TNRunner
Seniors' Member
I know some of y'all where trying to make it tho ATR this year. I attended for the first time and wanted to let you know what you missed. First, you should be aware that this event draws a lot of what we call the "wine and cheese" crowd. What I mean by that is there are a lot of really clean "overland rigs" that show up. Im talking tire shine and lightbars! That isn't necessarily a bad thing though, as they run different trails than my crowd does and they don't hold us up. Also, they are almost all really great people that do a lot for the Toyota and off roading community. I would say that the crowd this year was probably 30% FJ Cruisers, 30% 5thgen 4Runner, 15% Tacoma, 5% 40 series, 10% other 4Runner, and the rest is a small mix of 80's, 60's and mini trucks.
We arrived early thursday afternoon just as they were opening the event and stayed till Monday (labor day). Thursday we only had like maybe 20-30 vehicles and got our choice of camping spots. The event itself is well run with plenty of vendors, food, classes, and two nights of raffles. Trail runs are very organized, but me and my crew did our own thing since most other groups didn't leave camp till 10:30 or so. You can easily spend 8-10 hours in the park and not even complete but 3 or 4 trails. Or, you can always bail out at a well maintained gravel road and head back whenever you want. Camping amenities run from really nice cabins for 20 to primitive tent camping. The event area is gated and fenced off and we fit 200 vehicles into it without getting anywhere near crowded. The food that they provided friday and saturday night left something to be desired, but not terrible. You can always run in to town and grab something if need be. Its only 4 miles away.
We arrived early thursday afternoon just as they were opening the event and stayed till Monday (labor day). Thursday we only had like maybe 20-30 vehicles and got our choice of camping spots. The event itself is well run with plenty of vendors, food, classes, and two nights of raffles. Trail runs are very organized, but me and my crew did our own thing since most other groups didn't leave camp till 10:30 or so. You can easily spend 8-10 hours in the park and not even complete but 3 or 4 trails. Or, you can always bail out at a well maintained gravel road and head back whenever you want. Camping amenities run from really nice cabins for 20 to primitive tent camping. The event area is gated and fenced off and we fit 200 vehicles into it without getting anywhere near crowded. The food that they provided friday and saturday night left something to be desired, but not terrible. You can always run in to town and grab something if need be. Its only 4 miles away.
