We had seven jeeps show for the run out through Joshua Tree National Park into Old Dale Mining District. Two of the jeeps had not done a run on roads like the ones we traveled on. We stopped at the Cottonwood Visitors center to get passes only to find out that it was Earth Day and the National parks had free passes all week. This was a pleasant surprise. We aired down and went the few miles to the Old Dale Mine road. As we exited the park on the north east side we made a left turn towards The Brooklyn Mine. We stopped at the ruins of the processing works for the ore that was taken out of the mines in the hills. The jeeps made a rainbow of color parked below. The road was level until the start of the upgrade section. This caused a few pauses as one section had a left turn after the steep uphill section. You couldn’t see which direction the road went over the top.

We then went down into the wash and stopped at the Brooklyn Mine building. It was about 98 degrees at this point. It was lunch time but no shade at this spot. We then went up another narrow shelf road with some sections of camber and washouts. I think we all held our breath as we traveled to the top. Down the other side to another mining building. This building had a roof over one side that provided enough shade for us all to sit in for lunch. We traveled up the hill from this side and back down the other side. Passing the first mine building we drove down the wash where it meet another wash coming from the west. Making a sharp right turn we traveled along another narrow shelf road, that again had sections that were starting to washout. Along the way we saw a few cacti that were blooming. Most of the flowers in the desert had already bloomed so we didn’t get to see many. We stopped and explored a couple of mines on the way out to Gold Crown Road. Somehow one of the tires on Dawns jeep had a to close encounter with a rock which caused a flat. The tire has an interesting pattern on it. No one is quite sure how the flat occurred but the girls are giving it a thumbs up. Changing a tire in 105 degree heat is not fun, but Bob and Chris did a great job. While they sere changing tires the rest of us aired everyone else’s tires up. We drove down Gold Crown Road to Highway 62 were we all head for home.

It has been a while since we took a trip to the Old Dale Mining District. So to correct that we are planning a trip for Saturday, April 21. It will be a long but fun day of wheeling. We may even throw in a couple of Geocaches for those who want to learn about geocaching. Our trip will take us out to the South Entrance of Joshua Tree National Park. You will need a National Parks pass to travel into and through the park. We will stop at the visitors center to check in and allow people to purchase a one day pass if needed. After this brief stop the trip will take us to Old Dale Mine Road. We exit the park and drive east into a interesting area where we can see some of the old mining buildings and homes. This run will be a level 2 difficulty. Traveling through the Old Dale Mining District we will exit on to Highway 62 travel west through Yucca to Highway 10 and west bound to home.

Meet at the Redlands Chrysler Jeep Dealership at 7:45 pulling out at 8:00, April 21.

Please have all required equipment. Bring chairs, sunscreen, plenty of water, snacks, and lunch.

Please RSVP to cam7332@gmail.com

We had a great turn out with a total of 20 jeeps. We meet at the dealership at 8:00 and were on the road by 8:10. 19 Jeeps traveling up Highway 38 must have been an impressive sight, except to the 10 cars behind us. Barbara and Joe were waiting for us and had already aired down. The rest of us aired down at 2N01. Loren Campbell did a great job of giving historical information about the areas we were traveling through on our trip. There was very little snow on 2N01, where two weeks ago it was covered in snow and ice. Turning on the 2N02 we traveled to the Rose Mine area. It was windy and very cold at this location so we all bundled up and watched as we took turns played around, driving up and down the steep paths on the trailing’s from the mine. We left the Rose Mine area and continued down 2N02 to the turn for Rattle Snake Canyon. We took a detour to the Koi ponds, were we had a chance to stretch our legs. It is interesting to realize and see the Koi that live here year around. After traveling a short distance down the trail we stopped for lunch near the entrance to Mottino Wash. This trail is one of the most difficult trails to navigate on the mountain. Mike and Loren decided to have a go at this trail and went a short distance up before turning around because of a time crunch.. Loren had Rachel, Irene, and Barbara as passenger’s and they had quite a thrill going over rocks as big as the jeep. I was Mike’s passenger and it was very exciting to almost tip up on the back end of the jeep before coming back down over the rock. We had two incidences of high centering the jeep and one incident of a problem with clearance on the rear sway bar. All of these resulted in only minor scratches to the underside of the jeeps. After lunch we headed out to Highway 247 where we aired up and headed for home. Read the rest of this entry

We’re planning a Jeep run next Sunday, starting in the Lucerne Valley to go down Rattlesnake Canyon, ending up with a stop in Pioneertown. Depending on the time we arrive at Pioneertown, we may come back up 3N02 back to Highway 38, or come back home via the 247 through Yucca Valley.

Rattlesnake Canyon passes through a non wilderness corridor of the Bighorn Mountain Wilderness Area, and is rated as a moderate trail, Level 3 on our rating page for a description of what you should expect.

We will leave Redlands Jeep at 8:00 AM, lining up on Redlands Boulevard in front of the dealership. If you’d like to meet us along the way, let me know and we’ll work out a place to meet you.

Bring plenty of water, lunch, warm clothes, and a full tank of gas (Circle K across from the dealership generally has the best gas price around). Please bring either a CB radio or a FRS Handheld radio if you have them. Let me know via email if you’re able to attend, or call if you have any questions.

Loren

Loren Campbell
Vice President/General Manager
Redlands Auto Plaza
500 W. Redlands Boulevard
Redlands, CA 92373
www.RedlandsAutoPlaza.com
909-793-2141 Office
909-499-3295 Cell
909-792-0389 Fax
Loren@LorenCampbell.com

Come find out what its all about. Take your Pavement Princes or Princes and turn it into a off road King or Queen. We are going on a easy run so that you can find out how to enjoy the outdoors and experience what a Jeep is all about. We will meet at the Jeep dealership in Redlands, at 8:30 am, Friday, February 24, and leave at 9:00. Bring lunch, snacks, plenty of water, chairs, warm jackets, sun screen,and cameras. Be prepared to have fun. Our trip will take us up to Big Bear via Highway 38. 2N02 to the Rose Mine area. and a little adventure up to Tip Top Mountain. If possible have the following equipment, chains if you don’t have snow/mud off road tires, jack that works with your vehicle, CB if you have one, first aid kit, if you have a FRC radio, please bring it along. Please print out the Waiver and Consent form under Waiver and Consent form tab) and bring filled out to the meeting place. Looking forward to meeting you all.

If you have questions email to cam7332@gmail.com
RSVP to cam7332@gmail.com

We have our first run of the New Year. Join us for a fun day of wheeling. Joe Martinez will be leading us through Horse Thief Flats, Jacoby Canyon,and finishing with Little John Bull. These trails are rated a 3+ and depending on the snow conditions might be a 4. Please be sure that you have a working CB radio, or Ham radio and all required equipment. Bring plenty of water and food for the day. If you would like to go on this trip please send a message to cam7332@gmail.com

The 4xgeotrails club has adopted 2N11, 2N11A, 2N11B to maintain and keep open. The volunteer program is very important to keep the roads open in our San Bernardino National Forest. We had our first day out in the forest with Greg Hoffman who started the Adopt-A-Trail program. We have a lot of work to do on our trail in the coming months. I want to thank everyone who came out today to help with this project. It feels very good to give back to the forest so we can all continue to enjoy nature.

Please check the site often to see future work days that will be scheduled.

We had a great run to Big Bear with 7 vehicles. We left Redlands at 8:05 and headed up the 330 to FawnSkin. Traveled up through Hanna Flats on the 3N14 to Holcomb Creek Road. The group stopped at a couple of geocaches on the way to 3N16. The views from the loop off of 3N59 were spectacular as it was a very clear day and the weather was perfect. We found a shady spot for lunch after which we headed to find 3N83. This road is not used much so were not suprrised to see no traffic. There is evidence of mining in the area with several claim markers near the road. We found a spur trail that went up a hill. This turned out to be a little challenging for the stock Wrangler and the Xterra, neither of which had any extra lift. They all met the challenge and made it to the top with no problems, except for the slightly loosened grab handle in the Xterra.

Since we had extra time after returning back down this road we decided to go over to Jacoby Canyon. On the way we had to pull over on a very narrow section for two jeeps traveling the other way. They were new to the area and not sure of where to go. They were invited to join us and did so going down Jacoby Canyon with us. We hope they join us for more trips in the future. After exiting on to HWY 18 we separated with some going home and 3 of the vehicles going to dinner in Redlands. Thanks for a great trip everyone with not problems of any kind.

We are planning a run August 20th. The run will be up HWY 330, across the Arctic Circle to Fawn Skin. We will pass by the Hanna Flats campground and continue to the Holcomb Creek Trail, 3N93. We will travel up this to the 3N16 and stop by the meadow for lunch. The horses might even come over and say hello while we eat. After lunch we will navigate to 3N83 travel across this to 3N10. Depending on the time we have several options at that point. We will decide as a group what we wish to do.

This is a great run for people who are new to Jeeping. You will get to experience some easy driving, some putting it into 4 wheel drive, and climb a semi steep slope. You may get some surface scratches on the sides. We will be traveling through an area of Big Bear that experienced a major forest fire. The new trees and regrowth are a joy to see. As we travel along we will get into areas that very few people travel on a regular basis. There will evidence of the gold rush that this region experienced in the late 1800s.

Please have all required equipment, bring plenty of water, sun screen, snacks, and lunch.

To participate in this run you must register. After you register you will be given the meeting time and place.

. We had 7 jeeps and one Bronco for the run today. We went up Jacoby Canyon, along the 3n16 to 3N02. The rut was totally dry but still fun arrived at Little John Bull. The Bronco owner had to strap his cousin backwards to get him unstuck at the big rock that dropped off on the far side. Once of he took a different line and made it with no difficulty. We lunched at the East Gate Keeper for John Bull. Richard and Kathy and her cousin, Bronco owner, decided to do John Bull. We did not see them after they went up from the Gate Keeper. The rest of us went down through the squeeze without difficulty and stopped at the three mines on the way to Holcomb Valley Road. Since we had lots of time and most of us were either going down the 330 or staying in Running Springs we headed down the 3N16 to 3N12 to the 3N14 which took us a very long way to Green Valley Lake area. Weather was very nice and the company was fun. Thank you Steve, Gail, Allan and Carol, Justin, Brian, Matt, Richard and Kathy, Bob, Art, and Mike for coming along and make this a great run. If I missed someone I am sorry, just kind of wiped out and have a poor memory for names besides.