be my answer. It will give me 25% lower 1st, and the smoothest shifting truck transmission I have ever used. Shave some RPMs off the motor with a slightly larger tire. Only one hole in the floorboard; dash-mounted t-case controls can stay! Parking brake can stay! I may even get crazy and design a 4 on the tree adapter!

If I am lucky enough to get one of Ehsan's reproduction tailgates to replace my beaten one, I may get a smooth panel instead of raised letters. If that is the case, I will use it as a base to mount a message sign. My first message is gonna be "My truck is 40 years old. What's your excuse?"

5. In defense of cleaning the mini blinds.

[As seen in the September 2005 issue of Toyota Trails]

So there I was, standing over the kitchen sink a couple of months ago, washing up from one of those morning adventures we call 'home maintenance.' I noticed that the mini blinds over the sink had built up a pretty good layer of dust and water spots. Since I was already in the 'take care of it' mode, I proceeded to dig out a sponge from under the sink and started cleaning the blinds, slat by slat. A few minutes into my new task, I stopped to consider the cost of a new set of mini blinds vs. my time to clean the ones in front of me. Then I smiled. Then I decided I would write this article!

We've all done this. If not the specific act, then something similar. In the current lingo, it's referred to as cost-benefit analysis. A few years back, it was just cost-effectiveness. In a world driven by a never-ending list of things to do, a limited number of hours, and a limited number of opportunities to pursue profitable activities, we all have to make choices. This is surely a rational basis for making them. So why do we, with our well-trained minds, end up doing these things anyways? My personal 'downfall' as it were is the countless unpaid hours I spend detailing parts on my customer's rigs while they are at my shop. I know there are other things to do, and there is little chance that I will be paid for my time in this pursuit, but I often feel powerless to resist. This at least suggests the possibility that forces other than profit may be at work.

In the Eastern philosophies, there is a saying that some people wash the dishes to get clean dishes, while others wash the dishes to wash the dishes. If you don't see the difference between the two, it's ok. There are a lot of people that don't. That doesn't mean there isn't one; it's just not the way we're used to thinking. It's a Zen thing. The process of 'losing yourself' while performing some task that appears to require only minimal attention is something we all do, or at least dream of doing. Maybe it's when you water the lawn. Maybe it's when you rake up the leaves or when you walk your dog. Or maybe it's when you're driving your truck!

Sometimes we attempt to trivialize this time as daydreaming, but that is truly unfair to what I consider an essential spiritual function. In these tasks, we have all found a medium through which our minds can let go of the outside world a little bit, and we pursue other thoughts. This is the time we use to sort out things, re-examine and review, and make our plans. And yes, sometimes we just daydream too. Getting lost in routine is not the equivalent of Zen, but it is close. And it is very important. If you don't believe me, consider this.

We like to say that we are all creatures of habit. Think for a minute how easily your day can be knocked out of whack by losing time for one of your routines. Let’s say you shower in the morning but you've awoken late and don't have the time. Not only do you feel a little disheveled physically, but you're a little less organized, because you usually organize your plans for the morning while you're performing that routine! Ok, so maybe you don't shower in the morning; hopefully you still get my point. Our minds subconsciously 'carve' out these points in the day where we can take a step back, look at things differently, while we are doing something else. We often don't even realize we've carved out these opportunities until we miss them.

So what does all this have to do with Landcruisers? In my series of articles on restoration, one of the things I consider to be an essential part of the road map to a successful resto is making a list of which parts will be repaired as opposed to being replaced. Beyond the basic questions of availability and cost, I think the opportunity to 'lose yourself' for a few hours in the thoughtful detailing of some intriguing old landcruiser part [vs. just buying a new one] is an essential part of the journey. If you plan to rush thru the job, telling yourself you are just building the truck to drive it, like washing the dishes to have clean dishes, you are cheating yourself out of a wonderful opportunity.

And if that doesn't make you pause, consider this. In my opinion, when you debate whether to repair or replace, there is a lot more to the discussion than just money. How you do anything is how you do everything. How you go about restoring your Landcruiser says as much about you as it does about the truck. Maybe more so. People that don’t know you still know what detail is. That’s why we say the best trucks are built, not bought. We all understand and appreciate commitment. It’s a Zen thing.

[editor's note: I proved my own point by letting the seed for this article germinate in my mind for a couple of months, then composed this article between 4-5:30 am, in the pre-dawn hours before the realities of the day could take hold! Now I think I will go detail a carburetor.]

6. Engineering the Weak Link.

[As seen in the November 2005 issue of Toyota Trails]

There is an old saying that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. As owners of vehicles that are regularly called upon to perform serious challenges, we have all in our own time come to confirm the truth of this saying. In fact, if I had to guess, I think it would be safe to say that collectively we as a group have broken enough different components to build an entire rig. While many of our individual breakages come with colorful campfire stories, I would like to focus on one that I witnessed that is illustrative of my point.

About 20 years ago, while I was wheeling in the Mojave Desert with my Chevy club, one of the Blazers in our group broke a u-joint on his rear driveshaft. The break was sudden, but far from dramatic, as the owner had previously installed a driveshaft hoop to limit it's lethal potential. As was my custom, I went over to watch and possibly provide a little assistance, as my mechanical skills were pretty limited at the time.

As I reached his rig, the owner was already pulling a new u-joint out of his spare parts box. Looking in through his open tailgate, I saw that he had a compete extra rear driveshaft mounted alongside his rollcage. THIS GUY WAS PREPARED! Even so, I was not prepared for what I saw next.

As the owner was getting underneath his truck with the u-joint, I asked him about removing his driveshaft and he said "Don't need to." When I looked under his truck I saw that he had mounted a bench vise to the INSIDE OF HIS FRAME! He released the shaft from the limiter hoop, pushed it over to the vise and proceeded to change the u-joint ON THE TRUCK! The odds of being THAT PREPARED were just astronomical and my curiosity was peaked, so I started asking questions.

Very nonchalantly, he explained to me that he had been having driveline problems ever since he tired of the stock motor's inability to motivate his 6" lifted, 36" rubber-clad rig and had replaced it with an LT-1. Then of course the driveshaft problems started. After breaking the best u-joints he could find and having to replace 2 or 3 ruined shafts in the process, he decided to replace them with THE CHEAPEST U-JOINTS HE COULD FIND!

His rationale was that if he made the driveshaft bulletproof, the next thing to go would be either the rear end or the transfer case, both of which would be MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE and MUCH MORE DIFFICULT to replace. Basically, he had chosen to engineer the weakest link in the chain to be the cheapest, easiest thing to replace. Well they say that the line between genius and madness is a thin one, and this guy seemed to me to be straddling it! Nonetheless, in the years since then, I have come to appreciate his philosophy, and have embraced it in my own special way.

When one of my customers brought me an article several years ago touting the benefits of a replacement birfield that was supposed to be twice as strong as stock. I told him that the strength tests that were provided in the article were enough themselves to convince me not to buy it. Incredulous, he asked me why. I proceeded to tell him the story about Mr. Cheapo U-joints. Then I added the missing link.

By that point in my four wheeling adventures I had broken 6 drum brake birfields on my truck [I am now up to 8] and replacing them had become a relatively easy procedure. By contrast, I had seen someone at Rubicon Springs back in 91 or 92 that had broken an inner shaft and had been forced to enlist the aid of gravity to remove the broken piece, i.e. he had to unbolt the axle housing and up end it! Now I know you're thinking pig inners, but keep in mind that wasn't even an option back then. My point is I felt less vulnerable knowing my relatively weak, but readily-accessable coarse birf was the weak link in MY rig. I would much rather replace a birf than a 3rd or an inner.

So there you are. I gave up the mythical search for total reliability. In fact, as far as searches go, I'm not sure I ever made it past square one. I did not engineer the weak link on my truck, but I'm not looking to shift it either.

7. The Gift In The Rocks.

[published directly to the Net, November 2009]

On a recent hike in the El Paso Mountains, I looked back down from my vantage point into the remnants of a long abandoned mining camp and thought to myself how solitary my old pickup truck looked there. However, as soon as I was done muttering aloud the words “There’s nobody here but me” a smaller voice inside me continued “…and the energy of those who moved the rocks before you.” Smiling, I returned to my truck, picked up a pen and paper and thought ‘Alright then, tell me your story.’ And so it is written.

First there were the listeners. They were not born here, but followed the hum of the mountain to this place. Those who have felt the vibration that hovers near the subsonic need no further explanation. For them, it is enough to say that all who wander are not lost. They who listened moved rocks in search of food, temporary shelter, and in acknowledgement of their humbled connection to this place.

Then came the dreamers. Drawn initially by worldly ends, their recorded failures were both predicted and preserved by a calculating world that knows nothing of the desert’s secret treasures. Each passing year in the life of a prospector brought a reassessment of a life honed, not by magazine ads, but by the flow of the desert seasons. Without the panoply of distractions that portend a lifetime of unanswered questions, they picked up nuggets of circumspection at rates that would mystify our so called academics. The rocks they moved reflect the dreams they lost…and the dreams they found.

Then came the diggers, and the builders of roads. They heard nothing but the hum of the machines that they drove, and that drove them. They followed fault lines and the faulty lines of promoters. They kept their distance from the rocks, using claws and loaders, crushers and sorters, as if time itself were being mined. Unlike the listeners, when their unenlightened quest ended, whether by choice or chance, time ironically left them with a hum that lingered long after their machines fell silent. From them, the Earth took more than it gave.

And finally came the curious. To them, the listeners, the dreamers and the diggers were all legends. Children of the cities, they knew only in the simplest terms that others before them lived for a time in the ‘wilder’ places beyond the night lights.

Now, as then, they come by and large in the machines of the day, down the roads the builders had built. When they pause for a brief look around, they carry the hum of their utility vehicles into the larger mining camps and, with the hum, begin to imagine the steel and men that were forged, tempered and ultimately weathered there. For those who stop for an hour, the hum begins to subside, and they begin to discern the smaller remnants of the dreamers that dot the nearby hillsides. The paths that lead beyond the province of the machine still bear the tin can testimonials of their hunger. And if you look [and listen] long enough, you will notice that every claim has at least one rock large enough for a tired dreamer to sit and reflect on.

If you count yourselves among the curious, and should somehow reach this place in your travels, and make the fateful choice to walk further yet, know that you will not walk alone: you are wandering into a world where the rocks still talk, your feet still listen, and a part of you still belongs.

9. Arriving in Olancha.

[Published directly to the Net, Dec 2009]

There is nothing quite like arriving in Olancha. At 9.A.M. On a Thursday. In December. First of all, it has probably been decades since any one associated the words 'arriving' and “Olancha' in the same sentence. Secondly, for those who only travel the blacktop, 9a.m in December ANYWHERE in the Eastern Sierra only conjurs up images of cold, blustering wind. Since I had not started out my latest adventure with Olancha as my destination, and ended up there as a state of mind, I figure an explanation is in order.

For starters, traveling early on a Thursday morning gave me an extra dose of independence and control over my destiny that leaving on a Friday morning just doesn't give. Taking Friday off is usually associated with calling in sick, trading schedules, or some other sleight of hand. Traveling with the whole of Thursday before you means you've either done double the magic to parlay time, or you are a small step closer to breaking the barriers between work and play. In my case, a BLM meeting in Ridgecrest Wednesday night made segueing into another desert trip all the easier.

The early morning air was indeed beyond chilly by L.A. standards, with a sunrise ground temp hovering at 18 degrees. But driving north into the clear blue eastern Sierra skyline before me, with the low December sun warming my back thru the window of the pickup, I could only be heartened by the weather. As the minutes and miles rolled on, and the warmth of the sun soaked thru the layers of my clothing, the metaphors for my own existance began to swirl in my head. There was not much trace of summer any more, but neither had winter arrived. The way ahead held more wind and cold, but the cold could be shielded against, and the sun was still at my back, encouraging me on.

But there were other metaphors as well. On previous adventures, I had been one of many, and my pace, and the pace of my truck, were never wholly my decision. Now, in the approaching winter, I travel only in the company of my trusty steel steed. Over the years I have developed a sort of sympathetic sense of where it's sweet spots are. And in the early Thursday morning of this trip, there was virtually no traffic on the highway to keep me from reaching or maintaining that pace. At several points highway speeds dipped to 40mph without concern, because there were no outside forces to pass judgment on it. Then I smiled, remembering once again that old adage that 'how you do anything is how you do everything.' In this case, unbound by convention, I let my truck gravitate towards the same unhurried pace with which I try to conduct all my other daily affairs.

And so it was that arriving in Olancha became a state of mind. Not thinking about a destination, but thinking about where I am...and where I am not.