34° 39’ 48.222” N - 118° 56’ 21.588” W
One night dry run testing the new sleeping arrangement.
Sunday the weekend prior: Nicole, Makayla, and I drive down to San Dimas to meet with a local shop tenant at The Motoring Business to pick up the new roof top tent (RTT). Some say you are not a true overlander without one, haha. We strap the boxed RTT to the LR3's modified roof rack and securely strap it down.
The drive home was uneventful but the setup proved more difficult. You see the OEM Expedition Rack from Land Rover has larger cross members than most aftermarket roof racks, not allowing the provided hardware kit to work. The local Lowe's had the fix! An 8" drilled piece of 1/8th inch steel with exactly the 4" gap needed for correct bolt placement. The roof top tent was light enough for Nicole and I to lift it onto the roof.
Once gathered, the tent was simple to unbox and easy to attach to the truck, only proving to be time consuming. The most difficult portion was the fact that the roof is sitting very close to the rack, not allowing enough room for a full out socket set. A 10MM speed wrench was the simple solution along with a 12" file used to hold up the head against the nut.
Once attached to the truck, Makayla could barely contain herself to try the tent out right in the parking lot!
The following Friday night: Prepacked and loaded up with supplies, cooler and warm garments, Makayla and I were ready to hit the trails.
Saturday morning came quick with a few maintenance items in order prior to our departure. Eddie, Natasha and their two pups were meeting up off the freeway for a quick bite and we were off. Following I-5 North to the Smoky Bear exit allows entrance to the South end of Gorman OHV area. Because we are only passing through, we were given specific passes (for free) to only pass through the park to the National Forest on the back side. If you simply follow the main road pretty much until it forks at the sign, you cannot miss it.
Following the signs for Gold Hill Road will take you all the way up. Many areas on the road are perfect for the random stop and shoot opportunities.
When you get to the top of Gold Hill Road, you will, once again, be presented with a Fork. From here it is up to you. I have my favorite spots but its also dependent on the weather and winds.
Camp was quickly setup with Makayla quickly picking up the necessary tasks to help split the work load. The weather was calling for 19℉ and 30+ MPH winds. We were able to successfully position ourselves on the East side of the mountain against a large vertical wall that blocked majority of the wind. Throughout the night, we were woken by the sounds of trees moaning as they bent in the heavy winds.
Morning came and let me tell you, the factory " 2" Luxury Memory Foam" mattress was garbage. That combined with the intense cold had me stiffer than 80 year old man halfway through a viagra bottle at a strip club...
As usual, waking up required me to dress quickly and capture some pictures of the sunrise.
All photos were taken on an iPhone 8 Plus with only minimal settings altered. This honestly pissed me off. We purchased Nicole this fantastic Sony DSLR a few years back and I might as well have been taking pictures with a shoe all these years.
Breakfast was finished quickly and we packed up heading out for a quick trip down the mountain before another work week approached quickly.
