Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

September 18, 2010 - Calgary Delica club meet and adventure day.

So, we finally set up a get-together in Calgary and what a great day it was! We arranged to meet at a Coop grocery store in west Calgary at 10am. I had no idea how many were going to show as the weather was predicted to be stinky but, to my very pleasant surprise, we had 6 Delicas and 1 Pajero show up at the meeting spot. A total of 8 members were in attendance - CalgaryHHR came along for a familiarization and we managed to get some dirt in his shoe treads to boot.

Sadly, NoDelie (the Pajero) couldn't come along for the trip out to Kananaskis Country but it was great that he came out for a visit anyway - next time. So, along for the trip was Erebus, JungleJon, Madmazda (L400), White Mule, Delica27 and myself (Jaggedfish) in our Delicas and CalgaryHHR who rode along with JungleJon.

After much tonguewagging we hit the road heading for McLean Park in Kananaskis Country - a very large dedicated park for offroad use of all kinds. Our first stop was at the park store at the head of the trails...
More tonguewagging, then off we went to hit the trails. Because of all the rain we have had, it was quite muddy in areas but that didn't stop us...
I led the way as I had been through a few areas before (not many though)...
After we went as far as we could, we turned around and came back out stopping along the way to take pictures...
Continued on the next post...

... continued...

Once back on the main trail, we headed for a spot that Erebus knew of so we could have lunch and take in the views. Along the way was a little river. JungleJon made the crossing...
Then White Mule - who had never 4-wheeled before this day (looking like a pro), with Delica27 rounding out the pack...
We arrived at our lunch destination and what a beautiful spot it was! On the top of a hill with 360 degree views... ahhhhhh...
On our way back down, I set up my video camera and we did another pass across the river (video to come). White Mule, now a seasoned veteran, exits the river with Erebus close behind...
Continued on the next post...

... continued...

The second half of the day took us up more challenging terrain. Here, Erebus comes over a muddy rise...
Happy Delica owners, Madmazda in the foreground, Delica27 ahead and the tail end of JungleJon ahead of the pack...
Then, all of a sudden, we met with some difficulties... Delica27 slid off into some deep ruts and high-centered... must've been the flip-flops he was wearing ...
Actually, this was quite a tricky section. There were deep ruts on one side and a good sideslope with tree roots on the other. All was coated with the slickest, muckiest mud I've seen since my days growing up near the Richmond BC dykes... Madmazda was in line to tow Delica27 back off the hump. A collective grunt and he was off without incident...
The only way to get through was a combination of high-side, low-side line with mud slinging spinning wheels thrown in the mix resulting in a sideways drive that rivals that of the Dungeoness Crab...
One more post to go... thanks for your patience...

... last one... it's worth the wait...

At this point, it was getting later in the day so it was collectively decided that those who wanted to try the tricky section of trail could, then we turned around and came back down which had some challenges of it's own. On the way back down the trail, Erebus initiated a "little" hill climb... we stopped to take pictures...
What we witnessed was both impressive and hilarious at the same time! Madmazda decided to do a Maritimer's version of a hillclimb... yup... in REVERSE!!! He is pictured here heading uphill for what resulted in an amazing spectacle, taking his van right to the top of the hill which amounted to 50 or 60 feet of vertical... ...
That's my side of the story. Hopefully the others will post some pix too. I am now off to edit the footage from the DeliCAM. See ya on the trails!
Ian

A fun day was had by all, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face if I tried.

Going back to Maclean Creek OHV trails brought back some good memories, as I spent a lot of time there in my youth. That's where I got the name 'Jungle Jon', but that's another story...
Here's some of the pictures I snapped during the trip.

Can't have a Deli meet without a C O N V O Y !!! Complete with the convoy song played over the radios. Entering K-country, these were the first of many cattle 'round these parts... Final check before hitting the trails. No that's not a silver mini-Delica 3rd from the end, that's CalgaryHHR's ride. After hitting the trail for a few kilometres, the route changed from a bumpy but easily managed trail to a muddy pocketed quagmire with lots of possible routes. We found a playground and had some fun before heading back out to find a lookout Erebus had told us about. To be continued...

To get to Erebus' lookout, we had to cross ditches... ... and creeks... ... and climb a very long hill, but the trip was worth it. After lunch we found another trail that turned a bit tricky and technical, and Delica27 and Madmazda gave us a fine recovery demonstration on a rutted, greasy, off-camber section while Erebus scouted ahead. To be continued...

A bit more playing in the ruts and roots... ... and we headed back to the trailhead, stopping on the way for a hill climb or two. White Mule got it's first beauty mark, complete with decoration, and we crossed the same mud holes we passed through on our way in, some with more enthusiasm than others... ... and made it back to the main road as the light was fading.

Looks like an amazing trip! I would love to go up those trails. Thanks for posting all the pics!

congrats guys, it is good to see a bit of mud on the old girls.
when i was still living in Calgary i had planned on building up an off road manual L300 and bought the truck. then i moved, van is still sitting in Japan.

would have loved to been there.

That was a great trip boys.

It was awesome to get together and for me to see what these vans are all about. You guys are a good group of people and really made for a great time. I was very pleasently surprised at how capable the vans were offroad.

Hopefully some time in the future I'll have a Delica of my own that I can take to the trails instead of just riding along. Maybe I'll just bring the HHR instead if you guys bring chains and tow ropes and the phone number for a good mechanic.

WOW!
I'm sorry I was unable to attend. Looks like it was a tonne of fun...
aclarker

Thanks for posting more pix Jungle Jon! Still grinnin' about the day. Was doing some video editing last night and had a smile on my face the whole time... even got distracted from editing clips because I couldn't stop watching Unfortunately my editing computer is now in the shop due to processing issues so the video will be a little delayed but I think it will be worth the wait.

For those who missed out... we are hoping to do it again in a few weeks - the consensus was that it should be a regular monthly event. Can't say enough how fun it was and everyone who participated were great peeps too!

CalgaryHHR, you are welcome anytime, of course!... even if you are still waiting on the purchase.

The bar has now been set quite high so it would be great to get even more Delicas and/or members on the next run.
Cheers!
Ian

Hi all,

Just to let you all know ... my handle on our excursion through MacLean Creek was 'Delica27' ... I have since Re-Registerd and my new handle is 'Rubber Duck' ... which I will be on this fourum for the rest of my life ... I should have come up with it when I first registered, but I was in a rush and wanted to get on here to find out some information in the midst of purchasing my first Delica!

What a wicked day it was out with the rest of the crew testing out my newly purchased ride! ... I will post some of my pics here in the next few days !

In line with my updated handle ... 'Rubber Duck' is one of the handles in the infamous Paul Brandt track 'Convoy' ! (which I had to play over the 2-way radios on our way out to MacLean Creek while we were in 'Convoy' !)

Outside of being a wicked track ... this song falls in line with the fact that everytime we head out in our Delica's, there is a 'Convoy' that follows us through the Mtns ...

I first fell in love with these vans on trips that I have made to NZ and rented campervans (not Delica's ... but the LWB Toyota's or Ford's) ... and my buddy and I would play 'Convoy' several times a day on our roads trips around NZ ... NZ is an amazing place to hang out and tour around ... I HIGHLY recommend it. I rented from Escape Rentals.

That being said ... my pitch to you all is that we embrass 'Convoy' as one of our dedicated track to these vans ... as there will always be one in our rearview mirror ...


"So keep your thumbs off your glass and the bears off your tail.
We'll catch you on the flip-flop.
This here's the Rubber Duck on the side.
We gone … b-bye"