Rattlesnake Canyon May 21-22 (Updated)

[Goldfish]

RATTLESNAKE CANYON TO BIG BEAR
Saturday 5-21-11
Meet spot: K Mart Parking Lot.  20777 Bear Valley Rd. Apple Valley 92308.
Park in front of Green Burrito in K Mart parking lot.
Time: 9:00am. We will be leaving the meet spot @ 10:00am.
Please have a full tank of gas when you arrive.
From here we will head east on Hwy 247 to Rattlesnake Canyon Rd.
GPS: N 34 22 12.0, W 116 38 59.6
The plan is to make our way to Round Valley in Big Bear.
GPS: N 34 14 13.1, W 116 42 32.2
We can campout here. For those who do not want to campout can take 2N01 back to
Hwy 38 which will take you to Big Bear Lake or Redlands.
There should be no camp fire restrictions at this time so if you plan on spending the night bring a bundle of firewood.
4 wheel drive required, skid plates and sliders recommended.

Reference: So. Cal. Guide To Ca. backroads & 4WD Trails by Charles Wells
Pg. 161,162
If this is your first time, please read the Xcursion Guidelines.
 
Commuications:
FRS: Channel 5, Sub Channel 24
CB: Channel 24
Ham: 2M 146.52 MHz
If you have any questions you can reach me @ FiveSixTwo-TwoTwoNine-SixThreeSixTwo

Please add your name to the list if you plan on attending:
Don & Denise (Goldfish)

[Paul]

I'm good to go ... about 95% certain at this point.

We've never camped along the trail but I'd like to this time.

Summer, Noon, and their driver Paul.

[boats]

Pencil me in. I have to weld two nuts on my xterra so i can attach my oil pan skid. Broke them in big bear about a year a go. If i get this done by then i will make it.

Doug & my daughter Evalynn

[Paul]

I ran the trail yesterday and it was a ton of fun!

I have a three inch lift and didn't scrape nor use the sliders at all. I did do one bump which sounded like the rear shock mount popping a rock. This trail is going to be lots of fun for those that come out in three weeks. There are a handful of challenging areas - rock gardens and pinch points that should be passable with care, a spotter, and some luck. A 2-3" lift, sliders, and skid would be nice too!

I'll post pictures and some video later as I shot most of the more challenging stuff. I did get out of the truck a few times to figure out some of the harder spots. There's still a trickle of water in the canyon and we ran into two herds of about 10-15 cattle each (big horns!).

We camped out in the area where two years ago (Jan 2009) we stopped to play in the snow. It got mighty cold last night and the winds were up on Sunday but last night the winds died down to nothing and it was a very quiet and cold night. Today we played around in Burns Canyon where the forest service has been busy this spring closing down two trails we attempted. There's still black diamond and blue square trails running westerly away from Rattlesnake.

[Goldfish]

Sounds like were going to have some fun. I hope some of the group shows some interest. Been a long time seeing some of the familiar faces around here. Would love to meet some new ones too. Look forward to your photos.

[RockinX]

I'm a maybe.  I have a cracked driver's side lower control arm and was quoted $500 for R&R.  A new control arm costs around $300.  I took it to someone this weekend and they said they will weld it for me for $50, but that is without taking it off.  Since the cracking is all around the bracket and down the arm, I think I should at least have it removed to be welded.  And then I'll see about having a plate put in for reinforcement.  So I'll need to get this figured out before I take it on some rocks.  Other than that, I am good to go.

[xtoolbox]

One of my all time favorite trails, been forever since I’ve been out.

Michael has his final regular season baseball game that day but I could miss and bring Kristina, just might be able to swing this one for at least a day run.

Brian

[Bobby B.]

I'm a maybe.  The X has been a bit needy lately and I've been on a repair binge.  If I can get everything done in time...

[Pigcat]

Wow - Brian and Bobby B are a maybe? I may even have to try and reunite on this run   But our tired old rigs should probably just stay in 2hi and below 2000 rpm - maybe we should stay on the road and just meet the group at the campsite
Tom

[dhsundance]

One of my all time favorite trails, been forever since I’ve been out.

Michael has his final regular season baseball game that day but I could miss and bring Kristina, just might be able to swing this one for at least a day run.

Brian

One of my favorites too. This pic was following a run we made in Feb of 2003. It was sunny at the base of the mountain but we froze our butts off when we finished later that night. With only  a couple of compressors it was a long, cold wait. The Yankee cap is something Jason (Xterror) made me do.

[Paul]

My video editor is giving me fits, couldn't do the HD video I shot, couldn't do the converted lower resolution video I shot.

Sadness.

[Goldfish]

Did you try beating on it with your fist? I always use that method when electronics give me problems.

[buffalo]

One of my favorites too. This pic was following a run we made in Feb of 2003. It was sunny at the base of the mountain but we froze our butts off when we finished later that night. With only  a couple of compressors it was a long, cold wait. The Yankee cap is something Jason (Xterror) made me do.

Good to see some of the old timers are still around. Dave how have you been? Its been way too long since I've been out on an excursion.

[topcat]

I'm in!  Stan, my son Tyson and nephew Andy.  Haven't done a trip for over a year and very much looking forward to this trip!

[Paul]

The link code isn't working here so I can't imbed the MP4 video here.

http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y215/paul1960/Xterra/11-05%20May%202011%20Rattlesnake%20Canyon%20Solo/?action=view&current=RattlesnakeCanyonCommercial640.mp4