The 14th Annual Hook and Ladder Enduro took place on Saturday, March 18th, in its usual location off 20 Mule Team Road in California City. This was the new regime’s first time running the event all by themselves. There was great apprehension leading up to the event. Depending on which app you use, the weather was not looking good. Attendance was looking grim early in the week as “Mother Nature” pounded the area with rain. One of the roads in camp looked more like a lazy winding river than a road. Some of our early arriving campers on Wednesday soon found out where the quicksand was. Marty Svorinich was the guinea pig. Being the first to cross what was the river earlier in the day, he sank his motorhome to the cabinets. Luckily it sank evenly. When Matt Lundgren got his motorhome stuck, he had everyone worried it was going to end up on its side. There was even a rumor that the “Chili Dog IC” was stuck for a while too. Thanks to Firefighter ingenuity, shovels, tow straps, and manpower, all were rescued and made it to their campsites.
“Mother Nature” finally let up and our die-hard attendees poured in. Our “Godfather”, Bruce Galien, was never worried. He just kept repeating, “If you build it, they will come.” He was right. The mobile city in the dirt formed and when the sign-ups opened at noon on Friday, lines formed with eager participants. This year we had several classes including: Motorcycles/Quads, 4-Wheel Vehicle/Side-by-Side, Powder Puff, PeeWee, and Picnic Class. The main course was nearly 30 miles and the feedback on the layout was unanimous – “spectacular”. The recent rain left the desert an off-roader’s dream with the tacky dirt and no dust. There was some much green grass, it was like riding on your neighbor’s lawn. Thank you for setting the course Mike and Jammer Raden, Mike Rietmayer, Gavin Wuerfel, and Bradley Grossman. Steve Berkery and his team put on an outstanding chili dog picnic lunch on at “Teter’s Trailer” under the supervision of Jamie Horwedel and Jed Teter serving just shy of 1000 chili dogs! We added the PeeWee class on a separate course this year and it appeared to be a hit and kept them safe. Speaking of safe, we were grateful for an injury free event. Thank you to all our participants for riding staying safe, as it is “Not a Race.”
Awesome Ogio Camo Bags with the Hook & Ladder Enduro logo embroidered on them were given as awards in all the classes as well as our most “senior” rider and our youngest rider. Our winners:
Moto/Quad (141 Riders)
Tied for 1st – Casey Clark & Eric Reynoso
Tied for 2nd – John Hishinuma & Winston Cooper
Tied for 3rd – Jared Lawyer and Nick Rini
4 Wheel Vehicles (70 Drivers)
1st – Jason Hupp
2nd – Newton Grossman
3rd – Gary Maga
Powder Puff (32 Riders/Drivers)
1st – Alyssa Van Dusson
2nd – Kellie Delliso
3rd – April Riffey
PeeWee (8)
1st – Maverick Teter
2nd – Wyatt Caverhill
3rd – Cohen Ghilardi
Picnic Class
1st – Fox Family
2nd – Peters Family
3rd – Lamb Family
The awards, raffle, and silent auction did not disappoint. Thank you to my Mom, Judye Cooper, for her hard work on putting together the silent auction. The grand raffle prize this year was a Pedego Electric Bicycle donated by Chief Carlos Calvillo and Jeanine Yanes owners of Pedego of Palos Verdes. Thank you for your generous donation. Congratulations to the winner, Gabriele Farrar. There may have been a sighting of Chief Calvillo rocking the drums with the live band that played after the raffle, “Tommy Peacock.”
This event is a monster to execute and without the help of several people, it would not be possible. We would all like to thank our volunteers:
• Mike and Krissy Raden
• Jammer and Samantha Raden
• Kenny and Elizabeth Willahan
• Jason and Amanda Willahan
• Bradley and Joanne Grossman
• Bruce and Debbie Galien
• Mike and Sonya Rietmayer
• Marty and Shellee Svorinich
• Tom and April Lambert
• Roy and Joanie Prince
• Clifford and Cathy Runion
• Dennis and Danielle Hong
• Steve and Rachelle Berkery
• Doke Smith
• Chris Hart
• Dave Rowley
• Shawn and Shelby Heit
• Jamie and Tracy Foreman
• Terry and Judye Cooper
• Trevor and Jared Cooper
• Gavin Wuerfel and Ashley Sims
• Geoff Lite
• Mike Horst
• Brock Harmon
• Edgar Garcia
• Manny Vega
• Carl, Mason, and Gage Goldsmith
• and of course…Sarah Wuerfel
We would also like to formally thank the following sponsors:
– Pedego of Palos Verdes – Carlos Calvillo and Jeanine Yanes
– Terrible Herbst Motorsports – Todd Gorsuch
– Huntington Beach Honda – Rick Dondero
– Ron Rezek Engineering – See Devil Lights – Ron Rezek
– King Off-Road Racing Shocks – Brett King
– Lewis, Marenstein, Wicke, Sherwin, & Lee, LLP
– Pelican Industries – Jeff Rudel and Pearl Sheets
– Garcia’s Custom Embroidery – Kathie Garcia
– Mechanix Wear – Chad Collins
– House of Trophies – Nestor Lerena
– Mob Armor – Derrick Dickson
– Ogio Bags – Pat Lopez
– Huntington Beach Honda – Rick Dondero
– Delta Marine – Jared and Trisha Cooper
– Fire Hose American Flag – John Marasco
– Firewood – Dwayne Kastor
– PCI Race Radios – Steinberger Family
– VP Racing Fuels – Heather Matthews
– Firefighters First Credit Union – Kelly Ramsay
– RB Components – Jamie Foreman
Well, it is in the books! We hope we made our mentors Bruce Galien and Craig White proud. Thank you and your families for the dedication to this event for all the years! One last thank you to Scott Ames and Jammer Raden – Scott for dragging the Hook & Ladder Enduro Trailer back to Jammer’s house and Jammer for storing it for us until next year. We hope to see more of the younger families start attending this event. The camaraderie with co-workers and time with friends and family is what it is all about! Remember…third weekend in March…that is March 16, 2024!
By Tim Wuerfel
