I remember Hi-Lifts. Mine was named “Death And Ruin”.LOL - it was a different time for sure. On this trip, we had actually encountered an old Blazer that was stuck good on the rocks and in this pic, you can see us helping him out with a Hi-Lift.
Sure miss it up there.
LOL - glad you can still see the beauty in all its 1028x768 XGA glory
Glad you liked the pics! Shame that kind of solitude can no longer be found in that area.
So that's what the trail looked like when it still had trees. So cool. Thanks for sharing all these memories. It's greatBIG BEAR RUN
With our 2" lift installed and big and badass 31" BFG MTs, it was time to head on up to Big Bear and take on some rocks! On this trip, we went up with friends that have a cabin up by the lake and to take on Holcomb Creek.
Here's a shot of everyone meeting up for the run.
Making a stop along the highway as we neared the trailhead.
As crazy as it may seem now, a lot of our friends wheeled anything and everything other than just Jeeps and amazingly, the trails were still tame enough that they could still take them on.
Of course, we still loved our TJ
Of course, we still had more than a few friends with Jeeps even back then.
Cindy wheeling and posing for a shot with the girls
Heading down the mountain the back way.
Ending our trip down in Pioneer Town.
And, that's our little walk down memory lane. Hope you enjoyed the crusty old pics
More pics to come
"Dad, are we lost?"
LOL - well, I'm glad I decided to go digging around for these and post them up
Crazy to see what things were like way back in the day compared to now for sure.
Oh yeah, definitely a real adventure and what felt like real "exploring". These days with GPS and tracks of everything, it's like glorified sightseeing.
Holy crap those mountains are beautiful!4th of JULY WEEKEND 2000
As some of you may know, Cindy and I used to spend the month of July up in Lake Tahoe or at least, up until we moved up to Carson City. Of course, now that we had a brand new Jeep TJ Sport, we were eager to take it with us and being that we would be heading up on 4th of July weekend, we decided to do some exploring along the way. Here are a few pics from our trip and for those of you who know the area, I would like to say once again, these were taken on the WEEKEND of 4th of July.
Being that we got a late start from SoCal, the sun was already setting by the time we started climbing up this trail.
I have to say that we've driven through this exact spot within the last couple of years and it looks considerably different. Or I should say, the trail does anyway.
It may have been right about here that we started to get somewhat concerned about the fading light. Of course, back then, there was no GPS and the paper map and compass we were using was only as good as our ability to see the trail in front of us.
After a very long night out in the trail with us doing a lot of path finding on food and with a flashlight, we finally made it off the mountain. And, in typical fashion for us, we were right back at it the following day.
The views from up here are always amazing!
This time of year is always awesome in that iris' can be found in the meadows.
Indian Paintbrushes as well.
And wildlife like deer.
And the breath taking views just keep on coming!
It really is hard for me to believe just how remote this place used to be... how devoid of the throngs of "overlanders" that now overwhelm it and even on a weekday.
Pushing on to the ridgeline.
Cindy doing what she's always done and still does only now digitally instead of with film.
And finally, ending our trip with a view from the top of an old mine.
I hope you enjoyed the pics from our 4th of July trip and with nostalgic reminder of how wonderful places like these used to be.
More pics to come
I have to agree with RoadTrout...it's becoming my favorite thread as well...I still carry a compass in my ditch bag whenever I go on a trip to this day...LOCKWOOD MILLER JEEP TRAIL
If you've been following this thread, you may have noticed that most of the people we used to wheel with weren't Jeepers. Of course, 25 years ago, you didn't need something as capable as a Wrangler to take on most of the trails that were out there. That said, some of our friends started to get the 'i wants' after seeing Cindy and I have so much fun with ours that one by one, they started getting one as well.
This is the first wheeling trip we did with our good friends Yvonne and Eddie (yes, a different Eddie) and soon after they bought their TJ. And, for those of you who know the area, this is in fact Lockwood Miller Jeep Trail and well before it burned to a crisp.
Here's a shot of our friends Yvonne and Eddie with their new TJ.
Just for fun, Yvonne rode with Cindy making it into a girls day out.
Of course, I rode with the guys - Eddie and our good friend Jim.
Yeah, these two were having just a bit too much fun on our way out to the trail.
Making a stop to air down before hitting the dirt.
Heading out to the trail and looking across beautiful Lockwood Valley.
Here we are and as you can see - maybe, the trail marker shows a "Difficult" rating for Jeeps.
Here we are, making our first water crossing and ready to have some fun!
On the other side of water crossing #2 - this is where it all begins.
Back before the fire, the first climb out of the creek used to be a gatekeeper and was lot more challenging.
At the official start of the trail.
Here you can just make out the trail running along the ridgeline.
And, a shot of Cindy working her way up it.
View looking back at the valley below.
And, more valleys and ridgelines to cross ahead of us.
Time for some 4LO fun!
Here's Cindy flexing her way up this rutted section of trail.
Working our way down to the valley below.
What a beautiful day for a lunch along the creek and without another soul in sight. Man, how things have changed!
I know, it's kind of laughable now but back in the day, the climb out and up to the top of the mountain used to be a real challenge. Well, for a TJ running 30" to 31" tires anyway.
Here's a shot of young me giving a spot. And, if you look real close, you can see the compass I used to carry with me around my neck.
In a bit of a bind, Yvonne helped out with a well needed rock to help give Cindy a bit more traction.
Rocking and rolling again and on their way to the top.
At the top at last and here's the view we were rewarded with.
Hope you enjoyed our trip down memory lane!
More pics to come soon
