Mojave Trail - March 23rd-25th

[adventureduo]

:birthday.sml:

Everyone,

So here goes, I figure we plan the attack soon.. otherwise it's going to get crazy hot out in the high desert real fast. So since we bought the new place, i doubt Yosh and I will have time to go out in April. We'll be too busy. So .. i said what better than going out on my birthday? I couldnt think of a better place to be then camping out with some good friends! I wish i had a little bit earlier notice for you guys, but hey.. it's still a ways away to get prepared and ask for a day off.

The MOJAVE TRAIL - "From Indian Path to Modern 4WD Recreation Trail"

Schedule:

Depart Corona @ - 10am Friday March 23, 2007
Return Home - Sunday March 25, 2007
Run the Mojave trail in 3 days - 132 miles of dirt road
You will need enough fuel to drive 200 miles

What to bring:
Plenty of water. More than you ever think you'll need. I
recommend at least a gallon per person. Per day.
Plenty of Fuel. At least 1 spare tire. Spare belts, spare hoses.
First Aid kit, All the typical stuff you should always bring etc.


Rough Itenery:

Day 1) Friday
We will be heading out to AVI Hotel and Indian Casino on the Colorado River near Needles.
We will be topping off fuel at the AVI Hotel before we hit the trail head. (3 miles from Casino).
We will run the trail till we get tired and feel like we've made some progress for the day.
Im thinking we'll camp somewhere inbetween "Piute Creek" and "Rock Spring" the first night.

Day 2) Saturday
Get up and have a nice relaxing breafkast. Kind of take our time getting going today.
Run the trail to "Marl Springs" and camp there for the night. This is supposed to be a great area to camp.
(of course make stops along the way to view the sites)

Day 3) Sunday
Finish up the trail and head home. We will stop off at "Soda Springs" and the "Caves" and end at "Afton canyon"
The Caves - http://www.shadowco.org/~cal/offroad/pics/Mojave_Road-06/Mike Rollins/slide262.html
In this last section there is a sand most of the trail. Anyone with a low powered motor or anyone with
tranny problems is not advised and should head north to I-15. Hopefully we won't be home too late. I'd like to
be home by 5-6pm.. so the last day we may get a early start on the trail.

Sidenotes:
While we our out on the trail, please stay clear of these plants - http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/jumping_cholla.htm
They will jump out at you and you can bleed and lose a ton of blood. Don't play anywhere near them!
Im researching where to find the lava tubes. Apparently they're not far off the trail. We may or may not hit these up.
Lava Tubes 1/4 mile hike - 2 miles off the trail

Link to information about Mojave Road.
http://www.desertusa.com/mag99/nov/stories/mojavetrail.html



Dave and Yosh
"The Adventure Duo"
www.adventureduo.com

 

[MountainBiker]

Sounds fun! Too bad I'm busy that weekend.

I can get you to the lava tube, I have the GPS coordinates at home. The MNP visitors center will provide you a map as well, and it would make a nice side trip. Marl Springs is a nice place to camp, good choice!

BTW, leave some time for Afton Canyon, because it is Beautiful! The caves in Afton Cyn are a nice hike of about 1mile round trip. The triangle intaglios are just off the Mojave Road west of Afton Cyn, and they are interesting, though vandalized. There are a couple of cool slot canyons/slot caves on the North wall of Afton Cyn. I've got coordinates for those as well.

 

[MountainBiker]

Also, it is worth the hike down to Piute Springs from "fort" Piute.

 

[adventureduo]

Right awn... post up if you find the coords. I appreciate it!

 

[rvrfish]

Hi,

We would very much like to attend the Mojave rd. trip with you. It would be my wife daughter and I in our stock well maintained FZJ80. I have done the whole road in my series three Land Rover and the first half in the 80 so I know what I’m getting into and won’t be turned off by desert pinstripes or body damage, I’m responsible for my own actions etc…

We would be leaving from Santa Barbara and would meet you at the Avi casino on Friday the 23rd

The last time I did the trip there was new road construction across Mojave rd. mile 3 but I think I could find it again.

Let me know if you are comfortable with our set up. I should say the reason I bailed out half way through the last trip was because it was New Years Eve my son was home sick and I new if we started driving at 5:00 we would make it home to celebrate with family and friends. I’m still bummed I missed another chance to see Afton Canyon.

Best Regards,

Matt Wilson

 

[adventureduo]

Matt, my inbox was full. Right on dude, you're totally in!

PM me back it's empty now.

 

[adventureduo]

UPDATE:


I just made reservations at AVI casino for Thursday night. If anyone's interested , the rooms are super cheap. From $34.00 and up. This way we'll be fresh and ready to run the trail the next day.

http://www.avicasino.com

We are meeting all drivers at 10 AM Friday March 23rd at the Main Casino entrance parking lot. The trail head is minutes from the casino.

 

[MountainBiker]

Here are some GPS coordinates, in order if you are traveling West on the Mojave Road. These sites are quite well used (and abused), so I don't feel bad about posting the coordinates here. If this is a bad practice, please somebody let me know!

Lava Tube/Cave:
Bring a dust mask! You know, the cheap ones you can find at the home store. I'm not kidding!
N35 10.386 W115 46.658 - Turn off the MR, and head North on Aiken Mine Rd
N35 12.814 W115 45.194 - Parking area
When I was there last Spring, you could drive further up the road and park right by the tube, but there is only room for 1 vehicle. I didn't mark a waypoint for the tube itself, but walk up the road from the parking area, probably less than 1/4 mile and the tube/cave will be on your right. Look for the collapsed tube on the left of the road (it makes a ~20' deep crevasse) in order to tell where the tube will be on the right. Go up the hill untill you see the hole in the ground that has the rickety steel ladder in place. Turn on your flashlight and put on your mask!

Slot Canyons 1&2:
These are rugged, and take a little bit of rock hopping and scrambling
N35 01.934 W116 19.708 - Park under railroad tracks
Hike up into the cliff face. Slot 1 is slightly to the right after going under the tracks, slot 2 is quite a way to the left after going under the tracks.

Slot Canyon/cave 3:
This one is easy and family friendly! It becomes a cave, so bring a flashlight.
N35 01.858 W116 19.789 - Park under the railroad tracks
Hike up into the cliff face and enjoy the narrowing slot canyon that eventually becomes a cave! Shortly after the cave starts you get to a couple of climbs that should only be attempted by experienced climbers, IMO.

Caves, said to be used by weary MR travelers back in the day:
N35 01.872 W116 22.049 - Park vehicle at West end of railroad trestle
Hike to caves by walking SouthWest along the creek
N35 01.758 W116 22.293 - Caves

Triangle Intaglios:
N34 59.146 W116 28.870 - Turn off of Mojave Road, heading North
N34 59.209 W116 29.141 - Park your vehicle
N34 59.204 W116 29.184 - Intaglios

 

[adventureduo]

Thanks for the coords man! Got all the coords for the trail already but those are good ones too!

 

[adventureduo]

I posted this over on mud too. We have some tentative 80 series landcruisers coming too.

http://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=141461

 

[sinuhexavier]

http://flickr.com/photos/sinuhexavier/sets/72157594546940158/

Here's a little trip into the Mojave I took in Feb... If I have any advice, not that you were asking, it would be to stay off th emain mojave road and explore the parallel running roads...