We all met up at the Flying J a little after 8am. It was John (& Nova), Tom, Stuart ('06 Rubicon), Andrew & Shari (CJ7) and myself, Chris and the boys. After introductions and a little chatting, we headed for the trail.
We were making good time by the time we got to the Yellowjacket turnoff, so we decided to head down to the end and back.
I'm happy to report that this trip was the first time I didn't have to be strapped up the big stair near the beginning of the trail, thanks to some expert spotting by Andrew. We all made it to the end of the trail without incident.
On the way out, I got myself stuck and needed the strap. I guess I'm destined to not make it through Yellowjacket without needing to be strapped at least once... Everyone pitched in and with the strap and a little bit of rock-stacking, I was on my way again.
A bit further up the trail, while watching from the bypass/trail while everyone else drove up the creekbed, I noticed that my Jp wasn't driving quite right. Actually, it was driving TOO right.. pulling to the right, that is. Sure enough, my right front tire was flat. Not just flat, but shredded. There was a 6 inch or so slice along the sidewall, from the center of the tire outward. The rim also got banged up pretty bad and will have to be replaced. (Anyone know a tire/wheel guy? :) Everyone pitched in again and after a few minutes, my spare was in use for the first time ever.
Things progressed pretty smoothly from there, and we made it back to the Lockwood trail and on to the picnic area next to Piru Creek, where we had a nice lunch and relaxed for a bit.
After lunch, we headed up Miller. About half way up, Andrew started having trouble with his fuel pump (vapor lock?). With a few stops to let it cool off, we made it to the top without any other problems.
All in all it was a nice day and a good run. I look forward to seeing Andrew, Sheri and Stuart on future runs and at the meetings.
St-