We made it back yesterday from the trip to Stone Mountain; a truly beautiful park, and well worth the drive. The scenery is gorgeous, and the hiking varies from a stroll to quite strenuous. Something for everyone. We've already reserved a campsite for another trip in late September.
Drive time turned out to be just under six hours including one gas stop and another pit stop. Gas mileage there and back was 7 ½ mpg. Once again, the beast did its job well, with nary a sign of any issues.
Towing at 65 mph in third at 2800 rpm seems to work well, as I haven't wanted to tow much faster. The engine doesn't feel like it's straining at all, but doesn't pull up the steeper hills as well as I'd like. I suspect that if I was to bump up the rpms just a bit, it would pull better, as the torque peaks at 3200 rpm. Our next trip is in two weeks, again in the mountains, so maybe I'll try running at 3000 rpms to see if it pulls the hills better.
And thus marks the completion of our first successful mountain trip with the Subdivision. Quite a contrast from this time last year, when we had to turn back just over halfway to our destination, and were grateful that we made it back home without having to get towed.
Some pics:
The campsite, although the picture doesn't quite do it justice. There's a stream about 50 yards away, which provides a nice background sound.
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Stone Mountain Falls
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An 1800s church, in the park, that still holds services and events:
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GF playing in the creek behind our campsite:
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A view from just below the summit of Stone Mountain:
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All in all, a great trip. The terrain is so steep that there are stairs up the mountainside. The hiking kicked our butts!!