Snow Run 2/16/02
Date: 2/16/02
Time: 8:30 AM PST
Participants: Paul, Wife & Daughter; Barry, Wife &
Clan; Rusty; John Hivey (had to leave early); Bill & Seth; Earl Franz; Kevin; and at
least two (one being “Boys Toy”) others whom I did not know…with children
(humble apologies for not learning names with faces…I am horrible at that!!)
Trails: Gold Mountain, John Bull, Holcomb (not sure from here because myself, Kevin and Paul left after John Bull and Gold Mountain).
Weather: Mild & sunny, with temps on the cool side until approximately noon. Breeze to 15 mph. sporadic snow patches, with mud and icy spots.
Difficulty: About a 3 in spots. It was a piece of cake for 35” and lockers. The ‘YJ’ did the entire trail with 31’s and open differentials (not bad at all!!).
Vehicles: Eight in all. Two TJ’s, three Toyota pickups, a YJ, a Toyota Landcruiser (Boys Toy), and Rusty J (sorry Rusty, no insult intended…I do not know what type vehicle you have…Toyota???)
I will do my best to describe what took place. There will be times when I may be incorrect, albeit not on purpose. Hopefully, others will correct me along the way.
I got up around 4:45 AM PST. I was way too excited to sleep. I showered, dressed, hooked up my CB, loaded the gear and Seth, and then headed out for the first meeting point. I got to the 91 fwy and Weir Canyon exit around 5:50 PM PST. I tired to find a place to get a wake-me-up BUT they were all closed L Again, if I would have thought ahead, I would have brewed a pot and brought it along in a thermos, as did John Hivey. Anyway, Seth & I fell asleep while waiting for the gang to show. John showed up about a quarter to 7, with Rusty right behind. John showed me his ‘new’ engine…what a beauty!!! A few minutes later, Paul rolled up. We gabbed for a few minutes, waiting for Barry and others. No one else showed, so we headed toward the mountains. It was overcast and misty, slightly on the cool side (about 53°F).
We rolled down the road about 15 miles when John called on the CB to
say his water temp was already up to 230°F. Wisely, he called it a day somewhere in
Corona. John, we missed you out there!!! Get that baby going for Havasu!! So, the rest of
us continued down the road. We met up with others at the Union 76 station in Running
Springs. Earl, Barry, Boy toy & company. From there we drove to Gold Mountain Trail,
where we aired down. Paul’s wife took their little girl for a short hike. She cracked
me up. She was really inquisitive, and a trooper. I did not hear her cry at all. After a
short stay, we beat feet out onto the trail. There was some loose shale, quick
switchbacks, and some minor ruts to navigate. The scenery was the best. My lungs did not
know what to do with the ‘clean’ air J There were
a few technical areas that had some challenging rocks. I practiced taking the tougher
lines throughout the run, just to work on my driving skills. We only had one time where we
had to help a vehicle out of a spot. Boys Toy was high sided for a time on the rocks BUT
with a little coaxing made it out and kicked serious butt J We continued
down Gold Mountain until turning off on John Bull. It was there that we stopped for lunch.
While stopped, we looked over each other’s rigs and gained tips on possible upgrades.
I am impressed with Barry’s Toyota. I followed behind him for some time, and his body
(the body of his truck!!) had little movement on the trail, even in the rough spots. They
looked pretty comfy in the cab. After feeding the need, we headed down John Bull. There
were a few areas that had ice and mud on the trail. I was flining it all inside my Jeep,
having kept the windows down so I could see where I was placing my tires. I had an
absolute ball on the run!!! I followed behind Rusty for the second half of the trip. Soon,
we found ourselves in a game of ‘Hey, see if you can do this’ J I stopped
and paid homage to Rusty when he went up a boulder and had both right side tires off the
ground in a teeter-totter. He smile in his rear view mirror as I went around the rock J We reached
a point where those that wanted to continue on to Holcomb and Arrowhead stayed together,
and those that wanted to leave headed for the highway. Paul, myself and Kevin opted to go,
while the others continued to play. Since Rusty had a compressor, I opted to air up for
the rest of the ‘hike’ out of the woods. Well, I am not sure if I made the
wisest choice. The run from that point forward was bumpy as all hell. My poor kideys!! J There were
two spots I the way out that made me say, “Oh crap!!” One, a long steep climb
with snow/ice covering the trail. I was slipping arouns quite a bit BUT managed to make it
up. The other was a deep muddy hill, fairly steep. I could see Rusty laughing in his rear
viwem mirror watching navigate up that baby, being fully aired up. Next time I will wait
to air up once we are off the trail. Wisely, I waited to hook up my anti-sway bar until I
was off the trail. Hopefully, someone else will fill in the blanks for the rest of the run
J
I enjoyed myself immensely!!!!!!!!!
Happy Trails!!
Smacka
PS: Seth is in a photograpy course in High School, and he had the
school’s camera with him. He took some action black and white pics of a few of the
rigs. I will share the pics at the next meeting.