COVID19 Compliant - Morning Fewbie Desert Drive - Sand to Mountain: The Sequel - RAK - 21 May 2021

[Niki]

Thank you @Ale Vallecchi for bringing us back to the savannas of RAK. This was no remake, it felt like a true sequel and a completely new drive.  This was far more intensive a drive than the original newbie trip which had no ridge riding and a path which didn't deviate from the tracks of the locals.

I enjoyed this trip for completely differing reasons than the original (the original was the most scenic drive I have been on to-date) with this drive feeling like we were adventuring/exploring the region and master ridge riding on forgiving (not to tall and relatively flat) but bumpy and difficult long range dunes.  

I truly wish we started with the mountain side so the folks that had to leave early could experience the magic of the region.. it felt like the ultimate finale/happy ending for a drive and still my favorite location of any drive!  Massive thanks again @Ale Vallecchi for scouting this region and taking us there again.... I would sign up instantly if we could visit that side for a full drive - being on tall dunes that become mountains, driving towards mountains landscapes,  soft and virgin sand and the incredible slip faces to play... those final 30-40 mins were my highlight and I only wish we could spend a few more hours there!

I took 'look for a tree for shade' too the extreme and ended up near the end of the dirt track so didn't get to say my farewell to the convoy - the group were amazing and I managed to get some pics of your slip face antics on the gallery.  

To close - this was the first ride where I experience the 'Holy Trinity'  in one convoy!! 😃🙏

1. FJC (stock FJ Cruiser) 
2. FJX (FJ eXtreme) 
3. FJA (FJ Adventure X)  

 

#savannas

 

#HolyTrinity

Edited May 22, 2021 by Niki

[JeromeFJ]

Many thanks @Ale Vallecchi for this beautiful drive. Totally agree with Nikki, we had really the feeling of exploring the savannah and dunes, up to the foot of the mountains. Definitely worth a Part 2 to continue further to the mountains. Thank you for having taken the time to prepare carefully the itinerary, fitting in the playing areas, long dune ridges and tall soft faces.

Thank you Angela @Foxtrot Oscar and @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ for the support. We had a amazing convoy. I've made a few additions to the beautiful action pics of Nikki in the gallery, reflecting the atmosphere of the drive !

[Ale Vallecchi]

Sand to Mountain: The Sequel - Drive Report

"It's your road, and your alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.: - Rumi

Dear Desertnauts.

This was, as all the previous ones, a drive which never tires. Such a versatile terrain, suiting every off-roading level, which allows to scale up or down the level of difficulty. At the same time, a great variety of plants, landscapes, farming activities, that never bores, and keeps the interest in the surroundings always alive. This time, we also abandoned the usually beaten track, to venture into 2 different dune fields, both with longitudinal dunes, each surrounded slightly different landscapes: the first one, smaller, made of more sandy, tighter set of cordons, the second, much bigger, with very long dunes, separated by wider areas rich with small trees. Especially this second set of dunes allowed the drive to be scaled up, with continuous and snaky ridge riding, as long as the softness of the sand, or the breaks in the ridges, allowed to. Plus, the "usual" camel herds, fields of fodder, spectacular savannah views, all kinds of desert vegetation (as we mentioned, most of them medicinal plants). 

After approximately 3 hours of driving, we also got the bonus of extending the drive, as wished from the beginning, all the way to that beautiful small plateau of red sand, cascading onto the black foothills of the Ajari mountains. This time this portion took us with a more linear approach to the great, tall, slip-face of a giant dune, where we managed to conclude the drive with a volley of tall and wide side-slopes.

Great driving by all the members, with the solution alternating Veterans with Juniors (Intermediates with Fewbies) seemed to pay off, as every refusal or stuck was successfully solved by the cars nearest to the one experiencing the issue. Very smooth and clean drive. Congrats to @Anvar Sadath Bekal (also acting as a well rehearsed Second Lead), and the rest of the "tutors": @imranaasghar81, @Rizwanm2, @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ (in his well honed position of Center Forward), @Niki, @Goutam and @Watteau.  Well done to all the Fewebies - @PaoloMaraziti, @Chris Wing, @Nithin Vaidir and @JeromeFJ. Great thanks to @Foxtrot Oscar Angela for sweeping the convoy. And, sorry to have seen @Pacific go so soon in the drive, hoping his car is fine.

The final score of this drive was 80.2 Km of trails, driven in 3:44 hours (moving time) over a total of 5:06 hours from the start, at a moving average speed of 21 Km/h, and over 1 KM of total climbs. 

Thanks to all for joining, and see you soon out there.

[Pacific]

10 hours ago, Ale Vallecchi said:

Sand to Mountain: The Sequel - Drive Report

"It's your road, and your alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.: - Rumi

Dear Desertnauts.

This was, as all the previous ones, a drive which never tires. Such a versatile terrain, suiting every off-roading level, which allows to scale up or down the level of difficulty. At the same time, a great variety of plants, landscapes, farming activities, that never bores, and keeps the interest in the surroundings always alive. This time, we also abandoned the usually beaten track, to venture into 2 different dune fields, both with longitudinal dunes, each surrounded slightly different landscapes: the first one, smaller, made of more sandy, tighter set of cordons, the second, much bigger, with very long dunes, separated by wider areas rich with small trees. Especially this second set of dunes allowed the drive to be scaled up, with continuous and snaky ridge riding, as long as the softness of the sand, or the breaks in the ridges, allowed to. Plus, the "usual" camel herds, fields of fodder, spectacular savannah views, all kinds of desert vegetation (as we mentioned, most of them medicinal plants). 

After approximately 3 hours of driving, we also got the bonus of extending the drive, as wished from the beginning, all the way to that beautiful small plateau of red sand, cascading onto the black foothills of the Ajari mountains. This time this portion took us with a more linear approach to the great, tall, slip-face of a giant dune, where we managed to conclude the drive with a volley of tall and wide side-slopes.

Great driving by all the members, with the solution alternating Veterans with Juniors (Intermediates with Fewbies) seemed to pay off, as every refusal or stuck was successfully solved by the cars nearest to the one experiencing the issue. Very smooth and clean drive. Congrats to @Anvar Sadath Bekal (also acting as a well rehearsed Second Lead), and the rest of the "tutors": @imranaasghar81, @Rizwanm2, @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ (in his well honed position of Center Forward), @Niki, @Goutam and @Watteau.  Well done to all the Fewebies - @PaoloMaraziti, @Chris Wing, @Nithin Vaidir and @JeromeFJ. Great thanks to @Foxtrot Oscar Angela for sweeping the convoy. And, sorry to have seen @Pacific go so soon in the drive, hoping his car is fine.

The final score of this drive was 80.2 Km of trails, driven in 3:44 hours (moving time) over a total of 5:06 hours from the start, at a moving average speed of 21 Km/h, and over 1 KM of total climbs. 

Thanks to all for joining, and see you soon out there.

Missed the drive @Ale Vallecchi  ,but whatever happens for good,  the drive shaft was damaged ,will get back tomorrow and ready to in dunes soon. Thank you. 

[Niki]

21 minutes ago, Pacific said:

Missed the drive @Ale Vallecchi  ,but whatever happens for good,  the drive shaft was damaged ,will get back tomorrow and ready to in dunes soon. Thank you. 

Am so glad you are not out for too long @Pacific and also a shout out/kudos to  @Watteau for insisting we check back with you on the noise early on in the drive … much better exiting early I suspect!  You did miss an awesome trip but I see a trilogy in the making for this route so hope to see you out there soon!  

[Pacific]

27 minutes ago, Niki said:

Am so glad you are not out for too long @Pacific and also a shout out/kudos to  @Watteau for insisting we check back with you on the noise early on in the drive … much better exiting early I suspect!  You did miss an awesome trip but I see a trilogy in the making for this route so hope to see you out there soon!  

Very well said. Yes I missed 😊

[Looper]

This was the first time I drove in the RAK and it was a great experience for me. RAK offers some interesting dunes to attempt to conquer but they are difficult and will need a lot of practice that I intend to get. As the day progressed the day was quite hot, touching 43 degrees at only 9:00 am in the morning. Thanks to @Ale Vallecchi for leading a wonderful drive. 

I have shared some pictures I took that day in the gallery for all to enjoy. See you soon in the desert where we have decided that we belong.