Sour Grass Sunday (6/12)

Both trails are rated 4wd Easy and can easily be done in a stock 4x4 Xterra. If you are looking to try out wheeling in the Sierras then this trip is for you.

Here are a few pics from last year's trip to Sour Grass

Info on Corral Hollow can be found here.

We should be fine at Sour Grass, but there will likely be some snow at Corral Hollow.

More info on meeting spots and times to come.

Here's the sign-up

--------------------------

1. Huey
2.
3.
4.

NCCX DISCLAIMER:

By using this site and participating in club events, I hereby acknowledge that off-road driving is a potentially hazardous activity and that I should not participate in this activity unless I am medically and physically able to do so. I also acknowledge that off-road driving may cause damage to my vehicle. I assume any and all risks associated with my voluntary participation in club events. In addition, I, for myself and for anyone who might claim on my behalf, covenant not to sue, and hereby waive, release, and discharge NCCX and
any and all of it's members from any personal injury, property damage, or any other claims which may arise from my participation in club-organized activities.

**********************************

All, here's the new info on this trip, plus meeting times and locations, and a new sign-up.

The trip is now on Sunday 6/12. We will do only Sour Grass and then head to the back side of Deer Valley for a quick scouting run to check snow levels (stockers can ride along with a modified rig). This is still a single day run so there are no plans to even try to run all of Deer Valley, just a quick check to the top and back.

****************************
Meeting Spots & Times

9am at the Pleasanton McDonalds
6800 SANTA RITA RD
PLEASANTON, CA 94588

11:45am possibly 12 in Angels Camp (at Burger King)
290 South Main Street
Angels Camp, CA 95222

****************************
communications info...

CB: 16
FRS: 8

1. Huey
2. Kevin Maybe
3.
4.

Sorry Everyone,

Can't make this trip...

Leaving for Moab on 21 May & won't be back till 12 June...YEA, 3 Weeks Off!!!

You all have fun now...

Sourgrass and slickrock trip a couple weeks ago: http://yotatech.com/showthread.php?t=58920

The stream crossing was pretty cool this year. Deepest I've ever seen it.

SIGN ME UP !!!!!
-----------------------------

1. Huey
2. Kevin
3. THEEPOLARBEAR
4.
5.

i'll sign up for now gotta make sure i can get that day off... should'nt be a problem tho.

AHHHH just my luck....I have always wanted to do these trails two and I will be up in the Gold Lake/Graeagle area that weekend. Oh well hope to catch you guys next time. Have fun

well as i have recently found out, sunday the 5th is bad for me... if we could make it saturday, the 4th instead, that would be better assuming, i can get that day off too...ah who knows... we'll see what happens

1. Huey
2. Kevin
3. THEEPOLARBEAR
4. Jay
5.

I'm in unless my Church decides to add something
to my schedule.

1. Huey
2. Kevin
3. THEEPOLARBEAR
4. Jay
5. Xterra_chick (vicki)

I'm picking my 2001 xterra up tomorrow and would like to come to this. This is a good trail for a beginner though? My xterra will be stock, I have no recovery equipment yet, and my boyfriend and I have little offroading experience.

Just remove stock rails and mudflaps and you will be fine. They seem to get in the way Are you located in california?

Ya I'm in san jose, my boyfriend is finishing school out here. Stock Rails??.....you mean the side step bars

I was curious because you list az as where you are from. Yes the step rails they tend to get mangled easily.

I'm in!

1. Huey
2. Kevin
3. THEEPOLARBEAR
4. Jay
5. Xterra_chick (vicki)
6. GrgX

1. Huey
2. Kevin
3. THEEPOLARBEAR
4. Jay
5. GrgX

My bad I'm out. I was just looking at my calander and noticed I have a training for work that weekend. That's what I get for getting all excited about my Xterra, but the next beginner type outing that I can make I'll go.

well as stated in my last post, that the 5th is bad for me, i now must retract that statement. the 5th is good for me, all i have to do is sweet talk my manager into giving me the day off... and i now have a bargaining chip, i'm working all this weekend (except for today...nancy's comencement(sp) thingie is happening). so we'll see how it goes, i'm pretty sure i can make it tho.

1. Huey
2.
3. THEEPOLARBEAR
4. Jay
5. GrgX

Im out Im gone camping till sat And I dont if I will feel like a long day trip on sun.

Hey...if you guys wanted to wait and do this run the following weekend I wouldn't be to upset (then I would be able to go )

Have fun you guys the pictures look great from this trip

1. Huey
2. THEEPOLARBEAR
3. GrgX
4.
5.

Well, I guess I should have known, my Church has decided I am not free that weekend. Serving God is first. I hope to make it next time.
Jay

Yikes! I hope you meant to say that another way! That statement makes it sound like you're serving your church, not God. Do you not have the freedom to choose your own ministries?

If I postpone this trip to June 11 or 12 would more people be able to make it? Would that be ok with George and Robert?

Let me know soon, otherwise I will keep it on June 5th.

i really don't think that will be a problem... maybe if we move it we can get a few more bodies... i normally have saturdays off. and i'm not sure yet if i have this sunday off (schedule comes out friday) and if i were to not get this sunday off that would leave just u 2.. that (imo) is not a great trip ( i mean wheelin is wheelin but the more the merrier ) as digital underground said .... doowhatchalike

It's ok with me Huey, but i'll be working the following weekend. Deer Valley will just be fine for me.

Sounds good to me. If you do postpone this trip till next weekend I would be able to make it. I won't be able to go this weekend because I will be on BRT .
Just my thoughts.


Casper

Hey if you postpone it I should be able to make it then.....I have been trying to make it out to Corral Hollow for some time now.

I will just have to lobby for what ever day we aren't going that is the day we do my mother in laws b-day on

I should be able to swing it.

I am off to Gold Lake area for 4 days of vacation....hope to make it up to the Sierra Buttes trail if not I will poke around some others in the area. I will check the board when I get back this Sunday night to see what you guys and gals decided to do.

Later

Hey, if you postpone 'till the next weekend, I could make it as well...and, then ya'll can come join us on BRT...Casper, I hear, is cookin'

Is that what I said? I'm gona have to watch what I say. j/k
Yea, come and join us on BRT.


Casper

Since the trip will be postponed i'll be working this sunday and prefer next week. The more the merrier.

ok, the trip will be next week (probably Sunday 6/12 if that's ok with everyone).

Sorry can't make this one, all booked up on sunday. Not to post hijack or anything, but the 11th I'll be up at cisco grove doing some trail exploring with my son. Gotta see if my upper A-arm bolts hold up :rolleyes:

Hmmm, maybe I'll have replaced my broken CV axle by then so I might be able to go too!

Im still out Im taking the wife and mother in law to the giants game. On a side note just got back from camping and there is still a lot of snow.

Do you happen to remember what elevation you started to see some snow on the ground?

Plus or minus 5000 feet. And as You went higher it was deeper. Here is a few pics I took. pic

How'd you break your CV?

Attempting a steep climb on Elephant Hill trail in Canyonlands with an original CV with 139,000 miles on it:





The result. Broke the driver's side axle inside the hub:

All, here's the new info on this trip, plus meeting times and locations, and a new sign-up.

The trip is now on Sunday 6/12. We will do only Sour Grass and then head to the back side of Deer Valley for a quick scouting run to check snow levels (stockers can ride along with a modified rig). This is still a single day run so there are no plans to even try to run all of Deer Valley, just a quick check to the top and back.

****************************
Meeting Spots & Times

9am at the Pleasanton McDonalds
6800 SANTA RITA RD
PLEASANTON, CA 94588

11:45am possibly 12 in Angels Camp (at Burger King)
290 South Main Street
Angels Camp, CA 95222

****************************
communications info...

CB: 16
FRS: 8

NCCX DISCLAIMER:

By using this site and participating in club events, I hereby acknowledge that off-road driving is a potentially hazardous activity and that I should not participate in this activity unless I am medically and physically able to do so. I also acknowledge that off-road driving may cause damage to my vehicle. I assume any and all risks associated with my voluntary participation in club events. In addition, I, for myself and for anyone who might claim on my behalf, covenant not to sue, and hereby waive, release, and discharge NCCX and
any and all of it's members from any personal injury, property damage, or any other claims which may arise from my participation in club-organized activities.

Sign me up!

********************
1. Huey (McDonalds in Pleasanton)
2.
3.
4.
5.

Sign me up!

********************
1. Huey (McDonalds in Pleasanton)
2. George
3.
4.
5.

Sign me up!

********************
1. Huey (McDonalds in Pleasanton)
2. George
3. Robert (super size me in pleasanton)
4.
5.

Hey guys.....glad to see this trip get moved back. I am in.......as long as I can bum a ride on the Deer Valley portion of the trip because I don't think my stocker will handle that trail. As far as Sour Grass goes I assume that one is stock friendly?

Just on a side note I was up in the Lakes Basin area this weekend (Gold Lake by Graeagle....Bassets.....Sierra Buttes) and there is ALOT of snow up there starting at about the 5500' level. Every trail I tried to get back on was blocked by snow. I couldn't even get withing 3 miles of the Buttes. What type of elevation is Sour Grass at.........or is there a Ranger station we can call to verify whether or not the trail is clear?

********************
1. Huey (McDonalds in Pleasanton)
2. George
3. Robert (super size me in pleasanton)
4. Ryan (meet you at Angels Camp)
5.

I'd call it stock doable trail.

To me, stock friendly trail is like Eagle Peak...requires 4Lo, but no need to worry about denting a rocker pannel or scraping the bottom. Stock doable trail would be...definitely requires 4Lo, and careful driving...and a spotter required at some places. Sliders would be a good idea...along with larger tires. etc.
It's about 4,100 ft through out. Trail runs pretty much along Stanislaus River...not much change in the elevation.

"Stock doable"......sounds good.....I will take you up on the spotter though

Bump! Any other takers?

1. Huey (McDonalds in Pleasanton)
2. George
3. Robert (super size me in pleasanton)
4. Ryan (meet you at Angels Camp)
5. XPLORx4 (maybe)*

* Gotta check the budget. Might not be able to afford the gas $$. (The Moab trip bankrupted me!)

Hey guys.....I see that we are meeting at noon at Angels Camp. I don't know how long it takes to usually run Sour Grass.....but do you think we are starting to late in the day (especially if you want to head up and try Deer Valley)?

Then again I don't know how far these trails are from each other....so who am I to say. Inquireing minds (mine) want to know.

Thanks!

1. Huey (McDonalds in Pleasanton)
2. George
3. Robert (super size me in pleasanton)
4. Ryan (meet you at Angels Camp)
5. XPLORx4 (maybe)*
6. XSAL (probably)**
7.
I'll give you $2G for your accura! :p

**I'm getting kicked out of our apartment for a day, so that my wife won't have to see me sitting around...It seems that there're tons of things to do before my mom and sister get here next Saturday, but if that's what she wants... :rolleyes:

1. Huey (McDonalds in Pleasanton)
2. George
3. Robert (super size me in pleasanton)
4. Ryan (meet you at Angels Camp)
5. XPLORx4 (maybe)*
6. Matt (will probably have room in Jalopy if people want a ride on Deer Valley)

Hey, you skipped me!

For some reason, I don't feel like driving into DV this time. I don't need a seat, but maybe I'll take your sliders to get a ride.

Yeah I am not sure I am going to head up to Deer Valley either since I have a stock rig.....I will more then likely head back after we get done with Sour Grass.

Here's some more info for those "inquireing minds"

I think I got it wrong, we should be in Angels Camp around 11 or 11:30, but we are only meeting Ryan there. Ryan keep my cell # handy and give me a call if you get there early.

We will quickly grab lunch (there's a supermarket, Burger King, and Subways there) and then head up to Sour Grass. Sour Grass shouldn't take more than 2.5 hours to run in, eat lunch, and the drive out. Then we've got a quick drive to DV and will spend about 2 hours driving in and out. The day should be over around 6 at the latest and then figure in your drive home.

Hope that helps.

Huey,

I may still wonder up to Deer Valley if I can hitch a ride with someone....provided you guys think it is safe to leave my X out at the trail head for a few hours unattended in that area (never been up this way before).

Also...would you mind PMing me your cell #....not sure where I have put it.

Anyone new who's interested in joining? This will be a great 1-day adventure to leave the pavement and enjoy the Sierras w/ your truck.

Wow, we posted within 1 minute of eachother.

If you ride the sliders you know that means I'm going to be aiming for trees.

To anybody who wants to ride along on Deer Valley, there is a parking lot at the bottom of the trail where you can leave your trucks.

- Matt

We might join you all up there. We'll stay the night Saurday though. Is there a campground at the trailhead?

Hey Marty, how goes it?

Yeah, there is a campground at the trailhead. It's semi developed (there are bathrooms) if you can find a spot. If you don't want to pay, just hit the trail and at the end there is a very nice (near a river) undeveloped campground that you can use. The trail shouldn't prove any problems for you and you can easily do it by yourself. You could just hang out there till we reach you and run it back out with us.

To get there take HWY4 a little past Big Trees and look for Boards Crossing Road. There is a small realty office on the right side of HWY4 at Boards Crossing, make a right there. Then just follow the road through the neighborhood and on to a lonely streach (I think 6mi total). You will then cross a bridge and imediately see the camp area (parking lot and bathrooms) on the left. The trail head is off to the right in the parking lot.

If you get lost just ask the locals to help you find the Sour Grass camp ground.

Thank you Huey, I'm doing good. Just bought a house in Concord.
We're planning on biking before you guys get there. It'll be easier on me to be there on Saturday.

Akio are you still going? If you are, do you want to meet up in safeway mission blvd.?

Okay...say 8:30+ AM ? :rolleyes: (It's only 20 min. from the safeway to McD in Pleasanton...)

1. Huey (McDonalds in Pleasanton)
2. George
3. Robert (super size me in pleasanton)
4. Ryan (meet you at Angels Camp)
5. XPLORx4 (maybe)*
6. XSAL (probably)**
7. Matt (will probably have room in Jalopy if people want a ride on Deer Valley)
8. Steve (pleasanton)

Thanks everyone for making this a great day trip.....nice to see some old faces and new ones alike. Thanks to all that helped spot me on occasion....it was much appreciated. I really enjoyed the trail.

Hope your guys were able to meet up with Dean and Huey. Looking forward to seeing the pics since I have to wait to get mine developed.

See you all next time!

Pics here:
http://www.robinhood4x4.com/gallery2/Xterra%20Sourgrass%206-12-05/

After we left sourgrass, Matt called up dean and huey and found that dean had to be towed back to huey's house. I'll let them tell the story. It's a good thing huey is having a mod day next weekend .

Anyway, Matt, Geoff and I decided to just head home after sourgrass. When's the deer valley trip?

It was a fun, relaxed run... Too bad that new people didn't show up. It would have been the perfect trail for newbies and enjoy the Sierras... :rolleyes:

Sour grass Pics

LOL It was a fun day....but I think that trail would have given the first timer more then a run for their money.

Yeah, I heard about the creative tire-lifting line that you guys all took. Sounds like you enjoyed it, though.

Here's a couple of PICTURES
I took.

I was soooo close to going on this trip, but I have finals this week which was the deciding factor. Glad to hear you guys had fun and shot some cool pics.

Hey Dean.....did you make it home ok? What was the verdit on your rig? Sounds like if you got towed there was more to it then just the fan belt? Hope not.

Yeah, I made it back home OK, but OMG, what an ordeal!

So, as you know, the original belt shredded. We figured it shredded because it was old.

So, we left my truck near the Calaveras County line (pretty close to the mine-cart "county sign") and we went to Kragen to buy a new belt. Returned to the truck with the new belt and installed it, but noticed one edge of the belt was riding high on the alternator pulley. We figured it would hold until Angel's Camp, so we started heading towards town.

Four miles later, at the bottom of a steep grade, the temp hits HOT and the engine dies, so I pull over quickly and pop the hood. The $34 Kragen crappy belt (what a ripoff!) had also shredded.

Upon closer inspection, we noticed that the alternator pulley had 5 grooves (instead of 6) which explains in part why the belt was riding high on one side of the pulley. The alternator pulley was incorrect for my truck.

Anyway, my wife brought the stock alternator up to Huy's house later in the evening and we swapped the alternator out, and I was able to make it all the way home.

This morning I visited a local alternator shop about a mile from my house, and got the correct pulley installed on the new alternator.

Whew, what a nightmare!

I once read a quote from a wise person:

"4x4 in upper case is $X$"
Sorry you went through that, glad you didn't blow something REALLY bad.

Like breaking the splines off of an axle-shaft, oh wait! (just teasin Dean)

Here are some more pictures:
http://www.blankwhitepage.com/gallery/sourgrass_20050612

- Matt

"4x4 in uppercase is $X$"

hahaha! Yeah, well at least I didn't have to pay AAA for the tow! It would have cost me $7.50/mile w/o AAA!

I had a very entertaining experience riding with the 56-going-on-78-year-old tow truck driver for the 100-mile trip, who not only finished 4 cigarettes in our 90 minute ride (Ack! Cough cough! ), but enlightened me with lots of history about the regions we passed through....

"See that fence line there? That used to be such-and-such ranch back in 1882. blahblahblah"
He was a character all right.

Glad to see you all got back safe. Wish I could have made that run. Nice pics everyone...

Great pics.

Dean, glad to hear you made it home alright. It's been quite a month for you eh?