hey 0317 and Mrs. 0317,
Thanks for a great day. Really fun. And you know I honestly believe you learn something everyday.
By the way I don't know if you saw this yet but thought I would post it to the folks:
P.S. These boulders he talks about are like boxcars and yes I left a little of me behind 
Perfect weather in Big Bear on Monday. We had thundershowers on Sunday afternoon and after afternoon on Monday so there was no dust on the trails. Normally, at this time of year, the dirt roads in Big Bear are so dusty you can';t see beyond the hood of your vehicle. Because of the rain it was also cool, even chilly during the day but relatively warm at night.
We had 7 vehicles, 5 Jeeps and 2 MONSTER Xterras, both of which were highly modified with lifts, big tires and lots of other upgrades. We headed out to the trailhead for Gold Mountain where we aired down and started up the mountain. Gold Mountain trail changes every year. There area a couple of fairly challenging obstacles which everyone made with little problem. After Gold Mountain we did the trail some call "Little John Bull" which leads from 3N16 to the "Gate Keeper" on the east end of John Bull trail. We decided not to do John Bull so headed down the mountain toward town. Along the way I remembered an interesting side trail that wonders between huge boulders. I had been on it a few times but never as a Leader so it took a couple of tries into Dead Ends before I found the correct trail. The trail isn't challenging at all but it is scenic as you "Squeeze" between house sized boulders. None of the others had been on that trail so I was glad I could share it with them. Finally we headed down Van Duzen Canyon to the highway, aired up and headed to camp.
Thank you! to the people who showed up. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I hope to see you on the trail soon !
Roger
