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Bob, N6ZHZ and I (Cathy KD6CYG) got a late start, so got a very general bearing from the Hider and headed out in the general direction of North by Northwest, Northeast. We actually got a signal bleep at the Via Verde offramp. Upon taking a bearing we got a heading up the 5 Fwy.

The bearing finally changed and we got off at Gorman and figured Doug was hiding back behind Mt. Alamo. The guard at the gate to the Hungry Valley State Recreation Area was happy to let us go on to the National Forest without having to pay to get into the State Park. And gave us a very nice detailed map as well. On our way in, who should we meet but WA6TQQ -- who was working the Road Rally. His job was to be the"Angel of Death." I.e., when a rally car died on its route, his job was to tell the car's pit crew that their car was dead.

We chatted, then off we went. Once in a while we heard a faint signal, now and again, to the west. It appeared we were on the right track. Unfortunately, the track we wanted to be on was a "motorcycle only" track and the open gate was only wide enough to admit a motorcycle. Not a Toyota Tacoma. So, we went on up Mt. Alamo. The road on the map appeared to go where we wanted to be.

It did. all right. And from the western side of Mt. Alamo, we heard plenty of Ts. Unfortunately, the road we turned down quickly deteriorated into a Motorcycle Only road. Before we could think about getting stuck, we trudged back out to the main dirt road. And spent another 1.75 hours getting back down to the I-5.

It was twilight by this time. Dinner at the Flying J sounded like a good thing. Doubly good was the fact that Bob, WB6JPI had also pulled into the parking lot at the Flying J. He was more interested in using a tow strap to yank his bumper out from beneath his left rear tire, but once that was accomplished, we joined him for dinner at Denny's, where the service was slower than a sleeping sloth. After dinner it was nearly 10 pm, and so we decided that instead of spending another 2-3 hours on long and slow-going narrow dirt roads, we would reluctantly put one wheel in front of the other and head on back down the I-5 to the 210 and then on to home. So, we were unofficial, but we didn't find anything either, except a deer with a split personality. (photo below) And WB6JPI, of course! We had a good time, all in all. Thanks, Doug, for skunking us once again -- you know how to put on a tough hide!