Big Bear - August 13-15, 2010

[Seanz0rz]

Here is the trip report for Big Bear, August 13-15, 2010.

after loading up the truck and trailer, we headed up Hwy 330, turned onto Hwy 18, and then on to green valley road. Crossing the water on 3N16 on our way to the camp was a nice bit of fun. too bad it wasnt a bit deeper!

we arrived about 1 in the afternoon and setup camp in the worst campsite i have ever seen. the stall was the wrong way round, so i had to go in the wrong direction to back the trailer in. The entire campsite was about 15* from horizontal. And oddly shaped.
http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae38/hamiltonfabrication/Big%20Bear%20August%202010/IMG_0182.jpg
http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae38/hamiltonfabrication/Big%20Bear%20August%202010/IMG_2689.jpg
http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae38/hamiltonfabrication/Big%20Bear%20August%202010/IMG_2691.jpg
http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae38/hamiltonfabrication/Big%20Bear%20August%202010/IMG_2692.jpg

Started out on saturday a bit late. Kevin and Bill had repairs to perform from the previous night. a broken CV on Bill's 3rd gen and a maladjusted alignment cam on Kevin's 2nd. We hit the eastern edge of Dishpan Springs at about 10 am.
http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae38/hamiltonfabrication/Big%20Bear%20August%202010/IMG_2695.jpg

After some time on the trail, we arrived at the waterfall. this is by far the most difficult section of the trail, which really isnt all that difficult. a few years ago i tagged my door and nearly rolled it due to some horrendous spotting. this time, there was an easier path, and i had good spotters and a little more knowledge of the trail and my vehicle. i got through it no problem:
http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae38/hamiltonfabrication/Big%20Bear%20August%202010/IMG_0188.jpg
http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae38/hamiltonfabrication/Big%20Bear%20August%202010/IMG_0190.jpg
http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae38/hamiltonfabrication/Big%20Bear%20August%202010/IMG_0200.jpg


here is mikey making it look easy (click to play:
http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae38/hamiltonfabrication/Big%20Bear%20August%202010/th_MVI_2701.jpg (http://s955.photobucket.com/albums/ae38/hamiltonfabrication/Big%20Bear%20August%202010/?action=view&current=MVI_2701.mp4)

and marc's second try after getting it into 4wd (click to play):
http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae38/hamiltonfabrication/Big%20Bear%20August%202010/th_MVI_2702.jpg (http://s955.photobucket.com/albums/ae38/hamiltonfabrication/Big%20Bear%20August%202010/?action=view&current=MVI_2702.mp4)

thats about all the pictures i got of the trail.

While everyone else enjoyed deep creek and then returned to camp on dishpan springs, we returned to the campsite via Hwy 18 to play doctor on dad's leg, ate lunch, and went exploring some of the near by dirt roads. the forest is in pretty rough shape after the fires.

Mikey, we had a brief convo on the CB about Holcomb creek. i didnt get to add much because i was trying to not hit rocks. the trail is closed because of approx. 1200 "danger" trees. trees that are dead and in danger of falling on the trail, blocking it, hurting vehicles or people. expected opening date is may of 2011, but who knows. this is all from a ranger at the disco center.

CARNAGE REPORT:

The only real carnage for us was sustained by my father:
http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae38/hamiltonfabrication/Big%20Bear%20August%202010/IMG_2704.jpg

the worrying part is he is diabetic and healing takes longer than normal. he is in a bit of pain but otherwise fine. i think a trip to the doc is a possibility tomorrow, just to be on the safe side.

otherwise, lots of scraped sliders, bumpers, skid plates. i even nailed my panhard bar!

it was a great trip! awesome to see some old friends like Mikey and Marc, and nice to meet some new ones like Bill. and thanks to Chris, Kevin, Patric, Lance and Troy for coming out! Troy, i DID scratch my rear bumper. ill get a picture of it for you later!!!

thanks again guys, it was a great trip!

[DHC6twinotter]

Great pictures Sean! Wish I was there!

[toyNG]

can't wait to see the rest of the pics from everyone else! looks like a great time!

it's too bad your dad got scraped up, but it doesn't look too bad. I don't know if a trip to the doctor is really necessary. I'm assuming you guys cleaned it up already, so there's not much the doctor can do. You're right that he'll take longer to heal since he has diabetes, so make sure to be really diligent about keeping the wound clean. Vitamin C will help speed up the healing process.
Definitely go to the doctor for the following: fever, pus at the wound site, discoloration of the foot, loss of sensation, trouble walking, or significant swelling. Those are just my two cents. But a visit to the doc never hurts, especially if he has to go anyways for diabetes management.

[Seanz0rz]

can't wait to see the rest of the pics from everyone else! looks like a great time!

it's too bad your dad got scraped up, but it doesn't look too bad. I don't know if a trip to the doctor is really necessary. I'm assuming you guys cleaned it up already, so there's not much the doctor can do. You're right that he'll take longer to heal since he has diabetes, so make sure to be really diligent about keeping the wound clean. Vitamin C will help speed up the healing process.
Definitely go to the doctor for the following: fever, pus at the wound site, discoloration of the foot, loss of sensation, trouble walking, or significant swelling. Those are just my two cents. But a visit to the doc never hurts, especially if he has to go anyways for diabetes management.


yeah, $5 copay (thank god for health insurance) isnt too bad just to be sure. we washed it with warm water to remove debris, put hydrogen peroxide on it, rinsed it, dried it, triple antibiotic on it, then a bandage. did the same when we came home today. it looks better, but there is really no skin left on most of it.

we actually had a pretty big turnout, more than i thought we were going to have after some people had to bail last minute. potluck was of course great! thanks to those who pitched in!

[troyboy162]

great time meeting some new people! and finaly im on the trail with Sean after 2 years! dishpan is a fun one with some cool lines for locked vehicles and enjoyable lines for stock.

one thing is for sure...i will never drive past deep creek without going swiming again. haha i'll just plan a solid hour or more of playing in the water from now on

[Marc P]

Had a blast in BB...it was cool meeting some peeps I have seen on the boards for a long time, but never met.

I think until Holcomb Creek opens again, Dishpan is my favorite trail....you cant go wrong with challenging obstacles and a swim after.

I think we need to plan another run soon.

[Good Times]

as always I had a blast! the pool rocked! I think we need to do this again and bring camp chairs and even a portable grill so we can have a LONGER lunch :D

great seeing all of the old faces and new ones too! cya next time!

[troyboy162]

yeah i agree. might as well leave early and spend 3-4 hours down there at the creek.

[NakSuKow]

Had a great time. Nice meeting you guys after all these years. Thanks to Mikey and Chris for giving me a hand with the CV. Can't wait for next time.

[wifesaysimadumbass]

Im home Im tired and there is beer in my cooler good night i wil report back here in the morning

[some_odd_girl]

*yawn* We're home, it was a decent trip back with not too much traffic... we're gonna eat some food and maybe watch a movie then crash... I got some ok pics, I'll post them in the next few days. :) It was nice meeting you all!

[strykersd]

I too had a great time! Sadly I didn't bring my Camera since I couldn't secure it in my 4runner with my half doors and I didn't feel like carrying it on my all weekend.

I met up with Bill (NakSuKow) Friday morning and we ran Gold Mountain and White Mountain without a hitch before heading over to Crab Flats to set up camp. Gold Mountain was good as usual, but this was my first time running White Mountain, which ended up to be a dissapointment in my eyes. Back at camp we just unloaded all of our gear and watched the file into camp as the afternoon went on. At around 6:30 I believe, Bill, Kevin (Crinale) and myself were feeling antsy, so we decided to do a quick Dishpan Springs run before nightfall. While leading the group down to Dishpan I realized that the order of our group was my white first gen 4runner, Kevin's white second gen 4runner and Bill's white third gen 4runner, which I thought was pretty cool. We fist ran it from east to west, down the waterfall, then proceeded to retrace our steps back to camp. Going up the waterfall we encountered our first problem. Bill snapped a CV. Luckily with a few tugs he was able to limp it back to camp without having to pull the CV out on the trail in the dark. A few minutes later, Kevin slammed his 4runner into a ditch, breaking the bead on one of his tires and throwing off his alignment. He also thought there was frame damage, but we never concluded that. We just installed his spare tire and limped back to camp.

Saturday, after Bill and Kevin fixed their rigs, we hit Dishpan springs with 9 vehicles (8 4runners and Chris's awesome Jeep Scrambler). Getting down was fun, but relatively uneventful. Chris and Marc had some issues getting into 4WD but were able to get it to work, Mikey tagged his door on the waterfall and Troy took the crazy line down the waterfall. We hung out at Deep Creek for a while before Sean, Chris and I went back to camp via roads and the other 6 guys ran Dishpan back up to camp. Sean had to tend to his dad, Chris's 4WD still wasn't engaging and I had to take my friends into town to buy some supplies. After talking to everyone when they got back it sounds like the only hitch on getting back up dishpan was that Kevin snapped a CV going up the waterfall. We then spent the rest of the day just hanging out around camp until half of us headed home Saturday night. Driving the 4runner home at night with the half doors sucked! It wasn't bad from 8PM-10PM, but after we got some food and got back on the road at 11PM it was freezing! I definitely need to make some windows for them!

It was nice meeting everyone and thanks for not killing my friend's annoying dog! Marc is right, we definitely need to plan another run again soon!

[toyNG]

so how do you get to the creek? sounds like I might want to try my fishing rod there

[Marc P]

Where are the rest of the pics/vids??

[wifesaysimadumbass]

im lazy i'll post em later

[Good Times]

lazy? take a day off from swimming in the morning and upload em! :P

[DEATHRUNNER]

Damn! No one said there was gonna be swimming. Now I regret going. That looks like a lot of fun.

How did the leg get scraped?

[randver]

man i so wish my leg was better and could have made it.
cant wait to see the rest of the pics and get back on the trail with you guys.

[Seanz0rz]

seth, dad was coming down a hill and got up too much speed and just kinda glanced his leg off of a rock. no real bruise from impact, but a nasty scrape. a trip to the doc netted him a tetanus shot and some praise for doing what we did back at camp: cleaning it very well and bandaging it up. he's a bit sore but otherwise fine.

yeah you guys missed a fun trip!

[troyboy162]

he kinda hit hard. i saw it and thought it was gonna hurt him more then it did. glad hes good. tetanus shot? is that something we all should get due to our exposer with Mikey? :P

[some_odd_girl]

So I'm working on editing pics, I'll post some soon... I've got a cold that started building during the trip, ugh. But anyways, I had a fun time up at Big Bear with you all. I'll probably have pics up later today.

[troyboy162]

that much better then the mono last time i met you. me and kimi were afraid to breath lol.

[Seanz0rz]

he kinda hit hard. i saw it and thought it was gonna hurt him more then it did. glad hes good. tetanus shot? is that something we all should get due to our exposer with Mikey? :P


yeah, he says he didnt but i know he did. we had a bit of an argument over his choice of foot wear, and while he swears up and down it had nothing to do with it, i think it probably did. the work boots are great, except when you hit the decomposed granite sand. then they turn into crude ice skates.

[troyboy162]

everyone should be wearing combat boots like me right? hahah

[wifesaysimadumbass]

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd81/wifesaysimadumbass/P8130162.jpg?t=1282105630
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd81/wifesaysimadumbass/P8130163.jpg?t=1282105630
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd81/wifesaysimadumbass/P8140165.jpg?t=1282105630
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd81/wifesaysimadumbass/P8140172.jpg?t=1282105630
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd81/wifesaysimadumbass/P8140171.jpg?t=1282105630

[Crinale]

I had a great time up there, seeing a couple familiar faces (Troy, Lance, and Sean) and meeting a bunch of you that i only knew on the forum; I love being able to put faces and names to posts.

Carnage Report:
- There IS frame damage... the rear mount for the passenger side LCA is folded in about half inch... as well as the channel for the Camber adjuster nut almost completely tore off...
- Snapped passenger side CV Axle, already have a new one to go in.
- Bent rim and popped bead - hammered the rim back at camp, and got the tire rebeaded yesterday at a local tire shop
- various scrapes and dents... Rock rash on all rims.. I made good use of my week old sliders: good size dent in the passenger side, a scrape down the length of the driver side from pivoting on a rock, etc. And a few new dents in my rear tinfoil bumper...
- Exhaust pipe bent about 4" towards the left rear tire

All around a good time, and we'll see tomorrow how bad the frame is.. My fab guy is gonna get a bottle jack in there and try to straighten it out, and he'll throw some weld bead in to strengthen all the camber adjusters. then i have the frame brace from SDORI on order to strengthen everything up to where it should have been before this trip.. >.< oh well, live and learn

Can't wait to wheel with you all again!

[wifesaysimadumbass]

Yessir thanks again for the lasagna! so nice to meet you and your ladie. I have some carnage but I already knew about it before leaving oil seal. I lost about half a quart while running the trail. I have to tear down the front of the motor anyways I need to replace the timing chain and while im at it I will throw a cam in.. It will be just an rv grind cam so it won't be extreme.

[some_odd_girl]

Alright, here are a few pics finally... and a link to the photobucket album, incase I get around to adding more...


A view from Dishpan on the first evening, when I went with Kevin, Patrick, and Bill on a "we&#39;re anxious to get out there!" run. :D
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/tiedyedolphin/big%20bear%202010/6f47241c.jpg

Patrick navigating a small obstacle:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/tiedyedolphin/big%20bear%202010/4ee402d5.jpg

Kevin going down part of the &#39;waterfall&#39;:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/tiedyedolphin/big%20bear%202010/e9a074c3.jpg

Bill, taking the harder line:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/tiedyedolphin/big%20bear%202010/0d70711f.jpg

Kiara (that&#39;s the 4Runner&#39;s name) getting a little flexy:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/tiedyedolphin/big%20bear%202010/1e3a0db7.jpg

Caution: Night runs may be hazardous to your vehicles health:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/tiedyedolphin/big%20bear%202010/39ab8c73.jpg

The line up on Saturday for the &#39;Waterfall&#39;:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/tiedyedolphin/big%20bear%202010/219ab983.jpg

And that&#39;s all for now. More later probably. I&#39;ve got a lot to do this week tho, packing to go back to school. Oh joy! Here&#39;s a link to photobucket: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v353/tiedyedolphin/big%20bear%202010/

-Bekah

[Seanz0rz]

kevin, i think you might need to put some steering stops in, those steering angles look mighty big!

[Crinale]

eh, its not as big as it looks Sean, that angle just makes them look a lot sharper...

Well, got her all fixed up today. Frame is back straight and alignment is at least back to having the wheels straight (steering wheel is about 70 degrees counter clockwise atm..) And the SDORI brace is in the hands of the USPS.

Next mod: replace all steering components... F- Ball Joints :-P

[wifesaysimadumbass]

well I discovered another casulty today I have a cracked fuel tank! looks like i have to source a new one!

[some_odd_girl]

Oh that sucks...

[Crinale]

how'd u manage that one mikey?

u know what though? sounds like the perfect reason to relocate it behind the axle using the e250 22gal tank :thumbup:

[wifesaysimadumbass]

i had a bolt on my spring that kept hiiting the tank but it looked like it had "self clearenced" the tank. i have had that spring on that side of the truck settle about an inch lower than the other side so it looks like the bolt on the spring just nailed the seam and split it. It's just a slight drip but still not good gotta get on fixing it right away! I would love to relocate my tank and use an f250 tank but I would have to redo my rear bumper because it is mounted on the crossmember. Im just going to get a junkyard tank and call it good for now. DAMM I KNEW I SHOULDN'T HAVE TOPPED IT OFF BEFORE OUR RUN!!!!!!

[Crinale]

haha... they have drain plugs though don't they? otherwise, dropping a full tank is a B!7(H..

[wifesaysimadumbass]

no drain just gonna disconnect a line and hot wire the pump to run.. then run a hose to a few jerry cans or into the wifeys car

[Crinale]

unless u have another wheeling trip planned soon, into the wifey's car sounds economical :-P just save urself at least one jerry can so you can test out the system

[strykersd]

I went the whole weekend without breaking anything only to break my CB antenna while pulling into my garage haha

[Seanz0rz]

I went the whole weekend without breaking anything only to break my CB antenna while pulling into my garage haha

that sucks!

yeah today i found some pretty severe cracks in my tire carrier. im sure its taken 6 months to make them, and its my own fault for using thin plate, but sucks none the less. pics soon.

[Marc P]

I didnt break anything, but I took the easy line when I should have gone on the hard line.

[wifesaysimadumbass]

story of your life Marc!!!!

[troyboy162]

bah as long as its fun Marc. i like to explore fire roads when im not out taking the IFS lines with Mike :P

[Crinale]

i was planning to take the hard line up the waterfall if i hadnt broken my cv when i did >.< oh well...

[strykersd]

While looking through my phone today I found a picture I forgot I had. It's just a pic I snapped while on the Friday Night run on Dishpan Springs. It's Kevin's 4runner on the left and Bill's 4runner on the right.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/jpeg_reencoded.jpg