Big Bear... the aftermath and the run itself.. long

[Kejtar]

We started off about 9:10.... or actually it all started at 5:30am when my alarm clock woke me up. After leaving home I have met up with Mike Lysik in Yorba LInda and drove up to Running Springs where we gassed up and picked up Curt on the road. AFter getting to Sequoia's camp (wooho... I actually found it pretty quick) I went back to the main road, hung a sign directing XJ's to the staging area (on my way to the main road I came across Tim and his son... sorry I forgot his name again :( ).
Anyways, when I got back to the staging area, we got Jason Jones join us up and we have departed picking up Sequoia, Holly, and Mike (Sequoia's dad) at the camp.. so now we had Young Ryan (and his sleeping pilot), Sequoia and Holly, Mike Lysik, Tim and his son, Jason Jones and his daughter (I don't think I ever caught her name.. but she was one brave trooper :) ), Curt, Mike (Sequoia's dad in the ranger) and myself (I think I didn't leave anyone off).

We were off to a pretty good start up the 3N16 to 2N06x which was pretty fun. Almost right off the bat on 2N06X I have been the perfect point for the group.... I have shown everyone which rock to avoid as they could get hung on it... After some wheel spinning in the air (I was hanging a bit on the left rock rail... ) I have done some hi lifting on both sides, put a rock here, a rock there and backed up and up over to the right and I was free. Right after that I had MIke L spot me between couple others and I have completed the rock garden..... Everyone else pretty much did good as they knew which line not too take (I probably would have been way better off if I didn't go charging down without scoping it out.. guess what... from that point on... I was out at anything that looked even remotedly rough LOL)

ANyways... from that point on we charged on to 3N93 and then over couple creek crossings (there was one that had this rock that almost everyone hit... it just depended on whether the vehicle created wave was coming in and hiding it or going out). Then we got on to 3N08 and up on to 3N89 where we stopped to do a quick repair on Sequoia's LCA. He has complained a bit of noise and it turned out that it got tweaked a bit so with some loosening and a tug from strap by jason it readjusted itself more or less and allowed him to complete the trail. At this time Sequoia also discovered some nasty dents in his cross member.

Moving on we crossed over to 3N17 and have completed the trail with some fun rocks going both up and down.......

I would have to say it's been fun meeting everyone and also I Would like to say that each map that we had showed something completely different and none of them really matched the reality LOL ( I will allow someone else to elaborate on this matter)

Getting back to damages:
Well, I know that Sequoia banged his crossmember pretty bad, pushed his LCA back and had to have a "tow trap" rescue pull it back to the proper positon (more or less), also I think he mentioned something abotu a cat....

Myself I scraped the rails all over plus I have put in one dent in my crossmember (GRRR I gotta get the $$ for the SYE and a new shaft one of these days so that I Can remove the drop and maybe have a high clearance crossmember).... And for the kicker... my passenger tire (I think on a full stuffage) as I turned has pulled in the fender panel and bent it in and popped off a flare... so about 3 minutes in gloves got it straight more or less.. and the flare finished a trail in my cargo area :)

Any other damage? I know Mike L kept nailing his passenger side mirror and he had to keep popping it off.

All right... as I said it's been fun.. we will have to do it again and I might have pics up tomorrow (finshed off 2 rolls) and we will also get another video from the famous "Sequoia Studios" sometime later this season :)

Kejtar
P.S. I know I forgot something... but it will come to me later....

[Jason Jones]

You did forget something.. your new nickname...

WWR

Wrong Way Remi...

[Kejtar]

LOL... I only fess up to two mistakes... one as we were going up to get Sequoia... and one more... the rest was just bad luck along with road closures and bad maps! :) :)

Btw... during each and every one turn around (I think the total number was 4?) we didn't really stray too long..... :) Plus remember it gave each and every one of us a chance to get a full frontal shot on Sequoia's cam :)

[GSequoia]

Yeah, today was a blast (as was yesterday!). My damage report is as follows (I'll have pictures tomorrow probably, I know everybody wants to SEE the damage!)

De-Virginized LH Rocker Panel (Small dent, but dent non-the-less)
New Rub Marks! (Front end, against the inside fender wall, also on the brake line, uh-oh!)
Banged to Hell Crossmember (Got probably three big dents in it)
Small dent in Trans pan.
Slightly scarred LCA's.
Scraped Diff.
Scrateched NEW Front Receiver.
Smashed rear facing light. (On that run at the beginning, the rock garden)
The mentioned pushing the LCA back (the coil was rubbing against the bump stop)
Cat was smashed probably .5 - 1 inch.
Dented Flowmaster.
Most the U-Bolts for my exaust...bent

That's all I can think of at the moment..teh sad part is I think there's more!

Sequoia
Yeah, I take the cake for most trail damage this time out!

[Kejtar]

Btw... I do have a route (track) downloaded from my GPS which proves the nice trail run :) ......

Kejtar

[RyanSullivan]

Heheh WWR.... anyway I had alot of fun and it was fun to see everyone again. I really need to put my bumpstops in. I think i'm just ganna hockey puck it

[GSequoia]

Here's the first round of pictures:

http://www.sequoiasite.com/XJ/BigBear/

[Xtreme XJ]

Hey Guys:
Thanks to all for a good time & it was great to suck up all your guys dirt all day.....I got home just before 2100 hrs. (got caught
behind a lapper in a WJ ....MIND NUMBING....) TBent once I was in Fawnskin I was in a somewhat familiar area & I usually go to B.B.
that way so getting down was no problem. I don't know if you heard me holler that I found a Ph. booth. Glad to see Wrong Way
Remi made it... LOL ! I think you had better add a 1 infront of that 4 for wrong turns.....LOL! And the trail on you GPS is gonna be a squiggly line running back & forth over itself..LOL! I have to admit though after the wrong turn Sequoia's dad made.... I hope you all got him pointed towards Yucca Valley...
Thanks again !! I had a fun time....
Curt (aka Xtreme XJ)
P.S. Jason J. you daughter is adorable...... give her a tickle for me!
seeing her all day made me REALLY miss my little ones.

[mgolden]

Here's another set of pictures of Pioneer Town and the trail that we took to Big Bear. They only cover the first half until my photographer fell asleep. lol!

[mgolden]

Whoops! I suppose the link might help:

http://www.cataclysm.net/bigbear/

[MJR]

No mention of Marisha and the rock in the sidewall ?.

[Kejtar]

LOL... I have re-examined the GPS route and it looked pretty good! In general there were two major dead ends (one was the locked gate and hte other the road that turned out to be abandoned road). The other instances were:
1. The wrong turn after the crossing (which led to the gate)
2. Wrong turn on our way back to Sequoia's camp in the morning
3. W turn towards 38 at the end (which really would have gotten us out either way :) )

I think that covers all of them... so it wasn't as bad as you're making it sound :) Btw, I have ot add that as nice as the sidekick maps are for planning: they are terrible for navigation!

Kejtar

[Kejtar]

OK... just found out something else: Mike remember where I hit my front right tow hook? I didn't pay that much attention to it then, but when I went to get my tires rotated and balanced (it seems every one of my tires needed a weight... I know I didn't loose any, or at least not that many) I saw that the whole bracket is bent... Tiem to look for some of them chevy's :) or to get a front receiver ...

Kejtar

[GSequoia]

Yeah, I know what you're doing Remi...you're trying to compete with me!

[Jason Jones]

I'm sure Marisha will apreciate this pic :)

http://www.cataclysm.net/bigbear//bigbear11.jpg

heh

[MJR]

Originally posted by Jason Jones
I'm sure Marisha will apreciate this pic :)

http://www.cataclysm.net/bigbear//bigbear11.jpg

heh

Yah Mike Golden showed us the photo on Sunday. He also had another with her laying on the ground looking under the vehicle.

[Ed A. Stevens]

Well, it sounds like a good run (with more than a little drama)?

I got tangled up in some Sunday morning business, and did not make it out to the Green Valley end of the trails until @10:30AM. I did not expect you to take the rock garden end of 3N93 (off of 3N16) and kept going until I noticed the tire tracks at the beginning of 2N07X. I could not tell much from the tracks so I tried to raise contact on the radio, but no answer. I was traveling solo so I choose to not run the black diamond trail alone (there is a reason for the trail ratings).

I ran around to 3N14 and the creek crossing east of 3N93 and found no tracks, so I imagine the group finished this trail well after noon? There was a family of three vehicles pulling in to have lunch when I left, maybe they were still there when you crossed the creek?

I imagine after 3N93 most of the drama was over and the balance of the run was mild? When did to front axle fail (when was it noticed)?

[Kejtar]

the front axle failed on the previous day.... and it appears that it was noticed on the highway (someone correct me if I'm wrong)...... The 3N93 wasn't that bad.... as I said... bad line on my part and using the "skinny" locker at the wrong time :(

There were couple vehicles where the creek was so those might have been the same....

Kejtar
P.S. Drama was on the other day :)

[Kejtar]

http://www.sb-host.com/imagehost/data/6012/12route2-med.JPG

So as you see... there were really only 2...... big turnarounds... everything else was minor :)

[GSequoia]

Yup, it was my little run up 2N02 that all the drama is centered around.

Sounds like the family you saw was the one we did (I think tan Ford F-150 in there). I found ALL the rocks under that water!

[MJR]

Originally posted by Ed A. Stevens
When did to front axle fail (when was it noticed)?

It was a ongoing problem I think Ed. There was rust on areas that the paint had peeled away from getting hot so I think it was there over time. I don't think she drove it long distance much. It cooked. Whether it was a prexisting or do to some street driving in Part time with a low right rear tire I don't know exactly. She picked up a screw in the right rear tire sometime. It was flat in Mike's garage.

[GSequoia]

When we got to Big Bear I actually visually checked her tires (because she had just put that spare up front), so I can tell you that it wasn't extremely low in BB. (That's when she mentioned it feeling like it was still in 4WD, I had her do the back it up gig, I didn't hear anything else from her if it was fixed or not, and I forgot to ask her)

[mgolden]

Lol! Don't blame me for that picture! My co-pilot Danielle took that one!

Sorry Marisha! :-)

[GSequoia]

Uh-huh, we believe that...really...

Who's the guy that looks just like you lying down?

[Jason Jones]

Remi, do you by chance have that route in a text file I can import?


Jason

[mikeyl]

was a great ride sunday. at least sequoia was kind enuf to let his rig take all the big hits ( of course me as a spotter didn't help) thanks to kej for showing us all of the trails in small sections!had a great time and looking forward to ridin' again soon.

[GSequoia]

I'm thinking I should get a new sticker made for my Jeep. "Rock Magnet"

I'm interested to see your pictures man!

[mikeyl]

as an extra note i unfortunately think the scratch in sequoia's front hitch is my fault. didn't send him to the right soon enuf! once again great ride all, jason curt is right,you're daughter helped make the ride fun,was a kick to see her sneaking up on curt and at one point coming down a trail she had this look of pure joy on her face as you guys went by.you're a great dad! my only bummer was some of you guys made it looks way to easy!
"keep the traction side down"
mike l TRALE B8

[GSequoia]

Scratch in the reciever...no big..that's what Krylon is for!

[Kejtar]

Jason... I can send you the route... which will include also my commute to work as well as my trip to irvine, victorville and couple others :) I Forgot to reset the route before going on the trail.....

Kejtar

[Kejtar]

OK.. I got the CD's from sam's club, but I will have to convert them as each pic is ~4mb in size... I have cut down couple of them and uploaded them here:

The gallery (http://www.sb-host.com/imagehost/showgallery.php?cat=6012&ppuser=12)

Enjoy

[SOCALXJ]

Looks like a blast minus the vehicle problems.

[Kejtar]

OK... pictures got updated... lower quality... but all of them are there :)

full album (http://www.sb-host.com/imagehost/showgallery.php?cat=6012&ppuser=12)

[Bent]

Hey WWR, I'm not a rocket scientist, but I counted a little more than three "U"s. LOL! You didn't count "I'll go the other way THIS time instead",or, well never mind. Just kidding, Ethan and I had a real good time.

[Bent]

Hey, Jason, did that guy ever come out of that coma?
:WOW: LOL

[Kejtar]

lol.. that should be: Hey Ryan... Jason was in the waggy with his daugther (I'm still amazed at her endurance!) and Ryan had the sleeping navigator

[Bent]

Yeh, She was still a happy camper at the end of the day! She's a Gem.

[GSequoia]

Hey Mike, this one's for you (only 700k)

BOOM! (http://homepage.mac.com/gsequoia/files/BOOM!.mov)

[Xtreme XJ]

Remi even though I've only wheeled with you once so far I'd follow you down any dead end trail & eat your dust all day & drive through muddied up water crossings hiding submerged rocks. Yes in truth there wasn't that many wrong turns made I just have to get my digs in, BUT !! I am fond of your new handle WWR which I will take credit for & probably call you by too many times in the future. :D I had a fun time with everyone Young Ryan who by the time I went up front was already through any hazzard and waiting for the next rig... who I think was Mike L. who along with TBent stealthfully were over the obsticles by the time I made my way to the front then Jason & the cuttest (spl) corider smoothly made there way up the trail leaving Sequoia to skillfully pick a line trying to keep the unwanted trail mods to a limit (no WAY ! would I try to do that rock section with a simular set up ..... pure guts! OR ! no brains... ) & his dad.....I'm not a fan of IFS but he and his ranger did a really well....
Thanks for a fun Sunday drive....
Curt (aka Xtreme XJ)

[mikeyl]

hey sequoia! the file you have above won't play. it tells me it is a quicktime file witt some software not available on their site. of course it could be this machine at work which has seen better days.

[mikeyl]

curt already have my headline news for the first pic of kej on the rocks "wrong way remi wrangles ryans rok rydrz" what da ya think? catchy huh! great ridin with ya but you make it look tooooooooooo easy! lol

[Kejtar]

LOL so when will I see those pics? I keep hearing about being stuck on a rock.. but so far I haven't seen any proof LOL

It's been fun on the trail with you guys :) I say next time it should be in Curt's corner of the world and we will let him get lost :)

Btw... I liked the boom boom boom ding ding.... in boom.mov

Kejtar

[GSequoia]

Mike..you need to have QuickTime 6 to see the movie...you can get it from www.apple.com/quicktime

And that's a BIG BOOM isn't it?

[GSequoia]

I think the ding ding was the glass of my rear facing light falling out (although I'm quite sure I crushed it a few feet earlier when doing Remi's favorite spot)

[Kejtar]

:) :) If it wasn't for the ladies present... I'd properly take care of that spot as I will be going back to rerun in :) :)

[GSequoia]

Okay, to satisify everybodies morbid curiosity here's the damage pictures:

http://www.sequoiasite.com/XJ/BigBear/Damage/

[Ed A. Stevens]

So the XJ has been battle scarred?

Was it worth it?

When is the next run?

(the one time I honor the rule to not wheel a black diamond alone, and I miss all the fun :( )

[GSequoia]

It was worth it. (Mainly because the damage isn't anything very bad).

Glad I have an '89 though..since it's more tolarant of driveline vibes!

[mikeyl]

glad i was there too sequoia! i have more pictures of your rig than anyone elses for some reason. just busy trying to figure where to put them to show .don't want to spend everyones bandwidth attaching them in the socal xj board and haven't figured how to link for naxja. and kej, got your pics with captions!!

[Jason Jones]

Heh... you beat that crossmember to snot... Its done in.. time for a new one... Are you just going to replace it with a Junkyard one, or aftermarket???


Jason

[GSequoia]

I dont' know what I'm going to do about that crossmember yet...still thinking...either way ti won't be terribly soon as I'm broke!

Mike, were you able to get that video?

[mgolden]

Originally posted by mikeyl
glad i was there too sequoia! i have more pictures of your rig than anyone elses for some reason. just busy trying to figure where to put them to show .don't want to spend everyones bandwidth attaching them in the socal xj board and haven't figured how to link for naxja. and kej, got your pics with captions!!

Yeah, I got a couple of his too. Yeah, too bad he has NONE of mine from Saturday! :-)

Just kidding.

-Mike

[GSequoia]

Too bad you weren't around on Sunday Mike, you could've tested that Locker more!

[mgolden]

Soon. Soon. :-) I need to do some maintenance crap first and want to fab up some armor before I bash up the underside too bad. (I'm way too cheap to actually PAY for skid plates!)

Within the next couple weeks though, it's on! Let me know when you want to head back up there and teach those rocks a lesson! lol!

[MJR]

Originally posted by GSequoia
Okay, to satisify everybodies morbid curiosity here's the damage pictures:

http://www.sequoiasite.com/XJ/BigBear/Damage/

I have seen more damage from a shopping cart. :D :D Hey I think you need to fix those oil leaks dude, it's pretty wet under there don't you think ?. The rear pinion, trans or t-case, probably the usual engine oil leaks also. When you get some aftermarket LCA's get the MiniSkids that weld on for the axle mounts. They work well.

[GSequoia]

Actually from the look of it (the old figer the fluid test!) it's oil, not quite as bad as it looks, never cleaned it off after I fixed my valve cover lead, but I'm pretty sure that my rear main is leaking, been to lazy to throw the dye in the engine to trace it out...

If it is the rear main, well, that'll be the kick in the ass to drop the trans. and replace my flywheel, got a few chewed up teeth from a bad Autozone starter I put in a couple years ago (the week it was in the car was long enough to do the damage...was too busy to pull it right out).

Ahh..Jeeps...never ending project!

[Kejtar]

yeah.. your XJ makes an interesting noise when it starts :)

Kejtar
P.S. Yup.. I got this one big rock that I need to go over again as well... maybe in a month and a half or so :)

[MJR]

Originally posted by GSequoia
Actually from the look of it (the old figer the fluid test!) it's oil, not quite as bad as it looks, never cleaned it off after I fixed my valve cover lead, but I'm pretty sure that my rear main is leaking, been to lazy to throw the dye in the engine to trace it out...

If it is the rear main, well, that'll be the kick in the ass to drop the trans. and replace my flywheel, got a few chewed up teeth from a bad Autozone starter I put in a couple years ago (the week it was in the car was long enough to do the damage...was too busy to pull it right out).

Ahh..Jeeps...never ending project!

If it's wet then it's pretty bad. You do not have to pull the trans to do a rear main on a 4.0L, just the oil pan and rear bearing cap. It is a two piece seal.

[Xtreme XJ]

Originally posted by Kejtar
LOL so when will I see those pics? I keep hearing about being stuck on a rock.. but so far I haven't seen any proof LOL

It's been fun on the trail with you guys :) I say next time it should be in Curt's corner of the world and we will let him get lost :)

Btw... I liked the boom boom boom ding ding.... in boom.mov

Kejtar

I'm will'n if'n you all are will'n...
The only problem is no more weekends off till the fall which will work out temperature wise.... anyone ever hear of Hotel California no not he song.... the little rock house in the desert. Everyone cool with alittle "desert pinstriping?
We can talk about it in the fall.
Remi now after all the ribbing I've given you do you think I'll take you somewhere I'm not familiar with..LOL ! Ain't no way I'm gonna leave myself open like that........

Curt (aka Xtreme XJ)

[Kejtar]

Curt... all I can say is that I am hoping :) :)

Remi aka Kejtar aka WWR (world wide Remi :D )

[GSequoia]

Good turn on that Remi!

I'm sure you'll find something...just get that smart ass portion of your brain excersized!

[Xtreme XJ]

Dude
In pict. #39 & #40 is that your fuel & brake lines ? I might be time for a trip to the carwash with afew cans of Gunk & many quarters. I know someday mine too will be leak'n.
Nice crossmember....
See Ya !
Curt (aka Xtreme XJ)

[GSequoia]

Yup, those lines they are...

..One of these days I'm gonna do that...probably take my ramps there to make it easier! Either that or borrow a pressure washer from somebody and do it in my driveway...I'd rather not do it with a hot enigne.

And what do you mean, a few cans of Gunk? Dude, I need CASES!

[MJR]

Simple Green is better and biodegradeable.

[Bent]

I agree, Simple green. It's cheaper and you can let it soak in a while without it evaporating off so fast.

[GSequoia]

Only on problem.

I think I'm scared to see what's under that grime!

[Kejtar]

it's simple..... it's green under that grime :)

[mikeyl]

hey sequoia. just let them know you keep the undercarrige lubed so it slides better on the rocks! look what happened with kej's "dry" underbody! stuck!

[GSequoia]

Exactly...it's custom, was a real pain in the ass to design the system.

[GSequoia]

MikeyL's pictures have landed! Go here:

http://home.earthlink.net/~cwpc1/MikeyL/