Garage Projects,  Trips

The Mighty Merc – 2nd ORT Flat Nasty 5-20-17

Hey we managed to go wheeling again! I had a brief reprieve from work and other life activities so the boy and I ran down to Flat Nasty again to get a little more seat time in the Merc. We stayed on the easier trails as my friend had his daughter out for the first time and we were trying to make sure it was a fun experience (it was!).

With all the rain down there lately, there were a few changes to the trails. While most of them were not drastically different. Trail 5 (below the dam) is now more or less paved where the dam gave way (they plan on roughing it back up here soon). And trail 4 by the campground has also been rearranged some as well.

Trail 5 by the dam:
Sara L.: 2nd ORT 5-20-17 Flat Nasty &emdash;

Trail 4 by the campground:
Sara L.: 2nd ORT 5-20-17 Flat Nasty &emdash;

Random photos from the day:
Sara L.: 2nd ORT 5-20-17 Flat Nasty &emdash;

Sara L.: 2nd ORT 5-20-17 Flat Nasty &emdash;

Sara L.: 2nd ORT 5-20-17 Flat Nasty &emdash;

Sara L.: 2nd ORT 5-20-17 Flat Nasty &emdash;

The “Bears” have also changed quite a bit. That’s baby bear in the foreground there. It is now dug out quite a bit more:
Sara L.: 2nd ORT 5-20-17 Flat Nasty &emdash;

Sara L.: 2nd ORT 5-20-17 Flat Nasty &emdash;

Sara L.: 2nd ORT 5-20-17 Flat Nasty &emdash;

Sara L.: 2nd ORT 5-20-17 Flat Nasty &emdash;

A little light on the photos as I was chasing a toddler whenever we stopped. The boy cracked me up as all the way down here was very excited to ride in “Dada Truck”
Sara L.: 2nd ORT 5-20-17 Flat Nasty &emdash;

Only to pass out hard about 500’ into a trail:
Sara L.: 2nd ORT 5-20-17 Flat Nasty &emdash;

He would perk up every time we stopped though!

The Merc did very well, and I started getting the groove of things with it by the end of the day. It rides like a caddy and the V8 has a broad enough torque band that it can keep everything moving along smoothly. Even with the A/C on!

The biggest downside that I found with this setup is you can’t see boo out of it. I thought the Ranger was bad, this thing gives a whole new meaning to driving by braille. But that’s the trade off you have to make if you want to haul as much crap as we do, and still be able to ride in comfort down the interstate.

A little more trimming to do, and some other odds and end before I start hammering on it too much harder. We’re still planning a CO trip this year so I’m trying not to tear it up too bad before then!

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