Update with a small trip report. There were about 11 rigs on this trip.
Overall stats for Josh:
1913 miles
5 days
135 gallons of gas
Carnage for the group:
Seized alternator (Nate)
Busted front lockout hub (Tim C.)
Torn off UCA passenger-side mount (Josh)
Day 1: Left Seattle on Weds 5/14 at 9am. Drove 600 miles and arrived in Redding, CA at 7pm. I stopped at the Thunderbird Lodge which was cheap, had good rooms for the price, but most importantly it had AC. I could have driven further but it was hot and I wanted to enjoy the cold AC and a bed for one more night. Daytime temps were crazy hot and the temp hovered between 97 and 100 degrees from noon onward. Had to drive most of the way between 60-65MPH to keep the engine heat manageable. Even with the electric fan constantly on the engine was running about 220 degrees. Averaged 15.5 MPG and 60 MPH.
Entering OR:
Day 2, Thurs 5/15: Woke up at 7am and got back into the Jeep. Drove 265 miles to Boards Crossing Campground in Dorrington, CA. Temps were good in the morning but got hot again at lunchtime. I met up with a group of my buddies in Angel's Camp, CA where they always eat lunch before getting to camp. Set up camp and drank a few cold ones. For the entire trip so far I am averaging 52 MPH and 15.3 MPG.
Following Tim to camp:
Day 3, Fri 5/16: Woke up around 8am. Breakfast and cleanup took longer than usual for the group and we didn't get out of camp until 10:30. Drove 28 miles from camp to the trail entrance for Slickrock (West Lake Alpine). There were some snow drifts, about 2-3 feet deep at the start of the trail. We went a few hundred yards and I was hearing some bad clunking. I went back to the start of the trail and found out I had ripped off the passenger UCA mount on the axle. Tim, Nate, Mr. Ed, and maybe a few others finished the trail which didn't have much more snow on it. I went back to the NAPA in town and asked if they knew any welders. There was one just up the road so I took the XJ over and the guy welded it back on for $40. My day was over so I went back to camp, drank a beer, and cooled off in the river.
Snow on Slickrock, this is where I turned around due to busted suspension:
Day 4, Sat 5/17: We woke up the camp at 8am sharp and made people get moving. We got out of camp at 9:30am and drove 38 miles to the Hermit Valley Campground which is the start of the Deer Valley trail. We got through the Gate Keeper with relative ease and headed up the trail. Ate lunch at the main plateau. Nate found out that he punctured his steering stabilizer so he removed it. We continued on down the mountain until we hit a huge patch of snow. We couldn't bust through it so we turned around. Nate's alternator was whining really badly at this point so we headed back to camp. Nate was getting really bad death wobble without the stabilizer to the plan was to get back to the parking lot at camp and look at the stabilizer and alternator. Just as we pull into the parking lot, Nate's alternator freezes up - this is at about 5pm. Nate and my dad head off to find an auto parts store that has the alternator in stock. They get back to the parking lot at 9:15pm and replace the alternator in the dark. They have some trouble and get back to camp around 11:30pm.
At the Gatekeeper for Deer Valley:
Day 5, Sun 5/18: I wake up at 7am and pack up as quickly as I can. I make it out of camp at 7:45am and head to the gas station. After gassing up and airing up the tires I head for home at 8:30am. The weather is much cooler today and I want to drive straight home so I plan to push the Jeep and maintain a high speed when possible. Weather in CA is really nice, but rain starts literally the second I cross into OR. It rains off-an-on and I nearly get into a wreck near Cottage Grove, OR. Traffic on I-5 is reduced from 2 lanes to 1 lane without any notice, it is pouring rain, and I can barely see out my windshield due to all the spray from the big rigs. I am coming down a hill that has a blind right-hand curve and as soon as I come around the curve everyone stomps on their brakes. I can't believe I didn't hit the person in front of me - it was really close and the brakes were not stopping me. Luckily the van in front of me moves up enough and I get the beast stopped with inches to spare. It pours rain through all of WA and I get home at 10:30pm for a total drive time of 14 hours and 850 miles. From camp back to my house, I average 60.7 MPH on the way home including stops for gas.
Driving Home, it is nice in CA but I can see weather ahead:
20 minutes later just crossing into OR:
