Big Bear Labor Day Report.

[NAILER341]

well, it was another beautiful day in the san bernadino mountains.
i got to the yellow post camp site at about 8:30 am and got my camp all set up. it was nice to see tam and chris up there already, as well as black zzr, and his wife.

we eventually made our way to ding some trail maintainance, and some other things back on our trail. what a great time that was.
we had an opertunity to try out the "rock sled" which has also seemingly become the name of back portion of one of our adopted trails.

i lke that name much better than humming bird, or dew drop... whatever the other name was

so... after getting some work done on the trail, which was a great exebition of team work, we went ahead on a run on 3n-93 or holcomb trail.
i have always enjoyed that trail, but it has gotten much worse since all of the rains.

up to the first rock garden was rather uneventful, outside of a loose body mount bolt or two.
once in the garden i demonstrated how to get stuck, wind up the rpm's and break a hub. the hub when it exploded went sailing through the air, and nearly took out chris [dukes69]
boy.. that thing really took off.

luckilly i had a spare hub, and it was changed out pretty quickly, and we continued down the trail.
everyone seemed to handle the rock garden nicely, and seemed to enjoy it.

later on down the trail we ran into another problem on an off camber spot.
i'll save the details on that one for rick and sarah.

i will say however that i dit yipe over the radio, EMERGENCY-EMERGENCY-CRISIS!

now, thanks to tam, everytime i think of what i said i visualize a robot with dryer ducts flailing its arms. DAMN IT!

HERE ARE A FEW PICS OF THE EARLIER PART OF THE RUN.
ENJOY




THE REST ARE HERE
http://pierviews.com/photogallery/bi...ver%20mess.htm

[Kaffa]

Sounds like an eventful weekend. Did you behave yourself Erik? No Earthquakes? That tree moved yet off 3N84 B

[cbremer]

looks like rick tried blazing a new trail (without much success)

good to brian back on 4 wheels too :yay::yay:

wish i could have made it... is the strap-killing tree still in the way? we'll have to take care of that next time

[NAILER341]

Sounds like an eventful weekend. Did you behave yourself Erik? No Earthquakes? That tree moved yet off 3N84 B

eventful indeed..





yes the tree was moved from the trail.
if i were to behave myself, what fun would that be?

[blackZZR]

you know, I just look at al your pics, and you relaize that Tido has no resect for a brand new Rubicon unlimited Sahara's body metal. He wheeled that thing like a rock pro and it does not even have permenent
license plates on it yet. Way to go Tido
And the pic of Dylan, with one wheel in the air, taking on Holcomb with open Diffs, He really has spirit.
the day was a lot of fun, and when it got rough, I noticed the Guys from MJR proved they had what it takes. I will wheel with you guys again, you proved your knowledge, experiance and ability, all the time while keeping a great sense of humor. I witnessed a lot on that trip and it was all handled with ease.

[blackZZR]

Pic of erik getting over a huge rock in morning work group
http://www.myjeeprocks.com/forums/ga...3/DSC_0279.JPG
there are a few more pics of ericks jeep and some of the morning work on the last page of my gallery

[paulhead]

Erik so what you do to bust that hub? Pop the clutch?

[NAILER341]

Erik so what you do to bust that hub? Pop the clutch?

how did i know this was going to happen?!! :yay: :shades:


this picture was taken seconds before it blew up. notice where chris is standing
i was hung up pretty hard here, but determined not to get a point. so i was romping on it a bit and i guess that tire got a bite, and the hub let go.

[goodtimes]

.LMAO @ the avatar.....

[blackZZR]

Eric had been putting the YJ through it's paces all day as shown in this pic

[JeepGal]

Its apparent that it was a pretty amazing weekend of wheeling.

Chris and I pulled in late Friday night. We were VERY pleasantly suprised to find that Yellow Post 5 was unoccupied What a beautiful starry night we had. The wind kicked up, and it dropped to a ch-chilly 45 degrees.

Ya gotta love camping...we got up the next morning in a panic, 'cause it felt like it was really late. After stretching and peeing...and trying to find a clock, it was only 6:30am. Sheesh. by that time we were up for the day. Shortly after that Jim (BlkZZR) and his wife, Missy (NICE to FINALLY meet you ) pulled in, towing a cute little (Ive never seen one SO small!) Coleman pop-up. By the time they got set up, Erik (Nailer) pulled in, I helped him get his tent up, and we had a few hours to relax.

We met up with everyone at the Firestation in Fawnskin at 10am on the nose. First to arrive was FyrmanJJ, and his dog, Tucker...a HUGE golden lab. Next came Tito in his brand spankin new Unlimited Rubicon, nice new toy. He brought his son and another buddy with him. Along came CJSixer and his wife Tina. Dillon (fomocofan) pulled in shortly after that. Then finally Rick, Sarah and Brian.

On our way back to our adopt a trail, we noticed an illegal campfire in a disbursed campsite. We went over and educated the campers in the proper way to distinguish a campfire, and proceeded to watch them put it out. (Which was pretty comical, as the kids were as high as a kite, I honestly dont know if they even knew what we were telling them.)

While the rest of the crew set up camp, Erik and Chris went down 2N84B, raring to hit the trail work. The rock sled worked like a charm. We worked there for a few hours, then broke for lunch.

We hit Holcomb Creek around 3pm. After the watercrossing, we were suprised to see that the off-camber section, that we had heard was supposedly repaired, wasnt. Either that, or was back to the way it was when we ran it in June. The illegal bypass is so well travelled, it is now the new road. The majority of our group ended up taking the bypass. I believe this is where the XJ rolled last time we were up there.

The first rock garden was a nice challenge. Some of the guys decided to try a different line, and ended up with broken shit Dillon showed us how to get through it with 3:07's and a stick. (Just so you know Dillon...It WAS difficult! Even the experienced guys would have had a problem with that part of the trail, if they had the setup you have.) The rest of the group went through relatively unscathed.

Shorty after the rock garden, where the drive is mostly scenic, with the river below you on the right, we hear a voice we've NEVER heard before...


[COLOR="RED"] "CRISIS!!, EMERGENCY!!, EMERGENCY!!"[/COLOR]

Chris and I looked at each other quizically. "WHO the F*#K was that?" The voice was completely unrecognizable. It was Erik yelling for help.


Chris jumped out of the Jeep and ran to the front of the Jeeps...We were in the middle of the group, and we had assumed it was in front of us, since we could see what was behind us. I replied "Who needs help? Who was that?" I still dont know who replied, perhaps Tina...one word "RICK!"

I drove forward cautiously, and was in shock when I saw the scene. Chris then called on Eriks CB "Everythings OK, No ones hurt" But still...the scene was incredible. I had no idea what had actually happened, but Ricks Jeep was down in the ravine about 40'. I ran up, and Chris was carrying Sarah to the top. She was pretty shook up. I STILL had no idea what had happened. The contents of the Jeep were littered all over the ravine. The Jeep was sitting upright, which puzzled me.

I talked to Sarah for a bit, and walked her back to my Jeep, it was then that I found out that they had just had a nasty roll. The cage was in great shape, I shutter to think what would have happened if Rick had installed a lesser cage.

The group worked together like a well oiled machine, everyone pitched in. Some were shoveling dirt and rocks out of the way, others hooking up straps and lines, still others removing the belongings out of the way. I initially stayed with Sarah, trying to get her to relax. Which she did rather quickly considering what she just went through.

With Eriks winch and snatch block, another safety line to the tree, (in case the winch line broke), and a tow strap anchored by a bunch of guys (to take the pressure off the side of the jeep to get it past the tree), the Jeep was extricated. We were amazed that it was running, and Rick was able go up in reverse, helping the winch. It took a few hours to get her out of the ravine, and we were back on the trail, around 8:30pm. Ricks Jeep made it through the rest of the trail without any aid, nearly normal. AMAZING! Jeeps are built incredibly tough!

For those of you wondering what happened- There was a sharp turn in the trail, with a stream running through the ravine. The trail proceeded up the hill, with a large rock, partially submerged under the dirt, washed out on the right side. There wasnt enough room to drive completely above it, and hardly enough room to drive completely below it, the shoulder of the trail was loose soil, with the ravine beneath. Rick attempted to straddle the rock, the Jeep S L O W L Y leaned over to the right, Erik wasnt able to get to the side to put his fat on it quick enough, and it ended up precariously on its passenger side, leaning dangerously towards the ravine. For a moment, they thought they were fine, and then the soft soil began to shift, and the Jeep slid on the passengers side, towards the ravine, and rolled the rest of the way down, landing on all fours. Thankfully stopped in its tracks by a tree, thus keeping them from going the rest of the way. Im just thankful I didnt witness it myself. I heard it was a dramatic. Rick, after climbing to the top of the ravine, announced to everyone, jokingly, "That wasnt the right line."

We are all very amazed how well everything turned out, it could have been way worse, both in human body damage and Jeep.

With much anxiety, trepidation and some diligent spotting, the group all navigated past the location of the "incident". After passing two more off-camber sections of the trail, we proceeded to the last rock garden, We finally made it back to the campsite around 9:30pm.

We opted out of doing a night run, and all decided against a run on Sunday as well. Im posting this from Ricks house, we followed them home, just to be sure that everything was ok.

This group is AWESOME! Erik, Rick, Sarah, Brian.....all of you new guys....Im always amazed on how wonderful our circle of friends are. Im not sure if its just Jeep folk, or if we somehow managed to draw the greatest friends- but I want you all to know, that I appreciate each and every one of you!

Hope everyone is having a nice and SAFE Labor Day!

Tam

[blackZZR]

I was amazed at how well focused the group was,
I was just trying to help do whatever told to do but others knew what to do.
Tido jumped in with shovel, Sixer was working the terrain on the bottom side of the jeep. Ric kept the jeep running and actually had the nerve to drive it up while being winched, Eric did a fantasticcly professional job with that YJ and winching, Chris and Brian set up great pulls, a few others did strap duties and I ran around like a chicken with his head cut off.

I will mention this again, from what I saw that day, I think MJR crew is a group I feel safe with

when we were all trying to get passed the rock, Chriss could tell I was so totally freaked out he calmed me down and physically help pull my jeep as I now will admit, fear of what had happened, my responces were muddled.
Thanks Chriss

[NAILER341]

well, i think that about covers it.
nice write up, tam.
there are pics, but they are up to rick and sarah to post.
it was a hell of a thing to witness. i hope to never have to see something like that again...

it started easily enough.
the driver tire started to come up just a bit, as we have all experienced. it sat there like that for a moment, and started to very sloooowly flop onto its side.

the only problem here was the fact that it was now lieing on its side on apx. a 45* slope, and the wheels were on the high side. not good.
there was a sigh of relief for a moment as the jeep rested there for a few seconds.

as i got out of the jeep to help them, it started sliding and then tumbeling down the hill. in a pannic, i yelled on the cb before running to them.
it seemed i was in their faces the moment it stopped rolling, very much affraid of what i might see in there.

i was very happy to see both of them very aware, and physically in tact. just a bit covered in dirt. hell, they both had their faces covered in dirt.
we got sarah out of there as she seemingly got the worst of it, and was in the most fear [as would be expected]

chris carried her up the hill, and tam tended to her needs. rick caught his breath for a momend, mostly by our insistance, and then we all jumped into the task at hand.

there were straps, and snatch blocks coming from everywhere!
everyone chimed in and did their part to make the recovery go as smoothly as possible. shortly after dark the jeep was back up the hill, and ready to complete the trail.

what a day!

it is great to see rick and sarah both in good spirits as well as good health.

lets get that thing back together and get out there again.

[cbremer]

dammit i always miss the fun stuff glad to hear everyone's OK!

[TJSUPE]

Glad you guys are alright, Rick and Sarah.