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John Bull and Golden Mountain trails – July 25, 2009.
Cat Head and I left home as planned, at 06:00. We stopped for gas at Redlands and we watched Zack’s Mug being towed by him, so we were in no hurry at all.
As usual, the easiest instructions are the hardest to follow by me, not to mention Cat Head. He was under the impression that our campground was at the lake, at summer time, what a joke. So, we drove into the mountains and look for the “Open House” sign with no luck, so we returned to the visitor center and get a map there, then we went straight to camp, but it was too late. The group was gone, so we hit to John Bull trail, trying to catch the group there, and so we did.
The gatekeeper at John Bull is exactly that, I’m glad that we told Cat Head’s friend with his H2 not to come, first of all, he missed the club meeting but the must important part, we didn’t know the trail, so we have no advice for him of what to expect and it is to risky to bring new people/rigs for unknown trails.
Our group run included 15 rigs, plus two more that arrive late (us). So, other groups that planned to do the trail the same date and time must wait or come later. The ones that stayed enjoyed the spectacle that we offered. It is always fun to watch other’s people cars going through.
John Bull trail offers a variety of obstacles, but the gatekeeper is the hardest under my opinion. Our group didn’t stop in any other spot to watch or help people having issues. We had a lunch break and we had a little rain. Yeah, it rains in California once in a blue moon. We realized later that other areas close to town, had more rain than us.
The fun part of this is that Rick had a poncho, but not for him, for his white goat seat covers!!! That was hilarious. “Hombre preparado vale por dos”, as we said in Spanish. The rain help us, the dust was gone and the rocks slippery. We went to camp, to make sure that everything was protected in case of more rain to come and we continue our trip to Golden Mountain trail. BTW, Zack found another mug owners and we missed him. Bruce went home earlier, he had a flat tire, so the smart thing to do was to abort any other trail as he did.
Golden Mountain trail was exactly as I remember it from previous trip. With a couple of hard core section, but nothing to be worried about. Our group failed in the fork that leads us to a rock garden. The first half did the easiest part of the trail and second half went for the right track. The rule of waiting for the next guy on every fork was not followed properly for all of us. We could improve it; the fines in the next meeting will take care of that issue.
Our camp ground was fair away to have a cell phone signal, but close enough to get dinner at town. Half of the group when to town for dinner and the other half stayed at camp on cooked their own meal. Get lost is not exactly compatible with Big Bear trips.
Roberto L. Miranda.
some pics, as usual
http://www.yopo4x4.com/index.php?mod=gally&id=23&eid=344
Cat Head and I left home as planned, at 06:00. We stopped for gas at Redlands and we watched Zack’s Mug being towed by him, so we were in no hurry at all.
As usual, the easiest instructions are the hardest to follow by me, not to mention Cat Head. He was under the impression that our campground was at the lake, at summer time, what a joke. So, we drove into the mountains and look for the “Open House” sign with no luck, so we returned to the visitor center and get a map there, then we went straight to camp, but it was too late. The group was gone, so we hit to John Bull trail, trying to catch the group there, and so we did.
The gatekeeper at John Bull is exactly that, I’m glad that we told Cat Head’s friend with his H2 not to come, first of all, he missed the club meeting but the must important part, we didn’t know the trail, so we have no advice for him of what to expect and it is to risky to bring new people/rigs for unknown trails.
Our group run included 15 rigs, plus two more that arrive late (us). So, other groups that planned to do the trail the same date and time must wait or come later. The ones that stayed enjoyed the spectacle that we offered. It is always fun to watch other’s people cars going through.
John Bull trail offers a variety of obstacles, but the gatekeeper is the hardest under my opinion. Our group didn’t stop in any other spot to watch or help people having issues. We had a lunch break and we had a little rain. Yeah, it rains in California once in a blue moon. We realized later that other areas close to town, had more rain than us.
The fun part of this is that Rick had a poncho, but not for him, for his white goat seat covers!!! That was hilarious. “Hombre preparado vale por dos”, as we said in Spanish. The rain help us, the dust was gone and the rocks slippery. We went to camp, to make sure that everything was protected in case of more rain to come and we continue our trip to Golden Mountain trail. BTW, Zack found another mug owners and we missed him. Bruce went home earlier, he had a flat tire, so the smart thing to do was to abort any other trail as he did.
Golden Mountain trail was exactly as I remember it from previous trip. With a couple of hard core section, but nothing to be worried about. Our group failed in the fork that leads us to a rock garden. The first half did the easiest part of the trail and second half went for the right track. The rule of waiting for the next guy on every fork was not followed properly for all of us. We could improve it; the fines in the next meeting will take care of that issue.
Our camp ground was fair away to have a cell phone signal, but close enough to get dinner at town. Half of the group when to town for dinner and the other half stayed at camp on cooked their own meal. Get lost is not exactly compatible with Big Bear trips.
Roberto L. Miranda.
some pics, as usual
http://www.yopo4x4.com/index.php?mod=gally&id=23&eid=344
