mikeyl
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- yorba linda ca
had a great time on the trip. was nice to see a few familiar faces and put a few faces to the names. looking forward to the next trip.
-
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calico trip! had a great time
- Thread starter mikeyl
- Start date
- Location
- Westminster, SoCal
Yup, I concur, and even though I did not look good from the begginning (at least for me) this event turned out great and was a blast.
As I was driving to camp on Friday, I started hearing a grinding type noise (not squeel) when I braked really hard. On top of everything, I realized that my CB does not want to power up. In any case a stop at a gas station has confirmed what I was afraid of..... brake pads are gone
(I did check them less then a month ago when I had my tires rotated!!). Quick stop at pep boys and about an hour later at Calico I was tearing into the brake pads to great amusement of fellow xj'ers (gee thanks guys). Anyways, about an hour or so later (had to make couple breaks for beer) and with some help from Fullsize and Rabbit I was done.
Anyways, just before the real fun started the next day I remembered that I need to get my CB up and running. I changed one fuse, but that didn't do it, so then I started to trace the electrical. Even though that didn't yield any definate findings, I must have moved something that started to make contact again and it's up and running again
OK, now that the "emergency maintenance" was out of the way, went to the line up area and after a short briefing off we went. The group has split into the Doran and Odessa group. The Doran group I think had 14 rigs (Goatman leading), while the Odessa group had closer to 20 (Sequoia leading).
The Doran group had a lot of fun. The first obstacle has claimed a lot of paint on the side of a Critter's TJ along with one of the plastic pieces that hold the hood down (it snaped as the front twisted when hit the side rock). It has also claimed the bead (or rather popped the bead) on Rabbit's rig.
Later on almost everyone had some sort of an adventure. A more interesting one was Lion popping the tire carrier swing out of it's bracket and then dragging it behind till it was removed.
Towards the end of Odessa we came across another optional obstacle that has claimed a brake line on Dan's rig, punctured a sidewall on Dave's rig and finally claimed a d60 shaft on Richard's (FullsizeXJ) rig: luckily he was able to limp all the way back to camp in 3wd. At the top we have met up with the Odessa group and after some mine exploring split up into 3 groups: Goatman and his group kind of pointed at the top of the next mountain and said: we're going that way (looked like some crazy goat trail to me). The Odessa group went towards Mule canyon, and the remainder of the Doran group originally planned to go down Odessa, but Critter (new trail leader) went wrong way and we went back down Doran which was pretty fun.
Everyone got back safely to camp, although the group that went up the goat trail (led by Goatman) did encounter some problems (I remember hearing something about a ripped shock on Norm's rig) and came late (we already had the fire going by then). During potluck we had the 50/50 drawing going on and Wacky Wabbit won it (I guess he had a rabbit's foot for luck). As night was getting colder (the nights were somewhat chilly there) people slowly went back to their cabins/tents/rv's, but the last group left at almost 1am (we had a lot of firewood that we had to "test" for it's heating generation performance).
The next morning one group all lined up again at different times: One group went up to do pumpkin eater, another went of to some canyon and ended up on Mojave road, while the group I was in, ran Odessa (led by Norm and Pat) and then after couple wrong turns ended up at a great viewpoint and couple wrong turns later ended up at Fort Irwin road (btw, a U-turn does not cancel out a wrong turn: it counts double as two 90 degree turns are required to complete a u-turn).
I have picked up another dent on my rear quarter panel (I think it is time for that quarter panel to just go AWAY) and I crunched up my front an rear bumpers (sounds like I got some projects before summer shows up).
In any case, it was great meeting all the old friends and as Mike pointed out, putting some new faces to old names from the net. So next year same time same place??
As I was driving to camp on Friday, I started hearing a grinding type noise (not squeel) when I braked really hard. On top of everything, I realized that my CB does not want to power up. In any case a stop at a gas station has confirmed what I was afraid of..... brake pads are gone
(I did check them less then a month ago when I had my tires rotated!!). Quick stop at pep boys and about an hour later at Calico I was tearing into the brake pads to great amusement of fellow xj'ers (gee thanks guys). Anyways, about an hour or so later (had to make couple breaks for beer) and with some help from Fullsize and Rabbit I was done.Anyways, just before the real fun started the next day I remembered that I need to get my CB up and running. I changed one fuse, but that didn't do it, so then I started to trace the electrical. Even though that didn't yield any definate findings, I must have moved something that started to make contact again and it's up and running again
OK, now that the "emergency maintenance" was out of the way, went to the line up area and after a short briefing off we went. The group has split into the Doran and Odessa group. The Doran group I think had 14 rigs (Goatman leading), while the Odessa group had closer to 20 (Sequoia leading).
The Doran group had a lot of fun. The first obstacle has claimed a lot of paint on the side of a Critter's TJ along with one of the plastic pieces that hold the hood down (it snaped as the front twisted when hit the side rock). It has also claimed the bead (or rather popped the bead) on Rabbit's rig.
Later on almost everyone had some sort of an adventure. A more interesting one was Lion popping the tire carrier swing out of it's bracket and then dragging it behind till it was removed.
Towards the end of Odessa we came across another optional obstacle that has claimed a brake line on Dan's rig, punctured a sidewall on Dave's rig and finally claimed a d60 shaft on Richard's (FullsizeXJ) rig: luckily he was able to limp all the way back to camp in 3wd. At the top we have met up with the Odessa group and after some mine exploring split up into 3 groups: Goatman and his group kind of pointed at the top of the next mountain and said: we're going that way (looked like some crazy goat trail to me). The Odessa group went towards Mule canyon, and the remainder of the Doran group originally planned to go down Odessa, but Critter (new trail leader) went wrong way and we went back down Doran which was pretty fun.
Everyone got back safely to camp, although the group that went up the goat trail (led by Goatman
) did encounter some problems (I remember hearing something about a ripped shock on Norm's rig) and came late (we already had the fire going by then). During potluck we had the 50/50 drawing going on and Wacky Wabbit won it (I guess he had a rabbit's foot for luck). As night was getting colder (the nights were somewhat chilly there) people slowly went back to their cabins/tents/rv's, but the last group left at almost 1am (we had a lot of firewood that we had to "test" for it's heating generation performance).The next morning one group all lined up again at different times: One group went up to do pumpkin eater, another went of to some canyon and ended up on Mojave road, while the group I was in, ran Odessa (led by Norm and Pat) and then after couple wrong turns ended up at a great viewpoint and couple wrong turns later ended up at Fort Irwin road (btw, a U-turn does not cancel out a wrong turn: it counts double as two 90 degree turns are required to complete a u-turn).
I have picked up another dent on my rear quarter panel (I think it is time for that quarter panel to just go AWAY) and I crunched up my front an rear bumpers (sounds like I got some projects before summer shows up
).In any case, it was great meeting all the old friends and as Mike pointed out, putting some new faces to old names from the net. So next year same time same place??
mikeyl
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- yorba linda ca
being trail ready
a quick note about our odessa trip. as a group we probly need to do a better check on trail readiness of the rigs. on one of the narrower sections we had a rig get stuck well enuf to need a strap. it came to our attnetion that several things were amiss. the first being that there were no attachment points on the rig. no front hooks or back hooks. we always stress this on paper as a prerequisite and i know we would have a difficult time turning away a rider but i think this is for the safety of all on the ride. we needed to strap the front axel to get the vehicle out of the way. also i think that the ride may have had front disco's but they were still attched. i may be wrong on this but there was work done to discconect the sway bar after the rig was stuck. as well as the removal of air from the tires. we also need to stress the importance of paying attention to the spotter. mike and charlse were busy placing rocks and trying to line up the exit and others were doing the same in back and there was some movement by the driver. please be safe to those in the blind spots. maybe a yell of "all clear' before starting up again. just wanted to thank mike r and charlse s for their great work and trust them both with the welfare of my rig when they are dirrecting. if anything gets banged up when they are spotting you can bet it was driver error/inexperience with spotters or at the very least something that was just plain unavoidable. and crazy sequoia, doing the trail with slicks! was a great trip and i don't know if i expressed my thanks to the
family for a great time
a quick note about our odessa trip. as a group we probly need to do a better check on trail readiness of the rigs. on one of the narrower sections we had a rig get stuck well enuf to need a strap. it came to our attnetion that several things were amiss. the first being that there were no attachment points on the rig. no front hooks or back hooks. we always stress this on paper as a prerequisite and i know we would have a difficult time turning away a rider but i think this is for the safety of all on the ride. we needed to strap the front axel to get the vehicle out of the way. also i think that the ride may have had front disco's but they were still attched. i may be wrong on this but there was work done to discconect the sway bar after the rig was stuck. as well as the removal of air from the tires. we also need to stress the importance of paying attention to the spotter. mike and charlse were busy placing rocks and trying to line up the exit and others were doing the same in back and there was some movement by the driver. please be safe to those in the blind spots. maybe a yell of "all clear' before starting up again. just wanted to thank mike r and charlse s for their great work and trust them both with the welfare of my rig when they are dirrecting. if anything gets banged up when they are spotting you can bet it was driver error/inexperience with spotters or at the very least something that was just plain unavoidable. and crazy sequoia, doing the trail with slicks! was a great trip and i don't know if i expressed my thanks to the
family for a great time
- Location
- So.Cal. Low Desert
Fun stuff indeed....
Myself, the wife & kids had a great time on Odessa... my hat is off to Marisha shes quite the XJ pilot.... Who was it that was roof rack surfing on the wedged XJ (driving one of the many white XJs) boy that high lift was holding alot of weight. Thanks to Rollins (I believe) for the spoting. I'm glad Sequoia didn't turn around early in the day. Man ! were we not a bunch of Wrong Way Remis up on the mountain top?
As stated it was good to put faces to the forum folks & good to see old friends.
See Ya !!
Curt (aka Xtreme XJ)
Myself, the wife & kids had a great time on Odessa... my hat is off to Marisha shes quite the XJ pilot.... Who was it that was roof rack surfing on the wedged XJ (driving one of the many white XJs) boy that high lift was holding alot of weight. Thanks to Rollins (I believe) for the spoting. I'm glad Sequoia didn't turn around early in the day. Man ! were we not a bunch of Wrong Way Remis up on the mountain top?
As stated it was good to put faces to the forum folks & good to see old friends.
See Ya !!
Curt (aka Xtreme XJ)
mikedashg
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- San Diego, CA
Xtreme XJ said:
We had a great time both days!! I'm always impressed with Marisha's stocker driving skills. She always goes through stuff I'm glad I'm lifted and locked for, hehe.
I've got about 100 pictures yet to size down and upload, but I did this one real quick as long as we are talking about wrong way Remi, we stopped before the Odessa run on Sunday for a humorous picture I thought of...
- Location
- Westminster, SoCal
mikedashg said:I've got about 100 pictures yet to size down and upload, but I did this one real quick as long as we are talking about wrong way Remi, we stopped before the Odessa run on Sunday for a humorous picture I thought of...
Who is that guy?? I don't know him!!
- Location
- Torrance, CA
Long post...
All in all I had a great time there and can't wait for next time we all get together and abuse our XJ's.
I showed up to the campgrounds on Friday afternoon with a nice new cold (damn luck!). Once I got there I took off with Richard Gauthier (Goatman) for a pre-run up Odessa (we made it up there and down mule in an hour flat!), then I came back and farted around, went on the Calico ghost walk (which was interesting), and went to sleep.
On Saturday we all lined up, got everybody to sign our waivers, and we took off to hit the dirt. Both the Odessa and Doran groups ran together up to the first bypass for Doran, there the less equipped Doran crowd split off while we all went to the first obstacle of Doran. The Odessa sat there for awhile watching the hardcore boys do what the do, then we left for Odessa.
I ended up being the tail-gunner for Odessa, rig number thirteen for that matter, and soon the number proved itself as an oman. On the first little obstacle of the trail I noticed that it was harder than it should be, didn't think too much of it and proceeded to the second little obstacle. I couldn't get up that for the life of me, Mike Lysik (mikeyl) and Curt (Xtreme XJ) got out to see if I needed a spot, I asked them if my front wheels were turning..they were not. So I stopped to look at my vacuum disconnect, Mike Rollins (MJR) and Charles Stein (CharlesS) walked back from the front of the group to help me in getting my axle engaged, we ended up bypassing my vacuum canister (big hole in it now) and go the axle to engage. After much debate Charles and Mike talked me into running the rest of the trail (I didn't want to be that rig on the trail), which I am glad of!
After that was repaired I got over that little ledge with ease, and we continued along the trail. There wasn't really much to talk about until we hit the little waterfall area in the middle of the trail (where it tries to suck you into the wall). This was the most difficult part of the run, everybody made it up there rather easily until we got to Amos (I'm not sure what his handle is), he had a little trouble getting lined up and ended up taking a little bit of body damage to the left hand D pillar, his Hi-Lift probably saved his hatch and left rear window. We ended up having one guy on his roof rack pushing him off the wall, a strap hooked to his rack with four guys pulling him off the wall, and a strap to pull him up, we all were able to get him up then. Next came a few more, then it was my turn!
I approached that section, lined myself up, and started in on it with my "slicks" (my tires are very worn!). It took me about two minutes to get up it, but I got there! Many thanks to Mike Rollins for spotting me up there, even if I don't know my left from my right.
Shortly after that the group stopped again because Corey's (coreyva) friend took out an MTR's sidewall. When I came to a stop I noticed a hiss from my FR tire, and found that I'd taken out a sidewall as well, I busted out my Safety Seal kit and made it right, shortly after that the other rig's tire was fixed and we continued.
The next spot of any significance was the off-camber climb, it's an easy climb, but it feels all wrong. You've got a steep hill with a big hole about three quarters of the way up on the left side (opening into a small gully), the part that helps to make this a little nerve racking is the wrecked husk of a car at the bottom of that gully! Curt had a little trouble getting up the hill when he got hung up on the only rock past that hole, but he corrected that quickly and we got on our way where we eventually met up with the Doran group, both groups made it to the lunch spot whiten a few minutes of each other.
After that the group split into four groups, the hardcore boys went off to follow Richard Gauthier up some impossible trail, another went to go down Odessa (although ended up going down Doran I understand), another group that was undecided as of when I left, while the group I was in went down Mule. We eventually made it down there after a few turn-offs to see some very scenic points (that's my story and I'm sticking to it!)
When we got back to camp it was time to prepare for the pot luck! The dinner was excellent, and the talk around the campfire was fun. We had our 50/50 gig, Jay (Ryurabbit) took the prize, then some of us proceeded to sit around the campfire and BS until about 12.30 - 1.
Sunday I just took it easy as that cold was still around, tended camp, checked to make sure the area we had the dinner at was cleaned up, then went back and packed my XJ up and went home, stopping by the In & Out in Barstow on the way.
Had a great time, and hope to see all of you and more next time!
Sequoia
All in all I had a great time there and can't wait for next time we all get together and abuse our XJ's.
I showed up to the campgrounds on Friday afternoon with a nice new cold (damn luck!). Once I got there I took off with Richard Gauthier (Goatman) for a pre-run up Odessa (we made it up there and down mule in an hour flat!), then I came back and farted around, went on the Calico ghost walk (which was interesting), and went to sleep.
On Saturday we all lined up, got everybody to sign our waivers, and we took off to hit the dirt. Both the Odessa and Doran groups ran together up to the first bypass for Doran, there the less equipped Doran crowd split off while we all went to the first obstacle of Doran. The Odessa sat there for awhile watching the hardcore boys do what the do, then we left for Odessa.
I ended up being the tail-gunner for Odessa, rig number thirteen for that matter, and soon the number proved itself as an oman. On the first little obstacle of the trail I noticed that it was harder than it should be, didn't think too much of it and proceeded to the second little obstacle. I couldn't get up that for the life of me, Mike Lysik (mikeyl) and Curt (Xtreme XJ) got out to see if I needed a spot, I asked them if my front wheels were turning..they were not. So I stopped to look at my vacuum disconnect, Mike Rollins (MJR) and Charles Stein (CharlesS) walked back from the front of the group to help me in getting my axle engaged, we ended up bypassing my vacuum canister (big hole in it now) and go the axle to engage. After much debate Charles and Mike talked me into running the rest of the trail (I didn't want to be that rig on the trail
), which I am glad of!After that was repaired I got over that little ledge with ease, and we continued along the trail. There wasn't really much to talk about until we hit the little waterfall area in the middle of the trail (where it tries to suck you into the wall). This was the most difficult part of the run, everybody made it up there rather easily until we got to Amos (I'm not sure what his handle is), he had a little trouble getting lined up and ended up taking a little bit of body damage to the left hand D pillar, his Hi-Lift probably saved his hatch and left rear window. We ended up having one guy on his roof rack pushing him off the wall, a strap hooked to his rack with four guys pulling him off the wall, and a strap to pull him up, we all were able to get him up then. Next came a few more, then it was my turn!
I approached that section, lined myself up, and started in on it with my "slicks" (my tires are very worn!). It took me about two minutes to get up it, but I got there! Many thanks to Mike Rollins for spotting me up there, even if I don't know my left from my right
.Shortly after that the group stopped again because Corey's (coreyva) friend took out an MTR's sidewall. When I came to a stop I noticed a hiss from my FR tire, and found that I'd taken out a sidewall as well, I busted out my Safety Seal kit and made it right, shortly after that the other rig's tire was fixed and we continued.
The next spot of any significance was the off-camber climb, it's an easy climb, but it feels all wrong. You've got a steep hill with a big hole about three quarters of the way up on the left side (opening into a small gully), the part that helps to make this a little nerve racking is the wrecked husk of a car at the bottom of that gully! Curt had a little trouble getting up the hill when he got hung up on the only rock past that hole, but he corrected that quickly and we got on our way where we eventually met up with the Doran group, both groups made it to the lunch spot whiten a few minutes of each other.
After that the group split into four groups, the hardcore boys went off to follow Richard Gauthier up some impossible trail, another went to go down Odessa (although ended up going down Doran I understand), another group that was undecided as of when I left, while the group I was in went down Mule. We eventually made it down there after a few turn-offs to see some very scenic points (that's my story and I'm sticking to it!
)When we got back to camp it was time to prepare for the pot luck! The dinner was excellent, and the talk around the campfire was fun. We had our 50/50 gig, Jay (Ryurabbit) took the prize, then some of us proceeded to sit around the campfire and BS until about 12.30 - 1.
Sunday I just took it easy as that cold was still around, tended camp, checked to make sure the area we had the dinner at was cleaned up, then went back and packed my XJ up and went home, stopping by the In & Out in Barstow on the way.
Had a great time, and hope to see all of you and more next time!
Sequoia
- Location
- REDLANDS, CA. (SoCal)
Hey Remi, There looks to be a new avitar for ya. Be sure to thank Mike!
- Location
- Westminster, SoCal
T Bent said:Hey Remi, There looks to be a new avitar for ya. Be sure to thank Mike!
Hold on there Bubba...... now how many times did you guys got turned around in Odessa and Mule? When I was on Doran towards the end I kept hearing you guys yakking about where is who and which way who went and which way is the trail and how will you all find yourself again
witt
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Riverside/San Jose--Cali
I had a Blast! got to meet a bunch a really cool guys.. see a LOT of really bitchin rigs. . . i couldnt have asked for a better run!
if you havent seen my pics yet. . . heres my pics
1st 250
http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b347a0754502
2nd 250
http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b347a1dd0532
theres like 500 total
ill get them on imagestation as well so those of you who want them can get them in good quality....
so ya if you want some pictures in good quality... just wait....
if you havent seen my pics yet. . . heres my pics
1st 250
http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b347a0754502
2nd 250
http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b347a1dd0532
theres like 500 total
ill get them on imagestation as well so those of you who want them can get them in good quality....
so ya if you want some pictures in good quality... just wait....
Last edited:
Renegade Jpr
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Corona, California
No no, no imagestation..they require you to be regestered wich sucks! Webshots.com! Oh and by the wya the links dont work....
witt
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Riverside/San Jose--Cali
webshots only lets u put 300 photos on their servers... and u have to pay for the plus package. . . $3 a month.... ill pass....
but ya my photos finished uploading
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4287806163
but ya my photos finished uploading
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4287806163
wolfheartak
NAXJA Member #715
- Location
- Eagle River, AK
mikedashg said:
Well, there's a new addition to my jeep now
I installed a no-slip in the rear prior to Calico. I LOVE IT!!-Marisha
- Location
- So.Cal. Low Desert
GSequoia said:
WHY ! me? why didn't anyone else get hung up there? I didn't even give it a
second thought... (till I got hung up & turtled abit, then I had to back up abit
towards the edge) :dunno:
Maybe its the 32s that are around 31.5" new & mine are worn...or the
single digit pressure.
Curt (aka Xtreme XJ)
- Location
- Torrance, CA
Xtreme XJ said:
I dunno man, me and my mini-slicks and little pressure didn't have trouble..
It was good to finally put some names with faces. Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it to Calico until Saturday afternoon. The potluck and campfire were great. Everyone chipped in to make a good potluck (I hope y'all enjoyed the tri-tip.) I didn't do any of the Sunday runs. I want to have some rocker protection and better tires before I head out onto some of the more technical trail, plus I've developed a battery issue in the last week where my battery is not holding a charge (it barely turned over Sunday morning). I hope to see (meet) some more of the you in future runs, the sooner the better.
mattb
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Las Vegas, NV
In all the time I've spent wandering the Mojave and the Southwest, this was the first time I've gone offroading just to offroad, and it was certainly the first time I've experienced offroading as a group sport. All in all I had a real blast running Odessa on Saturday (the green 2 door with Pete the dog spotting.) I was only really embarrsed once; during my first attempt up the last big obstacle I think I had a problem with the accelerator (I just couldn't get the peddle off the floor.)
Anyway I had a question about trail rating. Odessa was billed as easy to moderate, is this based on a specific rating system? If not could someone place this on a standard rating scale? I was running open with 31s and spent the whole time being a little concerned about what was around the next corner, since I didn't quite know what to expect.
Thanks to everyone for a great time.
Matt
Anyway I had a question about trail rating. Odessa was billed as easy to moderate, is this based on a specific rating system? If not could someone place this on a standard rating scale? I was running open with 31s and spent the whole time being a little concerned about what was around the next corner, since I didn't quite know what to expect.
Thanks to everyone for a great time.
Matt
- Location
- So.Cal. Low Desert
What a GREAT !! picture
I'd given $100. to of taken that picture.... LOL !!!!
Remi you're a good sport....
Curt (aka Xtreme XJ)
Kejtar said:
I'd given $100. to of taken that picture.... LOL !!!!
Remi you're a good sport....
Curt (aka Xtreme XJ)
- Location
- Las Vegas, NV
Welcome Matt! Did we scare you away or will you come back again?mattb said:
Not really. Each club tends to rate each trail based on the cababilities of the rigs of its members. OR sometimes the trail rating merely suggests the required equipment necessary for the vehicle to safely complete the trail. After a year of wheeling with
and the people on the SoCalXJ YahooGroup, I've gleaned that usually the ratings are based upon a moderately built rig... 3" lift, 31" tires, swaybar disconnects, rock rails, some skid plates, etc..On trails that are much more difficult, the trail leader will specify bigger tires or lockers, maybe even a winch and spare parts and the ability to make trail repairs.
Here are a couple of general trail rating systems which some other clubs may or may not use:
Trail Ratings
I'll try to rate the trails this past weekend, but keep in mind that my opinion is merely MY opinion, and that I'm not basing this rating on an SUV nor an inexperienced driver.
On the 1-10 scale, I would rate Doran a 7 and Odessa a 6. On the 1-4 scale, both trails a 3+.
It was a pleasure to meat you Matt. Hope to see you again.
:soapbox:
Last edited:
mattb
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Las Vegas, NV
Thanks for the info. I did have a good time, I'm definetly going to try and make some more events. I need a little more practice on the rocks. I only regret I wasn't around for the run through Afton canyon on Sunday, that's a little more my style.
Matt
Matt
