​100s in the Hills

Sometime, let's call it mid-2010, a few extremely active web wheelers starting chatting about getting the 'Mall Cruisers' together. Of course this led to a lot of PM's (IH8MUD, of course), emails, etc (because who talks on the phone any more??).....between a core group of four to five 100 Series owners. Those conversations began to quickly pick up steam and eventually we decided that the first HIH would be held in August 2011.  Ouray, Colorado, Earth was the chosen site, this paradise in the San Juans was the perfect place to showcase the abilities and relevance of the 100 Series combined with the fact that it's a perfect place to unwind and get some fresh mountain air. It felt good, we had done it, we started something that all of us knew we wanted to keep doing every year.  Summer in the mountains of Colorado, with friends, and our 100 Series.  What could be better.....?  Nothing in our books.

None of us would  consider the first year (or second) year an "EVENT", but we did have a lot of fun, made some lifelong friends, and knew we wanted to keep HIH going.  There was not a formal plan, at first, we just knew that we wanted to get more and more 100 Series owners to attend and enjoy with us.  As active forum dwellers we were all noticing the 100 Series platform was becoming increasingly popular.  For awhile it seemed like there was not a day that went by that someone posted, "just sold my 80, went and bought myself this fancy 100, now what tires can I fit on it with no lift (haha, nice...MUD users will get the humor).  We could all see the writing on the wall, all kinds of people were starting to understand why we already owned 100 Series Land Cruisers.

Then came year three, the 3rd Annual HIH.  The active team of "Directors" decided to take the event to the next level.  Not the level of a Cruise Moab or FJ Summit, but the level of "small enough to be comfortable and large enough to be recognized".  This took far more work than any of us ever imagined.  Many more emails, texts, conference calls, etc. were required to pull the 3rd Annual event together.  There were far more Sponsors (which were all awesome!) involved, far more participants, and in our opinion, this all turned out very well.  Give or take, there were 32-34 100 Series at camp and on the trails at any given time.  We had a super successful potluck (which will be replicated in 2014) so please pack your best dish to share (and even a frozen pie, if you remember, HAHA!!).  Additionally, we had a very exciting and generous product raffle (thanks again Sponsors!!)  Overall, 2013 was awesome and has really lit a fire under the Director team to keep this event going and striving to make it better.  

The 2014 version was the biggest and best, to date.  Of course, the diversity of the participants was the key to the success of the event.  We had the guys flying in from across the country to meet up with their truck that was shipped, the families mixing HIH4 into long summer vacations, the appearance of Woody and Mrs. Woody from IH8MUD, the folks traveling from the South (again),  and of course everyone else that had a great story to tell.  Making memories with everyone is what keeps the Director team driven to keep HIH going.  In 2014, we also had another great year of vendor sponsorship.  The raffle saw everything from shocks, to a bumper, a roof rack, and of course, tons of swag for the whole family.  Another favorite that did not disappoint was the return of the potluck.  All we can say is "WOW!".  Great food, brews, and everything in between. You people know how to cook and more importantly pack the food in your trucks!!  Once again, we were also completely impressed by everyone to tough it out through the rain and somewhat swampy camp site.  Thank you all for sticking in there!! 

The 2015 Edition of HIH was filled with a lot of fun, great folks, and RAIN.  Once again we had sponsors on hand and everyone had a chance to talk Land Cruisers with them.  Vendors not only showed up, they provided tons of great items for the raffle.  We had 3 bumpers, a roof rack, and awesome gift cards to awesome vendors in the raffle.  Unfortunately, with the rain, we had to use good old fashioned ingenuity to figure out to have the potluck.  Of course, the attendees stepped up, we strung up random tarps, repositioned the vehicles and created several Shanty Towns where folks were able to share food and drink all while having a blast. The attitude of everyone stayed positive while at camp and on the trail.  Lastly, in 2015, one of our Black Bear Pass trail groups encountered some injured ATVers and were critical in helping the Sheriff and medical officials get up to the injured and get the people out to receive medical care.  Our very own Stan Wright was tasked with driving UP Black Bear Pass to take some first responders to the scene of the accident.  While an accident is nothing we want to ever see, it was awesome to see the HIH team come through so valiantly.

Well now you know the story of HIH, now it's up to you to come and enjoy it.  Thanks!!  Hope to see you all soon!!  2016 will be year of new memories in the "Hills". 

Cheers, 

Stan & Chris

2016 HIH Directors