Pure 4x4 Basecamp 3.0 SoCal Recap
Posted by Sean Reyes on
Basecamp 3.0 arrived in Big Bear with a bang! Over 300 vehicles showed up at Holcomb Ranch to get dirty, party, run trails, and talk shop. When we saw all the rigs rolling out of Tahoe from Basecamp 2.0 a few months back, we knew we couldn’t miss this one.
People from all over the country showed up to Basecamp; Washington, Florida, the midwest, Norcal - “We dont have these mountains back east!” It was great putting faces to names; Baja Designs, VTX Wheels, Yotamafia, American Adventure Lab, Long Beach Overland, CORVA and a bunch of others. Wayne from Suspension Direct accompanied us at the Shock Surplus booth, showing off their top-of-the-line electronically adjustable shock technology.
Shock Surplus’ crew was entirely focused on hosting the the trail run for Friday evening, Golden Hour at Gold Mountain. Typically one the hardest trails in the area, next to John Bull and Holcomb Creek, Gold Mountain offers great views with challenging terrain and some big steps that will bang up your ride if you’re not careful (witnessed!). Breaking parts is sometimes part of the process, luckily there were a lot of spare parts on hand for your typical broken tie rods and busted ball joints.
A trail that usually takes 2-3 hours took us about 4, with close to 15 vehicles, some more stacked than others. 37 inch tires make this trail a breeze, if you dont have lockers and are on a smaller setup, turn back now. The good thing about rolling with an equipped crew is even if you aren’t outfitted to the gills, we can still winch you up and over the waterfalls or gatekeepers. We appreciate the challenging fun Mr. Colorado!
The hospitality was on another level at Holcomb Ranch campground, it seemed like everyone was hosting their own dinner party, feeding and refreshing anyone that cared to stop by. Someone even cooked up some Tom Yum Soup, that’s definitely not something you can cook on a skottle. When Sunday arrived and we had a Tri-Tip left over, Tembotusk came to the rescue and cooked it up for us and the crew, huge thanks!
Basecamp was exactly that, a high energy locale where you could pick your own adventure for the day. Cooking contests, give aways, mountian biking, tons of trails to hit, and what seemed to be a non-stop party in one form or another. Is it 12 o’clock yet? Nope! #lfg
