Gunsight Pass 8/06 Photos

[BajaTaco]

I had so much fun camping, that I had to join the Portal!
Now, to set the record straight: Brian is the one I was speaking to when I said "10-4, Big Daddy". For some reason I didn't think people would hear the CB transmission.. maybe that is the blonde hair thinking or someting.

During the climb up to the mine, onlookers witnessed the Taco stop dead in its tracks half way up the hill and begin to thrash around. My darling husband, flyingwil, was nice enough to hold down the speaker button on the CB while I was being ATTACKED by the gigantic killer Beetle that ambushed me from his position atop the ocitillo. Naturally, Wil held the speaker button as to alert everyone that the Taco was in fact not stuck, but that his wife was only being violated by the beetle. The Taco pervailed once again!
Now combine that with the 3 ft Rattle snake that came by our tent in the middle of the night in hopes of snuggling with me and you have a Great Trip!!!
Thanks Everyone!!!
Wen

Hey Wen!! :wavey: Too cool that you are actually posting up here on ExPo. A HUGE welcome and a :beer: for you too. I was laughin my ******** off at your beetle story - very good description of what was going on I could totally see Wil doing that with the mic... :xxrotflma Sorry I missed the trip.

And Seth - you suckah... ********. We need to go back to Baja... LOL

 

[FlyingWen]

I was laughin my ******** off at your beetle story - very good description of what was going on I could totally see Wil doing that with the mic...

Yep... sorry girls, he's taken!
It was a great trip and for me still being in a walking cast, I was SHOCKED I didn't do a face plant somwhere. Normally, I fall without any outside interference.
Thanks for the welcome. After 2 great camping trips, I think I am ready to retire the Beach towel and Pina Coloda for Rocks and a camp fire. :campfire:
oooh, Maybe with an AC adapter, I can have the camp fire and Pina Colodas too! :friday:
Wen

 

[datrupr]

OK, to start things off..... Seth, you suckah!!! we waited and waited for you to arrive at the pre determined meeting spot so long we go a very late start. I think because of you we left a whole 4 minutes late! Now, the trip just gets better after this. The Central AZ contingency were all caravaning to the trail head, Scott jumps on the CB and announces the exit number we need to get off at, and announces again that we are getting off at "this" exit. Now, I have to admit that I thought that this was a bit silly because we were basically all in a line. We proceed to get off I-10 and just a moment later Brian comes on the radio and says something along the lines of "Ooopps, guys, we just missed the exit.", and Mark immediately replies "See ya SUCKAHH!!!!". Now, after much discussion over the CB channel 4 it was decided that Mark, nice guy that he is, will turn around and try and find Brian and Amy and guide them to the trail head. We arrived at teh trail head where the Southern AZ contingency is already waiting for us, park, air down and do introductions while Scott heads back to the road to wait for Mark, Super Cool Chick, Brian, and Amy. Now, I do not know what it is, but why is it that mud holes, no matter what the size are huge attractions to dogs? After the quick drivers meeting conducted by Scott, I loaded my muddy ass dog into the truck and we were off. Great trail by the way, and a great job Shotts did leading a group of this size. We did encounter a little play area off of the main route and several of our members played around on the steep hills, off camber spots, and a small mud hole. We did have a slight snag here though. Randy in stock '05 Tacoma attempted to get up the steep exit to the play area and managed to get his truck high centered on the exit point, damn those long wheelbases! Brian call down to Ed for a Snatch Block. Ed, ever so eager to try out his new winch was a little dissapointed to hear that all they wanted was his snatch block. I drive up the trail a bit with Scott to the exit point for the optional portion to see GoodTimes with his Jeep parked off the the side and his winch unspooled ready to wrap it around a tree to perform the extraction. Now, assesing the situation, expert that I am, anybody could clearly see that Randy was stuck. Scott is walking around looking att eh situation while Brain is making comments about how his Jeep is going to have to another Toyota unstuck. Now, I do not know if this struck a nerve with the Toyota gang and Mr. Brady, but shortly after that Scott turns to the rest of the group and asks if anybody tried to push Randy out backwards. "Well, we did, kinda, but there was only one of us pushing." came the response from the peanut gallery. Scott rounded up the troops and we all gave Randy a good push and off the hill he went, and GoodTimes did not even get to use his winch. But, his cable did get run over by a Tacoma, FJ40, Vitara, and a Discovery before He got to put it away. Back on the trail we go. I'll continue in a little bit.

 

[erin]

:xxrotflma :xxrotflma :xxrotflma

Outstanding recap!!!!

 

[goodtimes]

KC--not to worry, there was plenty of harassin' going on. I picked up the slack for you....this time.

It was a fun trip, but I ended up with a nice sunburn. oops. Cherokee ended up with a bunch of cactus thorns in her legs, but otherwise, all was pretty much perfect. Although I am still concerned about the bodies in the bottom of the well.....remind me not to piss off Jonathon.

 

[datrupr]

Thanks Erin, but here is section 2:

Back on the trail and all is going really well. Shotts is still leading and the trail is a good mix of light wheeling, two track, a bit of challenge for the mostly stock rigs, and outstanding scenery. The southern part of the state has been getting a lot of rain and everything is green and the wildflowers are blooming everywhere. A huge contrast to the Phoenix area. We stopped in the middle of the trail for a lunch and some idle ******** chat and Shotts and his son had to head back into town so Scott took over as lead. The next section of the trail had a bit more challenge to it, especially for the long wheelbase rigs with the tight switch backs. So far, no more trouble....... Until......... After we all climbing up a slightly washed out rocky slope we continue on the trail when all of a sudden we get call from our tail gunner Mark that he is having trouble getting up the slope we all just climbed..... Karma is a ********** ain't it Mark? Anyway, Erin and I jump out and casually walk up to see what Mark has gotten himself into. To sum it up, he had his left rear wheel in a bit of a ditch that was causing his rear axle to over flex causing to lose any and all momentum he had going for him. Now, I can not confirm this, but I am sure Brain was laughing because of the "See ya SUCKAHH!!!!" comment from Mark earlier that day. After some excellent spotting from Erin we got Mark up the hill and on we went. We continued on the the ghost town of "??" and Scott decided that this would be a good spot to camp. We all got our camps set up and and were ******** chatting with the Southern AZ group, along with everyone else there when Wil and Brian decide to go on a little trek up to the Mine we were camping near. We are hanging around the Expeditions West Tacoma talking and putting down a few cold ones when we hear Brian calling to Wil asking him how it was looking. At this those of us in camp look in the direction of the mine and see Wil and Wend stopped near the top, and Wend calls out on the CB that it is good or something and then a "10-4 Big Daddy" All of us in camp get a bit of a chuckle out of this and then ask amongst ourselves why is Wil stopped? Is he stuck or something? Then Brian calls out over the CB "Wil, why are you stopped? Are you stuck or something?" At this point we in camp are all pretty much laughing historically when Wil responds "No, we are not stuck, Wendy has a bug in her boot, I think it's a beetle of some sort." And, the whole time Wil has the mic engaged we can hear Wendy screaming almost bloody murder in the background. Well, needless to say all of us hearing this interaction were practically rolling on the ground laughing our asses off. Well, the excitement of the Wil and Brain show on Saturday evening CB Chanel 4 was over and it was time to relax. Those of us camping were saying our good-bye's to those that were not camping and we started to relax in our chairs. Well, the wind only picked up and blew the bugs away while I was trying to put my rain fly up (thanks again for your help Randy), then quickly disappeared and the bugs came back. Now, I learned two things this evening. 1. Scott will almost anything for a Shiner Bock, and 2. Super Cool Chick will do almost anything to keep a dirt dobber out of hers, even throw one (a Shiner Bock that is) all over my tent to get the flying critter away from her beer. After we all ate dinner we gathered around the Expeditions West Tacoma again, yes a popular gathering spot out on the trail (I don't know why though), to view a slide show about the Outback Challenge 2006 presented by the overall winner himself Mr. Scott Brady. What an awesome show, Scott! Thanks again for sharing. And, to finish the night off Randy and Linda baked a very delicious chocolate cake in the Dutch Oven.

Day 2: The drive back to civilization.

Now, the drive out of camp was not as eventful as the first day was, however Scott did take us on a State Trust two track that carried us down in elevation and we were able to see the changes in vegitation and it was beautiful! With a run through an Ocotillo forest (musta scared the crap out of Wendy bringing up some flashbacks from the vicious attack attempted by the very rare Africanised Sonoran Black Killer Beetle the previous day). And, Scott gave us quite a show on how to repair a slightly unseated tire as the only failure of the weekend was a flat tire on the Expeditions West Tacoma. Lucky for those of us in the group this did happen as we all got a lesson on using a Hi-Lift Jack, and how to repair a tire. I do have photos of this, and I will post them up if I can ever shut up on here and take the time to download my pictures. All in all, a great trip with a great group of people that I am happy to know, and to those that I got to meet. Thanks a lot Scott for putting this trip together and allowing for a good time to be had by all.

P.S. Remember Wendy, it is all done for safety.

 

[articulate]

Nice Aaron! I usually forget the funny details and just make up my own. Good work! My very own wife called me a wuss for radio-ing for help to get up the hill. Like Norm said on the TV show, Cheers: "Women. Can't live with 'em."

I was so pleased to meet the new faces and join the harrassin'. Have I said this yet? Nobody looks like what I think they should look like after knowing them on the internet. Did that make any sense? Anyone else say, "OH! That's what you look like!"

 

[seth_js]

Seriously! We had a moment of silence for you...after someone asked, "Where the f^ck is Seth?"

You suckah.

********. I know, I know. I was freak'n pissed man. Especially since I wasted my Saturday laying in bed watching B-movies on TV telling myself over and over I'm never gonna drink again (hmmm, where have I heard that before).

And Seth - you suckah... ********. We need to go back to Baja... LOL

Heh, fer sure.

 

[datrupr]

Mark, I was not calling you a wuss. And why did Brooke not spot you up the hill? When Erin and I got there she was just standing at the top and pointing at you telling us you have no idea in hell what you are doing, and would we please help you. Just kidding, she didn't say any of that, or that I recall anyway. Hey, she still wants a fridge and a snorkel, so she is still Super Cool Chick, even though she did throw Shiner Bock all over my tent, and if she feels she needs to call you a wuss, well then so be it. Just accept that fact and carry on with what you were doing.

On a side note, and I know that only a few of us heard it, I do have to put up a favorite quote for the trip. "It is like looking at a hot chick walking away every time."- Mark D. Stephens.com watching the Expeditions West Tacoma Pull away to head back into Tucson

 

[erin]

:ylsmoke:
I think Mark just needs to remember to not always follow me through the deep ruts next time!!!

And actually to give credit where credit is due, it was Goodtimes line that got him up the hill, I was going to have him try a harder line to negotiate around the ruts!!

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

Although I am still concerned about the bodies in the bottom of the well.....remind me not to piss off Jonathon.

Mine shaft. It's a mine shaft. Get your facts straight, or else.

 

[CAPTAIN COORS]

what a fun weekend! enjoyed meeting new freinds and seeing old ones, here are a few pics

 

[ShottsCruisers]

FUN DAY FOR US! THANKS SCOTT FOR HEADING SOUTH AND PLANNING THIS!

GREAT TO SEE OLD AND NEW FACES!

There's a short description of the run as well as all my pics here:
http://shottscruisers.smugmug.com/gallery/1821603

Meanwhile, here's some previews:

 

[datrupr]

John, it was great to finally meet you, Becky and Tyler, and to sse the old '93 and the ROKLIMO in person. You did a great job of leading the first portion of the trip, and your pictures are outstanding. Hope we can get out on the trail again soon.

 

[ShottsCruisers]

John, it was great to finally meet you, Becky and Tyler, and to sse the old '93 and the ROKLIMO in person. You did a great job of leading the first portion of the trip, and your pictures are outstanding. Hope we can get out on the trail again soon.

Right back atcha!