Mojave Road Sept 26-29, 2013

[Jr_Explorer]

Well let me start by providing links to the original planning thread (http://americanadventurist.com/Forum/showthread.php?553-mojave-road) and a trip report thread over there (http://americanadventurist.com/Forum/showthread.php?804-Mojave-Rd-Sept-2013). I thought I'd put my rather redundant trip report here since this site and it's members have given me so much help and inspiration.

I have never really been an off-roader type. To date I've done one run on Cleghorn Road with a large group (where I met Bob91YJ) and a quick tour of the washes of Anza Borrego with four other folks from the forums here. I've been stalking this site for several years, bought my truck a year ago based in large part to my preferences and what others here have done in the past and got my Flippac about a month and a half prior to this trip. Of course I've heard of the Mojave Road. Bought the guide book. Stalked previous trip reports a bit. And watched the trip planning thread (link above) intently. No one in the final group had made this run before. For a while Bob91YJ was going to take his Duramax so I was pretty confident I could make it if he could with his full-size. As the day grew closer, he opted to take his mod'ed Jeep (the flex-o-matic) and I came to realize that I would be the shining white behemoth in the group if I tagged along. Also at the last minute my gf tweek'ed her hip/back and would NOT be up for 100+ miles of off-road adventuring in a 3/4 ton truck. I've always said that with 6 months careful planning and consideration I can be as spontaneous as the next guy! So undeterred I committed to this three and a half day adventure for my first "expedition" trip.

In the planning thread concerns were expressed about weather (too hot with the hot indian summer we were having in the weeks leading up to the trip). The desert experienced some fierce rain storms and some areas in Death Valley and elsewhere were reported as washed out/closed. So for novice me there WAS some trepidation. But hey... A bad day exploring is most likely better than a good day at work!

Bob91YJ and wife in their Jeep and Travis.Dillar and wife in their 2WD Tacoma left San Diego mid day Thursday and I met up at the McDonald's on the 15 (Cajon Pass). Onwards we went and went straight to Balancing Rocks to camp that night. The night was cool, windy and clear as a bell! Despite some reports I've read of the Flippac tent flapping in the wind I was parked about 45 degrees nose into the wind and experienced no flapping at all. And it blew hard enough to rock the truck a few times so I was quite happy. Everyone got a good nights sleep. Friday morning we broke camp with a purpose which was to head to Avi Casino for fuel-up and to meet BWidget and his son in their mostly stock, late model Jeep Grand Cherokee.

First stop... Fort Piute!


Next up was lunch at the bus.



And the coin can. Can you tell Bob & his #1 are having a wee bit'o fun?



Here's the whole gang hiking up to...


The Rock House!


In looking for the "School House" I ended up in the lead and managed to hi-center my long wheelbase butt climbing a steep, sandy bank out of a wash. BWidget helped my break in my virgin snatch strap (that sounds bad!) and pulled me back off the bank and I made it on the second attempt.

So somewhere in here we spent our first night at Mid Hills Campground at approx. 5,500 ft elev. I made tacos for the crew and it got refreshingly brisk as the sun set. Most of us called it a night early and it got to the low 50's.

Since the photog never gets to be in the photos we passed cameras around. So here are a couple poser shots of yours truly and my beloved monster.

 

[Jr_Explorer]

Next up was a high point with no less than three Geo markers within about 25 feet! Odd.


And the mailbox! Someone beat us to placing an Expo sticker here.


I never realized that this part of California has serious Volcanic legacy! Like Hawaii type lava flows and lava tubes!


And we found a dinosaur nest. Since we all saw Jurassic Park we beat feet and got the heck out of there!


I like this shot of Bob's Jeep and the surroundings. The terrain really changes a lot from one end of the Mojave Road to the other.

 

[Jr_Explorer]

And to hi-light that change here is a shot of the lakebed (which was NOT a muddy mess as some folks warned us about).



These are all shot from within the Mojave River Wash. Again... Evidence of serious water flow during the storms was everywhere but the area was green and the sand was fairly firm. We were amazed with the views and just went with the flow as we wandered off course, on course, off course, what's in a "course"!


So we did our couple of river crossings (see video below) and bid farewell to BWidget and son as they opted to head back to civilization Saturday night. The rest of us camped at the Afton Canyon Campground. Another brilliantly clear night.

The next day we headed out, finished the road, aired up and headed home. What a great trip!

 

[Jr_Explorer]

So my wonderful gf gave me a GoPro for Christmas last year. At first I didn't get it. The editing software is NOT intuitively obvious. The camera is not super user friendly (lots of layers of menus but what do you expect from a sophisticated camera with only three (3) buttons!) and the battery life sucks. But I'm starting to get the hang of all of it. So here is my attempt to be all video bloggy! LOL!


Finally... There were some nay-sayers pre-trip. Four strangers took the plunge with vastly different vehicles and experience from wet behind the ears beginner (me) to seasoned pros (Bob & Travis). Everything went about as close to perfect as possible! Weather, vehicles, and most importantly the company! No trail boss. No time table. No worries. I for one can't wait for the next one!

 

[Allof75]

Nice trip. I've run portions of the Mojave many times, but have been waiting to wheel the whole thing in my Pathfinder, so it's good to see a 2wd Taco can do it. I also know about being the big one on the trip- my Quad Cab Ram doesn't fit too well on those trails without a little paint rearrangement, but hey, that's what it's for. Good to see you had fun out there.

Next time you ought to swing by the Mitchell Caverns, and the lava tubes/quarry off of 40- both great sights. So too is the Kelso Depot.

 

[Jr_Explorer]

Well the Taco did have a locker on the rear. And Mitchell Caverns was discussed but we had to leave a little something for next time! :smiley_drive:

 

[bob91yj]

Nice report Dave. Look forward to the next trip with the folks in our group. Great trip!

It's nice to have people in low places, got my shock rebuilt for $40!

 

[Jr_Explorer]

Nice report Dave. Look forward to the next trip with the folks in our group. Great trip!

It's nice to have people in low places, got my shock rebuilt for $40!

Thanks Bob! I read that about your shock. Man that sounds like a deal. Glad it worked out so inexpensively. I'd say that you should hurry up and put the bumpstop back on but since you're gona bring the Duramax on the next trip I guess there's no rush! :wings:

 

[DesertFront]

AWESOME VIDEO!!!!!!

 

[Jr_Explorer]

AWESOME VIDEO!!!!!!

Thanks! I'm still struggling with both camera and editing software. And I know that generally there is NOTHING more boring than video from the cab driving through the desert! I think I should have tried harder to edit it down to about half that length but maybe I just have a short attention... SQUIRREL! I was so impressed with how much the terrain changes that I tried to illustrate that.

 

[Driver-Navigator]

Next up was a high point with no less than three Geo markers within about 25 feet! Odd.
View attachment 190384View attachment 190385View attachment 190386

Actually that's not at all unusual. One, the "main" benchmark disk (left photo) if you will, is the most important one. You'll note that the other two disks both have arrows in the center, and that these arrows point towards the main disk. They are called "reference marks" and are used to assist in locating the primary marker. Over time, it's not unusual for benchmarks to become buried, overgrown, etc. so you sometimes see several reference mark disks placed to help locate the main station marker. They've been invaluable to me more than once!

In the written description for the benchmark in the NGS database, it will also include the precise distance from each of the reference marks to the primary station mark.

Fun stuff. I'm looking forward to driving Mojave Road again sometime.

 

[Jr_Explorer]

Cool! Thanks Dave