Mick Bowers 457 Posted January 21, 2025 Thanks a million Woody. You lead a perfect “no drama ride.” You even made a tire change seem routine and incidental. For those of us who were new to Camino del Diablo it was a true discovery trek. Great group, perfect weather and lots of interesting stuff to look at. Even had a chance to go Baja in the deep sand. Your deep knowledge of the area combined with Kevin and Mike’s first hand experience on the ground provided such meaningful context. I want to comment that we had a family along with a child and trailer. They were the first ones up and packed up in the morning and their little girl was so happy and well behaved that she was a delight to have in camp. Speaking as a grandpa, they must be doing something right 😁. I’d ride the trail with this crew anytime! Mick 5 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SonoranWanderer 715 Posted January 21, 2025 (edited) This last (three-day) weekend we had a nice adventure from Ajo to Tacna following part of El Camino del Diablo (The Devil's Highway) and then traveling around the Copper Mountains in Barry M Goldwater Range (BMGR) West. We started in Ajo and took Darby Well Rd to Bates Well Rd, stopping by Bates Well, to Papago Well, where we camped on night one. Day two we followed El Camino del Diablo along the US/Mexico border through the Cabeza Prieta Nation Wildlife Reserve (and wilderness) across the Pinacate Lava Field to the Tinaja Altas Mountains where we camped for the second night. We closed out the trip by traveling up El Camino del Diablo Este, east across Hobbs Drag, down Tule Rd around the southern tip of the Copper Mountains, then back up the east side of the Copper Mountains to Tacna viewing many military artifacts and sites along the trail. Following along with me were @JeeperFamily, @Larry Brockhaus, @gearhead, @Mick Bowers, and @CAVU2. I will post more pictures and more of trip report later. Everybody please feel free to post your pictures and stories here too. Thanks everyone for joining me in an awesome area to explore! Also thanks to @Curly for the suggestions that led to the third day of the trip! Edited January 21, 2025 by SonoranWanderer 6 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SonoranWanderer 715 Posted January 22, 2025 (edited) The group met up in Ajo at 12pm and had lunch at Tacos El Tarasco. We had two Jeeps pulling off-road trailers, two Jeeps without trailers, a Land Cruiser, and a Suburban. We were on the road by 1pm heading south for for Darby Well Road. El Camino del Diablo Access Requirements and Area Documentation A free permit from MCAS for the area is required for this journey with an online check-in before entry. The check-in area includes Cabeza Prieta National WildLife Refuge and Barry M Goldwater Range (BMGR) West. BLM and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument areas do not require check-in although OPCNM is a fee or America the Beautiful pass required area. The range is used by Marine Corps Air Station Yuma for air and air to ground combat practice. Recreational users are required to obtain the permit and check-in. The permit application is mostly a 'hold harmless' agreement and acknowledgment of range regulations such as stay on designated routes and beware of un-exploded munitions. The permit website also hosts very detailed maps and a comprehensive guide book (PDF) to the route's history, geology, flora, and fauna. An HTML version of the guide book can be found on Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge's website. One note on the Guide Book, it was published in 2016 and the border line demarcation monuments mentioned are no longer accessible due to construction of the border wall which is constructed inside US Territory on the US side of the border monuments. Continuing... Once on Darby Well Road, we quickly found an air down spot and made our rides a little more comfortable. Where the Scenic Loop road turns off to the west, Darby Well Road becomes Bates Well Road. We drove on and entering Organ Pipe Cactus Nation Monument and then on to Bates Well Ranch. After wondering around Bates Well and pondering life there in the mid 1900s we rolled on. We crossed into the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness at the Border Patrol forward operating base and had a short break before rolling in to Papago Well where we setup camp for the first night. There were a few other prior occupants at the Papago Well campground but we found sufficient space to setup and not be too close to anyone else. The moon did not rise till much later in the night so we got treated to dark skies and beautiful field of stars. The moon would eventually rise and reveal more nighttime desert beauty. Sunrise would soon arrive to start day two. Kevin patiently waiting for all us slow pokes getting ready to roll... We passed Camp Grip on our way to the first stop at Dave O'neill's Grave. Once around O'Neill pass we crossed the eastern Pinta Sands and then rolled up onto the Pinacate Lava field we we are reminded of the desert's surprising variance of beauty. It's also about the part of the trail where you visually realize how close to the border you are. Much like in the US, cell towers in Mexico tend to follow major highways, and in this general area, Mexico federal route 2 is not that far away. a Cell tower on the Mexican side of the border (likely here) that is also useful to US travelers if you have international roaming as part of your mobile plan. If you have ATT or T-Mobile service, for some of the route where you can see the border wall, you will likely have International mobile service. I had five bars of 3G for this picture. The SMS timestamp was actually from day 1. Not too long into the Lava fields we encountered the Nameer gravesite. The terrain and road surface varies a lot along the trip. . . We stoped for Lunch at Tule Well. Jeff and Bella hiked up to the boy scout monument while we were there. I was a little distracted and forgot to take photos here, so these are from a previous trip. Moving on from lunch we headed towards the Circle of 8 gravesite. On our way, Kevin (tail gunning) suffered a split sidewall. Thanks to Mike for leading our newer members on to the gravesite while Mick and I circled back to help Kevin make quick work of the tire swap. (Gravesite photo from a previous trip) We regathered near the gravesite turnoff and then proceeded to the campsite for night two. We camped nestled in the crook of the Tinajas Altas right under the tanks. Mick is quite the pyro and spent a few moment passing on his superior pyro skills to Bella. . Day three was "military day" or maybe also "things you find the desert" day. But before we could get to the military artifacts, we first stopped at the El Camino del Diablo historical marker. In BMGR West you will find a lot of military artifacts from all sorts of training setups and mishaps during training. Among them fake tanks (silhouettes), munitions and an old helicopter. But fear not there are also real tanks. And thanks to Jeff and Bella we learned there are geocaches in a lot of these sites including one found in a tanks storage box. Traveling around the southern tip of the Copper Mountains. South of the Copper Mountains are two fighter jet crashes. The first is an F14A Tomcat (queue TopGun theme...) Next was an F4 jet After exploring the plane crashes, we moved up the east side of the Copper Mountains to the Combat Village. It's quite an elaborate setup of a "middle eastern" location along with some accessory situations like a landing zone, US Embassy, and more. After the combat village, we rolled up Mohawk Drag to the final stop of the day, more tanks. We aired up here and said our goodbyes as we departed towards Tacna and civilization, showers and much softer beds. I very much enjoyed the trip and all the company along the way. I am also grateful for the trust of the group to hold losses to under 10%! Footnote: all items and locations mentioned in this report and more can be found on my El Camino del Diablo planning map. PPS: Track Recording: 20250118-20_ORP_el-camino-del-diablo.gpx Edited January 28, 2025 by SonoranWanderer Fix typos, add more Google Maps links for places mentioned, and add GPX track recording 5 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SonoranWanderer 715 Posted January 22, 2025 Those are some pretty awesome pictures @JeeperFamily! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CAVU2 267 Posted January 22, 2025 (edited) Wow. Such awesome photography 😀. Ready for another trip already! Edited January 22, 2025 by CAVU2 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theksmith 5,778 Posted January 22, 2025 (edited) @JeeperFamily - that patch on the dog is awesome! great photos everyone! thanks @woody for putting this together. looks like it was a really nice trip! what were the temps like? seems like you finished just in time, before the full "polar vortex" hit! Edited January 23, 2025 by theksmith 2 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dzJeepChic 2,897 Posted January 23, 2025 Great photos everyone, thanks for posting them. It looks like it was a fine trip over one of my favorite areas. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SonoranWanderer 715 Posted January 23, 2025 18 hours ago, theksmith said: what were the temps like? It got into the upper 30's at the lowest point of the night, but mostly low 40's up to mid 60s. In the sun you quickly start peeling layers off. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
