May 10th -- Trails of Big Bear/Arrowhead

[Ken Cooke]

It looks as if much of the snow has melted, and the trails should be dusty at best, and muddy at worst! The guys from Rebel 4x4 are all up for a trip to the Big Bear mountains on Saturday, May 10th for some dirt, mud, and rocks.

Trails open for consideration are: Cleghorn Ridge, Dishpan Springs (top to bottom) and Deep Creek, Holcomb Creek/Holcomb Valley, Jacoby Canyon, Rattlesnake Canyon, Gold Mountain, and Barton Flats (for the mud!).

State your preferences, and be prepared for a sunup to sundown trail ride with Rebel 4x4!


Ranger X on Jacoby Canyon...

Ken Cooke on Gold Mountain...

Big Bear Bob on Gold Mountain in his stocker!

 

[thunderhorse]

need Information man

:redexp:
ok May 10th but what time and where is the meet, hahaha thinking of joining on this little journey.

 

[Ken Cooke]

Meeting Place: 4 Wheel Parts parking lot -- Riverside, Ca

Location: Tyler Ave. exit off of 91 FWY (south side of Fwy).

Time: 7 a.m. - leave at 7:30 a.m.

 

[Stic-o]

ahhhh!!!

I been waiting for big bear run! I'll let you know once I find out if 10th is open.

 

[Positive Vibes]

On a scale of 1 to 10 what would you rate these trails at Ken??

 

[Ken Cooke]

Dishpan Springs was the most difficult trail I ran in the San Bernardinos. I followed Ranger X through this trail, thinking to myself, "I can't believe I agreed to this!" I was fine through the whole thing, but there were some spots where I knew I would roll to the bottom of the canyon and never be found. Most of the other trails are fairly simple for your experienced weekend 'wheeler. The hardest trail is John Bull, and without a locker, I'll have to sit this one out for now...

How hard are the trails? I'd say most are 5's or 6's with Dishpan Springs being a solid 6+ or 7...

Dishpan Springs Trail Report - Sons of Thunder 4WD Club

Dishpan Springs Trail Report - My Jeep Rocks.Com

-Ken

 

[Boomer12]

Outstanding

I've been looking for a good local group run, and would love to tag along. Couple of ?'s
1) Regestration fee ?
2) Forest adventure passes ? (BYO)
3) Time / place to meet on the mountain ? (I live in the high desert.)

 

[Ken Cooke]

Boomer,

If you are interested in attending, we could find a centralized meeting place for you. A couple of meeting places come to mind in the form of the McDonalds near the Cleghorn Ridge Trailhead (which may or may not be closed). This trail is just off of Hwy 15 smack in the middle of the Cajon Pass.
We have also met with groups at the Big Bear Discovery Center along Hwy 38 about 3 mi. east - outside of Fawnskin. Both locations can work, depending on the route our group votes on. If Cleghorn Ridge trail is still closed, which I suspect it still is - we'll meet you at the Big Bear Discovery Center. Either way, we will all benefit from having you as a part of our crew for the day.
As far as Adventure Passes goes, I believe we will all need to stop by the Discovery Center to purchase our $5 passes for the day. If everyone is able to leave the parking lot of 4 Wheel Parts by 7:30 a.m., we will be in Fawnskin no later than 9 a.m. and ready to begin a day on the dusty trail.
How much money are we seeking? Nothing. Just bring your spare tire, your tools, make sure your running boards are removed before the trip (if your Explorer has them), and a sense of humor if something scratches or dents your Explorer while on the trail...

-Ken

 

[Boomer12]

Ken,

Thanks for the quick reply. I live less than 10 min. from the west entry to the cleghorn trail, and have run parts of it a half dozen times in my cherokee. I'm also pretty familar with the jeep trail, crab flats ,and holcom valley. I dont mind scratches but will have to talk to the wife about putting in a couple of dents. Everything sounds great, and I'll be looking forward to a fun day.

No runningboards = higher clearance.

-Boomer12-
-Ken D.-

 

[Ken Cooke]

Boomer,

Believe it or not, I have never dented my truck on a trail...yet. All of my dents have come from other people in the parking lots with their doors a'swingin' wide open! You probably will not dent your Explorer, but it would feel better to tell your wife, "Honey, I dented the Explorer" after you told her it might happen. Or better yet, bring your wife along. My wife (Suz) won't believe the trails I'll have her riding along on...

-Ken

 

[Boomer12]

Ken,

When it comes down to it, I'm a bigger baby about hurting my X than she is. Dont know about running down Dishpan springs, or across Jon bull, but I'm up for just about anything else. My wife (Monica) would kick my butt if I didn't bring her along.Plus I'll check to see if the USFS plans on opening Cleghorn if it's not already.

-Boomer12-

 

[Ken Cooke]

Boomer,

With 6" combined lift and 33" treads, I felt like my truck had too little lift to clear the boulders and rocks that Dishpan had to offer. But, then I saw a stock '85 Toyota pickup with 31s and a YJ on 32's doing just fine handling the trail uphill.

-Ken

 

[Boomer12]

Ken,

Nice pic., We'll just wait and see how it's looking on the 10th. Don't want to slow anyone down. Maybe I'll just bring along my dad, and his '85 Chevy P/U, as a fullsize spare / personal recovery team.

-Boomer12-

 

[Ken Cooke]

Boomer,

The latest I heard is that on the fairly easy trail Jacoby Canyon , a woman had to have her 4WD lifted out by helicopter (last week) due to all of the water and mud that made that trail impassable. We'll definitely cover these trails as a group, and we'll be on the lookout for excessively muddy conditons that might threaten anyone on these trails...

Here is what my buddy Big Bear Bob had to say about the whole situation...

Last week some woman took a 4X4 down Jacoby and they had to air lift her
out... I know it's wet and there is mud, but that really surprised me.
Right now most of the trails have water and mud puddles, but I can't say
how long they will last since we have such low humidity up here. I
really can't say how much water and mud will be there on the 10th, but
after the last blast of rain and snow, I'm sure you'll have fun. "

-Ken

 

[Boomer12]

Ken,

I ran up the Jeep trail about two months ago, right after a really good rain. There was alot more mud and water then normal, making a coulple of the uphill climbs pretty interesting, and turning a normal class 2-3 trail easily into a 3+. So I have no doubt that some of the trails will be at their most challenging state in years.

I also called the Lytle Creek ranger station. They said that the Cleghorn Ridge trail (2N47) is, and will remain closed, with no plans to reopen it in the near future.

As for the 4wd that had to be airlifted out of Jacoby Canyon, I have two ?'s. Was the 4wd still on the trail (i.e. didn't slide over the side.), and did they have a second 4wd with them?

-Boomer12-

 

[Ken Cooke]

As for the 4wd that had to be airlifted out of Jacoby Canyon, I have two ?'s. Was the 4wd still on the trail (i.e. didn't slide over the side.), and did they have a second 4wd with them?

Boomer,

I'm not sure about the situation because I got the info 2nd hand from a 'wheeler who accompanies me on the Big Bear runs from time to time. It just sounded real interesting to me, and I can't wait to test my BFG KO's in the mud!

-Ken

 

[Positive Vibes]

This is only a day trip? Any one up for camping Sat night? Or is there no where to camp?

 

[Ken Cooke]

P.V.,

I have a buddy already driving down from Northern California for the day trip. He will be sleeping in my spare bedroom and driving back Sunday afternoon. If you like, we can prepare sleeping quarters for you as well in my music room. As far as camping goes, the nighttime temps may get down to the upper 30s, and the ground may or may not be wet from upcoming thunderstorms threatening to turn our more mild A.M. trails into extreme trails.

So, we're looking at possible mud and lots of swollen creeks/rivers, slippery conditions, a deep water crossing at Deep Creek (T-6), and several Jeeps in attendance (along with a couple of Explorers and my Ranger).

If you're considering the trip, Andrew will be driving out Friday afternoon (from San Jose) and you both could carrivan. Its too bad his vehicle carrier doesn't have room for your rig, or you could ride in the passenger seat and enjoy the scenery all the way down!

-Ken

 

[Positive Vibes]

This keeps sounding better and better. I'm going to be converting to disc brakes this week. I'm not going to commit untill I get her back and running. Also thanks for the offer on crashing at your pad. Yes below 30's is a bit nipply. I will let you know as it gets closer. Just such a long drive for one day. Thanks again Ken!!!

 

[Josh S.]

Ken-This one's gonna be good! Thanks for taking the helm of the trail guide/leader dude. It's gonna be funny to watch your KO's spin out and get you stuck in the mud! j/k...I had to...

Positive Vibes-are you Derrick? Sounds like it from your sig. Dude, you gotta come on this one. Just cruiz down with Ken's buddy Andrew, crash at Ken's, have a few brews, and take a nice drive back up on Sunday. It will be worth your while man! If not for you, do it for the club!

Everyone else-Come to this run! Its gonna be badass