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Natai

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Finally got to take the King in Yellow off road yesterday!
Joined up with a local group - Gold Country Broncos. Great group and I'm looking forward to more adventures with them! We had a plan, it did not pan out, we readjusted, and had a great day.

Plan was to head up to Saddleback Mountain and then on to Poker Flat - the trail runs roughly from Downieville to La Porte in California - around 70 miles northwest of Lake Tahoe. One of the members had scouted the first part of the trail earlier in the week, so we knew to expect snow and ice.

Eight Broncos in total made it out for the trip. Started out fairly dry but we started hitting snow as we climbed in elevation. We reached a turnoff - and took a left instead of a right. Left took us down a short trail to a mine (Telegraph Mine I think). Fortunately there were a couple of buildings - and a snow cat - with just enough room for us to turn around. We made prudent use of Trail Turn Assist to spin around in the snow instead of a series of tight 5-point turns. A guy poked his head out of one of the buildings and immediately got a confused look on his face at the sight of a bunch of Broncos.

We headed back up to where we made a wrong turn, which meant a largely blind hard left turn going uphill in ice about 160 degrees the other way. I really wish I'd been able to see what angle everyone else made on that turn. I think I cut it too soon. A few back and forth readjustments, and managed to get myself basically high-centered on the snowbank. My tires had contact, but not enough to get any traction. Another member of the group grabbed a shovel and cleared some snow from under my inside rock rail while I grabbed my recover boards and dug out behind the rear tires. Jammed the boards underneath and was able to get back down. Tried a wide approach and Turn Assist with some gas and spun around the turn just fine.

At which point the decision was made that it would take far too long to reach the peak at Saddleback Mountain - given the repeated need to winch across the ice - so we were turning around. So I had to back around the same corner I just dealt with.

Some good spotting got me back around. I pulled ahead and we got everyone else back around and lined up. So then I found myself in the lead heading back down. This up and down was definitely a bit of a crash course in driving on ice off-road - on the side of a mountain. (I've driven in snowy conditions before, just not off-road.) Was definitely feeling much more confident by the time we got down.

We got aired up and headed into the small town of Downieville. Cool little mountain town! Would probably be a nice overnight trip in the future. We checked out a small coffee shop - which had a wall of individual mugs for the locals - and talked to guys manning the counter about where we might find some other trails in the area at a slightly lower altitude. They pointed us to Mountain House Road just south of town, which they said should be clear of snow.

Two of our group headed home with family obligations, and the remaining 6 headed to our second trail of the day. We did encounter some snow, but nothing we couldn't handle. Found a nice open area near the top to stop, stretch our legs, and take some pics. Headed down, encountering a couple of small downed trees on the way. Passed through the small town of Forest at the bottom. Listed with a population of 4, so the 8 people we had in our 6 Broncos effectively tripled the size of town as we passed through. We stopped at Bullards Bar Reservoir on the way back and chatted a bit, before crossing the damn and heading home.

Had an awesome day with a great group! Got a lot of use out of the Bronco's features and some of my gear. Sway Bar Disconnect, Front & Rear Lockers, Trail Turn Assist, GOAT Modes, recovery boards, GMRS, GoPro dash mount, and Garmin InReach - got legitimate, valuable use out of all of it. Learned a lot and looking forward to next time.

Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun 20221119_HeadingOut

Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun 20221119_Airdown1
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun 20221119_Airdown2
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun 20221119_Airdown3
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun 20221119_Airdown4
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun 20221119_Airdown5

Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun 20221119_ShortofPeak4
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun 20221119_ShortofPeak3
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun 20221119_SecondTrail1
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun 20221119_SecondTrail2
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun 20221119_SecondTrail3
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun 20221119_SecondTrail5
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun 20221119_SecondTrail6
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun 20221119_SecondTrail7
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun 20221119_SecondTrail8
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun 20221120_Reservoir1
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Natai

Natai

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One of our group - Mark Brooks in the Velocity Blue 4-door - is a professional photographer and put together this video of the day.

 

22Badskwatch

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Met up with 7 other Bronco owners this past Saturday in Downieville, CA for a drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain. We all aired down and hit the trail - a scenic well-maintained trail through the hills as we climbed in altitude. Once we got up to 5300 feet, the snow on the trail was about a foot and a half deep, and was wet, heavy snow. We had a Sasquatch in the front of the pack with a winch, and despite best efforts, the snow was too deep to just drive through since nobody else had established a trail. So, he used his winch to pull himself forward about 40 feet at a time in an attempt to break the trail for the rest of us. Once we realized we needed to go about a mile further like this, we all agreed to turn around. So we went back into town and regrouped - A couple people decided to head home at this point, and the remaining 6 Broncos ended up taking a trail towards Goodyears Bar and taking the trail the rest of the way out on Mountain House Rd - which got up to about 4500 feet, and the trail was already previously driven - a great scenic drive, and definitely a fun way to spend the day!
Mine is the velocity blue one.
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun aerial in snow
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun bronco lineup forest hill
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun bronco pano in mts
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun buried
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun caleb in front
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun Chris and lineu
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun deep snow backlit
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun deep snow
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun elwood front
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun elwood low
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun elwood
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun forest hill
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun fuel shok 1
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun lineup with Jacob in front
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun meetup front sunflare
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun meetup front
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun meetu
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun my bronco sunflare
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun orange with backlit
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun panda
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun pinstripes
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun rearview mirror
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun script
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun selfie broncos
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco

 

nabronco21

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Looks like a good time and nice pictures too. I hope to get some snow wheelin in this year.
 

da_jokker

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So jealous. The Broncos on its way So hopefully next time!
 

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22Badskwatch

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So jealous. The Broncos on its way So hopefully next time!
right on, man... I just hit 2000 miles on mine this weekend (I've had it for 39 days so far). absolutely loving it!
 

SwampCactus

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Met up with 7 other Bronco owners this past Saturday in Downieville, CA for a drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain. We all aired down and hit the trail - a scenic well-maintained trail through the hills as we climbed in altitude. Once we got up to 5300 feet, the snow on the trail was about a foot and a half deep, and was wet, heavy snow. We had a Sasquatch in the front of the pack with a winch, and despite best efforts, the snow was too deep to just drive through since nobody else had established a trail. So, he used his winch to pull himself forward about 40 feet at a time in an attempt to break the trail for the rest of us. Once we realized we needed to go about a mile further like this, we all agreed to turn around. So we went back into town and regrouped - A couple people decided to head home at this point, and the remaining 6 Broncos ended up taking a trail towards Goodyears Bar and taking the trail the rest of the way out on Mountain House Rd - which got up to about 4500 feet, and the trail was already previously driven - a great scenic drive, and definitely a fun way to spend the day!
Mine is the velocity blue one.
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco

great photos!!
 

NORCALGXP

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Finally got to take the King in Yellow off road yesterday!
Joined up with a local group - Gold Country Broncos. Great group and I'm looking forward to more adventures with them! We had a plan, it did not pan out, we readjusted, and had a great day.

Plan was to head up to Saddleback Mountain and then on to Poker Flat - the trail runs roughly from Downieville to La Porte in California - around 70 miles northwest of Lake Tahoe. One of the members had scouted the first part of the trail earlier in the week, so we knew to expect snow and ice.

Eight Broncos in total made it out for the trip. Started out fairly dry but we started hitting snow as we climbed in elevation. We reached a turnoff - and took a left instead of a right. Left took us down a short trail to a mine (Telegraph Mine I think). Fortunately there were a couple of buildings - and a snow cat - with just enough room for us to turn around. We made prudent use of Trail Turn Assist to spin around in the snow instead of a series of tight 5-point turns. A guy poked his head out of one of the buildings and immediately got a confused look on his face at the sight of a bunch of Broncos.

We headed back up to where we made a wrong turn, which meant a largely blind hard left turn going uphill in ice about 160 degrees the other way. I really wish I'd been able to see what angle everyone else made on that turn. I think I cut it too soon. A few back and forth readjustments, and managed to get myself basically high-centered on the snowbank. My tires had contact, but not enough to get any traction. Another member of the group grabbed a shovel and cleared some snow from under my inside rock rail while I grabbed my recover boards and dug out behind the rear tires. Jammed the boards underneath and was able to get back down. Tried a wide approach and Turn Assist with some gas and spun around the turn just fine.

At which point the decision was made that it would take far too long to reach the peak at Saddleback Mountain - given the repeated need to winch across the ice - so we were turning around. So I had to back around the same corner I just dealt with.

Some good spotting got me back around. I pulled ahead and we got everyone else back around and lined up. So then I found myself in the lead heading back down. This up and down was definitely a bit of a crash course in driving on ice off-road - on the side of a mountain. (I've driven in snowy conditions before, just not off-road.) Was definitely feeling much more confident by the time we got down.

We got aired up and headed into the small town of Downieville. Cool little mountain town! Would probably be a nice overnight trip in the future. We checked out a small coffee shop - which had a wall of individual mugs for the locals - and talked to guys manning the counter about where we might find some other trails in the area at a slightly lower altitude. They pointed us to Mountain House Road just south of town, which they said should be clear of snow.

Two of our group headed home with family obligations, and the remaining 6 headed to our second trail of the day. We did encounter some snow, but nothing we couldn't handle. Found a nice open area near the top to stop, stretch our legs, and take some pics. Headed down, encountering a couple of small downed trees on the way. Passed through the small town of Forest at the bottom. Listed with a population of 4, so the 8 people we had in our 6 Broncos effectively tripled the size of town as we passed through. We stopped at Bullards Bar Reservoir on the way back and chatted a bit, before crossing the damn and heading home.

Had an awesome day with a great group! Got a lot of use out of the Bronco's features and some of my gear. Sway Bar Disconnect, Front & Rear Lockers, Trail Turn Assist, GOAT Modes, recovery boards, GMRS, GoPro dash mount, and Garmin InReach - got legitimate, valuable use out of all of it. Learned a lot and looking forward to next time.

Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco

Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco

Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Ford Bronco Northern CA group drive up Poker Flat to Saddleback Mountain - a little detour, but still had fun white bronco
Looks like an amazing wheeling trip, love that area of the Sierra's. I'm not on FB but would like to go out with your group can you post on the forum future trips. I'm in Sacramento and wheel hard.
 

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@Natai Looks like fun, I wanted to go but already had some Sac State Football tickets.

Kudos to Mr. Brooks, those are some great shots.
@calgecko got banned, really nice guy that should be on here. @Administrator can we get Mr. Brooks back?

Looks like an amazing wheeling trip, love that area of the Sierra's. I'm not on FB but would like to go out with your group can you post on the forum future trips. I'm in Sacramento and wheel hard.
Prairie City December 3rd 10am to 1pm, Gold Country is hosting a how to wheel. I plan to crash the party and get super stuck so we can use that fancy winch you have!
 

Rick Astley

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One of our group - Mark Brooks in the Velocity Blue 4-door - is a professional photographer and put together this video of the day.

Thanks to you all for posting the pics, taking the video and great write-up by @Natai ! Looks like a great time!

Many of us wish we could be out there doing that stuff if only we had Broncos.
 

Felix808

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After 746 days, a MY22 4-door Badlands Bronco :-)
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Looks like a blast! Thanks for sharing (y)
 
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Natai

Natai

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Looks like an amazing wheeling trip, love that area of the Sierra's. I'm not on FB but would like to go out with your group can you post on the forum future trips. I'm in Sacramento and wheel hard.
Will do. This one did get posted in the Bay Area Broncos group here on the forums. https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/groups/bay-area-broncos.6/

There may also be a standalone website for Gold Country Broncos in the future, largely to help include those that aren't active on FB and other social media. If that happens, I'll be sure to post a link.
@Natai Looks like fun, I wanted to go but already had some Sac State Football tickets.

@calgecko got banned, really nice guy that should be on here. @Administrator can we get Mr. Brooks back?

Prairie City December 3rd 10am to 1pm, Gold Country is hosting a how to wheel. I plan to crash the party and get super stuck so we can use that fancy winch you have!
I plan to be out at Prairie City as well, and there are talks about making that a more frequent event - just in case someone can't make it out on the 3rd.
 

Drive10851

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That's awesome. I want to do that in my Bronco. Did it in my Rubicon last year. No snow though. Was up past Downieville veteran's weekend.
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