Miller Jeep Trail

Miller Jeep Trail Trip Report May 14, 2016 We had a great group attending this run. Bob Boltner Mike Whittington Scott Evans Mike Sullivan Eric Marker Beth Marker John Labbatt Mary Labbatt Tim Regan (and his dog Rosie) Jerome Blunck We departed the Porter Ranch P&R for Big John’s Restaurant in Fraizer Park at about 06:50 with Both Mikes meeting us at Bib Johns. We arrived at about 08:00 at Big John’s and had a great breakfast. If you ever have a need for a meal in the Fraizer Park area, check it out it was really good. We had a perspective member Walter and his son Justin joined us for breakfast. They have a YJ and are very interested in joining OTR. They have told me they plan on attending our next meeting. After our group breakfast we arrived at the trailhead at about 0900 to air down. At the trailhead another group of 4 rigs arrived after us, They had a few less experienced drives so after we aired down we elected to go first. We started up the trail and the conditions were about perfect, with very little dust and temps in the high 70’s to the low 80’s . The trail has some steeper sections and a few rock sections, but for the most part this is a great day on the trail with friends. The El Nino rains did not significantly degrade the trail but the moisture did allow some really pretty flowers to bloom if you took the time to look for them. At one point on the initial climb there was a fun little rock section that a few of the group decided to try. It was at this point that we figured out the John Labbatt’s front locker was not working, not a problem, but a good shakedown for John prior to HDR. At about this point the group of 4 from the trail head caught up to us, so we let them pass us, but It was not long that Their XJ’s with open diff’s were struggling on several of the climbs and were now slowing us up. We decided to pass them. It was at this point the XJ group was sitting on the side of the trail, it was 10:30 in the morning and time for them to start pounding beers!! Another great reason I love OTR, Alcohol is never allowed on the trail. It’s just a bad idea on so many levels. We made good time to our lunch spot at the Sunset campground at Lockwood Flat. This is a really nice spot on the Lockwood Creek and there are a few big cottonwood trees for shade. Everyone broke out their chairs and coolers to enjoy a group lunch and nice conversation. Rosie the retriever dog was in here element happily running about looking for birds. After everyone finished their lunch, I broke out a nice dessert of strawberry shortcake with fresh berries and whipped cream. I give Ric Freymond credit for the trail treat idea. After lunch we shuffled the group a bit to get vehicles without lockers in-between vehicles with lockers, just in case. Our ascent up Alamo Mountain went very smooth with everyone making the climb without a hitch. At the top we paused to take in the views and snap a few group pictures to record another great OTR event. Then came the long descent down Gold Hill Road to Gorman. Mike had parked his trailer at the Smokey Bear Exit, so we made that our Air up point. This was one smooth run. I really enjoyed our group and we had a great breakfast at our new spot. It doesn’t get any better. Thank you all for attending and making this a great OTR run. Bob Boltner