The bearing from the start was east of Mt. Baldy. That was good.  But was it east of the messed up 15 thru the Cajon Pass and east of Big Bear? Deryl and I hoped so.  We didn’t have to go thru the Cajon Pass (thank you), but it looked like we would be going to one of the most torturous t hunting areas. The general area of Big Bear has been historically very frustrating for us. Signal ambiguity has reigned.  Then there is the maze of roads.  Some are not roads, but trails for severely modified off road vehicles and donkeys.

We were off to a better than usual start and found the “Rattlesnake” T.  As I was driving past the little dirt road I said to Deryl that is probably the road we need to go on and sure enough we stopped just past it and determined we needed to go on that road.  We soon found the “Rattlesnake” T. We had met up with Jippy and proceeded on to the North Shore of Big Bear Lake.  We were taking a bearing outside of Fawnskin and Jippy drove up.  I asked him if he knew of any place good to eat in the area.  He indicated there was a “burger joint” but that it changed owners every year.  After seeing a couple of closed/vacant eating establishments we found the North Shore Café in Fawnskin. We put our names in and while waiting for a table, noticed a white Cherokee much like Steve LAJ’s parked across the street next to the Moose Lodge.  Soon Deryl’s phone rang it was Don and/or Steve.  Shortly after they arrived and Don parked his FJ next to the Cherokee.  Turns out it was Steve’s Jeep.  So they joined us for lunch.  The Reuben sandwich I had was very good, but I cannot recommend the Italian pasta salad. The server was very friendly and attentive. I would go back.  The other times I have eaten around Big Bear it has not been very good.

After lunch we sniffed, well Deryl used a sniffer I looked around for the transmitter we heard very strong.  It was disguised in a power panel along side the Moose Lodge. Incidentally this is where the black tie pizza dinner was to be. Knowing our hunting routine and having just had lunch we declined the dinner with our thanks for the invite.

We then proceeded to the dreaded Coxey Road/Butler Peak area, although there was a sign that said Butler Peak was closed.

We drove around and don’t ask me the details (I was only driving and looking at the image frequency), but we managed to fine T’s 17 and 7.  The road to T7 was a bit of a challenge but it made it interesting.

Somewhere along the dirt roads while looking for T3 we came across Jippy again, or he came across us. He indicated that he too was looking for T3. Now this is where it starts to be a little confusing. He indicated he had found T7. No one had signed into T7 when we were there so he obviously found it after us. However I really didn’t think the Prius could get by in a couple of places on the road to T7. But this was Jippy so if anyone could get a Prius thru a goat trail, he could.  The other confusing point was that he said he was tired out from the hike to the transmitter.  The hike to the transmitter (T3) from the road was not very far, a bit steep, but you could practically see the T from the road. However, I thought maybe he had to stop further down the road because the Prius was not able to go any further. On hindsight I should have asked him about that but it did not occur to me that there was anything going on other than he was looking for T3 as we were. 

We jaunted around the dirt roads, occasionally consulting with each other and taking the lead at different times.  After encircling where we thought T3 was and arriving at blocked road after blocked road. We decided to go try to find it back around 2N80 and kind of lost Jippy at that point. We arrived at the end of the road at a picnic table and fire pit. Glenn’s vehicle was parked here as well.  He was walking back to his vehicle and indicated the transmitter was way off by some large rocks.  He had forgotten to take note of the mileage and was returning to do that. Deryl and I thought there must be a closer way to the T, so we looked at the various GPS maps and determined there was one other possibility. So we wished Glenn well and headed out just down the road to the road we thought would bring us closer to the T.  It might have, except it was inside the YMCA Camp.  We turned around and headed back to where we saw Glenn.  He had returned to his vehicle and gave us some hints that were factual (thank you Glenn) and after meandering up and down (mostly up) we got to the correct set of large rocks and found the transmitter and the sign in sheet.  There were two teams that had signed in before us. Glenn and what?! Jippy! At 2:44! How could that be?! He had been with us looking for this T for the past 2 hours! This was either an elaborate rouse and he was enjoying tagging along with us or there was a genuine confusion on which T was numbered what. I chose the latter. I know there are some hunters that may have done this, but I did not think Jippy would spend that much time and effort on a fake search with us. Also his description of the hike to T7 was accurate for this T (T3). If you’re confused, fear not this is the state I am usually in, so welcome.

The hike had taken its toll on Deryl and it was around 5:30, so we decided to head home.  Thanks Don and Steve for the most enjoyable hunt I have been on in the Big Bear area.

Ray N6EKS