We got off to a late start on purpose. Dave and Pam, and John and Rob left for Placerville first. John needed some washers to rectify a transfer case clearance issue. Dave wanted to get his radiator flushed in an effort to rid the Bronco of its over heating problem. In the meantime, Sue, Dolores and Marion went to visit a nearby winery. I took this opportunity to install a new motor mount and Armin prepared his CJ for flat towing. Installing a motor mount is a pretty simple task but when the temperature is over 90 F and you're parked in direct sunlight, it takes on a whole new character. Climbing into my coveralls was just as uncomfortable as I thought it would be. I immediately began sweating but there was nothing to be done about it except crawl under the Jeep, roll around in the dust and start turning wrenches. Ron's assistance made the job go much quicker and for that, I'm eternally grateful.

In Placerville, we spent a lot of time waiting for Midas to finish flushing Dave's radiator. Dave and Armin also had to drive off to the nearest auto parts store to get a new radiator cap. The high point of this stop was finding the Del Taco around the corner. Their tacos were excellent AND cheap (which makes them muy excellente!). That reminds me, one of my favourite past times on this trip was to wait for my companions to order iced tea and then watch their faces when they took a big swig and discover it wasn't sweetened like in Canada. It's like snowflakes...everone made a different face. No two were alike, even though the eyes and other face holes were laid out about the same. While we were waiting, Danny Warden of Warden's Auto Repair drove by, spotted John's 'Cruiser and stopped to say "hi." John knew him from a prior trip to the Rubicon. Little did I suspect that I would have ample opportunities to see his shop in the coming days.

After Placerville, we stopped at Camino Flats for gas, ice and ranger station info. Gord picked up a fire permit so we could use our gas stoves. No open fires or BBQs were allowed due to extreme fire hazard conditions (just as we had expected). During the stop, a local in a full-size pickup pulled in to buy gas. He saw our 4x4s and struck up a conversation. He was very friendly and familiar with the Rubicon Trail. Further conversation revealed that he was Will Smith (no, not "Wil Smith") and a close relative of Rustin who operates the Rubicon Express 4x4 shop in nearby Rancho Cordova. It was quite a coincidence meeting him because I had exchanged email with Rustin only a week earlier regarding this trip. I gave Will my business card and we were on our way.

Our next and last stop before the trailhead was at Icehouse Resort to park the dually and load up the CJ. Those of us who had them switched from their highway tires to Swampers. John and Rob removed the Cruiser's hardtop. I used the Icehouse Resort's washrooms which were pretty damned scary. Since I only had the one pair of boots, I suppressed the overwhelming urge to burn them and instead, took shuffling steps in the grass as I left the building. I figured the heat wave would have killed the grass anyway. We were finally ready for the trail but first we had more pavement to conquer. About half an hour's worth.

Icehouse "Resort" - time to switch to the off-road tires and pile the non-essentials into the dually. I left unlikely-to-be-used spare parts like my steering box and leaf springs here.

Parked beside us were a couple of CJs with obvious trail damage. Check out the dent in this AMC20's cover. The other Jeep had a near-identical dent.

This CJ had some trail-side welding done in order to limp back to Icehouse. The owners of these Jeeps must've gone back to town for parts. We would end up running in to them on the trail a few days from now.

After what seemed like a lot of uphill, twisty driving (possibly because that's exactly what it was), we finally reached Loon Lake and set foot on the famous Granite Bowl. Big grins on everybody's faces. We were happy monkeys and it was only a matter of minutes before the screeching and flinging of feces would begin...but first there was more waiting as we aired down, disconnected sway bars, and tried to figure out Armin's idle problem. And finally, finally, finally, we were ready to begin. Fling! Fling!

Driving along the Loon Lake dam road. The turn off onto the first granite slab is coming up just around the corner on the left.

Time to air down! Woohoo! You can see the dam wall in the background.

John led us through the first part of the Granite Bowl to the dirt trail that took us to "The Gate Keeper." At the time, we weren't aware of any bypass so we were surprised to see it. We were surprised because it was hard to believe they would take the near-stock Jeeps in the Jeep Jamboree though this obstacle. It wasn't horribly difficult but it was definitely a serious challenge for a barely modified vehicle. As you can see in the photos, it was made up of some large, dust-covered rocks with lots of space in between. The rocks' height and spacing made it easy to get hung up. The dust made the rocks slippery. Its name was appropriate because it reflected the nature of the trail. If you could get through this, you could get through the Rubicon without taking any bypasses (except for the Little Sluice, of course).

John was in the lead and breezed through it before any of us could appreciate his technique or see his line. I was near the back but knew it would be an interesting obstacle because everyone in front of me parked their vehicle and got out to watch. One by one, we made our way through. In retrospect, the Gate Keeper was an accurate barometer of how each of us did on the rest of the trail. Those of us who got through easily, got through easily on the rest of the trail. The big story from this obstacle was Gord and his open-diff Cherokee and 31" tires. Everyone, including Gord, was expecting that he would need to be winched or tugged through to avoid damage. But Gord surprised everyone one of us by driving through without any help whatsoever. He incurred one tiny dent in his quarter panel but no other damage. He was rewarded with a huge round of applause. Gord was grinning ear-to-ear and he would re-live that enjoyment many times over the rest of the trail.

Dave's Bronco is at the Gate Keeper obstacle.	Since he was having a bit of difficulty with the regular line, one of us conned Jonathan into trying this line which, um, didn't work out that well.	The skid plate prevented him from backing up and he was justifiably reluctant to go forward and destroy his CV shaft.
Fortunately, he had rocker armour which made it a breeze to lift the TJ off the rock.	After seeing Jonathan's difficulty, Gord was understandably worried about getting through the Gate Keeper and we were unaware of any bypasses (although we learned the next day that there was, indeed, a bypass).	To our amazement, Gord made it through! John examines the first, but not last, trail scar Gord's Cherokee would get on this trip.
Ron's CJ7 walked through the Gate Keeper without any fuss. The CJ7 proved to be a very boring vehicle to watch because Ron and Dolores made everything look easy.	After the Gate Keeper came some twists and turns around, over, and between trees and rocks. Rob and I shared driving time in Project YJ.

The trail was extremely dry and dusty and we were relieved when we returned to the edge of the Granite Bowl. Sloping away from us was a great slab of granite that curved up to our right. Smiles spread over everyone's face as we surveyed surroundings unlike anything we had seen in British Columbia. It was like a coliseum-sized skateboard park...but BIGGER! John said it reminded him of a white Moab. By now, it was around 6:00 pm and any concern about making progress on the trail went out the window. We were like kids in a video game arcade and everyone split off to find their own fun. Unfortunately, two of those kids were going to run out of quarters REAL SOON.

John navigated us through the main Granite Bowl.

Driving on the granite slab was like nothing we'd ever done before. It's like someone from the desert seeing snow for the first time.

Some of our passengers elected to walk while everyone else went to play with their 4x4s on any rock ledge they encountered.

The granite provided amazing traction and offered all sorts of ledges and cracks to play on. Everyone was driving up and down various lines and exploring the limits of their traction. Much hooting and hollering (aka "flinging") ensued. Fast forward fifteen minutes: Rob was driving Project YJ and I was riding shotgun. He was trying to drive Project YJ up one ledge and was having some difficulty. He got the front driver's side corner high in the air and I put on that goofy grin I use when I'm trying to mask my fear and dis-trust. Then Dave comes up on our right and tries another part of the ledge. He gets his front axle over it and starts trying to get the rear wheels up when the dreaded SNAP-click-click sound makes its appearance. Groan. We both assume a front axle shaft u-joint broke because a) his Bronco eats them on a regular basis and b) Dave ALWAYS has spares and can change them very quickly. Rob radios John Barron to come over and pull Dave up the ledge so we can begin working on it on a level surface. At the time, John is also trying to climb a ledge on a shelf about 100M to our right and above us. Dave checks his front axle and all the u-joints are good. It sounds like he has a broken rear axle shaft...and he forgot his spares at home. And then we hear it. A deafening scream that sounds suspiciously like the "F" word. Its pitch and timbre so rich and full that it shakes us to our very bones and causes small animals to become comatose. Two seconds pass and just in case we missed it the first time, we hear it again. I clench my teeth and struggle to retain control over my bowels (a difficult task under the best of circumstances). The source of the scream? John Barron. The reason? He just snapped off his rear pinion shaft. Why the big deal? No spare. Although I'm not entirely certain, I thought I heard a balloon pop as "happy fun time on the rocks" came to an end and we had to switch to "somber damage control mode." Needless to say, the flinging came to a screeching stop.

Alas, the fun couldn't last forever. Something had to give and in this case, it was Dave's 9" rear end.

Gord winched him to level ground so the autopsy could begin.

Not to be outdone, John snapped off his pinion shaft a few minutes after Dave broke.

Condom Man visits camp.

The first thing we had to do was evaluate the damage. Since it was getting late, we decided to set up camp near the Bronco and 'Cruiser while John and Dave and some helpers dissected their rear axles. On the plus side, Sue had hiked around our camp and found an arm of Loon Lake only ten minutes past our camp. So even if we would be there for a while, there was a lake for water and swimming; we wouldn't end up like sun-dried cow carcasses. Our original plan was to send out one vehicle on a parts run that night but by the time we were ready, it was very late. We decided to postpone until early morning. Dave was pretty bummed out but he cheered up later in the evening. I think he was more upset about costing us time rather than the damage to his truck. At least I hope that's what he was feeling, the selfish bastard (yes, I'm kidding!). "Condom Man" also made an appearance and delighted young and old alike. He deemed who among us was without adequate lubrication and pranced merrily in a fleece balaclava and a cape (large beach towel). Talk to Jonathan if you want an explanation. Suffice it to say, he purposely and with malicious intent deleted the only known photos of this action hero. (Note to self: never show people how to operate your digital camera.)

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