sdecker
New member
I've been rock crawling for years but recently decided to focus more on enjoying the outdoors, taking pictures and exploring historic areas. I spent a few months lurking on this site doing research on things I'd need/want and areas to explore.
Since my brother lived in San Diego and he was to be my co-pilot a desert trip was in order.
The short version is all I can give tonight. I'll put up some pictures tomorrow.
I left the bay area April 10th and drove to Temecula to visit family and stay the night. Then I headed down to Chula Vista and picked up my brother. We loaded his gear and headed out to Anza Borego.
The first stop was to visit Smugglers Cave and Riders Cabin south of Hwy 8 near Incopah. We found the cave but never found the cabin. Then we headed up the Imperial Hwy (S2) and took a short trail out to see the old Carizo Stagecoach station. There wasn't much to see at the stage coach station but strangely enough on the way there we had to drive through a marsh. Call me stupid but I was surprised to find an actual marsh with water and mosquitos in the desert.
After getting back to S2 we went north and set up camp in a primitive camp ground (I think it was called Mountain Palms?).
The wind was brutal that night and I thought the tent was going to colapse. Hazard of having a cheap tent I guess.
The next day we took a trail called "Canyon Sin Nombre" north off of S2. After taking several wrong turns (despite GPS and a map) we made it to the "the drop off" and then some some wind caves before hitting Hwy 78.
I had hoped to take a different trail back to camp but since it was late we went back the way we came. The map said the trail was one way (I guess due to the difficulty of the drop off?) but we had no trouble getting back to camp.
Camp that night was great. We hiked to some palm trees, took sunset photos and had a great dinner.
The next day we stopped to look for some rocks/gems (my brother collects them) off of incopah. Didn't find any.
That's about it. I headed back to the bay area after visiting the beach and other sights in San Diego.
Its not much of a trip compared to what I've read here but it was a lot of fun for me. Plus I did it all in a 1972 scout. I managed to cruise 70 mph on the freeway, get 12.34 mpg (freeway only... im afraid to see what I got off raod) and complete the trail with no mechanical problems. Along the way I got stopped 3 times by the border patrol which was okay with me. I also met a few nice people at rest stops and gas stations.
Only thing I'd do different regarding the truck would be to add some sound proofing and a radio. AC might be nice too.
I want to thank all of the members of this forum. Based on my reading here, I spent most of my prep time making the truck reliable. I then built a rack in the back, and bought a few necessities including: a Trasharoo (loved it), a GPS (even sorta learned how to use it), maps and extra recovery gear.
Im not much of a photographer but I'll post some photos tomorrow.
The trip was a great learning experience. I'm already thinking about the next trip. Maybe Ghost towns in northern CA.
Thanks again.
Since my brother lived in San Diego and he was to be my co-pilot a desert trip was in order.
The short version is all I can give tonight. I'll put up some pictures tomorrow.
I left the bay area April 10th and drove to Temecula to visit family and stay the night. Then I headed down to Chula Vista and picked up my brother. We loaded his gear and headed out to Anza Borego.
The first stop was to visit Smugglers Cave and Riders Cabin south of Hwy 8 near Incopah. We found the cave but never found the cabin. Then we headed up the Imperial Hwy (S2) and took a short trail out to see the old Carizo Stagecoach station. There wasn't much to see at the stage coach station but strangely enough on the way there we had to drive through a marsh. Call me stupid but I was surprised to find an actual marsh with water and mosquitos in the desert.
After getting back to S2 we went north and set up camp in a primitive camp ground (I think it was called Mountain Palms?).
The wind was brutal that night and I thought the tent was going to colapse. Hazard of having a cheap tent I guess.
The next day we took a trail called "Canyon Sin Nombre" north off of S2. After taking several wrong turns (despite GPS and a map) we made it to the "the drop off" and then some some wind caves before hitting Hwy 78.
I had hoped to take a different trail back to camp but since it was late we went back the way we came. The map said the trail was one way (I guess due to the difficulty of the drop off?) but we had no trouble getting back to camp.
Camp that night was great. We hiked to some palm trees, took sunset photos and had a great dinner.
The next day we stopped to look for some rocks/gems (my brother collects them) off of incopah. Didn't find any.
That's about it. I headed back to the bay area after visiting the beach and other sights in San Diego.
Its not much of a trip compared to what I've read here but it was a lot of fun for me. Plus I did it all in a 1972 scout. I managed to cruise 70 mph on the freeway, get 12.34 mpg (freeway only... im afraid to see what I got off raod) and complete the trail with no mechanical problems. Along the way I got stopped 3 times by the border patrol which was okay with me. I also met a few nice people at rest stops and gas stations.
Only thing I'd do different regarding the truck would be to add some sound proofing and a radio. AC might be nice too.
I want to thank all of the members of this forum. Based on my reading here, I spent most of my prep time making the truck reliable. I then built a rack in the back, and bought a few necessities including: a Trasharoo (loved it), a GPS (even sorta learned how to use it), maps and extra recovery gear.
Im not much of a photographer but I'll post some photos tomorrow.
The trip was a great learning experience. I'm already thinking about the next trip. Maybe Ghost towns in northern CA.
Thanks again.
