John Bull -Big Bear Bronco Bash 6-9-23

[Felix808]

I lead a group of Broncos through John Bull during the Big Bear Bronco Bash on Friday 6-9-23. We had a full day of adventure that I would bet few if any had planed for.
We started of with 7 vehicles, more on this later.
My 22 4 Door and 6 classic early Bronco's
The participants that had attended Please correct me & add to where I am wrong, were: Ed, Dave & Stephanie, Ralph & Patrice, Mark & Logan, The Felix Brothers Brian & Steve with their wives and Me (Rob) w/ my brother Rich along for the ride.

We met up at 9 at the staging area sync'd radios and headed off. Just before getting to Holcomb Valley Ed was having some electrical issue. We were held up a bit and Ed was able to straight wire his ignition where he was able to limp it back to camp. Later we learned he completely burned/melted/dissolved a 10g wire . We are all thankful the whole thing didn't go up in flames

Now with 6 vehicles in route we made our way to the first rocky climb. We paused for a moment as one of the classics was having trouble engaging low range due to shift linkage problems. about 15-20 minutes later low range was achieved and we were rolling again, but not for long.
This is where things went south for Dave & Stephanie's classic Bronco. The fan ended up taking a hard bite into the radiator & needless to say there joy was over for the week . We contemplating pinching off countless rows & refilling but being as the hole was larger than a softball we decided to get them off the trail. This is where Trail Hero Ralph really saved the day. We got them turned around and Ralph pulled them back to flat ground where he ran back to camp & grabbed his truck & trailer to take them back to town We were fortunate thus far that we were able to get the vehicles off the trail be for the big stuff really started to appear.

Then there were 4 . The trail had changed a good bit from my memory of just how much fun (see challenging) this trail could be . A lot of big rocks that put the armor to good use. Boy did it earn it's money today. Mark did a fantastic job of guiding us through the gatekeeper . We all made it through unscathed.
We continued down the trail and Steve's Classic was beginning to experience vapor lock . Pouring some water on the surge tank help get things cooled down and we were on our way again, for now anyway . Yep you guessed it more vapor lock issues surfaced later down the trail and the question of " is it shorter to turn around or keep going" was asked. At this point there was no turning back we were all committed to whatever it would take to get us through this long day .
We continued to make our way thorough the challenging climbs and over the large rocks along the way.

We made it to the exit route but some how we blew by the turn off for Polique Canyon rd to get us out. The turn off was sort of shaped like so __>-- so we traveled a mile or 2 before realizing it as OnX flaked on me again.
The four of us finally made it out of there in one piece and with no shortage of adventure.
Thank you all for coming out. It was great meeting all of you. And again a special thank you to Ralph for getting Dave back to town

I hope we see you all again next year
Sorry not too many pictures as we had our hands full most of the day. Attendees, please feel free to add any details & pics.

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[Felix808]

Not from our trip, but to give you an idea of this trail due to my lack of pictures.

" Commonly referred to as the mini Rubicon Trail, John Bull is one of the most difficult trails in the San Bernardino Forest trail system. Large boulders, tight turns, and small squeezes between trees are just some of the obstacles you will encounter. Once you arrive at the infamous "Gate Keeper" you will start crawling your way up boulder fields with rocks the size of small cars. Mixed with loose dirt, traction is minimal and ground clearance is your friend" (Trails off Road)

 

[0ne]

The forefather classic Broncos are super cool and unfortunately now prohibitively expensive but all their inevitable classic vehicle modified and unrefined system’s faults are why I chose a brand new 2dr base Sasquatch 2.7 6G. I can try and look and feel as cool as the classics while hopefully enjoying modern day improvements and a warranty.

 

[Felix808]

The forefather classic Broncos are super cool and unfortunately now prohibitively expensive but all their inevitable classic vehicle modified and unrefined system’s faults are why I chose a brand new 2dr base Sasquatch 2.7 6G. I can try and look and feel as cool as the classics while hopefully enjoying modern day improvements and a warranty.

Yep, I've forgotten what it took to keep my 76 going & how much more work it needed. Those old classics always run hot climbing hills and slow rolling it. I used to say that I was building my new truck one part at a time. After that day I was glad I went with the 6G vice buying & building another 1st gen regardless of the cool factor. The others with me were impressed with mine at the end of the day

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