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2017 SoCal Spring Rally

saltydeuce

Active member
167
37
28
Location
west covina california
We were the last ones out pulled out around 4 no traffic on the way home which was nice thanks to fastnova we all had a blast this weekend and on the dry lake bed see you guys next time
 

saltydeuce

Active member
167
37
28
Location
west covina california
We were the last ones out pulled out around 4 no traffic on the way home which was nice thanks to fastnova we all had a blast this weekend and on the dry lake bed see you guys next time
 

JDToumanian

Active member
1,655
14
38
Location
Phelan, CA
Here's a few pics... I wish I had taken more. I enjoyed myself except for the rain Friday night:
The weather did not dampen the mood at all!
Speak for yourself on that one! I was sleeping in the back of the HEMTT and I didn't notice the rain until it woke me up when it soaked through my sleeping bag. Boots, socks, jacket... Everything soaked. This was not 'sprinkles' but a fairly heavy, drenching rain. At 3am, as I sat in the cab, wet, freezing by butt off, the debate in my mind was, "Plan A: Fire up the HEMTT and GTFO of here" vs. "Plan B: Am I too tired to complete Plan A?" Once the sun came up and I dried out by the fire, I felt better and was glad I stayed. I left Saturday afternoon as I promised dinner with my wife. She wants to be there next time.

This was pretty much the HEMTT's first 'public outing' and it performed perfectly. I was totally paranoid about rocks chewing up my expensive XZL tires, since the simple act of pulling over on a dirt shoulder to let traffic pass and then driving back onto the pavement left some scarring a while back, but after careful inspection, the trail ride did not do any damage. The HEMTT's next outing is the Chino "Planes of Fame" Airshow.

It was great to finally connect names with faces... FastNova, ProspectorGM, Blendmaster, NovacaineFix, Hillbilly Willy, Gripy, John and the fellas from Those Military Guys, and everyone else I'm forgetting to mention here! See you guys at the next one if not sooner.

Jon
 

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True Knight

Active member
673
179
43
Location
San Pedro, CA
I was sleeping in the back of the HEMTT and I didn't notice the rain until it woke me up when it soaked through my sleeping bag. Boots, socks, jacket... Everything soaked. This was not 'sprinkles' but a fairly heavy, drenching rain.
I slept in the bed of by M1028 and luckily I woke up as soon as it started raining! I was able to throw my boots under my cot before they filled up with water, and everything else important was in my pack which is pretty water resistant. I always use the gore-tex outer bag with my sleeping system to keep the wind out, and it kept me totally dry.

I checked the weather before the trip and it said there was a slight chance of rain on last Monday or Tuesday, but none for the weekend. It's a good example of why you shouldn't camp in a wash or lakebed!

We were glad you stayed and were able to go on the trail run with us. Hopefully we'll see you again on another trip!
 

Another Ahab

Well-known member
18,003
4,564
113
Location
Alexandria, VA
I'll post some more pictures tomorrow, but for now I'll just let the snake and turtle say hello.

View attachment 674750View attachment 674751
Nice that you took a shot of the "neighbors", thanks for the pics.

I don't know my western species like I should, but I think that's a Corn Snake (and a real beauty), and the turtle is actually a tortoise of some kind (just means they're a dry land "turtle"). I think that might be a Gopher Tortoise.
 

Another Ahab

Well-known member
18,003
4,564
113
Location
Alexandria, VA
Here's a few pics... I wish I had taken more. I enjoyed myself except for the rain Friday night:

Speak for yourself on that one! I was sleeping in the back of the HEMTT and I didn't notice the rain until it woke me up when it soaked through my sleeping bag. Boots, socks, jacket... Everything soaked. This was not 'sprinkles' but a fairly heavy, drenching rain. At 3am, as I sat in the cab, wet, freezing by butt off, the debate in my mind was, "Plan A: Fire up the HEMTT and GTFO of here" vs. "Plan B: Am I too tired to complete Plan A?" Once the sun came up and I dried out by the fire, I felt better and was glad I stayed. I left Saturday afternoon as I promised dinner with my wife. She wants to be there next time.
That's no fun sleeping cold, I hear you, Brother.

Unless weight is a big issue, then you might want to consider swapping out your down bag for a synthetic bag.

Down bags are killer, but any wetness (even body condensation), and they go worthless (the down packs up and "clumps").

The synthetic bags will insulate even when wet, and it's been a while since my backpacking days, but the synthetics were pretty good bags even back then (though bulky). So i got to figure that they must be plenty good now.

Check out REI:


 

armytruck63

Active member
1,663
10
38
Location
Redlands, CA
Sorry I missed this event, but momma wanted to go to the Long Beach Grand Prix on Saturday. And as the saying goes, if momma ain't happy, nobody's happy.
 

NovacaineFix

Member
662
1
18
Location
San Diego, California
Nice that you took a shot of the "neighbors", thanks for the pics.

I don't know my western species like I should, but I think that's a Corn Snake (and a real beauty), and the turtle is actually a tortoise of some kind (just means they're a dry land "turtle"). I think that might be a Gopher Tortoise.
Don't forget the rare T-Rex siting we had. We all thought they were extinct but he managed to swoop by the camp site twice.

FB_IMG_1491849444638.jpg
 

True Knight

Active member
673
179
43
Location
San Pedro, CA
Here's some more pics.
Bowzer isn't sure what military he's a part of.
IMG_9606.jpg
IMG_9637.jpgIMG_9634.jpgIMG_9629.jpgIMG_9626.jpgIMG_9623.jpgIMG_9620.jpgIMG_9619.jpgIMG_9610.jpgIMG_9641.jpg
The desert was very green this year, with big patches of yellow flowers.
 
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