Trip Report (picture heavy)

You guys would know this if I had introduced myself and truck properly in the Introduction thread, but I will have owned this IDI for a year next month and I've only been driving it for 6 weeks now. Having said that, this weekend was its first offroad trip.

My family has a ranch just south of Hollister Hills SVRA way back in the mountains and we try to get up there as often as possible. We make time to go up especially on the first and last weekend of deer season every year. So I got off work Saturday and headed up.

I had to stop at the Hollister Hills Hudner Lot (excellent mountain biking out in the Hudner Property) for a bathroom break when I noticed this sign. I thought it was kind of funny. Hazardous you say.


I've always liked this little bridge, it has been recently reinforced to allow transfers and end dumps to traverse it.


Jake Brake on the IDI? Nope.


First gate of many on the 10 miles up to the cabin.


Long ago, maybe late 1800's, when this canyon was mined for dolomite this was their powder house. By the way it looks I like to think the top blew off of it. Probably more realistic- it just fell apart.


Now the canyon is a landscape quarry with some serious equipment. You can't tell from this angle but the Michelin on this Cat is as tall as my truck is!


Another serious toy. I bet just the ripper assembly on this D8 weighs as much as the Ford does.


An interim glamour shot.


Here's the backside of Mt. Harlan. It's a relatively insignificant mountain but its a side few people get to see none the less.


Besides the dogs these were the only other animals we saw.


With the cows and calfs near by that bull wouldn't let me get back in on the driver's side of the truck. So i decided to climb over from the passenger side.


Another interim shot.


I finally make it to the cabin and am greeted by my uncle, cousin, grandpa, an old friend I never get to see, a couple of dogs and food on the BBQ. The water tank in the Chevy is for our spring box project. Sorry for the crappy resolution.

Continued

I think it could be www.cabinporn.com worthy.




My grandpa out on a morning hunt. We're not really serious hunters anymore and he loves to say "Now remember to shoot high and aim low". He turned 80 last month and still keeping up with us in the hills.



Today we worked on resurrecting the 100 year old spring box my great great grandfather put in. All of the original pipe was bulldozed years ago and the box dried up. Hiking up to the box with my uncle and cousin and a view of Fremont's Peak.


We dug out the box a bit and found the redwood boards and this neat copper screen. It's kind of cool to think (and not far fetched) that the last person to touch these things was my great great grandfather in 1914.



After, we cleaned up camp and headed back down the mountain. It was nice to get away from work and from San Jose for a while. I do wish the girlfriend and the dog could have made it but it won't be this truck's last trip up to the ranch. On Cienega Rd heading back to town I caught these horses getting lunch. There must have been 60 or so with most of them being out of frame by the time I had my phone out.

Great pictures and a great looking truck!

Nice report looks like good times

looks like fun. i love cruising up in the hills of ca. so many cool old places up there. I love the paint on your truck. one of my favorite color schemes. keep up the good work.

nice pics and great places to see. Thanks for sharing it with us.

neat. we dont have much family history.any gold mines in the area?

Every time someone posts up pics of different areas in the states it makes me hate Michigan more and more. Nice pics and truck. Looks like a nice place to be.

hey I love MI! But i do get jelly of these UT and CA cats...some magnificent scenery out there. Im hoping that next year i can take a full 2 week vacation with the GF and go explore those remote areas in my truck with her and me dog

I want to camp up there. That is so cool. Great pics.

Thanks for the kind words guys. I'll admit I was a little hesitant to post it. Compared to some of the trip reports we've seen its like posting a trip to the grocery store.

mu2bdriver said:

Great pictures and a great looking truck!

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Thank you thank you! I have a soft spot for these old Fords. They are so photogenic.

Rot Box said:

Nice report looks like good times

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Rot Box, I love your truck and the trips you post on Expo. Definitely inspiration for posting mine.

asmith said:

looks like fun. i love cruising up in the hills of ca. so many cool old places up there. I love the paint on your truck. one of my favorite color schemes. keep up the good work.

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It's great fun. Starting when I was 8 or 9, my Grandpa used to let me drive up that hill while he cracked a beer and opened the gates.

I have seen maybe one other truck with this color combination. I like it a lot.

riotwarrior said:

nice pics and great places to see. Thanks for sharing it with us.

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Thank you and you're welcome!

chris142 said:

neat. we dont have much family history.any gold mines in the area?

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No gold mines around here. On the other side of Cienega Valley was the second largest Mercury mine in the US. New Idria- a very cool place to visit. Hmm...Next trip report...?

fordf350man said:

Every time someone posts up pics of different areas in the states it makes me hate Michigan more and more. Nice pics and truck. Looks like a nice place to be.

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Ah, don't hate, just travel more. Thanks, it makes it very hard to move away from here having a place like this.

Greg5OH said:

hey I love MI! But i do get jelly of these UT and CA cats...some magnificent scenery out there. Im hoping that next year i can take a full 2 week vacation with the GF and go explore those remote areas in my truck with her and me dog

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Do it! That sounds awesome, I would love to do the same exact thing. Finding 2 weeks is the hard part though.

typ4 said:

I want to camp up there. That is so cool. Great pics.

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Thank you! I was a little worried about how they would turn out being iPhone pictures after all. I was pleased though. With a cozy cabin we don't camp very often but I've been tossing around the idea of packing/exploring all 650 acres worth.


Thanks again everyone!

nice pics of the SF bay area rural country. did you repaint the hood or is that original? I remember seeing a truck like yours for sale on CL a year back but the paint was pretty beat up for the price the seller was asking.