Rowher Flats Day Run

Rowher Flats day run 3/25/16
The group Gathered at the Porter Ranch Park and ride Gassed up and ready to go. Tim had just installed a new 2 Meter radio and needed a minute to set the OTR DCS . Having the owner’s manual in hand made it a snap. We departed the park and ride in typical convoy style. Traffic was light and we made good time to the Rush Canyon turn off. We stopped and aired down and took a few minutes to admire the green hill sides.
We Quickly made our way to the trail head and started our ascent up the 4X4 trail. Some blade work had been done recently near the bottom of the trail likely do to erosion from the recent heavy rains. We made good progress negotiating the exposed rock and Large ditches eroded in to the trail. We stopped on a small mesa where we had a 360 degree view of the flowering hill sides. Tim pointed out some edible plant life from the look in his face after chewing it I decided I would take his word as to how tasty it actually was. Rosie [Tim’s Dog] was having a great time tracking different scents that seemed to be very abundant.
We were able to make it to the top of the mountain range without issue negotiating the most difficult path up we could take. The top of the mountain reviled spectacular panoramic views of Santa Clarita, Bouquet Reservoir and the surrounding mountains. Rosie was eager to do some sniffing and loved being off leash free to stretch her legs in the vast open area.
We started our decent down the back side of the mountain. A few clouds had moved in to the area and the temperature dropped like a rock. Our presence startled some of the wildlife a deer and some jack rabbits scampered in front of the Jeep eager to leave the area. Some of the shady areas were wet and muddy offering us a little slip and slide action. With Bouquet Reservoir in direct view Tim commented that he had never seen the reservoir so full. With our transmissions in the lowest gear and the transfer cases in low/low we creeped down the last part of the mountain to the staging area. We hung out at the bottom before airing up talking about our morning fun regretting only that our OTR family members were unable to join us.
Gary Martin.