Another glorious day with the 996...

Since Monday is generally "something busted over the weekend, and here I am to freak out" day on car forums, and because the 996 deserves much more praise than its critics allow, I thought I'd describe what Sunday was like with my 996. If this offends you or is a waste of your time, move your cursor up to the top of the page and click the "996 Forum" link in the breadcrumb trail. My alarm went off at 6AM Sunday, and I staggered my way into the clothes I'd laid out Saturday night to try to avoid waking Mrs. Schnell. By 6:20, the 996 and I were down the road and on the way to Julian, a little mountain community about 60 miles east of San Diego. The two or three cars we caught up with on the way up to Julian were kind enough to GTFO of the way. Normally I turn PSM off, but since the twisty two-lane mountain road was cold, with ambient temps in the high 40's, and the tires were only warming to about 90 degrees F, I left it on. I was pleased to see that my ongoing efforts to get smoother seem to be working - even on some very tight corners where I've had PSM fire off previously, the electronic nanny kept to herself. The road to Julian terminates in a T junction. If you turn left, you wind up in "downtown" Julian, home of apple pie and hokey cowboy costumes. If you turn right, you are treated with ~10 miles of twisty downhill road that ultimately flattens out to become a ruler-straight two-lane highway extending out into Anza Borrego desert state park. I tailed a quartet of street ("super") bikes down the mountain...they were running a little slow, but I didn't want to crowd them and cause a nervous mistake. When we finally hit the desert floor, they politely flagged me by. The beauty of the desert at 7:30 on a Sunday morning: miles and miles of empty road. The 996 eats those miles - in sixth, at a comfortable RPM, each massive saguaro cactus I whip past is just a green blur against the bleak post-summer landscape. At one point I find myself wishing I had pulled the 8-degree shims from the spoiler, as I can feel the additional downforce making it tough for the flat six to accelerate in sixth. The thought is immediately banished after a rise and dip in the road leaves the back end unnervingly, briefly unloaded - just a hint of a wiggle, and then the heavy hand of the rear spoiler reassuringly presses the rear wheels back into the asphalt. After 40 or 50 minutes of windows-down, care-eliminating high-speed blast through the desert, I backed off to let the car catch its breath. The gauges were perfect - temp needle vertical, oil pressure good, no lights, no drama. A dusty, end-sliding U-turn puts us on the way back up to Julian. We stopped briefly to check on a biker who (apparently) laid it down when he got into the fine sand on the shoulder. Thankfully, he was all good, and a Samaritan was helping him get the bike upright. The drive back up the mountain and then down into San Diego was at a much more sedate pace, appropriate for the traffic starting to appear as people headed out for church, or breakfast, or whatever else they had planned for their Sunday morning. During a brief stop for caffeine, the 996 purred like a kitten. I poked around, checking to see if my hooning had resulted in any leaks or other issues, but everything was sound. Not since I was a 10-year-old kid with my favorite bicycle have I felt a camaraderie with an inanimate object. Back then, it was my trusty BMX bike; today, it's my equally trusty 996. Cars, of course, don't think or feel...but if they did, I believe my 911 would agree that yesterday was a very, very good day.

Nice to see some positive stories in here, we need more of these

luv the backside of Julian down thru the narrows and over to Borregoikpl. I have been wondering if the 4CS would make it to Faun's point on that sandy road, but I would have the stones to try it. Although we've done it in a early 70's station wagon!

I think those happen pretty much every day but rarely do people post about THAT!!

Awesome! I had a busy weekend on ebay.de looking at mods for my interior. Looks like there are some in my future!

Borrego...don't know what word that was-

I've been on that exact same route many times on both antique and modern motorcycles. Never done it in a car but I will eventually make it in the Porsche. Its one of the great rides even though its not to long in SoCal. These are great cars in my opinion and little trips like that make a good day great.

I thought I was looking at one of Macster's post Sorry for the confusion. It's corrected now.

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"ow" and "ha!" at the same time.

I've never done that ride in the day time...did it a couple of times at night in Monte Carlo style rallies. Your writing is great, you had me in the seat next to you. Thanks.

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I can't count how many times I've run it. If you get out there before the SUV and pickup drivers wake up, it's ALWAYS an amazing drive. Since it's so close to SD, it's my go-to route when I have the urge to do some driving. You also never know who you're going to run into - one morning I wound up with a pack of Ferraris (with a couple of Lotuses thrown in), and the noise was awesome.

Great post! You've inspired me to take a little mid-afternoon Monday jaunt out east of Austin - where I can come back via SR 130 - speed limit 85mph R

You drove all of that way and made it back?? Quick Kontact Krazy he will help you rebuild that engine. You are lucky to have that road near you.

Nice. You did more before 9am than everyone else does all day.

Schnell, thanks for sharing. I do this at the Angeles Crest Highway here in LA. It is definitely a very nice drive and my feeling is the same regarding my 996.

Great story. Unfortunately, it was so good, I had to spend some time on Google street view checking out some of those roads. Looks like a lot of fun!

Here's a map of the road from Julian, at approx. 4,200 feet, down the mountain via Highway 78 (the Banner Grade). It's a very fun 7 miles each way...and that doesn't even include getting to Julian, which is an entirely different mountain road.

In spring - if we've gotten any rain and there is something to see - this is my extended loop (it starts and ends on the 8 freeway, 20 or 30 miles east of where I live). If you can get out to the desert when all of the flowers and cactus are blooming, it's amazing. If I need to cut it short (or the road is getting busy), I take the 8 back to San Diego...but if I have another 2 hours, or if the roads are still clear, I go back the way I came. Everything from Julian all the way southeast to where the highway intersects the 8 is two-lane, back-country road. I have never seen highway patrol - most of it is supposed to be patrolled by aircraft, but I'm generally out there before the law gets up.

I did part of that route coming back from Palm Desert Sat afternoon in our Targa. Nice weather, car running great. The only bummer was the group of 10 bikes that were holding me back a bit. Had a few times I could have passed 1 or 2 , but I didn't want to be in the middle of their pack. I flashed them a few times hoping they would pull over for a sec so I could fly by, but they didn't get the message. Oh well, still a nice ride One of my favorite parts is the last leg before I get home, Highland Valley road from Ramona to Rancho Bernardo It's 5 minutes from my home in RB, so whenever I feel the urge (at least once every 2 week), its up and back to Ramona either in the 996 or my 986 S, sometimes I'll even do a run in one and then swap at home and do it again in the other Some great roads in the San Diego area and I always look forward to the next PCA back road tour This is a pic of part of the road leading into Palm Desert, it's a blast going up or down the mountain (it was a bit overcast when I took the pic)

I too took a winding path today. Past the track wheels, around the kids' bikes, scoot by the Miata, duck under the spare parts bin and look under the workbench to confirm that the battery tender light is green. Yup! Grrrrrrrrrrr.......

Great story! I washed my 911 yesterday and took it out for a spin through town and down through the canyon by my house - with the top down! 58 degrees and sunny in December! We are lucky to have the luxury of driving these cars every day.

Very nice and articulate writing, California roads are a lot of fun!!

It's either Malibu or Lake Hughes for me...with ACH thrown in occasionally. The last time we did Julian, we got salt on our underbody and sandblasted our front hood and bumpers...and the locals didn't seem so happy about all the noise created by all those Italian and German horses... We need more posts like this! 👍

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The pack in front of me had a marginal rider in back - he was definitely the slow guy in their group. If I'd closed up, he probably would had pulled off so I could pass, but I could see he was already pushing it, and I was worried about making him nervous and having him dump the bike. Even with Capt. Slow ahead, we outpaced the sport bike behind me.

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I know exactly what you mean. It was a similar situation with the group in front of me. What part of SD do you live in? Have you driven Engineer road? Some great twisties and not heavily traveled

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Hey Schnell, Nice write up. Great roads/routes for sure. I'm in Mission Hills� let's hit Julian sometime and beyond! B

Thanks for sharing this Schnell. Very engaging read and those of us who drive these cars can surely relate. Love the looks of your 996 by the way.

Great post! I love the more positive threads. That road looks like a lot of fun to drive. You should GoPro it for other's who don't have such nice roads to see!

I've done that exact drive many times, always a blast. Hopefully will be back up and running soon enough to do it again!