3rd Annual UY Mojave Road Expedition - March 14-16, 2014

[Seanz0rz]

Yay!!!

I think I will cap it here. If you really want to go, speak up! I think this is about the biggest group I'd want to lead.

[Seanz0rz]

I'd like to get an idea of who will be in tents and who will be sleeping in a vehicle. Let me know soon, I am working on selecting campsites and I'm trying to see if there is enough room for all of us.

[paddlenbike]

I'd like to get an idea of who will be in tents and who will be sleeping in a vehicle. Let me know soon, I am working on selecting campsites and I'm trying to see if there is enough room for all of us.

Most likely sleeping in the 4Runner.

[4x4mike]

Since there are 4 of us we will be in a tent.

This is it: http://www.rei.com/product/827807/re...om-6-tent-2012

REI says it's floor is 10' X 8'.

So are there designated campgrounds? I thought it was just wide open and you can camp where ever you wanted.

[Seanz0rz]

Dispersed, road side camping with a but. The place you use needs to have an existing rock ring for a fire that has been used previously. Basically, existing sites only.

Right now, I have Camp 2A, 2B, and 2C.

Camp 2A is only a few hundred yards from the Mojave Road. It will be kind of tight but I think we could make it work. It is 33 miles in, at ~4500 feet, not much shelter. It is next to an old rock cabin, if any one is adventurous. (Please don't do this, people die from this stuff all the time)

Camp 2B is again a hundred yards or so from the route we take. It is bigger, I am pretty sure it has a fire ring, seen in 1 photograph and on google earth. It is at an old ranch, 65 miles in (10 or so of that is high speed graded dirt road), at ~4300 feet. No shelter from the wind.

Camp 2C is off the road about 82 miles in (if we skip seeing the Mojave Cross, otherwise, add 12.5 miles to that, or about 95 miles in). It is much more sheltered being at the base of a mountain. It is at ~3800 feet. This is the best camp site, but I am not sure we can travel that far on the first day.

I am trying to find others, but not much luck. We have camped between A and B before (closer to B). It was extremely windy and miserable, NO shelter what so ever. I am also looking for camps outside of washes in the event of flash floods.

We will keep an eye on the weather. I am down rain or shine, but I know not everyone feels that way.

[Jaydee914]

I'll be in the truck, even if Victoria comes. If the kids come, which is extremely unlikely, we'll have a tent as well. Plan for my truck only.

[Jaydee914]

What about staying up at Carruther's canyon on night 2 again? Camp Phallus had a good amount of wind protection, and there's several other fire rings on the perimeter of the canyon that have pretty decent shelter.

[Seanz0rz]

I'm not sure we can squeeze 8 rigs plus tents up there. Last time it was a bit of a chore to get 5. Also no guarantee of getting it before anyone else.

I'll look into how many vehicles others have put up there. I think our best bet is Thomas place. I'd love to make it all the way to Mojave Camp, but it's just too far.

[4x4mike]

Do the tents/vehicles need to be near the ring? I take it the ring is the identifier that it's a camp site? This seems a lot different from other desert destinations I've been to in the past and much different than camping up here.

I don't need to pitch my tent near the fire unless it's the rules. In fact my kids wake up before the chickens so being on the edge is fine. Wind on the other hand sucks especially with a taller tent. My wife and I talked about 2 backpacking tents but they would have a larger foot print and I have a feeling there would be musical tents in the middle of the night, worse case scenario both kids will want to sleep with mom.

[Seanz0rz]

It's more of "Don't make a new clearing". The areas of the preserve we will be in are actually pretty well covered. Not much space from bush to bush to plop down a tent. Not to mention the cactus.

Here's what I mean:

Thomas Place: https://www.google.com/maps/preview/.../data=!3m1!1e3

Has a ton of room for vehicles. There might be some debris on the cleared spot, but nothing we can't work around.

In contrast, here is the stone cabin just off of Carruthers canyon road: https://www.google.com/maps/preview/.../data=!3m1!1e3

They are nearly at the same scale, it is difficult due to the change in elevation. The stone cabin could work, but with 3 or 4 tents, we will probably be backing up onto the roads that lead to the house. That is fine, but not very comfortable. Honestly, Thomas place is a perfect site except for the lack of a wind break. Now that I have confirmed what to me looks like a fire ring, that is our target. If for some reason we come up short on Saturday with a vehicle problem or the like, we have a few alternatives. Our biggest obstacle is the private property north of Cedar Canyon road, and the issues of camping in a wash during rain, which may or may not happen that weekend.

Last year, we camped here: https://www.google.com/maps/preview/.../data=!3m1!1e3

It is at nearly the high point of the range, 5k feet, and no wind break. It was miserable with the wind at dusk. It died down until the middle of the night, then picked up again. It nearly picked up Kevin, Neashell, and Kato the German Shepard.

Also, there is the miles game. If we don't do enough miles on Friday, then we will have too many to do on Saturday to reach our preferred or even secondary camps. If we are forced to find a new camp Saturday, then Sunday will become an even longer day.

Traditionally, Friday has been sort of a short day. I think it is completely possible to push a bit further, especially where 7 miles of it is high speed graded county road. If we can get Rock springs, Bert G Smith cabin and Gov't Holes done Friday afternoon, it will give us plenty of time to explore the DV mine, lava tubes, Aiken mine, and cross the cinder cones on a road I have never driven to get to camp before dusk. I worry that that road may be a bit of a challenge. If it is, there is a way around, but it could cost us some time.