John Bull Run 6/21/2008

[womb raider 940]

I dont think that tie rod is heavy duty anymore

[MrBash]

When I arrived at the Discovery Center parking lot shortly before 9:00 am, the parking lot was nearly full; several other clubs were meeting there and planning runs to the Gold Mountain and John Bull trails. We had thirteen rigs in our group.
MrBash (silver TJ)
WranglerWrench (white TJ)
Lee (Black YJ)
TJClay (Gray TJ)
avjeepfreek (white YJ)
TonyM (green TJ Rubi)
jkpirate (green JK Unltd Rubi)
Overton001 (blue JK Unltd Rubi)
Don Davison (camo TJ)
Curtis (gray TJ)
Barney1 (purple TJ)
cmjrfan8 (blue TJ Unltd Rubi)
Russ Chung (khaki TJ)
We decided to skip Gold Mountain and head to the east end of John Bull. We got to the trailhead shortly after 10am. I was tail gunning, so I only got pictures of the Jeeps near the back of the pack.

avjeepfreek:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Big%20Bear%202008-6-21/IMGP2178.jpg[/SIZED]

We had just gotten past the gatekeeper when the call came over the CB for anyone who has a tie rod end puller. Curtis had slipped off a rock and snapped his heavy duty tie rod where it attached to the drag link:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Big%20Bear%202008-6-21/IMGP2181.jpg[/SIZED]
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Big%20Bear%202008-6-21/IMGP2183.jpg[/SIZED]
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Big%20Bear%202008-6-21/IMGP2184.jpg[/SIZED]
There were enough threads remaining in the broken tie rod that he was able to reattach the rod end and continue the run.

jkpirate:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Big%20Bear%202008-6-21/IMGP2186.jpg[/SIZED]

Lee:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Big%20Bear%202008-6-21/IMGP2190.jpg[/SIZED]

MrBash spotting avjeepfreek:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Big%20Bear%202008-6-21/IMGP2193.jpg[/SIZED]

The group had a lot of difficulty with this section of the trail. The rocks were covered with fine dust and the holes and ruts between the rocks were gouged out by the hundred or so vehicles that have used the trail in the past week. Despite MrBash's spotting, avjeepfreek needed a strap from Curtis:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Big%20Bear%202008-6-21/IMGP2197.jpg[/SIZED]

TonyM:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Big%20Bear%202008-6-21/IMGP2201.jpg[/SIZED]

TJClay is spotting his wife through the obstacle:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Big%20Bear%202008-6-21/IMGP2203.jpg[/SIZED]

jkpirate got high centered, but winched himself off the obstacle:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Big%20Bear%202008-6-21/IMGP2205.jpg[/SIZED]

Overton001:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Big%20Bear%202008-6-21/IMGP2206.jpg[/SIZED]

After stopping for lunch near the summit, we continued down the west side of the trail and finished at about 2:30 pm.

VERY Nice!! Thanks for the report and taking us through White Mountain.

[Russ Chung]

White Mountain

We finished running John Bull early in the afternoon, so MrBash, TonyM and I decided to go over to White Mountain. Both trails are rated difficult (black diamond) by the Forest Service, but they have completely different characteristics. John Bull has big rocks that you must crawl over, and you need lots of armor. White Mountain has lots of small, loose rocks and steep hills so you have to be careful in order to maintain traction. On John Bull, if you flop, you could damage your rig; on White Mountain, if you flop, you could roll a long way and possibly suffer serious injuries. There was a fatal accident on White Mountain about a year ago. John Bull has lots of trees, so there are only a few places with a view. White Mountain was burned by the Old Fire in 2002, so there are unobstructed views everywhere. This is the view of Lucerne Valley from the top of South Peak of White Mountain:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Big%20Bear%202008-6-21/IMGP2213.jpg[/SIZED]

The southern portion of the trail between 3N16 and 3N11 is closed due to the Butler 2 fire; the northern portion of the trail between 3N11 and 4N16 was reopened a week ago. This is the view of the middle peak of White Mountain from the top of the South Peak:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Big%20Bear%202008-6-21/IMGP2217.jpg[/SIZED]

This is the South Peak as viewed from the flank of Middle Peak. We chose to descend the steep portion of the South Peak trail instead of taking the bypass:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Big%20Bear%202008-6-21/IMGP2218.jpg[/SIZED]

MrBash and TonyM:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Big%20Bear%202008-6-21/IMGP2219.jpg[/SIZED]

View of Lucerne Valley:
[sized]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Big%20Bear%202008-6-21/IMGP2221.jpg[/sized]

We finished the trail shortly after 5pm. MrBash and TonyM returned home. I wanted to avoid the heat in the LA Basin, so I headed to Big Bear for dinner before heading home just after sunset. The weather in Big Bear was perfect; it was sunny, the temperature was in the 80s and there was a gentle breeze. Another great day of wheeling.

[avjeepfreek]

Hey guy's, Thanks for a great day wheelin! John Bull was awesome! Perfect weather and a great bunch of people! I wish I could have stayed with you all and run White Mtn but, I had an appt in Victorville at 6:30. Maybe next time! Even though the YJ had a few problems here and there, we had a great time. I'll get some of the pic's Lesa got up asap.

[Don Davison]

Thanks for the great run yesterday sorry I had to head down early had to fix a pipe in landers and see grand ma , liked the fact that everyone pitched in helping the tie rod fix sa ya all soon keep october 11 open going to have my birthday on the hammers,more info later

[tony m]

Russ thanx for the report. I was hesitant about going back down after JB, knowing it was still too hot down the hill and I'm glad I stuck around for WM cause it was really cool and breezy. Btw it was nice seeing you again its been a long while. Tony

[bullysteve]

here's what i found under my rig after running john bull .... now thats a close call with the oil pan ..... once i figure out how to add pic hehehe

[MrBash]

here's what i found under my rig after running john bull .... now thats a close call with the oil pan ..... once i figure out how to add pic hehehe

My rear diff is seaping diff fluid. I hit my rear pumpkin twice on the boulder at John Bull. I'm taking it to brother's on Tuesday to get it re-sealed.

Upload your pictures to a third party website such as photobucket.com

1) Goto photobucket.com and view the picture you would like to show.
2) Click on "direct link" under your photo in photobucket.
3) When you are typing on MJR, on the top of the "writing window", click on the yellow square button. That will bring up a new window that says "please enter the URL of your image here". Delete whatever is typed in there and "paste" the direct link there. Try sending one to me by Private Message. I hope that helps.

[curtis]

Barney1 Check out AEV Conversions.com for NTH DEGREE oil pan skid

[bullysteve]

[bullysteve]

thanks shant

[TJ Clay]

Yea,after i put a hole in mine at the fearless follies in El Mirage i now run a warn engine skid. It's not as thick as others but i think its strong enough. I found myself balancing once on it yesterday.

[bullysteve]

couple more pics from saturday , had a great time looking forward to more runs with the same group

[cmjrfan8]

My images are up

I've posted my images on my website.

www.hiredassassinphotos.com

There is a link on my home page that will take you to the gallery.

If anyone want's an e-mailed image you can contact me through the website or at info@hiredassassinphotos.com

I hope you enjoy...

[MrBash]

I've posted my images on my website.

www.hiredassassinphotos.com

There is a link on my home page that will take you to the gallery.

If anyone want's an e-mailed image you can contact me through the website or at info@hiredassassinphotos.com

I hope you enjoy...

Nice Photos! Thank You!