Mojave Road 2011 Picture Thread

[Project510 2]

I only have 2 photos too contribute

 

This was before any of you arrived, I was playing around in the river crossing for a hour or so alone.

 

 

Was about to pull the camera out for group night photos.. but then the rain and wind came in, and wasnt gonna risk damaging the camera.. since it was borrowed This was the only group shot I took

 

[ob1jeeper 484]

Cool pics... Thanx for sharing...

[nwoods 1]

Here are some photos from the "other" group that ran from east to west. Brrrr...!

 

Kristopher, sorry for not checking in on HAM as scheduled. We were in the middle of setting up camp in a snow storm, and I let the time slip away whilst trying to find my tent pegs in the snow....

[Number7 86]

Looks like you guys had an adventure like we did. Good stuff. George:cool:

[dzJeepChic 2,427]

Diane's trip report starts now!

 

People were already gathering when we arrived at Afton Canyon Campground Friday afternoon, and more folks rolled in throughout the evening. We experienced some rain and a sandstorm while getting to know each other. Saturday morning there were a total of 20 rigs there for the Mojave Road Adventure, 9 of which would reach the end of the trail at the Colorado River. It was fantastic to see that a common interest in off-road travel had brought together such a diverse group of vehicles from all over California and Arizona and as far away as Wichita, KS! Chevy, Ford, Dodge, Jeep, Nissan and Toyota were represented: an S-10 Blazer, an F150 & 2 Sportsmobiles, a Ram 2500 Diesel, a YJ, 4 TJs, 5 JKs, a Grand Cherokee, a Liberty and a Commander, a Frontier and 2 Tacoma Trucks.

 

Getting ready to hit the trail:

 

 

 

 

Driver's Meeting:

 

 

Our first casualty was the Nissan. Project510 (James) had come to the difficult decision not to run the Mojave Road because his Frontier was running badly. Even though he’d come all the way from Fremont, CA, he didn’t want to risk ruining the trip for everyone by breaking down in the middle of the desert. Kudos to you James, for being altruistically proactive and taking one for the team, it’s a tough spot to be in. We also thank you for the ‘Mojave Road’ decals you designed and had made for everybody. We passed them out Saturday night at camp and everybody thought they were way cool.

 

After the driver’s meeting we got a bit of a late start from Afton Canyon Campground just as a Southern Pacific Railroad train came across the trestle. We crossed the Mojave River then went alongside the track for less than a quarter-mile before crossing under another trestle. The trail was washed out pretty bad, and we suffered another trip casualty: Mike and Melissa Kitchen’s Adventure Trailer ended up on its lid! A bunch of the men righted it, and it didn’t look too bad at first, but at lunchtime I think they determined that the tent wouldn’t function correctly so they went home. We were sad to see them go, but looking back at the weather, it was the right thing to do.

 

Mojave River Crossing

 

 

Stopped in line as the men righted Mike & Mo's trailer

 

 

Going under the trestle - we're on our way!

 

 

We made our way through beautiful Afton Canyon and then along the winding trail until we stopped at Cave Canyon Iron Mine to take some pictures.

 

Afton Canyon

 

 

 

The 'Wooden Road' at Cave Canyon Iron Mine

 

 

 

Continued

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[dzJeepChic 2,427]

On through the desert we followed the cairns, crossing Rasor Road and then over a rise and Soda Lake came into view. From far off it looked more like snow on the ground than a dry lake. The rigs looked amazing out on the flat surface as we drove out to the Traveler’s Monument. We each left our respective rocks and snapped photos of it and our rigs on the salt. Walking to and from where we parked proved to be a slippery, sloppy job and we all decided not to risk crossing Soda Lake.

 

Approaching Soda Lake

 

 

On Soda Lake

 

 

Traveler's Monument

 

 

 

We made our way back to Rasor Road where we ate lunch before driving to I-15, then east to Baker and south to where the Mojave Road intersects Kelbaker Road. After re-grouping we set out for points east; most folks took the side trip to the Lava Tube while some of us went on toward camp. The eastern sky looked dark with threatening clouds. Along the way we took obligatory pictures at The Mailbox. As we started downhill toward Marl Springs, it looked like it was snowing to the south.

 

Leaving Soda Lake

 

Threatening Clouds to the east

 

 

At the Mailbox

 

 

 

Continued

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[dzJeepChic 2,427]

We reached camp at Beale Mountain at about 5 and started setting up. Soon the Lava Tube group arrived, and we discovered that MatthewP had decided to go home. The sandstorm the night before had made holes in their tent, and that in combination with the clouds made them think twice. Soon tents went up, fires were started and the aroma of cooking was in the air. Also in the air was an occasional snowflake – a rarity for most of us! Although the conversation around the campfire was lively, the cold weather drove me to my sleeping bag early. I woke up several times in the night but I couldn’t judge the time because the moon never seemed to move and it illuminated the clouds so that the whole sky was lit. Finally I mustered up the gumption to leave the warmth of my bed, and that’s when I realized it had snowed overnight. Everything had a thin rhyme of snow on it. We packed as fast as we could and then sat in the truck to eat breakfast and warm up.

 

Camp at Beale Mountain

 

 

 

Woke up to snow!

 

 

 

Jim our trail-leader needed more time to pack, so he said he’d catch up and George and I led the group. Making our way through the snow-covered covered desert, we heard radio transmissions giving us the impression that some of our party had gone the wrong direction out of camp. We stopped until everyone was together again and identified the westbound travelers as a different group. When we reached Kelso – Cima Road Jim re-took the lead.

 

 

As we re-grouped across the road, a BLM Ranger arrived. He talked to Jim for a while, his partner took a picture of us (they’d never seen as large a group!) and they asked to see our permit before waving us on. The road began to climb in elevation and soon we were driving on fresh snow in white-out conditions. We were an amazing sight! We stopped at the Rock House and then at Rock Spring. There was an optional hill climb back to the road; some of us took the challenge while others went around.

 

 

 

Rock House

 

 

Rock Spring

 

 

Trail-Leader Jim cresting the challenge hill

 

 

Continued

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[dzJeepChic 2,427]

A view of the challenge hill from on top - jburns Commander

 

 

Then the Mojave Road split away from the graded road and we were on a narrow track winding through Joshua Trees. We pulled in the mirrors on the Dodge because they whacked the trees. There was still some snow on the ground, but we were out of the clouds in bright sunlight. We stopped when our tail-gunner Dennis (Maddogjeeper) discovered he’d lost a pin out of his receiver hitch and was dragging his military trailer. Theksmith (Kristoffer) had a spare and we moving again. We ate lunch where the Mojave Road crosses Ivanpah – Lanfair Road before continuing to Piute Gorge.

 

Narrow trail through Joshua Trees

 

 

Stopped for Maddogjeeper trailer hitch repair

 

 

Donation can to Friends of the Mojave

 

 

We wanted to take a picture of all the rigs lined up, and when we came to a corral, we thought one of us could stand on it to take the picture from above. The corral proved to be difficult to climb and the vehicles line-up too wide, but we managed to capture some pretty good pictures of the group anyhow.

 

 

 

Up over Piute Hill and down the rocky AT&T road, the sight of Hwy 95 (CA) lured four members of the party away. We were on our way to Fort Piute, a side trip to the stone ruins of an old Army post. It was getting late already though, and Samwhite said he’d already seen Fort Piute, so he in his JK & Gearhead in his YJ continued the trail and finished ahead of us. Maddogjeeper & peshaw48 left in their TJs for home. The road to ‘The Outpost at Piute Creek’ is rocky! But walking around the ruins and along the creek is worth the side trip. The rest of us got to Hwy 95 about 5:30 where a bunch of folks opted for blacktop home. Robert the EMT in his JK, Chris & Gooseberry, the 2 Sportsmobiles, Jah310 in a Tacoma, defectivemonk & jburns in a Rubicon TJ and the Jeep Commander aired up and hit the highway for places as far as NOR-CAL & Wichita.

Cresting Piute Hill

 

At Fort Piute

Continued

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[dzJeepChic 2,427]

Heading out to Hwy 95

 

 

The last 14 miles of the Mojave Road is a kick in the butt fun! We crossed some little hills and then started down through some washes. The sand was smooth, and we could go a lot faster. By now there were only 8 of us so it was easy to stay together, and it was fun to pick up the pace. The trail is scenic; we passed a Movie Set and boulder outcroppings.

 

The last of the group on the last 14 miles

 

 

The Nevada Stateline is marked

 

 

Suddenly Bullhead City came into view making it even more scenic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nine vehicles finished the trail; Samwhite & Gearhead ahead of us in a JK and a YJ Our group consisted of 4 Jeeps, 1 Ford, 1 Chevy, 1 Dodge aired up close to dark and split for different destinations. Trail Leader Tonto in a JK, Ducksface in a Chevy Blazer, Desert4x4 in a TJ and azscout in a JK, Theksmith in a WJ, Mtngote in an F150, and George and me in our Ram 2500 drove off into the night.

 

It was a trip I’ll never forget. We were a large group and the people were wonderful. The variety of vehicles we drove looked completely awesome together. It was a long trip and we saw every kind of weather there is except for hot, plus snow tends to make an impression with me since I live in the desert. Thank you everyone who was there for making this an excellent adventure!

[Project510 2]

What an awesome trip report! Im so bummed I missed this omg..