information about the area, event, club, directions and photos. An informative and well laid out website that is easy to navigate and represents what the Inland Empire club is all about. The event headquarters is located in the Snow Valley Ski resort parking lot in Running Springs, CA and while an asphalt lot, it does have bathrooms and accommodates RV parking (no hookups), trailer parking, and tents. There are no open fires allowed and pets are welcome. If you’re not inclined to bring your RV or prefer to tent there are a plethora of spots that are perfect for tent camping and hundreds of cabins for rent as this is a tourist area for skiing and the summer cabin rental rates are quite reasonable. We shared a beautiful cabin with another couple only a few miles from the event with very easy access, quite comfortable and allowed pets. As we traveled to Big Bear from the San Diego area, highway 330 was still closed due to work on the road that has been going on since the mudslides in December of 2010 which left the road impassible. Our trip was made a little longer by having to go around and use the famous Rim of the World highway, but it was very scenic and enjoyable. By late Friday afternoon the ribbon cutting ceremony was held and route 330 is now officially open to all traffic, both directions. Once we arrived and settled into the cabin we headed to Snow Valley where we went through the Safety Check, picked up our registration packet and visited with a number of the vendors. Our friends Del and Stacie Albright were in their booth representing the Blue Ribbon Coalition and advocating for proper land use initiatives. Other vendors like 4West, Poison Spyder, Falken Tires, Metal Cloak, Rebel Offroad, Daystar, Pomona Gear, and All J Product had tents and displays to check out.
During the registration process you can select from one of many trails for Friday night, Saturday and Sunday runs, as you desire. Since we traveled as part of a larger group of friends from the Tierra Del Sol club of San Diego, many of us decided to forego the Friday night run and headed out to dinner. Others jumped in line for the free hot dogs offered by Falken Tires on Friday evening. Big Bear has many great restau- rants to choose from and we ended up at the Cowboy Express steakhouse, and yes they serve up a mean steak.
From the highly popular Historic Run where you are part of a narrated group that travel the back roads learning about the
rich history of the area to the famous John Bull trail, you can select from mild to wild trails for each day. The website lists required equipment and gives you a sense of the challenges you will face during the run. Gold Mountain, Dishpan Springs, Onyx Summit, John Bull and Horse Thief Flats are a few of the trails. Once you have
selected your trail, either on the website or with a little bartering once you arrive, you get a really cool dash plaque identifying your trail boss, tail gunner, CB channel and start time. All runs leave from the Snow Valley parking lot and are clearly marked for the participants. We had chosen the Holcomb Creek trail which has been closed for nearly five years because of fire damage, with hopes it would be open, but alas a couple more weeks and it will again be opened. Instead we chose Onyx Summit as the trail climbs to over 9,000 feet with some spectacular views. The official program lists this trail as requiring 31” tires, one locker and the actual trail as consisting of several sluices, rutted hill climbs and great views of the high desert. This was an accurate description and it was not a particularly challenging trail, but fun. My wife is learning how to drive off road, so it was a perfect time for her to spend the day behind the wheel as I took pictures and enjoyed being chauffeured through the mountains.
Our trail boss, Jim Sloan, offered interesting information, kept the group moving and with no breakdowns or stuck
www.SS-OffRoadMagazine.com - AUGUST 2011 - S&S OFF ROAD MAGAZINE 33
vehicles we left the parking lot at 7 a.m. and arrived back about 3:30 p.m. Several folks left earlier and as the day progressed we deviated a little from the program and found some off camber challenges, a few rocks to climb and some mines to explore. It was a great day with temperatures sticking right around 75 degrees. At 6 p.m. the Inland Empire does a few really unique things, the first being an awesome raffle for the kids. This annual raffle is great and every kid is a winner. They also had a live band playing and the vendors were all set up. At 6 p.m. the announcement is made and the large group lines up for a wonderful dinner served by the club. Tri-Tip steak, Cesar salad, rolls, drinks and the best home made BBQ beans you have ever eaten are served up to about 600 hungry wheelers. There was plenty of food and seconds were offered to ensure nothing went to waste. After all this food, the next announcement came for desert, and who can turn down Strawberry Shortcake. As we approached 7 p.m. everyone started putting on his or her next layer as the mountain air started to cool down and the raffle started to heat up. Sets of tires, winches and many other prizes were presented during the next two hours along with some entertaining stories, thanks to the vendors, sponsors and guests. It was well organized and once it was over those with RV’s in the parking lot had a short walk and off to bed. Sunday morning runs started around 7 a.m. and groups of 25 or so headed off for
another day’s wheeling. Tierra Del Sol has been traveling to Big Bear in support of the Inland Empire club for many years and has a Sunday morning tradition. It was, after all, Father’s day and we try to honor those fathers amongst our club by having a Sunday morning breakfast and this year was no exception. Fresh squeezed orange juice, scrambled eggs, an egg casserole, ham, bread, jelly, rolls and oh so much more was served up with a lot of love. Shortly afterwards we left and headed down the now open highway 330 and were home early Sunday afternoon, just in time for a nap.
This has become an annual trek to the mountains for our club and one I surely look forward to each year. Beautiful mountain greenery, Big Bear Lake (the fullest it has been in 20+ years), awesome trails, excellent weather, a very organized event, and another chance to go off roading make this a wonderful weekend. Who could ask for anything more? Thanks to our friends at the Inland Empire 4 Wheelers Club and see you next year.
Happy Trails, Bob Alexander
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