The Eastside 4 Wheel Drive Club is just one of Eastside Christian Church's ExtremeSide Ministries. We are comprised of friendly recreationists from our church. We get together a couple times each year for 4x4 trail adventures which generally take place in the Forests and Deserts of Southern California. These trips are designed for moderately equipped 4 wheel drive Jeeps and other small 4x4 vehicles as these events do provide a significant challenge. To view a harrowing video of an inappropriate vehicle being rescued, click here (high speed internet required for this video).

Our events are open not only to Eastside members, but also to visitors and friends, regardless of their spiritual orientation. You are encouraged to invite anyone who enjoys the spirit of adventure and who has an appropriate vehicle, or who wants to ride along with you in yours. The events provide a significant outreach opportunity, a great family experience, and it's a fun way to meet more Eastsiders who share common interests. These are not particularly "religious" events, but we do begin with a prayer, and the trail's end, climate permitting,  Jungle Jim occasionally pulls out his guitar and anyone who feels inclined is invited to linger has he worships the Lord with music. To get an idea of what these outings are like and to see our participants, click "Photos" in the menu column and then click on specific events in the "Reviews" column.

To ensure that our outings are safe and comply with all local, state and federal regulations of the areas we use, these events are only open to STREET-LEGAL 4 WHEEL DRIVE VEHICLES, which must be operated at all times by a responsible licensed driver. We regret that no other types of vehicles can be allowed on the outings. If you own dirt bikes, quads, dune buggies, or just like to thrash your 2 wheel drive, then Praying In The Dirt, another of our Extremeside Ministries at Eastside, is the place for you. Please see their website on the Family Life Ministries page on Eastside.com.

Admission to our events is free. You pay nothing to Eastside, however, there are times when the United States Forestry Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) charge a nominal fee for us to use our own public lands, typically $5-10 per day or $35 per year for an Adventure Pass or the like. See specific event information for details.

To find out more, click here.

To get on our e-mailing list, click here.

A Few Words from "Jungle Jim"
or, "Why I Do This"

Since I was a child, I have had a longing for adventure. Not the fantasies you might satisfy by reading a book or watching others, or the kind you can have by buying a ticket to a structured event, but the kind I could experience from my own exploration. Going places I’ve never gone, seeing things I’ve never seen; situations with limited predictability, and the need to depend on one’s self not only for operations, but for well-being and survival.

For some, these needs might be fulfilled after a year’s long preparation for one momentous event like hiking to the top of Half Dome, or white water rafting a stretch of river. Some may even tempt fate by skydiving or bungee jumping, in an attempt to do something new and exciting, but that’s not my idea of adventure. Going places and seeing new things often, would better quench my thirst for adventure.

A Jeep was my first car out of high school. And from 1974 to 1984, I wore that Jeep out, rebuilt it, and wore it out again, seeing and being places. I experienced fulfilling adventures though all seasons and all types of weather, and I grew to crave closely-seeing the creativity, the art, and the ugliness that our awesomely powerful and humorous Creator has made. Not only the land, the plants, and the weather systems, but some interesting creatures and how they react and behave under varying circumstances. For me, camping is a whole different thing than what most people withstand. For me, being in a campground full of flies, with stereos blaring, alarms going off, kids screaming and fighting, RV generators whirring, and watching and listening to parents sitting in their folding chairs while shouting commands at their offspring, is not an experience I can tolerate. This could be why some people only go camping once in their lifetimes.

So camping out, to me, means staying overnight in a peaceful place where I can alienate myself from the general public, and where meeting strangers is highly unlikely. I know places where we may not see anyone aside from my group, even on a holiday weekend. Places similar to Yosemite, with domes and waterfalls but no one is there.

On two of our Eastside events, we had optional camping. The first was in Rattlesnake Canyon (didn’t see any), when only one person, aside from my wife and I, stayed over. The other was at the end of day-one on our two-day, 138 mile trek across the desert on Mojave Road. Several camped that time. That was a journey that began just east of Barstow, and ended just shy of the Colorado River. It was a fine experience. There were no facilities in Willow Wash, and the soft flat sand was perfect for bedding down in a sleeping bag. It is the perfect place to stop, about half-way across the desert, just south of Baker.

After striking camp, we cruised up to that little town for a meal at Bob’s Big Boy and to replenish our fuel. Then it was back to camp for a peaceful night, sheltered from a light wind by the wall of lava flow alongside the wash.

I like primitive camping (no facilities) but I never “rough it” in the true sense of the word. Unlike a backpacker, I have an ice chest, and feasting on Alaskan halibut or rib eye steak is the norm for me and my companion.

In my opinion, the way to behold God’s creation is in peace and beauty, observing the artfulness of His hand on the colors, shapes, and sizes of the plants and animals as they exist miles from civilization, in the many different geographic environments on the earth. And sometimes, they get a little mixed up. For example, one of my favorite resting places, occasionally used for a lunch stop on our Eastside events, is a spot in the San Bernardino National Forest where high-desert Joshua trees are intermingled with pine trees.

It is my honor and privilege to put these events together and to be with you as we share these adventures. It is especially rewarding to me to accommodate and sometimes coach newcomers, as we join in adventures where the journey can be even more rewarding than the destination.

See you out on the trail! -Jungle Jim