UY Mojave Road Expedition 2013

[Seanz0rz]

UltimateYota Mojave Road Expedition 2013 Trip Report

Our journey started many months ago, with some meticious planning on my part. That planning always pays off!

At the end of this post, the .KMZ of our trip is attached in a .ZIP format. This is nearly the exact route we took, and represents some major changes from the original files posted in the planning thread above.

The following is a chronological tale of our adventure. For the sake of this report, I will be using the VERY nice pictures provided by Daniel Martz. His equipment and skill far exceed mine! Here are all the pictures: http://s955.photobucket.com/user/ham...y/MRE13?page=1

The official start of the trail, as we ran it, is in the very tip of Nevada, along Needles Highway. Since fuel is approximately $0.20 cheaper in Arizona, we crossed the river and fueled up there. Once our tanks were full, we crossed back into California, and drove on to our campsite in Nevada. The camps is one I have been to before, and is absolutely beautiful!




After a restless night of sleep, we packed up camp, met up with Kevin and Neashell, and set on our way.

The first interesting thing we saw was on an unplanned stop. Neashell spotted an abandoned "church" and wanted to visit. I am not even sure how to describe what we saw. I am not even sure pictures will convey the weirdness. In hindsight, this may have had a no trespassing sign, although if it did, it was so badly faded that it could not be read. For all we know, it said "Come On In!"




Maybe a movie set? I am as confused as you are!

From there, it was a rocky and generally miserable drive to Fort Piute. Fort Piute was a military outpost to protect travelers. Through Piute gorge, you can hike the original path of the Mojave Road before an easier bypass was constructed to the south. Being in the midst of one hell of a head and chest cold, I was in no condition to hike. Next time for sure!

The remains of Fort Piute:


2 Green 4Runners, a Red Taco, and the road we just traveled. Good times, bad roads, and great friends!


After visiting Fort Piute, we returned to the power line road and continued south to the designated mountain pass. This road is fairly easy, and has some amazing views. Sadly, neither Dan nor I got pictures. Shame. After passing through the mountains, we headed north up to Piute Gorge. This area is directly west of Fort Piute, and has some amazing scenery in the canyon.

The sights made this a great place for lunch!


Future exploration needs to concentrate on this area, I feel it has much more hiding than what we have found.

[Seanz0rz]

After traveling back south, I missed a turn westward. I only realized this after traveling a few miles. Thanks to GPS, I was able to find an alternate way back to the Mojave Road. This brings me to an interesting point. When planning the trip, I used bright green to make my tracks in Google Earth. This color shows up well against the dark green and tans of the desert floor. However, lime green does not show up very well on white background topo maps, especially when a lime green line is laid over a dark line on a white background. This oversight proved to be the most challenging aspect of navigation for the next three days!

Once back on track, we visited the school bus. The car that had previously been touching the right side of the bus had somehow been moved a few yards away.


I think Dan found a new job!


After breaking the news to Dan that he probably couldn't drive the bus due to it lacking a complete engine, we went on our way towards a site I had been led to my first trip out here.

Indian Wells is a peculiar site indeed. The rocks feature Petroglyphs from some native peoples. At the base of this mountain of rocks lies a well cut into the rock. Some say it has been there since the natives inhabited this place hundreds or thousands of years ago. One account places the digging of this well within the last 100 years. Both could be true, with the latter being an improvement. In either case, this area has always captured my attention, and I am glad I rediscovered it during my planning.


After finding our way back to the Mojave Road, we found the Penny Can Tree and deposited our tribute to the Mojave Road Gods.


From here, camp was not far off. We continued down the road and dropped down into Watson Wash. This is, by far, the most technical section of the trail, but proved to be no contest to our unstoppable Toyotas.

Our camp was to be either across the wash from Rock Springs, or up on the plateau above Rock Springs. Since we were unable to find an existing fire ring or any other evidence of previous camping in the wash, we moved to spot B.

Although spot B was a decent size for everyone, as only Kevin and Neashell had a tent, This spot turned out to be a truly miserable place to camp.


The wind was relentless from the time we started making dinner until just after the sun went down. JD joined his for a late dinner, and we enjoyed sitting around the camp fire. Shortly after everyone retired for the night, the wind picked up again. This howling wind lasted well into the next day, and made camping miserable.

After packing up, and pulling a couple of slightly singed chairs out of what was left of the camp fire, we backtracked a bit to visit Rock Spring. At this point, Mark and Linda had joined us. Since Dan was the only one who had not previously explored Rock Spring, I showed him around while the others went to go play on the descent into Watson Wash.

It appears someone has done some excavation at the bottom of the springs:


This place, along with the Bert G. Smith cabin above always amazes me, no matter how many times I see it!

Once the kids returned from playing on the hill, we made a pass by Government Holes. The windmill was not pumping on this particular day.


On the way to the next destination, Neashell decided she really hated this Cholla Cactus on the side of the road and decided to run it over. The tire was lucky and was not punctured. We did keep an eye on it for the rest of the trip, as the needles have a habit of taking out a tire.

[Seanz0rz]

To keep this area safe, I will refer to it as "The Owl". This may seem silly, but I hope it serves to protect this place from further damage and ultimately a 12' high fence! If you really want to know what and where, some simple searching will answer your questions, or you can just ask!

The Owl:


Apparently, Neashell was able to get him (or her) to look up by hooting. Now I know she speaks owl!

The owl wasn't the only attraction!




The house was pretty nice too!


I think the rabbit poop needs to be cleaned up though...


After leaving everything as we found it, we headed up the Mojave Cross:


I am not a religious person, actually pretty far from it. I feel rather drawn to this place though. The cross was erected at Sunrise Rock in 1934 to honor the soldiers who lost their lives in World War One, and in all wars past. This area eventually was included as part of the Mojave Preserve, and was now on Federal Land. Eventually, someone sued (separation of church and state, which I happen to agree with) and the cross was ordered covered up. It was stolen, returned, stolen, recovered, etc, etc. Finally, the Supreme Court came up with a novel way to keep the cross. Since the cross was a war memorial being confused as a religious symbol, and that confusion would never cease, they granted the acre of land Sunrise Rock occupies to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Now the cross can stand to honor all of those who have given their lives in defense of their country.

Thank you for your service and ultimate sacrifice.




On our trip down the highway to return to the Mojave Road, we were buzzed by a red helicopter. I never saw where he came from or went, and he was going FAST!

We returned to the Road, and experience the endless undulations in the desert floor. It is the only time I have made myself carsick!

[Seanz0rz]

I had discovered on a map some promising prospects I wanted to explore. I know more than not, these are gated and not much to see. These prospects proved to be in the majority. Regardless, this made for a great lunch spot!


Some artifacts left behind, but generally not worth the drive up.


We returned to the undulations with a full stomach and eventually arrived at Marl Springs:


The Mail Box was next, and we discovered the sticker we put on the pole back in '08!


Frog Shrine, where our froggie is still missing!


After leaving the Mail Box, and crossing over the local highpoint, the cinder cones and lava beds come into view.


Our next goal was to visit the lava tubes, but a large group of vehicles cross our path as we were turning onto Aiken Mine Road and were heading for the same destination, so we decided to forge ahead and check out something really interesting!

[Seanz0rz]

Aiken Mine:


Aiken Mine was abruptly shud down in 1990 and the operators walked away, leaving most of their equipment behind.

The area is truly bizarre, and can only be described as "Martian". It is a must visit! On the way in, we got lucky and the road that was not suppose to be there was, and the road that was suppose to be there, the one that represented several more miles of travel, did not exist. Driving on the cinders is a bizarre experience!

I will shut up now, and let you enjoy Dan's photography:



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Even looking at the pictures, they do not do this place justice!

[Seanz0rz]

After the excitement of the cinder mine, we returned to the lava tubes. Unfortunately, we were a bit too late to have the magical beams of light coming through the skylights, but it was pretty neat nonetheless.



From there, we went in search of Saturday's camp. Due to the imperfections in my GPS track for the area, the unfortunate color of my track, as well as me being tired and honestly stupid, we missed the turn to the camp. JD called me on it and I dismissed him, and Neashell was quietly announcing to herself and Kevin that I am crazy. After making it to the highway and admitting I was hopelessly lost, Neashell guided us back to the turn off and on to the camp site. Thanks again Neashell!

We camped in the same location as last year, and this year was even better with nearly no wind. This made up for the previous night's miserable conditions.




The sunset was pretty awesome as well!


Sunday morning saw the departure of Mark and Linda from the group. We missed you on Sunday! The group feels incomplete without the white 4th Gen!


Once we hit the edge of the lake, we encountered the only mechanical difficulty of the entire trip. Kevin left his truck on too long charging his devices, and it had a hard time starting up in the morning. The quick jaunt to the lake was not enough to replenish the battery, and it would not start. A quick jump from a friend and we were back on the road!

[Seanz0rz]

We deposited our rocks at Traveler's Monument, reflected on the plaque nestled inside, and continued on.


I think the best word for the Mojave Road is "alien". Every local presents something different, something unfamiliar, and something we would expect on another heavenly body. Soda Lake is no different:


Enjoying the shade of a rail bridge for lunch:


One of the more interesting features I have been looking for is the buried rail cars at the beginning of Afton Canyon. In times past, when a train derailed, the cars were often just buried on the side of the track, as it was cheaper and easier to buy new cars than recover the damaged ones. I suspect this one was likely a victim of the 1938 floods that wiped out much of Southern California, but I would have to do more research to confirm that. Fortunately for us, they buried the car in a riverbed, and it occasionally peaks through the sand.


Afton Canyon needs no introduction.


Formed when a prehistoric earthquake caused a lake to drain extremely quickly, the eroded mud walls are spectacular!


There was a considerable amount of water all along the canyon floor. The water crossings were not too bad, just enough to clean the tires momentarily!


That crossing has been filled in recently, and is very manageable.

Typically, Afton Canyon Campground is the end of the line for the Mojave Road. There is a section that heads west and south from Afton Canyon Campground, and we decided to explore it.

It was so terrible, there is one picture of it, not even worth putting in!

I would ultimately consider this section a waste of time. I managed to miss the one thing to see (the Triangles). The sand was super soft and it was very slow going through the entire stretch. The scenery was merely pretty, and not spectacular. I think the miles and time are better spent finding other things to see.

At the end of the road, we needed to cross under a rail bridge. I barely fit underneath, only after removing my antennas!


We aired up, got back on the pavement, and took some detours to avoid Vegas traffic. Once we filled up in Barstow, we went our separate ways.

I have to give a huge thank you to Daniel for letting me use his pictures in this writeup! My PnS finally bit the dust (quite literally actually) and my smartphone was pulling GPS duties all weekend.

A big thanks to Dan, JD, Kevin and Neashell, and Mark and Linda for being great companions while traveling the desert! You are always welcome on my trips. You refrain from being stupid, still have a great time, and don't razz me too hard for missing a turn or driving too slow! Thanks again for making this trip a great one!

Until next time,
Happy trails and keep the rubber off the cactus!

[troyboy162]

Awesome write up! well worth the wait!

[paddlenbike]

Excellent trip report and photos, thanks very much for taking the time to write that up. I saw the pics on lamebook, but the stories behind it here on UY makes it way better.

I may have to borrow your gpx track some day. Or better yet, let you be my guide.

Dan, you cover some ground! Pretty awesome that you drive half way across the U.S. for trips!

Ken

[Seanz0rz]

Thanks guys!

I would be very happy to lead you onto the desert Ken. Getting out might cost you the supercharger!