Well, to be honest, if there was ever anything that this jeep was practically any good at (in the true and fair sense of things) it was trail running in the North. It was small, narrow, economical, reliable, nippy at the bottom and most of all pretty damn comfortable.
There can be many bloated tales that could be told, but there never was an adventure as truly adventurous for me as our trip across the unknown and unexplored Badwai / Do Teer Pass between Swat and Dir.
Although pretty much everything was said on the PW thread we made on our return, the fact remains that once we said goodbye to our hosts at the top of the pass, it was a mad mad rush down into Tal (which we reached at sunset) and then onto Dir City across an unknown track broken and battered by the recent floods. We just wanted to get out and away and weren't sure how long it was gonna take us.
With five people in the car supported by 3 fully stiffened Rancho shocks (yes, one jammed in Utror and was taken off, bloody kabuli stuff!) I don't remember ever bashing the car as hard as I did that day. The suspension took it all in the stride and barring a few head hits at the back and some mumbled protests it was all in the game. One funny part was that on the decent I noted the particular intensity of my concentration on driving and the track. Taking a quick look around I noticed that all my fellow passengers also had the same intensity with eyes glued onto the track and back sides noting each and every response from the car. My comment to everyone's laughter was that "you know what, its such a small jeep that even the person at the back feels that he has the steering wheel in his hand" 
In the end, its the majesty and mystery of the untouched forests of Kumrat particularly along the approach to Tal that remains my strongest memory from the trip along with the company my wonderful comrades and the good old horse!
