Mountain Rendezvous 2013 – Part One

After having to skip Desert Rendezvous and Overland Expo earlier this year, it was a relief to be able to attend Mountain Rendezvous 2013 (MR13), hosted by American Adventurist.  Like last year, it was held at Camp Taquitz, a short distance south of Big Bear in southern California. I really look forward to these events: checking out the vehicles, talking shop, sitting around the campfire with some bourbon in a titanium mug, and seeing old friends and making new ones.

This year I’d be taking part in the Dutch Oven cook-off too. I’m a real noob at it, but baking Carrie’s wonderful French bread recipe seems to be something I can pull off. So I was packing two large packs of pre-made dough in my cooler, my Dutch Oven and accessories, and I had my fingers crossed for the best.

MR13 is a long drive from my home in San Jose, being well over 400 miles and with a drive time of about 6-1/2 hours, not including any stops or side trips. Last year I drove down on Friday, recovered in camp on Saturday, and drove back on Sunday. Determined not to be quite so dumb this time, I had decided to head down on Thursday and camp out overnight in the San Bernadino National Forest. On Friday morning I would drive the Big Pine Flats trail, ending up in Big Bear City for gas and some food before making the last 30-minnute drive to MR13.

Originally I had planned to convoy down with Anthony & Astrid (@overlandnomads) as we had the previous year, but they had to bail out this time around. I made my solo drive plans, and then friends Gianni and Raquel decided to join me, although they would be following a few hours behind me on the first day.

I made the long and boring drive down and into the mountains, where things finally get interesting. I drove past the trail exit so that I could visit the ranger station and visitor center on the north shore of Big Bear Lake, in the oddly-named town of Fawnskin. I wasn’t sure if I would need a National Forest “Adventure Pass” for dispersed camping that night, but the rangers assured me that the pass was only needed if you used any of the added infrastructure, e.g. those places with paved parking areas and restrooms and the like. They also familiarized me with the various rules for dispersed camping in the area.

I drove back west and turned north off the highway to get to the trailhead, and where the dirt started. My plan was to find someplace to camp pretty quickly, before it got dark and cold. I noticed that I still had a data signal, so I pulled over to the side to text Gianni and let him know my plans. The next thing I knew, a 70-series Land Cruiser appeared, beeped and the occupants waved as they drove past me. I ended up catching up to Bente and Hans (www.offroad-travel.net) a short while later. They were a German couple who had been overlanding for the past several years. I had assumed that they must be there for Mountain Rendezvous as I was, but no… It was just pure coincidence. They had no idea MR was going on starting the next day, just a short distance away.

I explained the event and they sounded interested, so I gave them the coordinates. They’d been to OX13 earlier in the year and their sweet turbo-diesel pop-top 70 was one of the featured vehicles there. After we chatted some more, they’d picked out their camping spot for the night and I bid them farewell as I continued on a ways.

Reaching the water crossing on the trail I found my way blocked. There was a tree down across the water crossing path, and two pickup trucks were in the way on the path to go around it. One of the pickups was stuck up on some small stumps, and they had a chainsaw out, which perhaps explained the fallen tree. In any case I wasn’t going to get through with these guys in the way, by myself, and with darkness coming soon, so I opted to backtrack. I ended up finding a spot back near Bente & Hans, and there would be room for Gianni and Raquel as well, so I texted them my coordinates and settled in.

Sometime after dark the guys in the pickups passed by, having finally managed to make it through. I settled in on my tailgate with my backpacking stove, with a dehydrated bag of chili mac for dinner, along with a nice cold can of Boddington’s. Gianni & Raquel (and their microscopic old dog Dmitri) arrived an hour later and set up their tent. It was cold out but not terribly so, particularly as I’d put on my base layers and bundled up. Still, after chatting for a while we went to bed early. We’d done a few miles of the Big Pine Flat trail but the majority would come tomorrow, and then we’d head over to MR13.