The official July outing was of course the Annual Picnic held the weekend after the 4th on Saturday July 11th. 35 people had signed up, but only 25 attended. We started with the seeded hunt put on by JerryG that included 1,544 coins and 38 tokens redeemable for other prizes the 20 participants could trade in for. By the numbers first place went to Brian Winter with 219 targets, second to Gabriel Clum with 185, third to George Miskovsky with 131, and fourth to Troy Beatty with 120. While the hunt progressed through it’s hour and a half, I was cooking the tri-tip and toasting up the rolls for lunch which started just after noon. The members brought the sides, pasta salads, fruit, and desserts to fill out the meal. The weather was perfect with some high clouds that prevented the sun from cooking everyone and kept it very comfortable. By 1:30pm folks started to leave a full and happy bunch. See you next year!
As the deserts are too hot (105+), we are now spending the summer months up in Big Bear at the BB1 Claim where it is nice and cool in the pines, though this is a relative term as on the weekend of the 11th Joe Becht reported 100 degrees up by the claim. Remember to get your Campfire permits and check with the forest service for the fire hazard level, the sign at Polique Canyon read “Moderate” this last month and restrictions kick in at “High” and “Extreme”. If you also are a member of TVP and/or SPMA they have claims available to explore and work as well. Last year I took a day to hike up to the Cabin in the Sky and located the Boundary Rock and survey button. If you go to the USF Discovery Center there are maps of the area and a handout for the historical auto tour of the old mining sites. There is a lot to do all around the lake and over in Big Bear City. There are also 3 old city sites and many left over mines and prospects to explore.

Jerryk