Cougar Buttes Nov. 20-21

[socalchef]

something i forgot to add in earlier posts is to bring a bucket or a portable toilet to dump in. there are no trees to go behind, you can't bury it under rocks, and it will eventually bite us in the ass anyways. i picked up a folding seat with a hole and some bags of the gel/powder stuff for like $30-40 at big 5. a few of the guys here know where to get killer deals on the stuff online as well, hopefully they'll post up.

try to bring a bundle of firewood if you've got access. i've got some pallets at work i'm going to cut up if i get a chance (meaning cut the sections with nails out) and i'll pick up some logs as well. a few of my friends will be just coming out for the day, so don't let that scare you from showing up

[socalchef]

ROLL CALL!

who's going, who needs my cell number, who needs better directions?

[paulhead]

I'm still going. I guess the directions you gave will do, I got your # if I get lost. CB ch?

[socalchef]

i'll try to have it on 4, but no telling if i'll be able to get it going tonight when i pick my jeep up. here's the directions i was given that got me out there without incident. Just in case, if you pass Bear Valley Rd you'll eventually hit the 18. it's about 30-45 minutes extra I think, but you'll hit the 18 and just loop back around and eventually be back on track.

Take the 15 North over the mountain range

Just before Victorville, take a right on the Bear Valley Road Exit. If you need gas or goodies, hang a left off the exit and on the other side of the freeway is a well stocked Valero.

Drive down Bear Valley Road for a ways. You'll go through town and eventually hit the start of the desert. It will end in a T. Take a look around and remember this intersection as you can easily miss it on the way back. There's a huge rock formation on the right, it's a good landmark for the return trip. Take a right at the T adn drive for about 15 minutes on HWY 18

HWY 18 will eventually come to a stop sign in he middle of Lucerne Valley. Just keep going straight. This is the only stop sign. The 18 changes to the 247, but just in name, keep going straight.

About 4 miles of nearly straight road, then the road will start to take a sharp 45, pay attention because about 50 yards in you'll make a left on Camp Rock Road

Run this road for about 3-5 miles and it will come to a fork in the road. take the right fork and go slow because you'll need to make a hard right on the dirt/gravel road right there. It's known as Granite Rd, but lately has been unmarked. It's about a mile of washboard road. If you're a 2wd vehicle, hug the right side, and there are some side routes that run along the main road that are dirt, rather then sand. You'll see a large formation on the right that will probably have campers but we won't be there, keep going straight to a big formation...You should see my silver Dodge and Jeep.

[flywaterguide]

Well, wish I could make it down this time... but it ain't gonna happen. Have a good run all, and hopefully I'll be able to make it down in the future.

Best,

FG

[nagal]

I was going then Everquest 2 came out.

[paulhead]

I'm outta' here. I'll have ch 4 on. I'll be in a brown jeep with a black top for anyone that may be hanging out. Later.

[socalchef]

for everyone that didn't make it, don't sweat it

weather was beautiful when we arrived. Paulhead (aka The Army of One, a true asset to ANY group, we're lucky to have him as a friend, this guy GETS IT) was ahead of us by almost an hour.
I immediately got Wendy off the trailer and we started fooling around. We spotted thick black smoke and thinking it was our camp we rushed out to it. Turned out to be some plywood with the heavy scent of lighter fluid, so we put it out and headed back to camp.
After that we hit the rocks again and I wanted to try a competition course. I was having trouble making a sharp turn, and the 10 year old ujoint bit the dust on the short side of my d30, tearing an ear off the inner shaft We fooled around with a hilift and my winch and finally got the tire up off the ground and swapped in a spare assembly, backed out, and headed back to camp.
Back at camp we met up with Mike, Sam, Chris, and Sam's buddy. It was starting to get dark so we setup camp and Sam bbq'ed some amazing Armenian pork chops that filled us all up right quick. Soon after, it started raining a little. Tim split as he wasn't prepared to camp, let alone deal with the weather.
The rain died down a bit and the other guy took off on a night run. When they got back it started to hail! We noticed some cop lights in the distance on a big hill. Mike, Paul and myself decided to head out and see if we could offer some assistance. The cop lights split, but Mike spotted some hazards flashing and we cam upon an older, large woman in a 2wd chevy with street tires who was dug in, with an infant in it's babyseat in the backseat of the truck :O She had apparently been chasing after her runaway wild mustang and the truck she was following didn't notice she couldn't keep up. The cops had found her, but couldn't reach her. We tried to lead her back down but could NOT figure out how she got up there, and couldnt' find a trail she could get down. Eventually we ended up where we found her, waited for some lights to get closer and found out it was the cops coming back with a tahoe to try to get to her. She wouldn't leave her truck overnight, and it's a near miracle we got it out ok. I ended up overextending a brakeline and had to vicegrip it.
We got back to camp around 12:30 and hit the sack. I woke up suddenly at 7, tried to turn on the windshield wipers to see what was what. When they didn't work I was pissed thinking something was wrong with my truck. I cracked open the door and my jaw dropped :O hooooly shit. Immediate thought was "how the hell am I gonna get my truck/trailer out of here?" After a lot of teamwork we managed to get the trailer unhitched, hooked to my Jeep and backed the (2wd) truck up and pointed it in the right direction. About to leave the trailer behind, Paul insisted we try to pull it out again. After attempting to get my Jeep going with a strap from Mike, I did tried again to humor him, but like I said, this guy's hardcore, and we got it loose. The truck kept a strap on it from Mike and we managed to keep it rolling, only getting dug in a little twice, both times quickly remedied with a little shovel work.
Of course the trail out was covered in snow, so we picked the general direction of the actual road to the highway and headed out. After some 'heated' discussion and gps/map study, we finally stumbled upon an intersection we knew would lead us out. Got to the main highway and loaded the Jeep on my trailer and we all headed out. The whole time out a few of us were coasting on vapors, and managed to come up on a gallon of fuel mixed for a two stroke, which was lovingly donated to me...I was more then happy to share but they must have taken pity on me...no top, no windshield, and the trailer in tow

All in all, badass trip.
Put out a fire, saved a lady and a baby from a definitely bad situation, as if she had been stuck overnight the chances of the cops finding her white truck in the morning were slim. Then to top it off, a nutty cross country trip in the snow with a VAGUE idea of where we were going, with a very slim chance of making it out

This group of guys that came out is known to me as The Corps. It's my core group of bro's that I always have a blast with, and as made evident today, can always be counted on when needed the most....Rain, hail, or snow

For anyone that was there reading this, as Sarah would say, YOU ROCK! I'll see you all soon, and we'll PLAN a snow run in Big Bear early this spring

Left my memory card for the camera at home, but managed to get a couple minutes of video on the way out. Here it is in all of it's compressed glory. I know some were taken photos, hopefully I'll get copies when they get home/get the film developed. http://www.abendig.com/jvsnow.wmv

Time to begin the arduous task of unpacking with snow piled in the bed of my truck/Jeep

[paulhead]

Ha!

What a trip! Can't say it was just another run. The day started out beutiful.
Then we did a little crawling, had som fun it was my first time there. Then Socalchef said "I will climb that rock!" Almost did it too.

Then pop!


Not the best spot to change an axle but hey!

Then after an awsome dinner and a cool night run we were attacked by a little rain and hail. It actually hailed for a pretty long time.

So after rescuing this lady most of us decided to sleep in our vehicles due to the wind and rain blowing awy tents and gettin stuff wet. I saw snow flakes but I did'nt think nothing because they were melting quickly. But sure enough we woke to this.




But we made it out after "No , this way!", "No , this way!" Had a good time, hella' adventure.

[paulhead]

[weather]92284[/weather]

Ok, now it says snow.

[sarah]

Ok, now it says snow.

a little too late for that information! damn national weather service.

glad you guys still had fun! i wonder if that's record snowfall out there!? cool pics

[socalchef]

sweet pics paul!

tim ended up taking the road following the power lines out by accident, and it does take you to the road, just a lot longer, so we were all right still haven't made it out to unpack, took a nap though, that was niiice

[NAILER341]

great write up and pics! looks like you guys had fun getting your asses kicked.

very nice!

[paulhead]

sweet pics paul!

tim ended up taking the road following the power lines out by accident, and it does take you to the road, just a lot longer, so we were all right still haven't made it out to unpack, took a nap though, that was niiice

Gotta do it again bro, I love a good adventure.

[blkTJ]

Maybe Dusy in November next year?!?! :confused: :yay