Finally after owning my GX470 now for about three months I got to take the vehicle off road for the first time. In Ohio it is hard to find any good public roads that can exercise a GX’s capabilities. The roads I found today might not be able to exercise a GX’s capabilities but for a green horn like me they are more than enough.
Using the trusty old google maps and gravelmap.com I was able to put together a short little route that took me through some of Ohio’s back roads that have yet to be paved.
It started out on an easy gravel road that turned into a rougher unpaved dirt lane. Along the way I found this cool covered bridge that has unfortunately been vandalized with graffiti.
The bridge looked pretty old. I wasn’t too crazy about letting my 4,800 pound GX stop in the middle of it but I had to get a picture it was too cool to pass up. Sexy Lexy is a bit of a heavy pig but once you get her in the rough stuff she can really dance.
Sorry the video isn’t the best quality but for my first time out I figured I needed to record something. I ramble a little at the end but I was too happy to shut up. As Doug as said multiple times the video doesn’t really do the downhill and uphill portions of this road justice. It was steep enough to get my adrenaline going and heart racing a few times.
In fact it was so steep I turned on the downhill assist control a few times. I noticed even with it on though I was going down the hills faster than I liked. Perhaps it was because it was my first time out but I was expecting a crawl and it felt more like a rock rolling down a hill.
That was my only real hiccup I noticed while driving. Overall I was impressed. Wasn’t planning on getting into such muddy stuff but I did and the GX handled it with ease. The 4.7 V8 sounded great as I powered through a few mud puddles and tested out my courage and tried to exercise the limits of Sexy Lexy. She slipped and slided a few times but she easily conquered the steep hills even with mud caked around the street tires that are on her.
We ended the day by circling back and leaving the mud to go on a little hike around Flint Ridge. If you are at all into Native American history or rocks (I like both!) I suggest check out Flint Ridge.
The flint located at Flint Ridge was invaluable to the Natives that called central Ohio home. My school teachers used to say Natives would come from as far as Florida and even occasionally Minnesota to trade with the Hopewells for their flint.
Keep exploring everyone.