stioc
Expedition Leader
This is a cross post from the CA section but since I recently read the thread about people not going on adventures and instead spending more time building trucks I figured what the heck I'll post it here too 
For our quick getaway this past weekend we ended up running Red Canyon Jeep Trail that takes you from I-10 to Salton Sea hwy 111, not a direct route though. On Sat we decided to try the Corn Springs campground which is supposed to have fan palm trees and an oasis in the middle of the desert. It was quite far, about 55 miles south of Dilon Rd. for those of you who know the area.
When we got there we saw the ruins of what once probably was a nice oasis. The palm trees looked dead/burnt, no water feature and no soul in sight except a 1970s Dodge based RV in one of the campsites. It was a bit of an eery feeling there quite honestly but after a while I started to enjoy the solitude. At least the bathrooms were new and very clean. We went for a quick hike down what was once a marked trail to the petroglyps, even found a 3/4" D-ring on the road (score lol). After the hike we had lunch and setup camp. The wind picked up and made us feel a bit miserable, it was pretty dry too. As the sun started to set it got cold, quiet, dark and spooky pretty quickly. The wind at least cleared the skys though and we could see bazillion stars right above us and several shooting stars too. We had a warm dinner, hot chocolate and started to prep for bedtime. We were going to let the dog sleep in the back of the truck with the hatch open (in case he wanted to do his business) but it was pitch black and way too close to the mountains that we decided to cram him into our 3 person tent. We were glad we did because around 10pm a pack of coyotes was yipping and howling what sounded like a few feet away. Our dog didn't even flinch though. At 2am he woke us up wanting to go out so I bundled up to brave the cold and go outside with him but he just wanted to play...while I was hoping to not get jumped by a mountain lion lol Finally he peed and we got back inside...brrr. Then at 5am again same deal...this time I just stayed out with him as I could tell the sun would be up anytime. The girls slept in till about 8am, we had pancakes for bfast, packed up and headed to Red Canyon Jeep Trail.
The trail was rated "easiest" and while it wasn't hard but there were definitely sections where a stock SUV would've rubbed bumpers etc. The worst part though was the crazy 50+mph constant wind. It was so bad that (wind hitting the back or the side of the truck) the Scan Gauge showed intake air temps to be 139F while the outside temp gauge said 65F ambient temps. That's the highest intake temps I've ever seen and the only explanation I have was the outside air pressure wouldn't allow the air under the hood to escape and it was just sucking in hot air. Thankfully the engine temps weren't affected by it too much so we kept on trucking. We enjoyed the views from the truck (the wind was really that bad) and made our way down to the trestles railway bridge for a quick lunch.
After lunch came the difficult part of finding our way out and towards Salton Sea. We made a few wrong turns based on what the GPS showed us but there were no trails. We came upon a park ranger in a late model Tahoe with Mud Terrain tires, he seemed a bit miffed from the start. He told us there was no way out the way were thinking of going because "it's all private property" and that we had to head back where we came from. When I told him we came down Red Canyon Jeep Trail he seemed to relax a bit and told us (making it sound like he was doing us a huge favor) confirming the trail does lead to the road along the water channel and which can take us to Power Line rd. So off we went and saw several signs forbidding trespassing or loitering. I guess the road is maintained by the water district and they want to discourage the use especially stopping near the wide open canal, understandably so but they could very easily put gates on it which there were none. We kept on cruising and after a few more wrong turns we managed to find our way to Power Line rd and eventually to Salt Creek Beach. Our plan was to camp there but there were so many dead fish scattered all over and the soft salty ground that we decided to book on out of there and head home. All in all it was an adventure in an area that I'd never explored before.
Corn Springs campsite:
From the petroglyps looking back at the campground:
Dead palm trees:
...look spooky at night:
Night shot:
Next morning at the start of Red Canyon Jeep Trail with I-10 behind us:
I-10 behind us:
Nice views:
Along the trail:
Railroad:
A quick lunch:
Some goofing around:
Some getting lost:
Water channel:
I'm assuming driving is OK as long as we're not trespassing the water channel by stopping or going in it for a swim? We saw a few other trucks on this road as we got closer to Salton Sea:
Salton Sea:
For our quick getaway this past weekend we ended up running Red Canyon Jeep Trail that takes you from I-10 to Salton Sea hwy 111, not a direct route though. On Sat we decided to try the Corn Springs campground which is supposed to have fan palm trees and an oasis in the middle of the desert. It was quite far, about 55 miles south of Dilon Rd. for those of you who know the area.
When we got there we saw the ruins of what once probably was a nice oasis. The palm trees looked dead/burnt, no water feature and no soul in sight except a 1970s Dodge based RV in one of the campsites. It was a bit of an eery feeling there quite honestly but after a while I started to enjoy the solitude. At least the bathrooms were new and very clean. We went for a quick hike down what was once a marked trail to the petroglyps, even found a 3/4" D-ring on the road (score lol). After the hike we had lunch and setup camp. The wind picked up and made us feel a bit miserable, it was pretty dry too. As the sun started to set it got cold, quiet, dark and spooky pretty quickly. The wind at least cleared the skys though and we could see bazillion stars right above us and several shooting stars too. We had a warm dinner, hot chocolate and started to prep for bedtime. We were going to let the dog sleep in the back of the truck with the hatch open (in case he wanted to do his business) but it was pitch black and way too close to the mountains that we decided to cram him into our 3 person tent. We were glad we did because around 10pm a pack of coyotes was yipping and howling what sounded like a few feet away. Our dog didn't even flinch though. At 2am he woke us up wanting to go out so I bundled up to brave the cold and go outside with him but he just wanted to play...while I was hoping to not get jumped by a mountain lion lol Finally he peed and we got back inside...brrr. Then at 5am again same deal...this time I just stayed out with him as I could tell the sun would be up anytime. The girls slept in till about 8am, we had pancakes for bfast, packed up and headed to Red Canyon Jeep Trail.
The trail was rated "easiest" and while it wasn't hard but there were definitely sections where a stock SUV would've rubbed bumpers etc. The worst part though was the crazy 50+mph constant wind. It was so bad that (wind hitting the back or the side of the truck) the Scan Gauge showed intake air temps to be 139F while the outside temp gauge said 65F ambient temps. That's the highest intake temps I've ever seen and the only explanation I have was the outside air pressure wouldn't allow the air under the hood to escape and it was just sucking in hot air. Thankfully the engine temps weren't affected by it too much so we kept on trucking. We enjoyed the views from the truck (the wind was really that bad) and made our way down to the trestles railway bridge for a quick lunch.
After lunch came the difficult part of finding our way out and towards Salton Sea. We made a few wrong turns based on what the GPS showed us but there were no trails. We came upon a park ranger in a late model Tahoe with Mud Terrain tires, he seemed a bit miffed from the start. He told us there was no way out the way were thinking of going because "it's all private property" and that we had to head back where we came from. When I told him we came down Red Canyon Jeep Trail he seemed to relax a bit and told us (making it sound like he was doing us a huge favor) confirming the trail does lead to the road along the water channel and which can take us to Power Line rd. So off we went and saw several signs forbidding trespassing or loitering. I guess the road is maintained by the water district and they want to discourage the use especially stopping near the wide open canal, understandably so but they could very easily put gates on it which there were none. We kept on cruising and after a few more wrong turns we managed to find our way to Power Line rd and eventually to Salt Creek Beach. Our plan was to camp there but there were so many dead fish scattered all over and the soft salty ground that we decided to book on out of there and head home. All in all it was an adventure in an area that I'd never explored before.
Corn Springs campsite:
From the petroglyps looking back at the campground:
Dead palm trees:
...look spooky at night:
Night shot:
Next morning at the start of Red Canyon Jeep Trail with I-10 behind us:
I-10 behind us:
Nice views:
Along the trail:
Railroad:
A quick lunch:
Some goofing around:
Some getting lost:
Water channel:
I'm assuming driving is OK as long as we're not trespassing the water channel by stopping or going in it for a swim? We saw a few other trucks on this road as we got closer to Salton Sea:
Salton Sea:
