Topic: Canceled: September 11th - 13th: Kid-friendly camping trip

[vambrizz]

Hey all, I’m interested in going. It will be myself and my gf.

I’m in the process of buying a CB radio setup, but I thought I’d reach out to y’all first to see if you guys have any used equipment for sale. Let me know what you have!

[vambrizz]

Also, how is the road up? Are there a lot of obstacles. My X is essentially stock. I haven’t really tested its capabilities since I’ve mostly been wheeling by myself

[JFanaselle]

Hey all, I’m interested in going. It will be myself and my gf.

I’m in the process of buying a CB radio setup, but I thought I’d reach out to y’all first to see if you guys have any used equipment for sale. Let me know what you have!

I'll add you to the "maybe" list, until you know for sure.

As for CB equipment - I do have a Uniden Pro 520XL CB that I'd be willing to sell for $20. I do not have the mounting bracket for it, but there are universal brackets available online for $10 to $15, or you could easily make something yourself that would work. You'd also need to source an antenna and bracket, as I do not have either of those available. That said, most folks in this particular group don't run a CB radio anymore. I think there are still one or two people on this forum who still have one installed, but our primary method of communication when we run group trips is now 2M Ham Radio. You can very easily (and inexpensively) acquire a license through a local Amateur Radio Club, and there are handheld radios available for well under $50 that would get the job done.

Also, how is the road up? Are there a lot of obstacles. My X is essentially stock. I haven’t really tested its capabilities since I’ve mostly been wheeling by myself

Myself and Sage Bromax are going to scout the trail this weekend, and should have a better idea after that. However, my understanding is that this is a basic truck trail, and is not difficult at all. The reviews on Trails Offroad say that it can be fully traveled by virtually any truck or SUV. They did say that the access roads to some of the yellow post sites may require 4x4, so I suppose it depends on where we end up exactly. I found this video on You Tube, which shows a guy doing the full road in a Subaru. He did have some trouble in one spot, but otherwise did just fine.

[vambrizz]

... but our primary method of communication when we run group trips is now 2M Ham Radio. You can very easily (and inexpensively) acquire a license through a local Amateur Radio Club, and there are handheld radios available for well under $50 that would get the job done.

This should be interesting. I wouldn't mind getting a radio or a license. I have considered this as a hobby before hand so I now have a reason to get into it  I will update you when I get my license (by the end of next week at the latest) and I'll explore my options on radio equipment.

That trail definitely looks manageable. I should be ok. Thanks for the video.

[JFanaselle]

Sage Bromax and I did a pre-run of the trail yesterday to scout out a camp location. We have decided that yellow post sites 10 through 14 are the best bet for our group. They are situated around a single pit toilet, directly adjacent to the main trail (but just far enough away that passing vehicles won't be an issue). I have updated the first post of this thread with the coordinates and directions. The trail is very easy, and pretty much any stock SUV or Pickup Truck would make the drive with no problems.

It was also suggested by someone that we do a group pot luck dinner. The best night for this would be Saturday, as folks will arrive at different times on Friday. If you're interested in bringing or making something, please post up. If you are bringing a guest that is not part of this forum, please reach out to them to inquire if they are interested in the pot luck dinner, and if so, please post what they intend to make/bring. We will keep track of the food below:

Main Dishes:

1) JFanaselle and family: We will make enough camp chili for about 8 people
2) Celt and family: Carnitas burritos (enough for up to 10 people)
3)
4)
5)

Side Dishes/Appetizers:

1) JFanaselle and family: cornbread loaf and honey butter
2)
3)
4)
5)


Desserts/sweets:

1) knightrider/Jill - something delicious
2)
3)
4)
5)

[Celt]

 Put us down for Carnitas burritos with the fixins for em'. Enough to feed 10. If there is any leftover people might could come nosing around my cook stove the next morning for Carnitas and eggs (But that ain't no guarantee).


 Instead of Sage Bromax bringin vittles for dinner mebbe we could talk him into bringin a choo-choo-tocketery board for Friday afternoon or Saturday afternoon?

[vambrizz]

Hey, I’m going to opt out. The earliest amateur license test I can attend is the 19th of this month.

[knightrider]

I wouldn't bow out just because you do not have a ham radio, lots of peeps have hand helds you can borrow and you can just listen in to get a little taste of what it's like.  This should be a great first event for you and the family or just yourself.  if you don't have one, we will adopt you

[knightrider]

Also, Jill and I are in, Dessert TBD for saturday potluck

[Celt]

Also, Jill and I are in, Dessert TBD for saturday potluck

 Nice, glad you both are able to go!

[JFanaselle]

I've updated the first post with who is "in" and who is still "pending."

vambrizz... as knightrider mentioned, no ham radio license required for this trip. This is not a wheeling xcursion... we're simply driving to the campsite and setting up for a couple of nights. If anyone chooses to venture off and do some exploring, and you want to tag along, it could be helpful to have a radio. But as knightrider said, there are usually plenty of extra radios that someone will hand you, so that you can monitor or speak up if you're having some kind of issue or emergency. I've left you on the "pending" list until you confirm.

That said..... there's some bad news regarding this trip....

Because of the current fires, and the anticipated extreme fire weather this week, the US Forest Service has completely shut down all activity on every forest in our region, and significantly limited activity on all forests throughout California.

Here's the press release: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r5/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD799162

As this is written, we are not permitted to camp anywhere within the San Bernardino National Forest. Even if this were an "open" forest, we would be prohibited from using any flame device, including gas stoves or fire pits.

They are going to re-evaluate the closures on a day-to-day basis, but the outlook doesn't look good for us. There is a Santa Ana wind event moving in on Tuesday, peaking Wednesday, and expected to continue into Thursday. If I had to put money on it, they won't lift these orders until AFTER next weekend. That said, let's keep this trip on the books for now, and we'll keep an eye out for any updates from the forest service throughout the week. If we have to cancel last minute, we'll do so, and we'll select a new date. I don't think changing venues is an option, as everything that is not within a forest will be at lower altitudes and will be very hot.

[Celt]

 I was really looking forward to this trip. Hopefully with a little luck it will be a go but I'm currently getting covered in ash here on the coast. If it does cancel everyone here should be good for the 18th-20th.

[JFanaselle]

The 18th - 20th won't work for the Fanaselle clan, and neither will the 25th - 27th.

But don't let my availability stop the rest of you all from going either of those two weekends. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that the restrictions are lifted in time for our original plan this coming weekend.

[Sage Bromax]

I've been running Ops/Comms for our Animal Disaster Response Team on the Valley Fire since Saturday afternoon.  They still don't have it contained.  Not looking good for us to make it at this rate.

[vambrizz]

Thanks guys!    I would end up meeting y’all on Saturday anyways because we can’t get Friday off.

Either way, count me out for this weekend, but I think I’ll be available any other weekend. There are a couple of dates in October that I will not be available but I’ll wait and see what happens with this.