IE4W June '00 Beginner's Run - Holcomb Creek (3n93)

Note: This report was written by IE4W Club Member Laura Monroy (edited for grammar and spelling only)

Members Present:

Ron Burris 
Brian Cerjack 
Steve & Becca Gaskell 
Lee Haus 
Kelly & Brian Lee & Brian's Friend 
Tim Lewis 
David & Jackie Maynard 
Casey McCluskey 
Don McDonald 
Julio & Laura Monroy 
Joe Montalvo 
Randy Stockberger 

Guests Present:

Jim & Son Westling 
Rendell Westling (riding in w/ Lee Haus) 
Frank & Daughters Bell 
Rick Clay (riding w/ Roger Grogan) 
Pete Griffith 
Dave & Lorie Nicholson 
Bob Peterson 
Anella & Dan Brown 
Al Verret 
Richard Rudolph (riding w/ Casey) 
Dennis Wright Jr. & Rachael Hickey 
Dennis & Sue Wright
Ron Shah 
Mike Taylor 
James Atkins 
Glenn Neighbors 
Roger Grogan 
Peter Matusov
Lance, a member of the Rim Of The World club 
Some people in a full size pickup that started to follow us up the trail but soon turned back 

Ok, that accounts for just about 30 rigs on a night run through one of the most challenging trails in Big Bear! Sorry if I missed anyone, it was awfully hard to keep track of who met up with the group after we left Denny's. Just getting all the Waiver forms signed was a major project in itself! 

We left Denny's, bright eyed & bushy tailed, at 8:00 p.m. Julio & I led the group while Randy & Don took up the center of the pack and Kelly was tailgunner and I might say he did a fine job making sure everyone stayed together and took all the correct turns (Thanks Kelly!!) We made our way up through Running Springs, where we stopped to gas up, then traveled on to Fawnskin. You should have seen the look on the faces of people who passed us up on the highway! Every time I looked in the rear view mirror I just thought to myself, this is such an awesome sight, I wonder what these people who pass us are thinking! 

In Fawnskin we met up with Dennis & Sue Wright and Peter Matusov from San Diego, also in a full size Cherokee. We aired down shortly before the trail head of the 3N93 or Holcomb Creek Trail. Just walking to the end of the vehicle line took about fifteen minutes! Everyone got aired down then I took the wheel of my Jeep and headed toward the trail. At 10 p.m. we came upon the first obstacle which was the mogul hill after the water crossing. Since I was as the front of the line I did not have a chance to see everyone go up but Julio stayed behind to make sure everyone got up OK and he said there were very few problems. Most of the stock Jeeps made it fine after a couple of tries or utilizing the bypass routes. Anella was determined to go up the "hard way" so Julio gave her some expert spotting and some tricks of driving a stock Jeep but to her dismay the effort was fruitless and she took the bypass route. What a look of joy on both her and Dan's faces when they reached the top of the hill!! 

As we continued on through the trail each obstacle presented a challenge for many and was a "walk in park" for others. I had the opportunity of having Lee Haus behind me in the famous RockHaus YJ. Not only was Lee out there without Tom but this was also her first trail ride behind the wheel! With Rendell's expert copiloting Lee conquered the trail like she had been driving for years! Not to mention that she and Frank Bell did much of the trail with no headlights!! My personal kudos goes out to Lee!! I can't wait till she gets her own Jeep or repossesses the RockHaus from Tom so I can have a chick run up Wrecking Ball. Hey Lee . . . Tell me when you are up for that?? 

The middle rock garden presented the biggest challenge of the night for most rigs. It took several tries for most of the stock vehicles but there was plenty of help from all the members and guests. There were a few vehicles that got really stuck and Roger Grogan broke one of the front axles on his CJ7. After over an hour at the rock garden we moved ahead and things went pretty smoothly from there until the last rock garden just before the end of the trail. It took about another hour to get the entire group through the last rock garden but everyone made it through with no breakage. I am proud to say that every vehicle, with the exception of the full size rig that turned around at the start of the trail, made it through the entire trail!! If it weren't for the help of great club members and guests it would have been a lot of work. Instead, it turned out to be a lot of fun! 

We grouped back up at the end of the Holcomb Creek trail then moved ahead toward the Dishpan Springs/Deep Creek trail. That's when all confusion broke loose! When we reached the T intersection of 3N14 & Crab Flats, half the group turned off and started airing up to go home. The run was not over yet guys!!! Casey McCluskey & David Maynard graciously agreed to stay with the group that wanted to go home to make sure everyone got out to the road OK. When we realized they had everything under control, we took the remainder of the group and headed out towards the Dishpan/Deep Creek trails. The group that remained was: 

Julio & Laura Monroy 
Lee Haus & Rendell Westling 
Frank Bell 
Lance, from Rim of The World club 
Don McDonald 
Brian Cerjak 
Randy Stockberger 
Kelly Lee 
Pete Griffith 

It was 2:00 a.m. and Julio took the wheel as I was just about non-coherent at this time. We traveled down the Dishpan Springs trail, which has gotten awfully exciting lately! The ruts have been dug out and boulders have been moved into the trail to increase it's challenge. As we approached the waterfall, Brian called out on the CB for Lee to stop because she had a broken spring hanger. Everyone chipped in a hand to help get it fixed and Lee was off again, conquering the trail like a fearless warrior. The smaller group moved quickly through the trail with no delays after the waterfall. Lance then announced that the road that takes you out of the trail after the Deep Creek crossing was closed for construction. So we had to take a 30 minute detour out to the Pinnacles area. We arrived out at the road at approximately 4:00 a.m. I was sleeping soundly, dreaming about little red YJs at this time. But apparently the die-hard group was ready to call it a morning! We traveled on down the mountain with a few stops to slap each other around a little bit as the eyes were pretty heavy! Then everyone wished each other good-byes and happy Father's Day and we dispersed in opposite directions. Julio & I arrived home at 6:00 a.m. and did not wake up until 2:00 p.m.!! It was worth every second!! We had a great time and we hope you all did too! 

My special thanks goes out to Kelly for enduring the grueling job as tailgunner of a group of 30+ vehicles, to Casey & David for staying behind with the homeward bound group to make sure everyone got out safely, to David for dinner, Lee for getting out there and driving like a pro even though Tom couldn't be there, and to all who helped get each and every rig out safely. 

Most of all, I would like to thank my husband, Julio for working his butt off to spot, throw rocks, give pointers, give moral support and for running up and down the trail countless times to make sure everyone was OK. It was quite a responsibility for him to get over 30 vehicles through the 3N93 trail at night. 

My apologies goes out to all those who have expressed their displeasure of the the group moving too fast, moving too slow, the trail being too hard, being too easy, we kept them out too late, we didn't keep them out long enough, we abandoned them, the trail was too dusty, etc. Next time we will try to please all 30+ vehicle participants flawlessly and make sure we have a water truck head out on our route prior to the run. Sorry guys, I guess you just can't please everyone! 

I hope to see everyone out on the trail again, I know we had a great time and we hope everyone did as well. 

Laura