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This event is cross-posted from our sister club 4x4 Ham. Note that only the first post from the original thread is shown. Click here for the full thread... ---------------------------- October is here and it's time to start planning for our biggest annual event. Join us in the Anza Borrego Desert for 3 days of camping, 4x4 trail runs, and hiking. We will also be offering Amateur Radio License testing on Sunday for all levels from 10:00 AM to noon. This is a family friendly event where we get to meet the family members we generally don't see on the trail. It's also a chance to make new friends. This year we will be located at the Butterfield Ranch Resort, located just outside the Park boundary. The Ranch is equipped with full hookups for RVs, plenty of tent camping, two pools, showers, and a well stocked store. On Friday evening, Reena Deutsch will be joining us for a presentation on one of the most fascinating Rail Roads in the US, The San Diego & Arizona Railway. The SD&A RR was built in the early 1900s and is still in use today. The tracks run through what is now part of the Anza Borrego Desert State Park in an area known as the Corrizo Gorge. Among it's many engineering marvels is the Goat Canyon Trestle. Reena will also be leading a hike on Friday to one of the main construction camps used between 1917 and 1919 for the crew who was building the tracks through the Gorge. During the day on Satruday, there will be several trail runs. Once we return to camp, we will have a spacial wine tasting and appetizer event hosted by our wine master, Lyndia Harman, KI6SXI, followed by our famous post luck (Dutch Oven) dinner. For more information on 4x4 trail runs, camp directions, Ham Radio testing and to sign up, click here. ---------------------------- Please click here for complete information on this event or to sign-up...

This event is cross-posted from our sister club 4x4 Ham. Note that only the first post from the original thread is shown. Click here for the full thread... ---------------------------- Just want to give a head's-up to all off-road amateur radio operators in the So Calif area - Outdoor Adventure USA will be holding it's annual Summerfest / Field Day event on June 26-28, 2015, in Los Padres National Forest - and we would like to encourage and invite all licensed hams to join us !!! This event is always a great weekend, with off-road trail runs, pot-luck dinners, amateur radio testing (outdoors in the beautiful mountains of So Cal), as well as Field Day activities. This is a fantastic way to help prepare for communicating during an emergency, as we will be deploying antennas and radio stations in a remote area, using alternative methods of power. All licensed hams are invited to join us. If you have never operated on the HF bands, during a contest situation, this is your chance, regardless of license level. If you are an experienced HF operator, we would appreciate the benefit of your experience, knowledge, and mentor-ship. Of course, if you have equipment useful for this event, including tables, pop-ups, HF radios, antennas, generators, chairs, tuners, coax, power cords, etc. that you can lend us for the event, that would be appreciated as well. For more information as we get closer to the date, check out http://www.oausa.net; or contact Dave Kupfer, K6DTK, at K6DTK at OAUSA dot net to see how you can participate in this terrific weekend of fun for all. ---------------------------- Please click here for complete information on this event or to sign-up...

This event is cross-posted from our sister club 4x4 Ham. Note that only the first post from the original thread is shown. Click here for the full thread... ---------------------------- Outdoor Adventure USA will hold our annual Meet & Greet on March 28, 2015, at the Ruby's Diner in Redondo Beach, California. Ruby's is located right on the beach in Redondo and offers a perfect setting for this get together, as well as offering an opportunity to enjoy the Redondo Pier with its many shops and attractions. There will be a special section for display of outdoor vehicles, a testing session for all levels of Ham Radio Licensing, Ham Radio demonstrations, and great food at Ruby's. All outdoor vehicles are welcome, including 2WD and 4WD vehicles, motorcycles, trailers, and campers. Bring your families too. This is a great venue for us to meet the family members we never get to see on the trail. DATE March 28, 2015 WHERE Ruby's Diner 245 North Harbor Drive Redondo Beach, CA 90277 (310) 376-7829 TIME Meet & Greet 9:00AM - 4:00PM Amateur Radio Testing - 10:00AM -11:30AM (All walk-ins are welcome) Click here for information and to sign-up. ---------------------------- Please click here for complete information on this event or to sign-up...

This event is cross-posted from our sister club 4x4 Ham. Note that only the first post from the original thread is shown. Click here for the full thread... ---------------------------- October is the beginning of camping time for the deserts of California. Join us in the Anza Borrego Desert for 3 days of camping, 4x4 trail runs, and hiking. We will also be offering Amateur Radio License testing on Sunday for all levels from 10:00 AM to noon. The "not to be missed" pot luck dinner / Dutch Oven cook-off and campfire will be on Saturday evening. There will be a very special presentation on Friday evening. This is a family friendly event and an opportunity for us to meet the family members we never get to see on the trail and a chance to make new friends. This year we will be located at the Butterfield Ranch Resort, located just outside the boundary of the Anza Borrego Desert State Park. The Ranch is equipped with full hookups for RVs, plenty of tent camping, showers, and a well stocked store. For more information on all of the events, including, 4x4 trail runs, camp directions, Ham Radio testing and to sign up, click here. ---------------------------- Please click here for complete information on this event or to sign-up...

This event is cross-posted from our sister club 4x4 Ham. Note that only the first post from the original thread is shown. Click here for the full thread... ---------------------------- Well it's time to start planning our annual Summer Fest and Field Day event. This will be a family event involving three days of camping in the mountains (elevation 7500 feet), an official ARRL Field Day competition, and several trail runs. We will also offer all levels of Amateur Radio license testing on Sunday. There will be a pot luck and Dutch Oven cook-off on Saturday combined with wine and beer tasting. For those who want to explore the area, there are hundreds of miles of off pavement trails, including some of the more challenging, (Miller Jeep Trail). The camp site is accessible by 2WD and all vehicles are welcome. Click here for general information and to sign-up. Click here for information on the Amateur Radio testing. Dates June 27-29, 2014 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) Location MCGILL CAMPGROUND, CA - Group Site #2 McGill is part of Los Padres National Forest and managed by the US Forest Service. McGill Campground sits in a mixed conifer forest in the Pinos Mountains, at an altitude of 7,500 feet. Campground temperatures are typically 15 to 20 degrees cooler than the Los Angeles Basin, and about a one hour drive to the campground from LA. The area is in the northeastern part of Los Padres National Forest, which boasts 1,257 miles of maintained trails. Much of the forest is primitive and has 10 designated wilderness areas. Facilities fire ring vault toilets picnic tables ***Note***: There are no RV hookups and no water GPS Location Coordinates: 34.81556, -119.09833 34°48'56"N, 119°5'54"W Elevation : 7500 Click here for general information and to sign-up. Click here for information on the Amateur Radio testing. ---------------------------- Please click here for complete information on this event or to sign-up...

This event is cross-posted from our sister club 4x4 Ham. Note that only the first post from the original thread is shown. Click here for the full thread... ---------------------------- Well it's time to start planning our annual Summer Fest and Field Day event. This will be a family event involving three days of camping in the mountains (elevation 7500 feet), an official ARRL Field Day competition, and several trail runs. We will also offer all levels of Amateur Radio license testing on Sunday. There will be a pot luck and Dutch Oven cook-off on Saturday combined with wine and beer tasting. For those who want to explore the area, there are hundreds of miles of off pavement trails, including some of the more challenging, (Miller Jeep Trail). The camp site is accessible by 2WD and all vehicles are welcome. Click here for general information and to sign-up. Click here for information on the Amateur Radio testing. Dates June 27-29, 2014 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) Location MCGILL CAMPGROUND, CA - Group Site #2 McGill is part of Los Padres National Forest and managed by the US Forest Service. McGill Campground sits in a mixed conifer forest in the Pinos Mountains, at an altitude of 7,500 feet. Campground temperatures are typically 15 to 20 degrees cooler than the Los Angeles Basin, and about a one hour drive to the campground from LA. The area is in the northeastern part of Los Padres National Forest, which boasts 1,257 miles of maintained trails. Much of the forest is primitive and has 10 designated wilderness areas. Facilities fire ring vault toilets picnic tables ***Note***: There are no RV hookups and no water GPS Location Coordinates: 34.81556, -119.09833 34°48'56"N, 119°5'54"W Elevation : 7500 ---------------------------- Please click here for complete information on this event or to sign-up...

This event is cross-posted from our sister club 4x4 Ham. Note that only the first post from the original thread is shown. Click here for the full thread... ---------------------------- I will be taking a Laughlin to Barstow run on the "Mojave Road," starting April 11th and ending Sunday April 13th. If you interested in joining me, I will be at the AVi Hotel, Thursday night April 10th. ---------------------------- Please click here for complete information on this event or to sign-up...

This event is cross-posted from our sister club 4x4 Ham. Note that only the first post from the original thread is shown. Click here for the full thread... ---------------------------- For many years now we have been doing an extended length trip to various locations in the South West. This year the trip will be in northern Arizona and southern Utah and will be an entirely vehicle based adventure, but there will be opportunities for some great hikes. This is a four wheel drive event, but the areas traveled will not be extreme. A full description of the trip will be found here.. I recommend that you visit this link as it includes pictures of the areas we expect to visit. If you have any questions or want to sign up, you may do so by following this link. The title for the trip this year is a little misleading. While we will be spending time on the Navajo Nation, much of the time will be on public land. The goal of the trip, as always, is to visit little known places that either offer spectacular scenery or a cultural education, or both. To be fair, much of the trip will be a quest to discover evidence of the "ancient ones" or sometimes popularly known as, the Anasazi (thus, the title). The quest will take place on both Navajo land and public land. I should also be clear that a great deal of the trip will concentrate on the unparalleled scenery that Northern Arizona and Southern Utah offer. These two goals will take us on a two week trip covering about 8 distinct locations, which I will list below. The scheduling of the trip was made necessary due to the opening date for one of the Monuments in Arizona. The number of places to visit may prove to be a bit ambitious and we may have to make some adjustments, but the goals of the trip will remain the same. Please note that final plans have not been made at this point. The information below is "slightly" tentative and I will update these details in the next week or so. For planning purposes, the dates and the locations to visit will change very little, if at all. You may join us for a portion of the trip if you are not able to make the full 2 weeks. I will do a trip sign-up post soon. There will be a 6-7 vehicle limit, but we may be able to make some adjustments. Trip Details: ***Dates 5/26/14 to 6/8/14 ***Locations 1. Beef Basin. BB is in a very remote area, located south of Canyonlands National Park. Using the shortest route possible, it is a little over 100 miles of travel getting to and returning back from Beef Basin. Aside from the incredible scenery, Beef Basin was once home to ancient Indian tribes and the ruins of their dwellings exist today. Unlike our trips to the Navajo Nation of the past, this area is on public land and guides are not necessary to explore these sites. As sometimes happens, after our last trip to BB, I was able to find some terrific maps of the area which showed the location of some wonderful Anasazi ruins, that I did not have during the trip. This will make for some impressive finds. 2. Fable Valley. FV is a very remote location requiring a hike of about 5-10 miles. Tucked away in the recesses of the hills are some excellent Anasazi ruins, seen by few visitors. The main trail in and out of FV is the valley floor, from which many of the ruins can be seen. This will be a full day adventure. 3. Keet Seel. Located within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation is the Navajo National Monument. It contains two fantastically preserved Anasazi ruins, Betatakin and Keet Seel. We visited Betatakin a few years ago and the extent of the ruins and their condition were quite impressive. Guided trips to each site are conducted by Park Rangers. For those who may not want to take the longer hike to Keet Seel, the Betatakin trip should be considered. While shorter, the Betatakin hike is about 5 miles round trip and descends about 800 feet into the canyon floor. Keet Seel will involve a 16 mile round trip hike and the tour will take us in close to the ruins site. For more information see: http://www.nps.gov/nava/index.htm . Fees are very modest. 4. Natural Bridges National Monument. Bridges was the first national monument un Utah, being established in 1908. This is from the National Park service information brouchere: Quote: Natural Bridges sits high on Cedar Mesa, 6,500 feet above sea level. Intermittent streams have cut two deep canyons and three massive bridges in sandstone formed from what was once the shore of an ancient sea. At each of the bridges, trails descend into the canyons from the loop road. A longer trail meanders along the canyon bottoms through oak and cottonwood groves (shown above), connecting the three bridges in one loop hike. This site can be a one day trip. Touring the sights is mostly vehicle based with some short hikes to the bridges. Camping at established sites is available on a FCFS basis. With only 13 campsites, we may not find accommodations - we’ll see. Fees are very modest. For more information, see: http://www.nps.gov/nabr/index.htm . 5. Valley of the Gods. VOTG can either be a camping spot or a 1 hour detour to another location. There are no established campsites, but some spectacular dispersed camping is available. The 17 mile dirt road through the area gives the impression of a miniature Monument Valley. This description is from Utah.com.: Quote: Valley of the Gods is a scenic backcountry area in southeastern Utah, near Mexican Hat. It is a hidden gem with scenery similar to that of nearby Monument Valley. Valley of the Gods offers isolated buttes, towering pinnacles and wide open spaces that seem to go on forever. 6. Waterholes Canyon. Located in the Glen Canyon National Recreation area and the Navajo Nation. See: http://www.summitpost.org/waterholes-canyon/716826 . Waterholes is very similar to Antelope Canyon but without the crowds. There are 3 different level of difficulty, the easiest being the most photogenic. The other levels require some form of canyoneering (rapelling) skills and the equipment to go along with the skills 7. Coal Mine Canyon. The canyon is located near Tuba City and involves a 1.5 to 3.0 mile hike. There are apparently no trails to the bottom, but for the adventurous, it is possible. From early indications, a guide is not necessary, but if a trail is available, we may need the services of a local to get us down. Extremely picturesque. See http://www.yourhikeguide.com/2013/02/02 ... ne-canyon/. 8. Alstrom Point. AP is located on a mesa above Lake Powell with a view of Gunsite Butte. This can be either a campsite for one evening or a two day rest stop. The scenery here is as good as it gets. ---------------------------- Please click here for complete information on this event or to sign-up...

This event is cross-posted from our sister club 4x4 Ham. Note that only the first post from the original thread is shown. Click here for the full thread... ---------------------------- Outdoor Adventure USA will hold our annual Meet & Greet on March 29, 2014, at the Ruby's Diner in Redondo Beach, California. Ruby's and the Marina Management Company have teamed up to welcome us and provide a unique location for this event. Ruby's is located right on the beach in Redondo and offers a perfect setting for this get together, as well as offering an opportunity to enjoy the Redondo Pier with its many shops and attractions. There will be a special section for display of outdoor vehicles, a testing session for all levels of Ham Radio Licensing, Ham Radio demonstrations, guest speakers, emergency preparedness information, and great food at Ruby's. Bring your families too. This is a great venue for us to meet the family members we never get to see on the trail. Let me know if you're coming and if you want to put your rig on display. All outdoor vehicles are welcome, including 2WD and 4WD vehicles, motorcycles, trailers, and campers. DATE March 29, 2014 WHERE Ruby's Diner 245 North Harbor Drive Redondo Beach, CA 90277 (310) 376-7829 TIME Meet & Greet 9:00AM - 4:00PM Amateur Radio Testing - 10:00AM -11:30AM (All walk-ins are welcome) For more information and to sign up, click here. http://www.oausa.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=181&t=3640 ---------------------------- Please click here for complete information on this event or to sign-up...