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Swamp Lake 2001

SoCalXJ trail run to Swamp Lake, July 20-22, 2001. We had a nice run to Swamp Lake with the SoCalXJ group.

Steve Chang with girlfriend ??? (dang... can't remember her name), Nick from Brazil, and I left Friday night. The three of us drove to Huntington Lake to meet up with our group. We hit the trail Saturday morning and arrived at Grouse Lake in the afternoon. At Grouse Lake, just south of Swamp Lake, we met the first half of the group who had arrived the day before.

What about that guy in the stock TJ? Here's an e-mail from him:

Jay Barnaby  writes:

This is to Richard and all the guys (sorry I suck at remembering names, especially in stressful situations) that helped me up at Grouse lake in the Dinkey Wilderness. I was the guy in the stock TJ, wheeling alone. That was the radicalest trail I'd ever been on! I know now why my Jeep needs some upgrades! And I'm gonna get them!

I made it out on Sunday after getting stuck on the obstacle you warned me about. I was only stuck for about 10 minutes before Paul and his group winched me up the last foot. Taking off the sway bars and lowering the tires really made my Wrangler kick butt. It only took about four hours to finish the trail (as opposed to 10 hard hours to get to the lake!) It was so crazy riding on the pavement with the sway bars off...I almost got seasick! I connected them as soon as I got to town, as well as replacing that valve stem that was sheared off. Unbelievable that the tire held air. I spent the rest of my vacation in the Central Sierra. I stayed on pavement and fire roads.

I still have the "traction board" it didn't see any use, nor did the come along, I gave that back to Paul.

I'll be up for some of your light-weight "camping trips" as soon as I get a couple upgrades (a month from now at the most). You guys let me know if you get this message, and tell me how to keep up to date on your next adventures and I'll try to add something positive to the experience, instead of just needing help.

Peace out and thanks again for being so cool.

JayB (jbarnaby(at)celestron.com)

That guy rocks! He was nuts for being on the trail alone, but it wasn't his fault. The Ranger told him it was easy.

Industry Figure | Berkeley | Jeep Cherokee | Back to Trail Shots