BBBB XXIV White Mountain 6-7-25 Trail Report

[Felix 808]

With the exception of 2 removed names I know didn't make it, here is the list of sign up. Sorry I couldn't keep track of all the names. 1.@TheGoatDoc
2. @BadSquatch
3. @ErnieHellride
4. @Robert E. 24 Wildtrak SAS hot chili pepper red
5. @Raptordad Jordan BR
6. @jviz4u
7. @dpikschus 2023 Badlands two-door bronco
8. @StuartN90 Black heritage - Stu
9. @Blackxican5714 1990 bronco, green and black
10. @JDZ
11. @4xwild 2022 Badlands Sas
12. @Rocky Bronco FE
13. @Gotchaa +1 John- WT SAS AZG
14. @Bob78Gen2 Robert Bryant 1978 XLT
15. @BossBroncos
16. @alexandercartigan BR
17. @Danimal 2022 Badlands Sasquatch
18. @Barnes Larry Barnes Green 6G.
19. @AntBrnco

Having not seeing a lot of offerings for runs on Saturday at the Bash, I decided to offer up White Mountain. to the masses This is such a great trail and one full of beautiful scenery.

We met our big group across from the Fire Station and aired don at 9 AM. We originally had 22 vehicles signed up, but @BLTom had texted me the night before that he wasn’t going to make it & @GilZis figured it wasn’t going to be exciting enough & looked elsewhere to continue to beat on that Raptor . I suggested Holcomb Creek as it is one of the toughest trails in the Big Bear Area. Kind of funny we ran into a deep red 4 door coming from the guys running it. Stopped & talked to him a bit said with only 1,300 miles on his truck he wanted no part of it once he saw the intensity of the Gatekeeper. I can’t blame him. Not sure how he got linked up with that group. I’m guessing he unfortunately found himself at the Moose (HQ for the Bash) looking for a run. Boy howdy did he find one. Later that night talking to Ralph who scrambled last minute to make that run, said his buddy in a brand-new Jeep on 35’s made an impressive showing but ultimately paid for a pricey souvenir in way of a mashed up fender.

Anyway, off we were with our large group of some 17 vehicles. My apologies for not remembering most of the names. Some of you know it takes me about 2 runs to remember your name correctly but some of you would be burned into memory much quicker on this day.

We had a lot of newer drivers on this trail & I feel it gave them a lot of good experience as we came across some pretty good rocky sections and steep descents along our way. We had some that were able to discover how to lockout the gears and shift manually with the automatic. Not to worry as we were all new at some point & there is no replacement for experience. I’m hoping each of them gained a little more to put into their trail skill tool box.

In typical fashion the electric map & CarPlay took a number of breaks at times of need & left me scratching my head more than once on the direction of the trail. Some were legal routes while others not so much. Fortunately, we had John & Mike from OHV to keep me honest at these times. Great guys who do great work helping to keep the trails open. They were running tail gunner for us this day while also making trail corrections and posting signs.

This trail snakes through numerous beautiful valleys and hillsides and is one not too miss.

We stopped at an overlook where we took in views of Johnson Valley, Lucerne Valley, Apple Valley & I think even out to Calico. Unfortunately, while walking out to the overlook, we had a lady slip and tumble bad enough to cause a leak. Another helpful member of the group helped her up and got her some first aid attention and she was back enjoying the views.

John & Mike with a few helpers dismantled an illegal fire pit to discourage others from having illegal fires and appeasing those who want to lock us out of such beautiful areas of enjoyment.

We continued on our way though it took a bit for everyone to realize we were moving out. We continued to climb up and round the mountain finding a few challenges along the way, but non that would stop our group on this day. We passed/ were passed by a ½ dozen motorcycles throughout the day.

It was getting past lunch time & the open areas for fitting everyone were lacking as most of the trail is goat trail shelf roads with minimal turnouts. We were headed down one of the many descents when the OHV guys pointed out Lake Arrowhead, yeah that place the bottled water comes from. I was too busy playing with the radio, talking to the wife and looking behind me & who knows what else so I missed it as I had already descended into the canyon .

We finally spotted an area that we could pack in. It was a saddle between 2 peaks and a green 80’s Bronco parked was accommodating enough for us to join in . The spot had great views of the previously mentioned valleys. But unfortunately, zero shade has to be found. So we baked in the sun & ate our lunch while enjoying the views.

It was getting time to pack up and keep moving as we were closing in on 1:30. I gave a 10 min warning to which a few acknowledged, then a 5 min which I think even fewer acknowledged. Seeing a few still sitting in their chairs as I’m starting off I gave the horn a few short hits (I hate the horn) and started to roll out with just a couple in tow. Down the hill I’m still looking back slow rolling & don’t see anyone. Call out is anyone else joining us? Still slow rolling down the trail watching the mirrors instead of the train in front of me I missed a big rock, actually I didn’t miss it and dropped right onto it setting off the impact & a bunch of other Christmas lights on the dash . When this happens, you lose just about all your functions. Well lucky for me we were still waiting for people to leave the lunch spot so a quick pop of the hood and 10mm ratchet / socket combo I keep at the ready for such occasions, off came the negative ground to the battery. Paused for about 5 minutes and the group was still just starting down the hill so no rush on my part . I reattached the ground cable to the battery & viola that computer reset and was happy again restoring full functionality to the vehicle . Man, I miss hard shifters and direct controls .

We continued on our trek and found our way to the basic fire road of Coxey Rd. the day was relatively uneventful with the exception of the lady who took a tumble. Who knew the excitement was far from over. As we are making our way through the twisty winding canyon road @jviz4u was traveling behind me often closer than I was comfortable with at times as if I had to brake of dodge a hazard on the road, it wouldn’t give him much time to react. Well coming around a bend at a decent clip I look in my rearview mirror to see disaster unfolding directly behind me. @jviz4u lost concentration and found himself running into a culvert blasting through up the berm coming to a stop far to close to the cliffs edge which at my guess was 800ft minimum to the bottom . All I could think of while watching it play out was Holy Smokes what the heck are you doing??? And anticipating him going off the cliff. Well he backed off the berm and I saw the tires swing in opposite directions and called stop over the radio, you broke a tire rod! We got everyone pulled over and then decided to get everyone else home while a handful of us stayed behind to assist in repairs. Sorry we didn’t have a proper closeout to the trail ride, but it made no sense to keep everyone & it was a straight shot out via a dirt road and shouldn’t be an issue. Though I might have been thinking the same thing moment earlier , but I wasn’t going to leave him out there.

We used his winch to pull him out of the hole he was in & up to the shade while @StuartN90 & I kicked his tire straight as he winched in. Once in the shade and slightly more level ground, still a decent angle, we assessed the situation. It was found that the inner tie rod had sheared off right at the joint. Thankfully @jviz4u had the part on hand. We gathered some tools from I think 3 different sources @BossBroncos, @StuartN90 & @jviz4u. Though not needed for the repair, the wheel was pulled and then @BossBroncos, jumped into start the wrenching. The OHV boys were on hand to oversee the operation & make sure we were in compliance after some doing she was back together and we were rolling again.

A special thank you to @BossBroncos, @StuartN90, Mike & John from OHV for sticking it out with us. Sorry Mark, I spent the last year making sure I got your wife’s name right this year I kept mucking yours up, but it’s burned in now. Thank you for all the help getting him back on the road.

This was a great trip and thank everyone for coming out despite not remembering most of the names but hope we see you at BBBB next year.

Damage report:
Souvenirs for @jviz4u include Broken inner tie rod bent automated step slides and a dented rocker panel.

Please post any pictures you might have and add your experience of the trip .

 

[Felix 808]

 

[Dusty]

Thanks everyone for participating in this run and helping make the 24th Big Bear Bronco Bash great! And huge thanks to @Felix 808 for leading If I could ask a favor, I'd love it if everyone would upload their photos from this run directly to our So Cal Broncos image archives. Links and instructions are HERE. Thank you all!

 

[Felix 808]

Thanks everyone for participating in this run and helping make the 24th Big Bear Bronco Bash great! And huge thanks to @Felix 808 for leading If I could ask a favor, I'd love it if everyone would upload their photos from this run directly to our So Cal Broncos image archives. Links and instructions are HERE. Thank you all!

Anytime Dusty.

 

[jviz4u]

Thank you, Felix, for the trail lead and report. Here is the CuctusGrey tie rod report. Today I picked up the Bronco back from the front alignment at the dealer's. The mechanic said that the tie rod replacement was done perfectly and professionally by @BossBroncos . The front needed alignment, and the steering wheel was 15 degrees to the left. After completion, the Bronco drives better than ever before .
Thanks to @Felix 808, @BossBroncos, and @StuartN90, it took about an hour to get us back in action.

The part of the Bronco ownership is the good people that you meet. Thank you again a bunch.


Said all that, the next day, while driving back home, my right front wheel flared, letting us somewhere on US 210 West.If you have a set of flares, DM me.

 

[Felix 808]

@jviz4u Glad it all worked out.
Sorry to hear about the fender flare jettisoning on you