12-17-08 Cajon Pass
Posted: Thu Dec 25, 2008 8:42 pm
Well heres the story of my little incident everyone has been waiting for.
On Monday, 12-15, my friend Mike and I thought it would be a good idea to go to the Cajon Pass to take pics of the trains going through the snow. It was supposed to be an easy trip that didnt require anything but a sweater and the trucks heater. Ive been to the Cajon Pass many times and the road is a 0 on a 0-10 difficulty scale. We left my house in Norwalk about 9am with my 5 year old son, get breakfast in Fontana and fuel up, and get back on the 15fwy going towards the 215 interchange.
We get there, and there are lots of typical ding dongs who dont know what to do other sit in the middle of the freeway with the brakes on.
I drive up to the 215 and we are directed to go South. I get off in Devore, and go around the backside through the neighborhoods to the old Route 66 that runs below and parallel to the 15.
At the most northern part of old 66, i had to get back on the 15 north. I guess that roadblock at the 15/215 was to keep the average ding dong out of the pass, because i went right up to the 138. Its the clearest ive ever seen the 15 fwy in any direction and location.
Freedom was short lived, because the 138 exit was jam packed with ding dongs fighting their way bumper and fender up the offramp.
The 15 was completely closed from 138, on.
The news outlets heard i was coming, but i declined interview. They were pissed that i wouldnt give them a story on me, so they did a report on the snow and the pass closing down. You all might have seen it on the news
The look on peoples faces was priceless as i squeezed through their ding dong line. The CHP officer looked a little confused as well, as i humped over the curb and continued on route 3n21.
Ahhhh beautiful country. This is what its all about. You would never know there is a freeway and a couple of stores nearby due to the snow falling.
My friend Mike decided he needed to get out and pose in the snow for his Facebook account. Hes Romanian, and we have this little joke going where everytime i take his pic, hes gotta throw number 1's in the air and claim Romanian pride. You will see more on this later in the report.
As we continue north on 3n21 to scope out a nice spot to watch the trains, we pass 2 guys in a Ford Ranger on 35's and decide to stop under the 15 south to talk to them.
Before we entered the tunnel, we drove through a huge muddy ice water puddle about 2 feet deep.
I let our new acquaintance go ahead of us and plow the trail, because he was locked front and rear. I figure better him than I. He was local to the area and knew the trail better anyway.
About 1/2 mile from under the freeway, we stop to let his engine cool down. It was probably a blown head gasket. Its funny how engines can overheat when its so damn cold outside. We ended up hanging around for about 10 minutes, and take a couple of photos which you can see below.
As we were hanging out, another insane 4wheeler in a 4runner came along. He was local too, so he opted to continue up the trail by himself.
This was probably the last time i smiled that day.
I took the boy out of the truck for 10 seconds so he could touch the snow, and take a pic with me. After the pic, i put him back in his seat and locked him up under a heater vent
To be honest, this is where i should have turned around.
But, being the knucklehead adventurer i am...you guessed it.
We make it about 1/4 mile up the hill, when we came up on the 4runner stuck. We stop again so the Ranger guys can winch him out and get him back on the trail. This is how deep the snow was at this point. Keep in mind, the truck is lifted about 2" and its on 33's.
Mike was outside lending a helping hand.
We get going again, and the 4runner takes off up the trail by himself.
About another 1/4 mile up, hes stopped in the middle of the road and says he fried his clutch. The Ranger guys offer assistance and get his truck off the trail and on the side. They spend about 20 minutes jockeying it around the hillside to where its out of the way of any other people that would be stupid enough to come up during the snowstorm.
The guy in the 4runner decides to bail out and have me take his wife and 9 month old down the hill to their house. I waited for a while until they were ready.
By the time everyone was ready to go, they waited outside while i tried to move up the trail some more. It was too deep to move on. The hillside was off camber and i slid to the inside and got stuck on the side of the hill. All wheels were spinning and there was nothing we could do in the current situation.
So...Mike decides to jump out and dig. Remember the little joke i mentioned about Romanian pride? This is his version of an AK-47. He is chanting "Romanian pride" as he bounces the shovel up and down toward the sky.
It started snowing REALLY HEAVY. At this point it became unsafe to stay up on the mountain, so the Ranger guy talked me out of doing something stupid...such as staying with the truck. I thought of my 5 year old, and i accepted the Ranger guys help. His friend carried my son to their truck so he didnt get wet. Mike and I walked to the Ranger and got in the bed, and the Ranger guy booked it out of there. There was no way the Expedition would have made it through the waist deep snow, considering the Ranger was nearly getting stuck. If it wasnt for the guys excellent driving skills, we would have been stranded in the middle of a serious snowstorm.
After about 40 minutes of riding in the bed of the Ranger with snow rooster tailing us the whole way, we get to the Shell gas station at the top of the Cajon Pass in Oak Hill. This is the first exit you come upon after the long hill climb on the 15 north, and the last you see while going down the hill on the 15 south.
For the next couple of hours, we stand inside thinking about what we are gonna do. We have no transportation, limited money, and Mike and I are soaking wet...and Mike feels like he has frostbite. My son meanwhile, dry as a desert and running around the store trying to eat everything and disobeying every single one of my orders, just making everything worse. Mike went into the restroom and took off his socks so he didnt get sick, and then walked around the next couple of hours just taking pics out of boredom.
I dont know why this photo was in the camera, but i thought id throw it in here just to show how bored we were.
My fiancee Pam was back home looking for a hotel room the whole time Mike and I were stuck at the gas station. She called every single hotel and motel in the Hesperia area, and ended up finding a room at a hotel in Victorville. Everything was occupied, we probably found the last room available for 50 miles. A nice man who works for the BNSF railroad who was unable to make it down the pass to go to work, heard me talking on the phone to Pam back home. He offered to give us a ride in his F250 to our hotel room in Victorville, since he was going home that way and it wasnt too far out of his way. If it wasnt for that man, we would have lost the room if he didnt take us right away.
We got on the 15 north where it wasnt closed. As we were driving, we saw HUNDREDS of stranded people in cars and trucks on the southbound side of the 15 fwy. Ive never seen so many people screwed in one place, at the same time. 13 miles later, we arrived at our hotel in Victorville. We got registered, and got upstairs to get the wet clothes off our body and get under the blankets for a while.
Mike dried off faster than i did, so he went walking around looking for some food. We were so hungry. He ended up finding a small Mexican joint next to the hotel that served not only Mexican food, but pizza too! I cant say it was good, but it was filling. The tacos were ok.
After dinner, Mike called it quits. At this point, we had no idea what we were going to do. Meanwhile, Pam was back home posting up a storm on Outdoor Adventure USA and Rugged Rocks trying to find a solution for recovering the truck.
Mike let me handle the communications, while he said "peace out son" and layed down to rest.
After a couple of helpful folks called from the websites and let me know im being taken care of, i started poking around the hotel with the camera. I was very bored.
Our refrigerator for the night. Mike claims this was "Romanian ghetto improvisation". I just thought it was a trash can with snow in it, but ive gotta admit he thought of it faster than i would have. Excellent!
I dont remember much, other than watching a basketball game and falling asleep. We woke up in the morning ready to get busy with recovering the truck, and getting my son home.
Looking southwest toward LA from Victorville.
Imagine if this fell on your head, at the same time.
Steve, Mike (roastbeef), and crew from http://doitontherocks.com came out to my hotel at 9:30 pm. There wasnt enough space to take my friend Mike and my son up the hill to recover the truck, so i talked my friend Mike into staying at the hotel with my son. We got in the trucks and headed back down the Cajon pass to retrace the route i took the day before. Everyone got locked up and tires chained, and we went up the hillside where the truck was. There was lots of digging to get the rescue Frontier and Jeep up to where we needed to go, but they got us up there. They pulled the Expediton off the hillside it was stuck, helped me back it up the tire trails, and we all got turned around and drove back down the way we came. I went back to Victorville and picked up Mike and my son, and we made our way to Steves house to drop off some loaner socks, and then made it home around 3am.
Steve, Mike (roastbeef), and crew from http://doitontherocks.com are awesome to have come up in that weather and help me. I would do the same for them if they need it in the future.
On Monday, 12-15, my friend Mike and I thought it would be a good idea to go to the Cajon Pass to take pics of the trains going through the snow. It was supposed to be an easy trip that didnt require anything but a sweater and the trucks heater. Ive been to the Cajon Pass many times and the road is a 0 on a 0-10 difficulty scale. We left my house in Norwalk about 9am with my 5 year old son, get breakfast in Fontana and fuel up, and get back on the 15fwy going towards the 215 interchange.
We get there, and there are lots of typical ding dongs who dont know what to do other sit in the middle of the freeway with the brakes on.
I drive up to the 215 and we are directed to go South. I get off in Devore, and go around the backside through the neighborhoods to the old Route 66 that runs below and parallel to the 15.
At the most northern part of old 66, i had to get back on the 15 north. I guess that roadblock at the 15/215 was to keep the average ding dong out of the pass, because i went right up to the 138. Its the clearest ive ever seen the 15 fwy in any direction and location.
Freedom was short lived, because the 138 exit was jam packed with ding dongs fighting their way bumper and fender up the offramp.
The 15 was completely closed from 138, on.
The news outlets heard i was coming, but i declined interview. They were pissed that i wouldnt give them a story on me, so they did a report on the snow and the pass closing down. You all might have seen it on the news
The look on peoples faces was priceless as i squeezed through their ding dong line. The CHP officer looked a little confused as well, as i humped over the curb and continued on route 3n21.
Ahhhh beautiful country. This is what its all about. You would never know there is a freeway and a couple of stores nearby due to the snow falling.
My friend Mike decided he needed to get out and pose in the snow for his Facebook account. Hes Romanian, and we have this little joke going where everytime i take his pic, hes gotta throw number 1's in the air and claim Romanian pride. You will see more on this later in the report.
As we continue north on 3n21 to scope out a nice spot to watch the trains, we pass 2 guys in a Ford Ranger on 35's and decide to stop under the 15 south to talk to them.
Before we entered the tunnel, we drove through a huge muddy ice water puddle about 2 feet deep.
I let our new acquaintance go ahead of us and plow the trail, because he was locked front and rear. I figure better him than I. He was local to the area and knew the trail better anyway.
About 1/2 mile from under the freeway, we stop to let his engine cool down. It was probably a blown head gasket. Its funny how engines can overheat when its so damn cold outside. We ended up hanging around for about 10 minutes, and take a couple of photos which you can see below.
As we were hanging out, another insane 4wheeler in a 4runner came along. He was local too, so he opted to continue up the trail by himself.
This was probably the last time i smiled that day.
I took the boy out of the truck for 10 seconds so he could touch the snow, and take a pic with me. After the pic, i put him back in his seat and locked him up under a heater vent
To be honest, this is where i should have turned around.
But, being the knucklehead adventurer i am...you guessed it.
We make it about 1/4 mile up the hill, when we came up on the 4runner stuck. We stop again so the Ranger guys can winch him out and get him back on the trail. This is how deep the snow was at this point. Keep in mind, the truck is lifted about 2" and its on 33's.
Mike was outside lending a helping hand.
We get going again, and the 4runner takes off up the trail by himself.
About another 1/4 mile up, hes stopped in the middle of the road and says he fried his clutch. The Ranger guys offer assistance and get his truck off the trail and on the side. They spend about 20 minutes jockeying it around the hillside to where its out of the way of any other people that would be stupid enough to come up during the snowstorm.
The guy in the 4runner decides to bail out and have me take his wife and 9 month old down the hill to their house. I waited for a while until they were ready.
By the time everyone was ready to go, they waited outside while i tried to move up the trail some more. It was too deep to move on. The hillside was off camber and i slid to the inside and got stuck on the side of the hill. All wheels were spinning and there was nothing we could do in the current situation.
So...Mike decides to jump out and dig. Remember the little joke i mentioned about Romanian pride? This is his version of an AK-47. He is chanting "Romanian pride" as he bounces the shovel up and down toward the sky.
It started snowing REALLY HEAVY. At this point it became unsafe to stay up on the mountain, so the Ranger guy talked me out of doing something stupid...such as staying with the truck. I thought of my 5 year old, and i accepted the Ranger guys help. His friend carried my son to their truck so he didnt get wet. Mike and I walked to the Ranger and got in the bed, and the Ranger guy booked it out of there. There was no way the Expedition would have made it through the waist deep snow, considering the Ranger was nearly getting stuck. If it wasnt for the guys excellent driving skills, we would have been stranded in the middle of a serious snowstorm.
After about 40 minutes of riding in the bed of the Ranger with snow rooster tailing us the whole way, we get to the Shell gas station at the top of the Cajon Pass in Oak Hill. This is the first exit you come upon after the long hill climb on the 15 north, and the last you see while going down the hill on the 15 south.
For the next couple of hours, we stand inside thinking about what we are gonna do. We have no transportation, limited money, and Mike and I are soaking wet...and Mike feels like he has frostbite. My son meanwhile, dry as a desert and running around the store trying to eat everything and disobeying every single one of my orders, just making everything worse. Mike went into the restroom and took off his socks so he didnt get sick, and then walked around the next couple of hours just taking pics out of boredom.
I dont know why this photo was in the camera, but i thought id throw it in here just to show how bored we were.
My fiancee Pam was back home looking for a hotel room the whole time Mike and I were stuck at the gas station. She called every single hotel and motel in the Hesperia area, and ended up finding a room at a hotel in Victorville. Everything was occupied, we probably found the last room available for 50 miles. A nice man who works for the BNSF railroad who was unable to make it down the pass to go to work, heard me talking on the phone to Pam back home. He offered to give us a ride in his F250 to our hotel room in Victorville, since he was going home that way and it wasnt too far out of his way. If it wasnt for that man, we would have lost the room if he didnt take us right away.
We got on the 15 north where it wasnt closed. As we were driving, we saw HUNDREDS of stranded people in cars and trucks on the southbound side of the 15 fwy. Ive never seen so many people screwed in one place, at the same time. 13 miles later, we arrived at our hotel in Victorville. We got registered, and got upstairs to get the wet clothes off our body and get under the blankets for a while.
Mike dried off faster than i did, so he went walking around looking for some food. We were so hungry. He ended up finding a small Mexican joint next to the hotel that served not only Mexican food, but pizza too! I cant say it was good, but it was filling. The tacos were ok.
After dinner, Mike called it quits. At this point, we had no idea what we were going to do. Meanwhile, Pam was back home posting up a storm on Outdoor Adventure USA and Rugged Rocks trying to find a solution for recovering the truck.
Mike let me handle the communications, while he said "peace out son" and layed down to rest.
After a couple of helpful folks called from the websites and let me know im being taken care of, i started poking around the hotel with the camera. I was very bored.
Our refrigerator for the night. Mike claims this was "Romanian ghetto improvisation". I just thought it was a trash can with snow in it, but ive gotta admit he thought of it faster than i would have. Excellent!
I dont remember much, other than watching a basketball game and falling asleep. We woke up in the morning ready to get busy with recovering the truck, and getting my son home.
Looking southwest toward LA from Victorville.
Imagine if this fell on your head, at the same time.
Steve, Mike (roastbeef), and crew from http://doitontherocks.com came out to my hotel at 9:30 pm. There wasnt enough space to take my friend Mike and my son up the hill to recover the truck, so i talked my friend Mike into staying at the hotel with my son. We got in the trucks and headed back down the Cajon pass to retrace the route i took the day before. Everyone got locked up and tires chained, and we went up the hillside where the truck was. There was lots of digging to get the rescue Frontier and Jeep up to where we needed to go, but they got us up there. They pulled the Expediton off the hillside it was stuck, helped me back it up the tire trails, and we all got turned around and drove back down the way we came. I went back to Victorville and picked up Mike and my son, and we made our way to Steves house to drop off some loaner socks, and then made it home around 3am.
Steve, Mike (roastbeef), and crew from http://doitontherocks.com are awesome to have come up in that weather and help me. I would do the same for them if they need it in the future.
