[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by karthikd21

Excellent! Glad to see you were able to use 4L finally and enjoy the trail. This trail is superb in the sense that it provides a lot of opportunities to learn as you have beautifully described.

Thank you! I remember our conversation sometime ago about using 4L. So yes, I finally got to use it. Even the BLD kicked in on a couple of occasions and made me feel happy :-)

Originally Posted by Passy

Excellent post and pictures, Thank you so much. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Thank you!

Can this trail be done in a Fortuner?

As @megazoid replied above, yes it can certainly be done in a 4x4 Fortuner and you will be have fun too. Perfect trail to enjoy in a 4x4 Fortuner.

Originally Posted by Kashi053

The automotive scene in India is changing rapidly. A decade back, off roading means it has to be diesel and a manual. Good to see the total opposite of that, all 4 Petrol 4*4 with an AT.
Lovely pics and narration Dr. AD.

Thanks, and yes, I was thinking the same. Petrol SUVs are back big time, and the ATs are so advanced now that we never missed MT. All four Petrol ATs doing serious off-roading was certainly something that would have been hard to believe 10 years ago!

Originally Posted by Biraj

What an amazing read!

Very well put! Totally resonate with this perspective. After all, as you correctly summarised, it’s all about understanding your vehicle and making the most of it.

Thank you! And yes, it is all about understanding the car and putting it to best use for what it can do, rather than worrying about technical specs and "academic superiorities". :-)

Originally Posted by TurboPetrol150

Excellent post! Your reviews and experiences with the Thar are always a delight to read especially because you’ve kept the cosmetics of the car in absolute stock condition which I personally love very much.

Thank you!

Would you mind sharing details regarding the dashcam fitted in your Thar what brand is it and most importantly how is the fitment

Sure. I have a 70mai dashcam which also doubles as a live rear-view mirror. This is the link: https://www.amazon.in/70mai-DashCam-...dp/B094MSNWYL/

This is a dual channel (front and rear) dashcam, and has its own display that clips on to the IRVM. You have the option of using it either as a reflective mirror (with display OFF) or using it has a live rear-view camera feed (with display ON).

The installation needs to be done by a professional. I got it installed at AutoStyle in Bangalore (which is a very well reputed accessories shop) and they did a great job in hiding all the wires and installing it well.

And yes, it fits well on the near-vertical windshield of Thar. This is in fact the most popular dashcam among Thars owners in Bangalore.

Originally Posted by Fiatfan

As usual Dr AD enjoyed reading your adventure on a difficult off road track and well complimented by the others in the drive.

Wish you many more drives and keep sharing your adventures for us to get an opportunity to enjoy reading.

Thank you very much for your kind words.

Originally Posted by PrideRed

Superb photos AD and good to see Thar and Jimny's in action. Its always treat to see these cars going OTR. Amazing location too.

Thank you PrideRed!

[GhostRider28]

A perfect example of a true 4x4 excursion. This is so much better than videos of offroaders trying out the same sandy and muddy inclines of areas covered numerous time. Thanks for sharing. The trail seemed quite technical and difficult from the pictures. The tips are spot on.

[NewUser123]

Love the camaraderie!!! If you’re an off-roader at heart, it doesn’t matter what your current vehicle is!

Sooooo much animosity amongst people in one camp vs the other…. A true off-roader doesn’t care!

Hoped and waited for true off-roaders to post, I am at peace now, knowing such people exist in the world ��

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by EeshanChatterje

Amazing pics @DrAD - the trail looks fantastic! I wonder how a fortuner would do on this - there are some narrow sections we see in the pics!

Thank you Eeshan!

Yes a Fortuner 4x4 can do this trail. Some sections are narrow, and there a Fortuner would have to climb on the sides or the rocks with one wheel, and drive in a slanted manner. Even in Thar we had to do this at a couple of sections. On the other hand, at some sections, there are deep ruts in the middle of the track. There, the wider width helps because one can straddle across the rut by keeping both the wheels on the outside of the deep. Thus, there are some pros and cons to each vehicle and at different sections of the trail. But certainly a 4x4 Fortuner can do this trail.

Again, it is not the vehicle and it is the driver. As long as the driver understands the capabilities and limitations of the vehicles and plans carefully, any 4x4 vehicle can do this trail.

Also - I appreciate another thing here- having met the folks from the travelogue in real life - it's a completely new and better experience just reading the post as well! I could hear @DrAD through his words!

Yes it was great meeting you too in the recent drive!

Originally Posted by GhostRider28

A perfect example of a true 4x4 excursion. This is so much better than videos of offroaders trying out the same sandy and muddy inclines of areas covered numerous time. Thanks for sharing. The trail seemed quite technical and difficult from the pictures. The tips are spot on.

Thank you very much. Yes the trail was quite technical, and it was a great learning experience too to tackle such a technical trail with careful thinking and planning.

Originally Posted by NewUser123

Love the camaraderie!!! If you’re an off-roader at heart, it doesn’t matter what your current vehicle is!

Sooooo much animosity amongst people in one camp vs the other…. A true off-roader doesn’t care!

Hoped and waited for true off-roaders to post, I am at peace now, knowing such people exist in the world

Thank you very much for your kind words.

Yes I agree that a true off-roader would enjoy such trails and would not get too obsessed with debates about which is the right vehicle.

[RAHS]

@Dr.AD

Excellent write up and great clicks. Nice to see THAR and JIMNY in action.

If there is a Team-BHP Car Photographer of the year (Just like Team-BHP Car of the Year), then you would be the top contender!

I have been following most of your travelogues. Your clicks are a treat to the eyes Keep them coming!

Hats off to your passion for cars and car photography

Cheers,
RAHS

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by RAHS

If there is a Team-BHP Car Photographer of the year (Just like Team-BHP Car of the Year), then you would be the top contender!

I have been following most of your travelogues. Your clicks are a treat to the eyes Keep them coming!

Thank you very much for your kind words and appreciation, RAHS! I do not think I deserve this praise, but thank you for the encouragement!

Hats off to your passion for cars and car photography

Thanks again. Also, I am really grateful to this forum and the forum members for appreciating such photos. The non-car photos, such as landscapes or nature shots, wildlife, even flowers, are easy to get appreciated by general audience. I publish all those photos on Flickr and many of them get appreciated there. However, car photos are a very niche category and need a niche audience that appreciates those. For example, if I share my car photos in my extended family groups, they think I am crazy to keep taking car photos with no people in the frame. It is not easy to find an audience who sees the point behind car photos.

This forum is so special and is the only place where I can share such car photos. The members here easily relate to those photos and appreciate those. I am genuinely thankful to all of you, my fellow forum members, for liking my car photos and for the encouragement! This is precisely what keeps my car photography passion alive!

[RoadFiend]

Dr.AD - Thank you for yet another scrumptious blog on an inviting topic - looks like RoBi, JK and MZ had tonnes of fun!!

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

As @megazoid replied above, yes it can certainly be done in a 4x4 Fortuner and you will be have fun too. Perfect trail to enjoy in a 4x4 Fortuner.

Just received update that my booked Jimny AT is in transit approaching delivery.

I'm now caught in a dilemma --- whether to upgrade from my Fortuner 4x2 AT to a 4x4-Fortuner (and cancel Jimny), or keep the 4x2-Fortuner and add the Jimny...

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by RoadFiend

Dr.AD - Thank you for yet another scrumptious blog on an inviting topic - looks like RoBi, JK and MZ had tonnes of fun!!

Thank you very much.

Just received update that my booked Jimny AT is in transit approaching delivery.

Congratulations and all the best and wish you a great time with Jimny!

[jkrishnakj]

I wanted to add to the posts through the week, but work keeps catching up or perhaps, i some how play catch up with work each week day.

Personally for me, I can say that the hours we 4 spent together with our machines was 'Happiness'. Very kind and nice of Robi to check if I wanted to join them. I knew I had some meetings etc, but thought that it won't be too long to do the trail and back.

The message given was that its a 3.9 KM track uphill, a total of < 7 km round trip. Who would have thought that it takes 3 hours to go up one way.

I have had my share of fun with my old Tata Safari in doing some 'bad/dirt/broken/sand' roads, but not a true off-road ever. I owned a Thar that had to make way for my A6 and I really had lots of off-road fun with the Thar. So, when I read the WA message and saw that its a 8 km round trip and we are doing this very early morning, I told my wife that I will depart by 6 and be back home mid-day.

Who would have thought that we had to climb and reach up there :


And then, you start the trail like this, nothing bad apart from a few broken sides etc..Easy stuff you tell yourself.


Until you suddenly see our dear Megazoid getting down and started walking. Till now, the music is on, the cabin is quiet, and A/C is doing its job, and suddenly, something inside the car is making noise. That's when I realised the walkie talkie spring up to life and that Megazoid had asked us to get down and walk up to see what it was like.



You slowly begin to realise that this perhaps involves more walking and it isn't about a 'Drive through bad roads' kind of a morning.


Megazoid was leading us, very deft and very careful. Lots of attention to every sense around you. Calm, yet super clear on 'What' needs to be done.

Reality slowly sinks in that its no mean task. It involves co-ordination, it involves 'Listening' (which as adults, we slowly lose trait), it involves 'Trust', and i can tell you, sometimes it is just 'Blind' trust. There were areas where just the 'Spotter' and his hands were visible. You have no idea where the wheels are and where its pointed to, and all you do is 'Trust' the spotter blindly.

Besides all the lessons that AD already captures so very beautifully, in addition, there is one big take away for me and that is to ensure that we designate roles for people who will guide the next car. At any given point of time, there is only 'ONE" person giving instruction and its not a cacophony.

It actually helps, since the driver is quite tensed, and the breathing (atleast i was very stiff on some stretches) gets heavy, and the last you need is to confuse your brain on whom to follow.

Robi very patiently guiding me up:


AD navigating the trail


The photos don't capture the inclines, but hopefully, you get a perspective when you see the first and the last car here



There were comments above appreciating AD's photography. For the trips I have been with him, I can vouch that he is quite serious when he focusses on the subject and he has a lot of passion when he is shooting away. For a picture on his post on Megazoid and Robi posing on the edge, this was how AD captured it




We inched our way. We walked more than we drove. We heard more than we spoke. We enjoyed the scene, we made sure all of us cleared it clean. The spotters had to do a job twice - once for the Jimny with a narrow body and once for the Thar that is wide. And we did all of this with a lot of trust, patience, smile and camaraderie. That was a super highlight of the trip. This ensured we all reached the top to enjoy the view like this.


Well, it was 'Happiness' for me as I said before. You start appreciating the machine and what it can do. You start realising that you need good company to trust each other and ensure everyone succeeds. It's evident that these are trips that aren't meant to show off the power or muscle, but it is about enjoying smaller wins, each small win taking you inches higher to a view that is fabulous. A huge, a really huge shout out to Megazoid, AD, Robi.

Oh, did I tell my wife I shall be back home by mid-day, how wrong was I. It took us more tricks and co-ordination to climb down. And it was way past lunch hour and way past two critical meetings that I somehow thought was possible on my return.

A day that i shall truly remember for a long time.

The car ofcourse needed some care as well, and within minutes, it was back to its sparkling best.

[Aritra]

Great to see both the vehicles being driven to terrains where it is supposed to be.

One of the keys to off-roading is the driver - spotter sync. and faith. You had a great spotter to help you navigate the terrain and boost your confidence.

Once again goes to show how both the Thar & Jimny are a class apart when the common man wants to enjoy the wilderness (Gurkha is too niche to be mentioned) :P

[vimalvittaladas]

It is always nice to experience off roading especially with a gang. I found it to be a great confidence booster too in driving off roading conditions. We had a few off roading sessions in Satram (Munnar) and Malampuzha (Palakkad). I can literally feel how satisfactory it is to participate and finish one trip of this kind.

Enjoyed the crisp write up. Wishing you many more miles on your Thar.