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BIG BEAR BASH

by Bob Friedman

EDITOR'S NOTE: In contrast to his conservative Mechanical Engineering (UC Berkley) and MBA Finance (JFK University) training, in less than a year, Bob has jumped into 4-wheeling with both feet. He claims the Coyote got him hooked at a Discovering 4WD seminar through Saddleback College. Then, starting with one day trips, and gradually moving into the black diamonds, Bob and his son Robert are packed and ready to go at the hint "4WD Required!"

There are two things in my life that are self evident: one is knowing that my free time is something I have control over and the second is how I like to spend my time - wheel'n. This year's Big Bear Bash was two days of 4-wheeling fun.

When I looked over all the rigs lined up in front of the Gold Pan Restaurant in Fawnskin, I realized that we had some serious 4-wheelers present. Phil and Cathy in a mean red Grand Cherokee with lockers front and rear, 33" tires. SMOKEE7 is a veteran presence that impresses anyone who understands the essence of wheel'n. Paul Bredehoft was there in his ominous black Explorer. Paul was kind enough to leave the Ford logo on the truck, but this is no ordinary Explorer. It has been redesigned from the wheels up. Bill and Lennie were waiting with their muscular maroon Ranger. Chuck Thompson came with his 4Runner. Don Wintz arrived with the famous red Trooper (Red Baron) with a Chevy V6. Need I say more? Ray and Debbie Hutchinson came with their Explorer. Ray was trying his rear locker for the first time and was eager for a challenge. My 14-year-old son, Robert, and I made it just in time in our green Cherokee, which had been recently blessed with a rear locker, 31s and a five inch suspension lift from the Off Road General Store (ORGS).

As usual, leader Don Carter (Big Red) was ready to go, but we were missing Don Gilgan from the ORGS. Where was he and why was he late? Don Gilgan said that he wasn't able to bring his Jeep, so he was borrowing Red's old truck. Some of you may have been around long enough to remember the "red Toyota." Well, it is still alive and as you will soon find Out, took Don (from the ORGS) for the ride of his life.

After a short wait for ORGS Don, we were off. We started our journey near Baldwin Lake on Forest Service trail 3N69, the Gold Mountain Trail. It seemed innocent enough until we started our climb over Gold Mountain. There were several rock piles that posed ground clearance challenges, but if you picked the correct line, you could get through most of the bad spots without much trouble. Chuck in the white Wrangler seemed to have a good eye and made it through with his smaller-diameter tires. Eric and Betty, in their CJ, seemed to have a keen line- sense as well.

During the first part of the morning, I noticed that Peter, in his full-size Bronco, had made it through without any trouble. His Bronco was definitely a powerful addition to our group. The morning also took us through some rough terrain on the first half of the John Bull Trail. Red kept us off the second half of the trail because it would have been twice as rough and we would not have made it to camp by nightfall. I was happily challenged by several piles of rocks on the way to our lunch stop.

We made it to the Beaver Pond about 12:15PM. I remember because Red made us stop near the middle of the pond for a short lunch break. We were told that we had a long second half-day and there was no time for a leisurely lunch. I think our 15 jammed-together vehicles must have scared the beavers away.

After lunch, Red gave us a demonstration on how to get across the Beaver Pond. It was a somewhat steep, dusty and slippery climb out of this pond. Red likes to show off his dual transfer case low, low, low range gears. He simply put the truck in gear, stepped out and watched the truck climb the hill. Yes, you heard me correctly. It was like one of those remote-control cars you get at Radio Shack. Red waited at the top of the hill for his truck to arrive. Next we tried it in our trucks with our hands on the wheel. Some had more trouble than others, but we all made it.

As we continued, I could hear the old red Toyota ticking away in the background. It sounded like a sewing machine or a Timex watch. Remember the ones that "took a licking but ..."? You know the rest.

After a long afternoon with some rough going, we made it to camp in Tent Peg. The potluck was great, as usual, and yes, Chuck Thompson did bring those tasty, tangy "lemon things" he is famous for. We all went to sleep with the comfort of knowing that Don Gilgan, with his feet sticking out of the tent, would make a tasty meal for any bears in the area, and we would hopefully be spared.

After a quick breakfast, we left the next morning promptly at 8:00AM. The day started out with a run through Dish Pan Springs. Well, Don in the rental red Toyota must have had a bad night or he wasn't paying attention because he managed to parallel park the truck between two rocks. Red was amazed; the old red Toyota had never been stuck like that before. It took the Bronco pulling from behind, some rock moving and quite a bit of coaxing to get the sewing machine out. All the while it kept on ticking. As the Toyota came down off the rock and damaged the rear bumper, we asked Don if he purchased the $7.00 a day full coverage.

Next came a rocky run up a big hill where Warren, no matter how hard he tried, could not get his blue Toyota pickup up the hill. He finally gave up in a precarious state. He was almost ready to roll down the hill. Red hooked the winch from the sewing machine, I mean Toyota, to Warren's truck and started to pull him up the hill. The old winch gave out about half way up. It was time to bring out the Bronco. The Bronco had a new style winch that ran off the power steering pump. It was very impressive. Without making a sound, it slooowly brought the Toyota up the hill. This winch was powerful, quiet and Peter said it cost under $600.

Well, Warren made it up the hill only to find his next challenge, a massive rock pile. I asked Red how we were going to get through this. He said, "Go until you hear a loud bang, then back up a little and try it again." Thanks Red! We all made it in spite of Red, with Chuck Thompson's expert, and sometimes colorful spotting.

The last part of the day was a "roller coaster ride," as Red joyfully exclaimed, to Silverwood Lake. There were dips and ruts and rocks and dusty slides up and down hills until we reached an amazing dropoff. More like a "slide-down-and- pray-you-don't-roll" dropoff.

Well, to say the least, it looked worse than it was and the view from the top of this hill to the lake was wonderful. When we got to the bottom, Red asked if anyone wanted to try to go up the hill. I remember Truckhaven, before I got my locker, and I said in the spirit of things that I would give it a try. Paul in his black Explorer was coaxed into making the first climb. He turned on both lockers and with a steady, powerful stride, made the climb look easy.

We were next in the Green Hornet (that's what we call our Cherokee). In a cloud of dust, we started up the hill and steadily made our way up and over the top. As we reached the top, I could hear Red on the radio "Friedman, did you make it? We can't see a thing down here in this cloud of dust."

The Bronco made the climb look even easier than the Explorer. The maroon Ranger tried three times and almost made it. Ray in his Explorer tried and couldn't make it. Debbie, Ray's better (and sometimes smarter) half; got out of the truck just in case Ray encountered problems. He almost rolled on his way backing down. "Keep your arms in the truck, Ray." Maybe Debbie knew something Ray didn't. He made it down safely on his last try.

The last challenge was a V-notch crevice on the next hill. A lovely little crevice that gobbled up Tom's new Black Wrangler. The maroon Ranger had to pull him out. We fell into it also, but backed ourselves out. Finally it was down the hill to Silverwood Lake and the end of this story. It was a great 4-wheeling weekend and a great, safe, responsible experience for all who came.

© Harry Lewellyn

Ecological 4-Wheeling Adventures
P.O. Box 12137
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
voice: (949) 645-7733
fax: (949) 645-7738
email: info@eco4wd.com

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