CAJON PASS, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA–Well we finally organized a trip to return to Cleghorn.  It was fitting that the only day for it to rain in this 6 week window happened to be the same day.  The run was organized by both groups of which I’m a part of, HummerXClub (HXC) and Club Hummer Off-Road (CHO).

Although the day was not as treacherous at our previous February run it still proved to be a little challenging.  My wife chose to stay home this time so my Dad ran navigator.  It was really a pretty cool day and I got to do a couple of other trails that I just didn’t feel comfortable doing the last time.  All-in-all it was a fun trip.  Next time, I’d love to do this trail when it’s dry.  I have yet to see this trail without rain.

Airing down at the head of the trail on Cleghorn Road, off Interstate 15 at the base of the Cajon Pass.

Heading up the trail.

Approaching the first obstacle, Powerline Hill.

Half way up the trail and we already had great views of the pass below.

Articulation Hill.  It’s more  a play ground because it loops around back to the main trail, so you can go up and around as many times as you like.  Typically everyone gets out and take pictures of the awkward angles.

One thing I found out was that a lot of the time the trail from below looked more intimidating than when we were on them.

It’s just a matter of learning where your comfort zone ends and stupidity begins.  Luckily I didn’t have to find out this time.

For more photos of this trip, check out CounterPointPhotography.com

VALLEY CENTER, CALIFORNIA–A tell tale for us when we know Autumn is here is when we are on our way to Bate’s Nut Farm in Valley Center, California to go find our ‘Great Pumpkin.’

So we are a little bit late this year, however, this year’s summer has been pretty mild compared to years past so to call it Autumn now almost want to make you ask what happened to Summer?  I’m not complaining, Autumn is my favorite season.  The last couple of weeks we had been fighting a bug that we seemed to have picked up at Riley’s Farm when we went apple picking in early September.  Skyler got a bit sick from the Apple Cider and had the runs for few days which landed him in the emergency room with an IV to restore his hydration.  Poor little man.  He is back to normal now and so we ventured out to our beloved pumpkin patch.  We found our 94 pound behemoth and placed it proudly on our door step for this year’s halloween.

The family and I just did a day trip to go cherry picking in Leona Valley just west of Palmdale.  There were a few trails in the area so I picked an easy ridge trail to do on our return home.  It was the first time taking our 2 year old son.  He loved it.  Here are a few pictures of our trek.

I pulled it from the Charles Wells trail guide for SoCal and also used California Trails South Coast Region from Petter Massey.  It’s the same trail.  I just abbreviated it by doing it backwards and starting at the 7N23 trail like in the Well’s guide and tacked a couple miles more at the end to the Tumble Inn on the Old Ridge Route which is just a there and back at the end of the trail.

Starting the trail from the east side heading west towards Pyramid Lake.

Trail Head Coordinates: 34.703112,-118.527718

Our halfway lunchtime/run-around stop at one of the campgrounds.

Sawmill Campground: 34.709603,-118.606253

Heading back out on the trail.

Skyler’s View towards Pyramid Lake.

View of Pyramid Lake in the top left corner with the winding trail in the foreground.

View Point: 34.726192,-118.705269

Pyramid Lake zoomed in 14x.  You can see the 5 FWY just before the lake as it head north to the Grapevine.

The whole day we had great views and uneven trails as you can see here compared to the horizon line.

At the end of the Libre Mountain Trail (34.715645,-118.710698) we headed about a couple of miles south, down on the “Old Ridge Route” to go see the ruins of the Tumble Inn.  It’s a very interesting place and a forgotten piece of Americana History.  I love these old forgotten places.

The Tumble Inn circa 1920s

Tumble Inn 6 June 2010.

Tumble Inn: 34.707963,-118.721094

I parked my truck close to where the Model T was parked in the 1920s picture.

As we returned home Skyler kept talking about the bumpy road and laughing.  We all had a great time.

Route:

Original Trail Head Coordinates: 34.673806,-118.455523

Trail Head from where we started Road 7N23: 34.703112,-118.527718

Where 7N23 meets the Sawhill Motorway – Go North to stay on 7N23; 34.691609,-118.554668

Sawmill Campground: 34.709603,-118.606253

Libre Mountain Trail meets Old Ridge Route: 34.715645,-118.710698

Tumble Inn: 34.707963,-118.721094

The road end here.  You must backtrack the way you came and take the “Old Ridge Route” north all the way back to 138

Old Ridge Route & Lancaster Road 138: 34.764814,-118.732939

Take it west to the I-5.

Route can be run in both directions.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2010 – Forecast – 90% chance of showers.  Not a good way to start the day, a day that had been planned for almost 2 months with the HummerXClub.

Cleghorn Ridge Trail – The entire trail is a fire road with a more challenging trail winding back and forth across the fire road.  It starts at the Cajon Pass, 15 fwy and Cleghorn Rd and runs to highway 138 by Silverwood Lake.  This dirt trail is about 14 miles long each way. The trail starts at about 3,000 feet and peaks out about 5,200 feet and has lots of side trails that criss-cross the main easy road.  The roughly graded route in this trail is suitable for medium clearance 2WD in dry weather. The trail is considered extreme when very wet.  The US Forest Service has designated this trail as 2N47.
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During our drive out there, the rain got worse and worse.  Cleghorn is at the base of the foothills and traverses up the mountains.  It happened to be in the path of the storm.  Before we even got there, we had strong winds, rain and hail.  We got there with a little time to spare so we hit McDonald’s for breakfast before we met up with the club down on Cleghorn Road.

We pulled in under the freeway overpass to air down the tires.  We were the first ones there.  It was pretty cool to see other Hummer owners pull up and to the side to air-down to get ready to go wheeling.  We finally got to meet a few from the club and exchanged names.  Our good friends Laura and Sheldon H. with their kids Jewel and Ethan showed up in their Jeep.  Seth, our group leader, gave a short meeting on rules and what to expect, before long everyone was ready to hit the trail.

We took the trail headed east towards Silverlake.  The trail snaked its way up the side of the mountain crossing pools of water as he kept heading up.  Off our left shoulder was a valley with a small rainbow sitting in it.  Our first optional play area was  Powerline Hill.  Basically it’s just a hill climb to the top where sits a power line tower.  This was the first time stepping out of the vehicle since ascending.  As I placed my foot down, the ground beneath felt like melted chocolate.  I didn’t realize how much mud we were driving through.

ChasH3

It became more apparent as some of the guys were trying to go up the steep incline only to loose traction and slide back down.  After a while of playing there we continued on.

This is where it got interesting.

We headed up a rather steep incline as the rain begin to intensify.  The lead H3, Seth, got to a point where he couldn’t keep his momentum going and began to loose traction.  Before too long Seth could go no further.  We got out and stacked some rocks to help keep the rear passenger tire from dropping into a deep rut and bottoming out.  He was able to reverse out, turn a round, and head back to the main fire-road, upon which we all followed behind.

Later on down the road I took a wrong line and kept getting sucked in to a rut.  The mud made for a huge amount of grief.  I eventually tried to turn the rig around and got high-centered on a berm.  After a quick strap yank we were headed back up the mountain.  The rain and hail made even the easiest parts of the trail challenging.  Going up and around corners in the mud and driving rain was almost like slow speed drifting, with the exception of the mountain cliffs on the side.

Sheldon's Jeep

"BeHummer2" Ben, "Family Jeepster" Sheldon, "Slogger" Adrian.

H3Play on Articulation Hill

We had a great day out on the trails, a new trip is being planned to explore this trail once again in dry weather.  This way we will be able to get a better view from up on top instead of driving through the clouds.  Although the views that were presented to us were quite spectacular, I’m sure on a clear day it will be much more grand, especially when there is not the worry of getting stuck, cold wind and driving rain.

AlanM

JeffH3

H3Ing

Slogger

Until next time.

Feel free to leave comments!

This past weekend we headed over to Cabrillo Beach to show Skyler more tide pools.  We got there in the morning because that is the best way to plan the day with Skyler right now.  He still naps at around 1pm or 2pm for a couple of hours.  If he misses his nap it becomes a very long day.

Cabrillo Beach is a historic beach located in San Pedro, California. Cabrillo has two separate beach areas.  It is also home to a few famous landmarks, namely the 1.75 mile Los Angeles Breakwater which ends at the Angel’s Gate Lighthouse, the recently restored Cabrillo Beach Bathhouse, and the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium.

We had just visited the tide pools in Laguna Beach a couple weeks earlier and realized he really liked seeing the wildlife in the water.  Laguna Beach had the anemone police out so we couldn’t touch anything but this time Cabrillo Beach was unpatroled…

We made it to the parking lot and parked in front of the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium.  The tide pools are on the ocean side of the breakwater/jetty.  After a short walk about a quarter mile down we arrived at the tide pools.

There were tons of anemones everywhere.  We showed Skyler how you can gently push down on the anemone it would squirt water.

While looking around and exploring Skye found two large spiral shells.  We took a picture of them since we are not allowed to take anything from the beach.

We had a nice time at the tide pools, the water was beginning to return so we had to pack it out of there.  We’ll have to go back this summer when it’s a little warmer.  More photos at my photography website, CounterPointPhotography.com

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Earlier this week we were trying to figure out what to do on the weekend.  The weather was great so my wife and I thought, even though it’s January, “Let’s go the the Santa Monica Pier.”

The Santa Monica Pier is located at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica and is a prominent, 100-year-old landmark in Southern California.  The last time I was like 10 years ago.  It was time to head back.

The smell of the ocean and creosote filled the air.  The parking lot on the pier is next to the old Carousel Building.  The Carousel Building was designed and built in 1916 by Charles Looff, one of the original designers of the Santa Monica Pleasure Pier.  It’s been restored a few times and is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places.  With a Byzantine-Moorish style, the building houses one of the few surviving all-wooden Carousels in the world – less than 70 continue to operate today.  Painted ponies and chariots, restored in 1990, brings you back to an earlier, simpler time.

Skyler heard the calliope playing and we knew we’d have to start the day here at the Carousel.   It’s pretty funny, Skyler get so excited to go on carousels but when he is on it, he gets really serious.  We went on a couple of times it only cost $1 for me and Skyler was free (children under five are free).

A surprise to me was once it started up, it hauled butt.  Seriously.  We’ve been on other carousels but nothing prepared me for the speed at which the Santa Monica Carousel goes.  Skyler loved it, with the music blaring, and the speed of going round and round and round.

He still kept his serious face.  ”Come on Dad, I’m riding a horse.”

After we made it off the speeding carousel, we headed down the pier to grab some lunch.  There are a ton of greasy, carnival stand eateries that line the walk.  We jumped into one and ordered the staple, Fish and Chips.

Pacific Park is where all the rides are located.  Each ride requires tickets so we bought a few so we could ride the Pacific Wheel. Completely solar powered, it stands 85 feet tall, carries 20 gondolas and sits on the pier.  Pretty impressive.  We stood in line for a while.   Quite comically the least efficient employees were working this attraction but it worked out alright.

There was a nice view of the ocean and the crashing of waves below us that kept our attention on other things rather than waiting.

Ready to board, it’s like he pulls it out of his pocket, The Serious Face.

Over all it was well worth the wait.  Only in California can you be at the beach in 80 degree temperatures and spy off in the distance the snow covered peaks of the Southern Californian mountains.

Time really does go by fast.  Able to ride the larger kid rides Skyler and I decieded to ride Inkie’s Airlift, A scaled-down Scrambler for children, and then road the ‘off-road’ Pier Patrol – A ‘train’ of cars that run around a beach-themed track, with Skye.

He had a blast, but it was getting late and we were getting into Skyler’s nap time.  We finished up and headed towards the car and remembered we wanted to visit the aquarium.

Quickly we found the signs for it under the pier and paid a $5 donation to the Heal the Bay Foundation to go in the aquarium.  Saw som Jelly Fish, Star Fish and a few small sharks.  Not a huge aquarium or even big for that matter, but it’s nice to see people passionate for a cause.  Time was running before we’d reach the point of no return with Skyler so we packed it up and headed out.  Skyler fell asleep in the car.  It was a fun day.
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Rose Parade 2010

Is there a better way to start off the new year than to go to the Rose Parade?  There might be.  But this year, there was no better way to celebrate the new year than to head down to Pasadena, California, and find a spot on the parade route. One of Skye’s students was able to get us up-close and personal seating on the parade route with excellent parking.  This helped out so much, especially with Skyler.

The night before we set and packed the car so all we would have to do is get up, get Skyler dressed and head out the door.  Skye’s Mom and Step Dad were coming too so they were going to meet us at 5:30am when we were set to head out.  Nicely everything went as planned.  Before long we were already in Pasadena and could see the crowds of people.  The GPS didn’t help much since as you got closer to the parade route the more we found barricades blocking off streets.  We had  a printed out map for where were were to park so I just used that.

We found the parking.  It was a block away from the Pasadena City Hall and about half a block away from the parade route.

The reserved seats we had were across the street from the post office and on the street.

This was the view we had of the parade.  We actually were sitting on the street level as the floats passed by.

The floats were impresive, the crowd was respectful and everyone had a great time.  We saw Oscar DeLaHoya hanging over a balcony behind us and Jack Hanna on a float.  Now where else can you say that but at the Rose Parade?

Skyler loved watching the bands, especially the drummers.

It was a cold, early morning but we all had a great time!  What really impressed me was the fact that we could actually smell the flowers on the floats!  Pretty cool.

Here the link to all the pictures from the Rose Parade.

Rose Parade on CounterPoint Photography

Okay, here are the details of installing a battery for the Hummer H3.

I got home and installed the battery as fast as I could.  My son was with my wife at “My Gym” so I had about 45 minutes to get this battery in.

Installation should take about 15 minutes, it took me about 30 minutes, mainly because I double checked everything and took pictures along the way to make sure I didn’t forget anything.  It was dark.

It’s really quite easy.  The battery I installed was a Bosch PremiumPower.  (about $75 USD)

This summer when I have time, I’ll probably install an Optima Red Top and keep this guy as a backup.

Here is what it says on the top:

• CCA @ 0^F : 630
• CA @ 32^F : 785
• RC Mins @ 25 Amps : 90
• Part Number: 86-630B
• Group Size: 86

Uninstallation of Old Battery:

Click open the battery’s negative (black) cover to access the post and nut.  Loosen the negative battery cable nut.

I used a 10mm socket wrench for this.  Pull it off the post and set aside.  Make sure it doesn’t touch anything.

Click open the battery’s positve (red) cover.  Loosen the positive cable nut.  Work it off the post and set aside.  Again make sure this doesn’t touch anything.  Even though it’s not connected to anything it’s just a good habit to keep when working with electrical stuff.

Remove battery vent hose.  It slides right off.

Remove the battery upper box.  Press the locking tabs inward and lift up.  It might be easier to do one side and angle it up to release the other tab.  The tab closest to the fender is a little tight to get your hand in to push the tab.  Angle it out.

Disengage the battery strap.

I used a 13mm socket wrench for this.

Loosen and take off the nut.  Slide strap end up.  This will create the slack you need to take the strap off the other side of the battery’s lower tray’s restraint.  Also this exposes the cleat that holds the base of the battery down.
The cleat fits over a groove that is in the battery and wedges it down.  Remove the cleat by pulling it straight up along the bolt that it sits on.

Here is a picture of the cleat.

You must remove the cleat before you remove the battery.  The 2 pictures above where shot just to show the cleat.  I had already taken the battery out so you can see how it wedges the battery down. Just imagine the battery sitting in the tray. You’ll see in a couple of photos below with the new battery installed.

Remove the battery.

Installation of New Battery:

Note the groove toward the bottom backside of the battery.

Place new battery into lower half of battery tray.  Notice there is no cleat yet.  Make sure, if you are installing a battery intended for a Hummer H3, the groove on the back of the battery is closest to the firewall of the engine compartment.  This is where the safety cleat will clamp down on.

Place safety cleat over bolt and slide down into position.

Place battery strap on the front side, hook into position.

Place end of battery strap over bolt on top of the safety cleat.

Install the retainer nut.  Use that 13mm socket and tighten down.  If the battery you are installing sits a little shorter, wedge it with some material that can take some heat, it gets hot in there.

Install the battery upper box and make sure the tabs click.

Make sure your Positive and Negative battery cables are free from corrosion.  Use a wire brush to clean.  Install the positive (red) cable.  Use the 10mm socket to tighten nut.  Install the Negative cable, tighten the nut.  Close the plastic covers.

Connect the battery vent hose.

All done.  Start her up!

Hey, Leave a comment.  Let me know if you stopped by!  Thanks!

Early December I thought to myself I might be in the market for a new car battery. The last couple of nights getting out of the car the interior lights seem to turn off prematurely and each time I thought to myself, “hmmm, I didn’t turn those off.” Now since it’s happened a few times I’m thinking my battery is on it’s last legs.

It doesn’t help that recently my 2 year old has taken a liking to playing in the H3.  He likes turning on the lights, rolling down the windows, opening and closing the sunroof, turning on and off the fan for a good 10 to 15 minutes almost every time we get home and pull into the driveway.  That’s another story.

I threw a question out to my Hummer Friends at HummerXClub.com for their suggestions on what is the best battery on the market for an H3.

“I have a 2006 Hummer H3. What’s the best battery for the rig without too much fuss of installing?”

Many came back with great pictures of their installs.  The overwhelming response was the Optima brand, more specifically, the Optima Red Top.  Well as time passed by my battery grew weaker and weaker.  I still hadn’t pulled the trigger as to which battery I’d get.  In the long run the Optima Red Top would work the best however there were some immediate drawbacks.

Optima Red Top

CONS:

• I’d have to modify the existing battery enclosure in-order to for the optima to fit.  It’s a little taller than the OEM sized battery.
• Possibility, based on current reviews of the battery, that it potentially could be hit or miss on getting one that was DOA or with non-working cells.
• Price.  The Optimas tend to be a little more pricey than your everyday battery.

PROS:

• Well liked and a good name in the wheeling community.
• Powerful battery used in cold weather.
• Sealed and maintenance free and lasts a long time. (As long as you get a problem-free one…)

My dilemma?  How much time would I have to physically replace the battery given the variable of my two year old son?  In a perfect world, a couple of hours and a beer; in the real world, 3.5 minutes and a red-bull.  I needed to find something in the middle.

Let’s jump to the end of the month, December 28th.  The original battery lost it’s mojo.  Not bad, I guess, it lasted a good 3.5 years 62K miles.  I walked out to the parking lot after work, turned the key and there was silence, a silence similar to what I would give in place of vermouth to my dry vodka martini.

I was the last one out to lock up that evening, but luckily my friend and co-worker, Finlay G., was in the area to come back and help jump start it.  He followed me over to the Sear Auto Center, given the lack of time I thought, “Die Hard, that will work.”  Much to my surprise Die Hard/Sears don’t make a battery for the size the H3 needs.  Bummer.  The guy at Sears pointed me over to PepBoys a few miles away.  Jump start and I was on my way.

PepBoys – for some reason the same smell of tires and stale car fresheners has stayed the same over the years.  It triggered memories of when I was a toddler going up and down the aisles with my dad looking for parts for either the Pinto, the Corvair, or the Volaré.  Classic.  I went to the back counter and asked for a battery for the H3, they had one.  And when I say they had one, I mean they had one. One brand and only one in stock.  ”I’ll take it.”

Bosch Premium Plus

CONS:

• I hadn’t done any research on this battery.

PROS:

• I’ll fit.
• I can install with minimal time and effort.

Read the Installation Here.

Continuation from our recent trip to New York, back in May of this year.

Dinner at Gasho's

Saturday started off a little late. It was nice to sort of sleep in. Because of the time change Skyler wasn’t getting up until 8am. That was pretty cool, only thing about that is that we had a late starts in the morning. This morning Skye had some errands to run with Charlanne, so Skyler and I headed to some random park. It wasn’t the best of parks but it served it purpose. When we got there we were the only ones there. By the time we left there were like 10 other older kids running looking for trouble. A few days earlier we had bought Skyler a sand pail and shovel from Target. I brought that with us to the park here so Skyler could play in the sand box. There were kids that were circling us like vultures because they wanted to play with Skyler’s sand toys. Mind you, these kids weren’t 2 years old or 3 or even 4 years old. They had to have been at least 8 or 9 years old. At one point, one of the kids tried to reach for the pail and I said, “I don’t think that’s yours.” That made him back off to regroup.

Skyler - Cold Spring Harbor

Soon after that Skyler was done with the park and so was I so we got back in the car. It was hot so we headed to the mall. When we got to the mall there was a little carnival set up in the parking lot with the usual cast of strange “carnies” manning their stations. We walked around but there was really not much for Skyler to do so we headed into the indoor mall. We found a smoothie stand and ordered a peach smoothie. Skyler loves those. He pretty much finished the whole thing.

On our way home we drove past a White Castle. Skyler had fallen asleep in the backseat so I pulled into the drive-through. I ordered some sliders. Those things are greasy, but good. I think a couple of greasy sliders every couple of years is all right.

Skyler looking for a rabbit

After the nap Skye was free for the rest of the day. We decided to drive up to Cold Spring Harbor. Charlanne had told us there was a fish hatchery up there that one of her patients goes to with her boys. It was only about 20 minutes away but seemed like it should be farther. We drove though the town and it reminded me of Vermont.

We found the fish-hatchery but it had just closed. The parking lot was connected to an old church that sits on a large pond. We decided to walk around and check out the scenery.

Skye and Skyler at Cold Spring Harbor

As we walked up to the side of the church there was a very nice sight. Canadian Geese were swimming around the pond as a mother and daughter looked on. The mother had to have been in her late 80s or early 90s, the daughter in her 60s or 70s. There were just sitting on a bench looking out over the beautiful, picturesque landscape; it was such a nice memory being made for them.

Skyler at Cold Spring Harbor

We walked around the fed the geese, chased a rabbit and Skye and Skyler found some old Easter eggs. It looks like the church must have had an Easter egg hunt and not all of them were found, until now…

Skye and Skyler - Cold Spring Harbor

We had a dinner reservation at a Japanese steakhouse called Gasho’s where we were to meet up with Charlanne’s Mom, Ruth and Step-Dad, Neal. It was a restaurant like Benihanas, where the cook cooks in front of you. There was some minor drama involved when we got there but things worked out and we had a nice time. It was entertaining.

Skye and Skyler - Cold Spring Harbor

We came back to the hotel. Had a swim in the pool and went to bed.