Jeep TJ Photojournal - Sept. 2002 Weekend Wheelin'

Mods, etc.
Hollister Hills September 2001
Oregon Road Trip Thanksgiving Weekend, 2001
TJ Photojournal Home- All other images
The (Minor) Accident and Repairs
Henness Pass Road Trip! August 2002
Weekend Wheelin' September 2002 (this page)
Front Speaker Upgrade
Hollister Hills II March 2003
Old Coast Road November 2005
GBES Navigational Rally in Nevada June 2006
Morning Mountain Run July 4, 2006
New mods! Roof rack, lights, etc. Independence Day Weekend, 2006
Santa Cruz Mountain Family Drive August, 2006
Brief visit to Frank Raines OHV October, 2006
Carnegie OHV November, 2006
Hollister Hills III and San Juan Bautista December, 2006
Oregon Holiday Road Trip December, 2006
Clear Creek and New Idria ghost town January, 2007
Tassajara Road February, 2007

One of the people along for the Henness Pass trip in August 2002 was Cal 4-wheel's Executive Director, Jack Raudy, who handed out fliers for a new "SUV run" the association had planned for September. This was an easy sell for me as we had fun on the Henness Pass (HP) trip and I was already looking for the next trip. It helped that it was very cheap, one day on a weekend, and was another trip I could enjoy while gaining more offroad experience. I quickly signed up, located someplace interesting to stay the night, and again dug into Sierra Nevada Byways for someplace to do some solo offroading on Sunday.

As luck would have it, the Friday before the trip the one band who I still go and see in concert - Rush - is playing for the first time in several years. So I get home from the show at midnight, sleep a few hours and get up at 0400 to drive the 3+ hours to the gathering place at Cisco Grove off Hwy 80 in the Sierras. Blech! The things I do for a little fun...

This trip was fun, although not quite as fun as the HP trip which was more involved. Like that trip, this one was a bit too well attended (apparently there was so much late demand they had to turn people away) but that wasn't a serious drawback, and I think it just shows how much demand there is for this sort of thing. We met a lot of really nice people again, including our guides and a few folks we recognized from the HP trip. A wide variety of vehicles and people were present, and I received a lot of nice compliments on my Jeep's behalf. :) We spent the first half of the day going up and back down Signal Peak (7841'), followed by a break for a tasty lunch (chili in sourdough bowl, fruit salad, etc.) and then we spent the afternoon offroading up Cisco Butte (6639') and finally winding down around Kelly Lake.

When the trip ended, we aired-up and then drove down Hwy 20 west to Nevada City and the funky old National Hotel (est. 1852?) where we spent Saturday night. Nevada City is a very small rural town with a lot of great old buildings in the historic downtown district where our hotel was.

Sunday morning after breakfast we drove south then west a bit to the tiny town of Rough and Ready (I swear I'm not making that name up.) The town is pretty much the proverbial wide spot in the road, but it has plenty of character. Because of the unique name, I had wanted to visit the town for over ten years, and now that I finally know what it looks like I can let my curiosity rest.

After taking a few photos, we were off again, back the way we came and then to Hwy 20 heading East, almost to Hwy 80, then we cut north for more offroading by Bowman Lake. As the images show, it's a very nice area and we had a very good time. It's nice to go four-wheeling with a group but it's also fun to head out on your own. There's certainly less dust to deal with! After scouting out possible campsites for future trips to the lake, we headed out and made the long drive home.

Random Jeep-geek notes:

• Check out this bonehead move on my part: I brought the new Powertank, air hose and chuck, but brought the wrong adapter for the other end of the hose to hook up to the tank. It was no big deal as a gas station was nearby, but I was really irked at myself for that one.
• On day two my right (H4) headlight bulb died from the offroad pounding, as I discovered when I went to drive someplace Monday night.
• When it gets bumpy and I have the jerry can in place on the carrier, the Warn tire carrier flexes a little and because it rests snugly against one of those rubber doodads on the back of the rear tailgate. This causes the tailgate to rattle as it's pushed in and out a little. This is annoying but does not appear to be anything more than that. There's almost no rattle when the jerry can is not mounted. I may try removing the rubber thing to eliminate the rattle...
• I learned my lesson from the HP trip and wore a bandana on this trip, like the cowboys used to (and maybe still do.) When it got dusty, I just pulled it up over my face and it helped a lot.
• The Alpine CD/MP3 player didn't skip even on the very bumpy offroading. I usually don't listen to music while offroading but gave it a one-song test, and it passed with flying colors. Cool.

As always, some of the mileage numbers are approximations (*) since we concentrated on enjoying the trip - and driving! - rather than making micro-detailed records.

51109	Everyone staged for the SUV trip. There were all kinds of vehicles, most looking stock or close to it.
51112*	On our way towards Signal Peak. Looks like it will be another dusty run!
51117a	Nearly at the top now...
51117b	Not much room to park at the top, but we all jammed in.
51117c	Old building (I think it was a fire lookout) at one edge of the ridge. Fantastic view from up there.
51117d	Top of the world? OK, maybe just at 7800' in the Sierras.
51117e	Pretty much the entire parking area at top was like this. I wonder how long tires last when they drive over these rocks regularly?
51117f	Heading back down again.
51133a	After lunch, on the way up to the top of Cisco Butte. It was pretty steep at times, almost 30 degrees or so someone said.
51133b	Nice view from the top again.
51133c	View off to another side, overlooking SP Lakes. The lakes were created by Southern Pacific so there would be a reliable source of water for their steam engines back in the old days. The second lake is barely visible in this image, just past the first one.
51133d	Looking back at where we were earlier, Signal Peak.
51133e	Jim Bramham points out the terrain features and gives us a brief history of the area.
51133f	Parked near one of the SP Lakes while the next group heads up the hill.
51133g	Closeup of the lake shown in 51133c above. Very nice.
51133h	And we're back on the dusty trail.
51134a	Heh heh, and you thought Rocky Road was just a flavor of ice cream.
51134b	*Cough* Did I mention that it was dusty? The vehicles spread out a lot when it's practical to do so, but sometimes you're in close like this. It's rather hard to pick a good line when you can't see the road(!) so where the conditions are rougher you have to let the dust settle one way or another before you go on.
51200a*	The next day, the blacksmith's building in Rough and Ready.
51200b*	Carved miner among productive grape vines, across the street from the blacksmith.
51255	On the road heading towards Bowman Lake.
51256*	Another stop for a glam shot on the way to the lake.
51258a	We arrive at Bowman lake. Nice! Probably should have just left the Jeep out of this shot. I'll learn someday.
51258b	Another shot of the Jeep by the lake. There were few other people and vehicles around.
51258c	I don't think I could have climbed this particular obstacle on my own. :) Maybe with the winch... Anyway, I'm glad they cut a the path.
51259*	On the way back, shot from the eastern side of the lake looking west.
51260a*	On the way back, yes, another posed glam shot. Shameless really.
51260b*	Small waterfall surprised me, given the time of year.