Mr.BlueSky

Vehicle Requirements: Chains - chains may be required on the way to camp if CalTrans has chain controls in effect. However, AT / MT tires and 4WD are typically allowed even when R2 chain controls are in place. Plan accordingly. It is recommended you install chains prior to hitting the road if you unfamiliar with them. Check for clearance to all components - brake lines, electrical etc. Tires - all vehicles should have Mud Terrain or All-Terrain tires fitted and a full size spare. Expect to air down at the trail-head. Recovery Points - vehicles should have points in front and rear - expect to get a yank! Other great gear: Fire Extinguisher Hi-Lift or other jacking equivalent suitable for your vehicle. Snow Shovel First Aid Kit Repair tools and spares Tire Pump / Compressor Emergency blankets / water /food Clothing: Pack warm layers Pack warm bags Sunglasses and sunscreen are recommended as it may be snowy and sunny! Bring firewood! We will burn it all!

*** Photos Link Below *** https://photos.app.goo.gl/9iexe4RJE72Weenp9 *** Original Post Below*** Hello folks! It is that time of year again where we head up the mountains and see how far we will make it along the bald mountain trail! It is a bit too early to make any predictions as to if we will make it to the top, but nonetheless, it will be an excellent time! What: Annual Shaver Lake Bald Mountain Trail snow run - open to all rovers of any kind. We always hope for deep snow, and usually snow runs often are uneventful damage-less fun! Of course, there is always risks of body damage from ruts, whoops, and icy trails. Where: We will plan on dispersed camping this year off of Rock Creek Road and we will be targeting this location as our campsite: 37.07678910672912, -119.17730391317887 When: February 17th-19th (Saturday, Sunday, Monday) Communications: 146.460 MHz - cell service may or may not be available so make sure to bring a radio. Miles' Cell 402.741.0231 Make sure to pack for cold snowy conditions - be prepared! Any questions please feel free to ask. Attendees: Miles, Theresa, and Henry (Trip Leader) Lutz Sasha Mike and Leigh Anne Oliver Colin LR4HD Paul Ring Additional Information: Shaver Lake WebCams: https://www.shaverlakewebcams.info/ Current Weather Conditions: https://www.wunderground.com/forecast/us/ca/shaver-lake Coordinates: Trail Head: 37°06'04.7"N 119°10'11.4"W Campsite Target: 37°04'36.4"N 119°10'38.3"W Bay Area Convoy Details: 5801 Silver Creek Valley Rd, San Jose, CA 95138 (Shell Gas) Arrive 7:30AM Depart 8:00AM Expected arrival to Shaver Lake ~12:30PM-1:30PM We will plan on the main trail run to occur on Sunday. This gives folks the Saturday to make it up to the camping area. As this event is held on President's day weekend, many may have Monday off of work and school. I'll be trying to get up there by Friday night to ensure we have a site. Here is some video from past events to get everyone exited!

Spotted a yellow disco near Minden, NV last weekend.

100% agreed. : 0 Looks like an excellent find and welcome back! Always happy to see the lost return to the fold ; ). Hopefully we will see you at an event soon! Next trip should be the Shaver Lake Snow trip over President's day weekend in February. (forum post coming soon)

Wait what... Whirlpool is making cars now??? Epic snow... can't wait to visit your winter wonderland this weekend ; ).

Spotted a D90 on Lombard in San Francisco on Sunday. Anyone we know? and not a rover, but too cool to share: and the coffee wasn't terrible! : 0

Cooper is looking great in the driver seat! Did Lola work the pedals??? : )

See attached for a sampling of NCLR's activities and events in 2023. Wishing for more Happy Trails in 2024!2023 Year End Wrap Up Newsletter.pdf

Nicely done! An excellent looking truck!

Paul's trip report has been published and can be found here:

Write-up Author: Paul Dunn, Trip Leader Attendees: Paul Dunn (Trip Leader) - Perentie Jody (guest) - 1989 Toyota (gasp! scandal!) HJ-61 RHD Turbo Six David and Sierra - LR3 Nathan and Gryphon - L322 NCLR (+) Mojave Road Trip Summary 12/28/23 à 1/1/2014 12/28: Long day for all of us - we made the 7 to 10 hour drive to the Needles area to spend the night at Avi Casino near the starting point. I escorted Jody in his 1989 Toyota HJ-61 RHD turbo six and together we crossed over the Colorado River to top up at one of the fuel stations on that side of the river. 12/29: Up and at ‘em as we greeted David and daughter Sierra around 9 AM to begin our tour de force across the mighty Mojave. First stop: The Colorado River official start point, about 2 miles North of the Avi. I presented a brief speech about the historical & cultural aspects of the trail and then off we went to the sandy start just East of the Dead Mountains. We aired down there and headed West to a brief stop at the famed Balancing Rock camp spot then over to the hard flat of the Piute Valley and up the scraggle to Fort Piute. There we met up with a 3-rig group of our friends from AZLRO and traded a few stories over lunch. Off to the trail again and up the Piute grade where Jody’s truck decided to release one of its two battery hold-downs which resulted in a bit of smoke emanating from under the hood of Jody’s truck. Since he is officially “profoundly deaf” from birth, his heightened sense of small clued-in to the trouble before it became a real issues. The team jumped into action and quickly re-secured the battery mounts. Then up we went to visit the Piute corral, Piute Gorge, and then West to cross over the famed Sacramento Wash. We detoured South at around 3:30 to run the six miles down to Leiser-Ray Mine for a relaxed camping location and a great fireside ambiance under a calm sky. As David was backing in to set-up his swag, we could all hear a horrible screeching sound coming out of his right trailer hub. Nathan jumped into action and we soon discovered that his brake shoe had seized itself onto the brake drum in a VERY fried fashion! Once removed, he was golden. 12/30: A cold morning wake-up shook me outta bed and the camp break-down ritual began. We had a long day ahead of us as I wanted to introduce the group to the REAL Mojave Road that featured the amazing Joshua Tree forest on the Lanfair Plain, the cool petroglyph site along the way, and of course Rock Springs. This all came together swimmingly and it was great entertainment to watch David navigate his LR4 with attached military trailer negotiate the steep downhill moguls just East of the Rock Springs Wash. The weather was closing in so after lunch at the Rock Springs Stone House, we scurried West to cross over Kelso-Cima Road to make and planned camp at or near Marl Spring. A nice couple in a Tacoma was occupying my primary camp, so we ambled up the box canyon to a very protected site with yes, an existing fire ring. A light rain was soon approaching, so we prepared for it, yet a good, bold fire kept the heat on and Nathan was even treated to my rendition of the O’Reilly Auto Parts advertising jingle. 12/31: Ready for a Long day, we rallied early and made haste to the Mojave Mailbox, then down Willow Wash while Sierra drove David’s LR4, and then a right turn up to the famous lava tubes. Nice group of new Bronco owner’s there and we said our hello’s. Then a quick one-mile trip North the visit the Petro – AND – Picto site that dare not mention it’s name. Afterwards, Nathan ascertained that hi front driver’s side shock had done enough, so they volunteered to exit early and head home. We said our goodbyes to Nathan and Gryphon and pointed ourselves South, then West to make 17-Mile Point and start the official crossing of Soda Lake. As chief navigator, I was able to follow some recent tire tracks AND keep my eyes on the Gaia routes I had run in the past. We just wondered: would it be a mud-fest with the recent rains…? Turns out… not even close. We crossed over a hard-packed trail that was no issues for anyone… so we made the Traveler’s Monument around 3 pm in time to place our contributory stones, take a few pics, and get movin’ towards Afton Canyon and the night’s camp. Since the private land owners at the West end of the Rasor Road OHV Area have had enough of visitors crossing over their land, there has been a recent re-route to the South on runs along a sand dune kinda hilly path for a few miles. It was imperative for me to “connect the dots” as I reeled in cairn after wood stump then cairn again, all the while verifying that I was in the right spot on my GPS. In this section of the route, there are many crisscrossing paths that all pretty much end up at the same place: the rail road bridge as you enter Afton Canyon. Yay. We made that… So, since hurricane/tropical storm Hilary did a number on this part of the desert, what I thought I remembered from just a couple of years ago was… not as I remembered. So for the next few miles I obsessed on the GPS and the tire tracks we were following so that, in the heat of it, I totally missed a right turn out of the river bed that would taken us to higher ground and then safely to the Afton Campground. Instead, we quite squarely got bogged-down in a dead-end portion of a wash, that, had we pursued, would have resulted in axle-deep stuck-ness. I knew something was off, so I re-conned on foot and then bush-wacked in my truck only to find no way to connect to the main trail. Meantime, David’s front passenger wheel was making a horrible screeching sound – most likely something pinched between his mud shield and his brake rotor -- So we doubled-back, only to find our AZLRO friends in the same predicament…! One of them offered to lead us back based on a hunch. And it was soon found where we BOTH missed the key turn—as the Carsonite marker was folded over and covered with brush. Soon we were at a group camp with all seven rigs drying out from the Mojave River crossing and warming our hands over a nice fire. Next day, Jody and I were off to meet prior obligations, but David and Sierra soldiered on, joining the AZLRO guys as they made their way down river to the REAL ending point at Camp Cady, about 20 miles East of Barstow.

At @PaulD's request, please find an album link here to upload photos from the trip. https://photos.app.goo.gl/gbprYBTropApetTK9 Looks like another epic run!

An interesting grab handle mounted on the B-pillar. : 0

Spotted a 110 towing around some Breyer Farms show horses the other day!

The online version is live now as well! https://blog.roversnorth.com/2023/12/rovicon-v/

Would love to go! Has been a LONG time since we have made a Big Sur trip... but alas, the barn project demands I finish before the rains begin. I hope folks go, take great pictures, and share so i can live on vicariously through you all! 🤣

Nathan, once your basement is boxed up... send me the dimensions and I'll send a Uhaul. I'm ready for that treasure ; ). The door is always open 🤣 If Florencio does not need the owners manual, I'll sign up to be 2nd in line. 0/2 1993s have their manual.

Hello Florencio and welcome! I too have never had any luck with the RAVE manuals. Here is what I have that has been useful - by far the Land Rover workshop manual is the most useful and my go-to. Additionally I use the Atlantic British diagrams for part number lookup: https://www.roverparts.com/parts_catalogs/Range_Rover_Classic_Parts_Catalog/PDF/RRC8_Full.pdf

Last few weekends have been dedicated to catching up with Snowflake's maintenance and preparing for the next trip. : 0 Both front and rear differential fluid changed Oil changed Engine mounts changed The upper ball joint was changed: Steering wheel re-aligned. Driver's door handle efforts adjusted. Also added a 1" spring spacer to the rear (thanks Robert!) - even after extending the extended bump stops, Snowflake could bottom out in the fender well during some hill climbs. Originally they were the easy to machine "rounds" with just two holes in them. To reduce a bit of mass, I had them milled down to match the footprint of the perches on the axle. lastly, to go along with the 1" spacer, I CAD'd up a extended brake line and electrical axle bracket to raise the hard lines up 30mm.

Should be a great trip! Have fun everyone!

Agreed, on paper maps. I find it is much easier to see the "big" picture and find off-the-beaten path sites when on paper. I use similar sources to Eric but also pull maps down from the USGS site and print them off on a plotter. You can download 7.5 and 15minute quadrangle maps here for free, or purchase them for a fold-up version. For example, I used 42 7.5minute maps just to route the first two section of Eastern Mojave Heritage Trail. Cumbersome in size , but a ton of detail.

Bumping this... will be the most fun event this week. And I can't even drink beer ; ). See everyone there!

Theresa, Henry, and I are definitely interested in meeting the crew at SCARR. We likely won't make the Moab portion as we are opting to head south to Bend National Park and then over to Lampasas to catch the 2024 Total Eclipse on April 8th. https://eclipse2024.org/eclipse_cities/statemap.html

The tardiness is incredible. Especially considering the magazine is already digitally formatted. : - 0

Sounds like a great trip! Sad we had to miss this one. Here is a Google Album for photos! https://photos.app.goo.gl/XowinjZ3oZareooF8