Off-Road and on, this Toyota 4Runner is capable!
Black skies on the horizon before sunset can be alarming. As fading afternoon light turned to night, the early Fall sky was streaked with a thousand fingers of lightning and thunder claps as nickel-sized hail began to rain down on U.S. Highway 395. So much rain, slush, and hail mixed with heavy multi-pronged lightning strikes. So much deafening thunder cascaded to earth in a short period of time that it gave caution to the thought of what lay ahead. Our destination was South Lake, located at 9,800 feet elevation and west of the town of Bishop, CA, high up in the Sierra Nevada. What had we signed up for?
We were on a road trip to Parcher’s Resort, a decades old high-country lodge that offered us a couple nights in cabin 25. Thanks to the help of the Bishop Chamber of Commerce and willingness of the owners of Parcher’s Resort, we enjoyed one of the last, if not the last, weekends in the alpine environment of the Sierra Nevada before the deep snows and 20-foot snow drifts blanket the high country until spring 2007. It was the weekend of Oct. 13 thru 15, 2006 when every mountain establishment higher than 6,000 feet above sea level was getting off the mountain for a few months.
It was also a good time to test the 2006 Toyota 4-Runner 4x4 outfitted with a 4.7-liter V8. This one priced at $36,691. Titanium in color, tractor-like in four-wheel drive, this Sport Edition 4Runner came equipped with a five-speed automatic, full-time 4WD, and Torsen locking Center Differential with low-range 4WD availability on the transfer case. On this adventure, we would use every four-wheel drive feature this 4Runner offered for the better part of two-days and two different mountain ranges (Sierra Nevada, White Mountains); both in operating conditions greater than 10,000 feet where the air is thin. Breathing can be as hard on the human as it can be on a mechanical beast.
In fact, at elevations above 8,000 feet, humans compete with the pilot light of a gas-burning heater for oxygen. And by the time we found our way to Parcher’s Resort, located 22 miles west of the town center of Bishop, found the late check-in envelope with the key to cabin #25 and figured out where the Lights were…it began to snow. It was only about 7:00 p.m. when we arrived. By that time the temperature had dropped below 32-degrees and we barely had the 4Runner turned around so the front was heading out the graded dirt road before snowfall got heavy. Snow was sticking to and covering everything with thick, wet, flakes as pine tree branches loaded up. Figuring we might even be snowed in on this first snow-storm of the season, we engaged four-wheel drive and low-range for the night, just in case it was needed when we woke in the morning. It was.
Dunlop Grandtreck AT20 Tires sized P265/65R17 on 17-inch alloy Wheels are high-end SUV Tires designed to provide performance and traction on most types of terrain one is likely to encounter. Two hundred and sixty five miles of highway travel demonstrated the quiet, smooth operation of the Grandteck’s. As sheets of rain, hail, and wind bludgeoned the highway and vehicles on it, traction was positive. The full weekend of four-wheeling would surely put these all-terrain Tires to the test.
The level of sideways wind-sheer alone could have given any vehicle with moderate ground clearance and relatively higher center of gravity a challenging time. With a moderate nine inches of ground clearance, this Toyota 4Runner was one of the most stable and well balanced SUV’s on the highway. At 5,400 rpm the 4.7-liter motor turns 260 horsepower. Torque peaks at 3,400 rpm at 306 lb.-ft. Though we didn’t have much call to tease peak horsepower, we were never at a loss for enough engine performance to walk up some of the steepest grade inclines in the country. At about three tons gross vehicle weight (6005 GVW), the 32-valve EFI V8 dealt with its power-to-weight ratio like a dog team pulling a sleigh. Three two-hundred pound guys, their gear, and moderate to heavy winds, in constant elevations well above sea level, and there was at no time an instance where one could call a lack of power. Even in serious low-range, 45-degree upslope, in thin air, having enough power was not an issue.
Enough leg room, shoulder room, and head room allowed every person involved to make the 700 mile round trip in relative comfort. At times each of us were ensconced in heavy jackets and boots. The second row seating elicited no complaints the entire time, with or without winter clothes on to shrink available space. What more can be said? Like the Land Cruiser, 4Runner is built for road trips. Land Cruiser and 4Runner strike different price points, but they both intersect on the grid coordinates that identify “fun” and performance. 
Parcher’s is owned by Steve and Judy Smith, two musician/mountain adventurers who built a thriving chiropractic practice in Orange County, California long enough to raise a few children and buy Parcher’s Resort in early 2006. With two sons, Evan and Jared, both with fishing expertise and a love for the outdoors, the Smith boys lead anglers to high country trout at South Lake. During the spring and summer months, Parcher’s Resort is nestled amongst the quaking aspen and high pine forests in an alpine environment. South Lake shares the valley with Lake Sabrina and feeds Bishop Creek and Green Creek. In-season, boat rentals, cabin rentals, and the South Fork Café offer up hospitality and food. Fishing savvy and tackle are readily acquired at the lodge store, and every Friday night you can expect a tri-tip BBQ and high-country presentation given by a Forest Service speaker as you gather around the amphitheatre by campfire light.
But our trip wasn’t in season. Saturday morning we woke up and it was still snowing. There was at least six inches of fresh powder on the ground and we knew the road down off the mountain would be slick and icy down to snow line at least. Whatever snowline was, we didn’t know. That morning, we were glad we had pointed the 4Runner in the correct direction as we discovered the downhill road simply trailed off down a hiking path along Bishop and Green Creeks.
Just as we loaded up for the trek off the mountain about 8:00 a.m. and into Bishop for Starbucks and breakfast, along comes the little bobcat tractor to clear the dirt road; out on the main road we could here the big snowplow cutting a path through the fresh snow fall. No matter, it was all still slick. We drove down mountain in four-wheel drive high-range, to the 7,500 foot level where the snowline trailed off. It’s at this wet, icy, and sometimes unpredictable time where the all-wheel drive capability of the 4Runner comes in because power is applied to the Wheels that can use it most; like a barn cat clinging on to your T-shirt with its right front paw and left rear claws. Power goes where it’s needed. Using the lower gears in the transmission allowed us to stay off the brakes and get down the mountain in icy conditions in a safe manner.
Even in wet, windy, and snowy conditions, the handling and comfort of the ride makes 4Runner a premium long-range driving vehicle. But a more stringent challenge would greet us with an ascent up to the 12,000 plus foot elevation range as we headed out of Bishop after breakfast at Whiskey Creek restaurant. Silver Canyon is a four-wheel drive road that starts about six-miles northeast of Bishop on Highway 6 and heads up to the 11,500 foot level and accesses White Mountain with a peak elevation of more than 14,000 feet above sea level.
Any vehicle we test up here has to deal with thin air and a stringent requirement for power and power delivered to low-range four-wheel drive __ where a weak vehicle or one not off-road worthy will soon fall short. Only vehicles we consider stout enough to make the long trip ever go up this back way into the White Mountain Range. And on this particular trip we clawed through unplowed snow that received the same storm we had the night before, but didn’t get as much snow. Up we went from the 4,000 foot elevation Bishop sits at and into the high desert foothill approach at the base of the White Mountains. The incline of the grade grows ever steeper until you engage four-wheel high-range to handle the slipping and grappling of the tires. 4-Runner’s all-wheel drive handled this part better than part-time four-wheel drive vehicles that start to slip in two-wheel drive long before your get to the actual climb. Nevertheless, we hooked up in 4x4 high range for the approach.
There’s a certain switchback on the trail that launches up the mountain at about a 45-degree or steeper angle. Once you see the upgrade, the wise thing to do is to kick it down into low-range for the rest of the accent of at least 10 miles. One steep, muddy section was a challenge going uphill, but one we would find much more treacherous on the way back. As we hit the snowline, it was evident another vehicle had been through the trail before us, but there were plenty of fresh snow-laden roads to explore. Although our all-terrain Grandtrek Tires where close to the point of off-road limitations, they did provide good traction and were self-cleaning enough not to pack up with mud and snow.
Whichever automotive media person had this 4Runner before us had the Tires aired down to about 35 psi each. The Tires are rated for a maximum of 51 psi. In any event the low-air warning light was lit the entire trip. Annoying to some degree, but for this trip the lower air pressure actually helped our traction in four-wheel drive situations and off-road travels.
After a short hike in the Bristlecone Pine Forest (oldest living trees on earth) on the one mile Discovery Trail at the Shulman Grove, we decided to go back down the mountain the same way we came up. At that point, it never occurred to this writer that my friends, Todd Horne and Scott MacKechnie where afraid of these particular heights. So after admonishments from a four-wheeler who had just come up Silver Canyon said that the muddy section was getting icy, it all still seemed a doable, if not challenging way to descend the mountain.
Even after hearing all the “what if's?” for not going back down the mountain, it did not occur that fear played a part until later that day when we finally made our way to the other side of the valley and back up to Parcher’s Resort. My friends could deal with heights such as cruising altitude of a passenger jet, but not so much the sheer drop off of a canyon wall where if you fell off, you fell for a couple hours. And it was that slick, steep down grade and muddy section that was starting to ice up where we found ourselves in adrenalin alley. Even with low-range in first gear and the driver’s-side Tires on rocky, but more solid ground, the icy streaks of adrenalin shot down our rigid collective spines. This was not a matter of traction loss; it was traction loss because the medium we were rolling through offered no traction. This led to momentum on extremely vertical terrain.
Once a two-ton plus vehicle starts to lose traction on a slick downhill surface, momentum can be an ugly neighbor. But low-range, first-gear and a locked center differential allowed us to creep down with only one or two very brief incidents of sliding sideways. Folks, pictures can’t show nor tell the angles we were ‘wheeling with, and granted, this was an off-the-lot vehicle with Tires better equipped for highway travel, but the fact remains: Toyota 4Runner is as worthy an off-road vehicle as it ever was. The fact that a V8 is available simply makes it that much more fun to drive.
With a return trip of more than 260 miles, we swooped down from the high-desert along with all the thousands of poor souls creeping down I-15 from Las Vegas. 4Runner has no trouble staying on a pace set by long distance travelers wherever they run. Ride comfort, road handling, and a sense of safety are attributes you can look for in a 4Runner. This vehicle seems to be built for road trips. You know, a road trip can be arduous and boring or adventurous and too short. This trip was too short.
Sources:
Parcher’s Resort
5001 South Lake Rd.
Bishop, CA 93514
parchersresort@cebridge.net
(760) 873-4177
Toyota Motor Sales
19001 S. Western Ave.
Torrance, CA 90509
(310) 468-4953
Bishop Chamber of Commerce
www.Bishopvisitor.com
690 N. Main St.
Bishop, CA 93514
(760) 873-8405
 4Runner offers smoked chrome grille, hood scoop, driving lights, and excellent off-road capability. |  Aluminum 17-inch wheels and Dunlop Groundtrek all-terrain tires did a good job. With 17-inch wheels, you have the best base wheel size for running any specialty tire you want. |  Traction can be taken for granted...until you have none. It's much steeper than it appears from your view. |
 Some trail sections in Bristlecone Forest were untracked with fresh snow. Ground clearance, approach and departure angles, mean little if your vehicle can not handle snow covered roads; 4Runner did well with unplowed graded dirt roads above the 11,000 foot elevation. |  Reaching snowline in the White Mountains. |  Amber lights on the dashboard cluster at far right alert you when low-range four-wheel drive is engaged (top right), vehicles stability control is disengaged (bottom right), and low air pressure in the tires (lower left). |
 Look through the far side of this Bristle Cone pine grove and you can see the snow covered Sierra Nevada mountain range to the west. |  Cloth covered seats actually helped in cold weather. Front seating was comfortable on the long drive and offered enough bolstering on the seat sides to hold you in around curves and corners. |  We estimated fuel economy to run close to Toyotas state figures of 16 to 20 MPG on the highway. In our four-wheeling journey, MPG was right about 14 with most of that in low-range. |
 Center console is easy to reach although functions take a little getting used to, but become intuitive at the end of a few days on the road. Ice on the windscreen is indicative of the 28-degree cold. |  An empty amphitheater, chairs burdened with a single snowfall, awaits the springtime when people will gather and Forest Service employee will regale campers about the awesome wonders of the Sierra Nevada. |  Waterfall at Whitney Portals at the base of Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain on the West Coast at 14, 495 feet elevation. Just a side trip on our way back to the business of automotive tradecraft. |
 The Shulman Grove Visitors Center is a destination you can plan a four-wheeling mountain vacation around. Hike amongst the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, fish for trout, and soak up some of the most awesome beauty on earth. It’s all accessible from the gateway of the High Sierra that Bishop, California has been considered for decades. |  Here’s a scan of the Shulman Grove hiking trails. If you take the long trail of 4.5 miles, you’ll be walking by the oldest tree in the world. You just won’t know the specific tree is the one you are looking at. This is to protect the Methuselah tree from autograph seekers and scribes. | |
