Last Chance Canyon & Burro Schmidt Tunnel

One day trip through Last Chance Canyon and a visit to the Burro Schmidt Tunnel.  Thanks to Nathan for leading the trip. I had never gone to either place so I was eager to make the trip.

We started off meeting at Jawbone Station and soon took off at 10 a.m.  We got to the entrance of the trail and started to air down.

Soon, we were off to the trails.  The canyon was beautiful and the weather was great.

Nathan guiding and teaching the basics of off-road and maneuvering through rocky terrain.

 Everyone who wanted to learn and give it a try got a chance to go.

 We went at a nice slow pace enjoying the scenery.

 We made a lot of stops in the beginning so that we can all practice.

The bulk of the canyon portion was about 1 to 2 miles, I think.

More guidance from Nathan.

The wonderful weather really added to the colorful rock formation.

All the vehicles had no problems with the up hill. I still get nervous going up steep inclines when I can't see where I'm going.

The Schmidt Tunnel. You have to give credit to the guy who single-handedly dug this tunnel.  This thing stretches out about 1/2 a mile!

Taking a break on the other side of the tunnel.

Aired back up and ready to head home.  I didn't get a chance to go out to dinner with the guys because I was so sleepy from the previous nights of sleeping late, but the trip was fun and well worth the drive.

For the rest of the photos, Click HERE.

Trabuco Canyon

Thanks to Andy for organizing another run.  Had never been to Trabuco Canyon, but have been eager to check the place out.  Will definitely be going back for some more challenging trails and to do some more exploring.

 

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Huntington Library

Small crowd... and you couldn't beat the weather.

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Main Divide

Rode Main Divide with Linda.  David came along with his Land Cruiser.  Switching vehicles every so often, I realized how planted the Land Cruiser feels, even at speed.  My 4Runner slid around a bit during fast turns while the Land Cruiser never felt unpredictable.  We were riding along with the guys from SCORE Meet-up group, but we were late so we had to play catchup, which was not difficult with the speed David wanted go.  Once we caught up, we went on ahead.  Got to the other side in Corona on the Main Divide to discover that my key no longer works.  Locks were changed out and keys are not only going to residents.

Scraping paint

Disneyland

Seasoning the wok

Got my new wok (again). I don't think I ever season these things well. After reading several articles and watching YouTube vids, it never comes out like the videos I watch.

Oakley 4Runner

Went to Oakley's corporate office to get another set of Radar glasses and saw a 4th gen 4Runner on display in the front. I traded in a pair of Oakley glasses I got back in 1987 for $60.  They gave me 25% off toward my new glasses which means I got $50 off.  That means the old pair only cost me $10 after what.... almost 26 years? Hahaha.

Sliders!!!!

Got my sliders installed... and I love it!  Looks great.  Thanks for Richard at Stubbs Welding for doing such a great job and shipping it out to me so quickly.  Also like to give a big thanks to Lance and Bob for installing it!

My First Land Ops event

My first Land Ops Meet-up event took place in the desert area just north of the 40 hwy by the Mojave Desert.  It's a tactical geocaching event where teams of truck head out to find caches that were planted throughout the area.  Had planned to leave early Saturday morning but didn't get to leave until 1pm.  I got there really late, so I only participated in the night op, which was still good.  Took about an hour and a half to get to the desert, but another two hours to get to the base camp.  Didn’t get there until dinner time.

I would guess there were about 15 to 20 trucks that showed up.  I didn’t end up camping there.  After the event, I packed up and left.  A few others did the same.

I don’t think I took the right roads that the other guys did, but cause there were so many loopy-coops, I was averaging 10 miles an hour… which was why the 19 miles to the road to two hours.

Lunch with Ryan

City Slicker Off-Roading Alamo Run

Download KML file [***HERE**] (Right mouse click & select Download)



First off, this run was BEAST.  It was the most challenging run I've ever been on.  I only have a lift with center lockers.  I guess I'll have to add front and rear lockers on my wish list.

We first met at a local Chevron gas station.  Great group of guys (and gals).  Once all the group members showed up, we set off!  As soon as we started, it was hairy for me.  I'm just not used to this kind of off roading as most of mine have been in the deserts or sand dunes.

First of many stops for "mechanical" reasons.

This particular run was really hard on my truck, and my A/T temperature warning light went on during one of the many climbs.  First time I'd seen this come on for me.

About half way through, our first major breakdown.  Scott's Jeep suffered broken motor mounts.  Attempts to repair were only temporary and eventually put his truck completely out of commission.  The rest of the run was spent pulling the Jeep.  Great job to Jeff, who eventually suffered damage to his truck trying to pull the Jeep as far as he could.  Also a thumbs up to Adam and André who also gave their great efforts to the cause.

At the end, we could not get the Jeep completely out of the course and had to call for help.  As most of us left, Brett and Igor stayed behind with Scott and his wife until recovery help arrived.  Great job to everyone and their efforts.

"Well, let's say it as it was... an unfortunate cluster fuck of catastrophic mechanical failures..." - Adam

[Click HERE for the Gallery]

iPhone Charger

The iPhone chargers seem to be kind of weak on the connections at the plug ends.  I swear I don't abuse these things, but a few of mine are coming apart.  Good thing I have several, but figured I'd just reinforce a couple that are coming apart.  I basically reinforced with electrical tape and wrapped with string going down and back up.  Super Glued the end of the string, which dries in literally seconds.

Wheat Grass..... Yum

Tried juicing some wheat grass tonight.  Thanks for Kari for growing them for me!  It wasn't as bad as I expected, but maybe it's because I was expecting the worst.

Took a bunch of the grass, washed them down, then put them through the juicer.  I got the juicer from my mother-in-law, but used it only once to try it out.  Apparently, this is a good one because not all juicers can handle grass.  Did a little research on the web regarding wheat grass and its benefits.  One of the websites actually mentions the Green Star juicer I have as the type needed to juice wheat grass.

  

 

I juiced enough to get a shot glass worth.  Read about people taking wheat grass shots and it was advised not to drink too much.  Some of the side effects are nausea.  I held my breath, took the shot (I actually sensed some sweetness, which I read someone else mention), and chased it down with some grape juice I happened to have.  It's not something I'd drink chilling out w/ some crackers or anything, but it was manageable.  I did have some aftertaste of grass, but as I said, it was manageable.  I was able to get another shot's worth which I'll save for tomorrow.

Spydertrax

Installed Spydertrax wheel spacers in the front to prevent rubbing.  Thanks for Lance for the spacers!!!  8D
 

When installing, make sure the spacer is flush with the rotors all the way around.  Actual installation is pretty self explanatory.

The actual area of rubbing before the spacers came between the new BFG A/T and my UCA.  You can see the are circled in red.  This was the case on both sides.

Once the spacers were installed, rubber came from within the wheel well plastics.  I had to remove the front mud flaps.

The tires were also rubbing against the plastic on the front which many people cut off, but after seeing a post somewhere (not sure where or I'd give credit), I just moved the plastic forward instead.

On the Driver side, I removed the two screws holding the plastic portion.

Place the clip that was removed and shove the protruding portion into the hole of the black plastic.  When you put the plug into the hole, place a screw with a washer in it to keep the plastic from "jumping" up during a big bump and coming loose.  This happened to me and I ended up cutting off the plastic wheel well portion that eventually wore off from tire rub.

Put the clip back onto the middle hole and put the screw back in.  That's it for the Driver side!

The Passenger side is a little different.  Remove the screws holding the black plastic at the bottom, just like the Driver side.

Here, you can see I had to drill a new hole.  Once the hole is drilled, move the black plastic and align the hole to the front bumper and attach, using the clips that were taken off.

This is what the Passenger side will look like when you're done.

After the wheel well plastics were moved, I have not had any rubbing issues.