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When I was much younger and not very bright, I explored the area in an old ‘56 Ford 6cyl. pickup. One spring day a friend and I descended into the Middle Fork towards Little California Mine, but we didn’t notice the “4x4 only” sign. By the time we reached that little, rusty, abandoned crawler tractor just above Greenbower Mine (not the larger Cletrac), I realized the trail was too steep for a 2 wheel drive pickup. We left the truck there and hiked on down to the river to try fishing, but the river was high and muddy. After hiking back up, getting leg cramps and almost sitting on a rattlesnake, I was somehow able to turn the pickup around right there on the hillside. We filled the back with rocks, jammed her into compound low and headed up the hill. Unfortunately, we hit a steep spot where we spun out. By mounding the rocks up in the bed and with my friend bouncing on the rear bumper, we surmounted this obstacle too. At the top of the hill as we unloaded the rocks, we noticed the caps had peeled off both rear tires so they were all cord. Slowly and gingerly we made our way back to Bucks Lake Lodge. It was after 10:00 p.m., but they generously rounded up some dinner for us. I’m older now…..that’s all.
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