2018 Desert Trip

[ZooMad75]

We’ve made another lap around the sun and once again it’s time for our annual run to the desert. I could rename it Larry’s Insane Truck Torture Test Trip, as this one was HOT. The main target for this year’s fun was the Mojave Road with plans to head north into Death Valley after. The choice was made by previous discussions 6 months earlier via multiple emails to all involved. Much like last year I had no preference as I’m still new to this exploring but more than willing to follow the group anywhere, even without A/C. I’ll come to second-guess my sanity on that last statement during this trip though.


Most that came this year had been on previous trips except for a couple of new faces to the group.


Larry and his Mother in law Lynn once again leading the charge with the 8.1 powered K10/Pheonix camper. No major changes other than upkeep from the last trip on Larry’s ride. Fresh p/s pump and 140amp alternator got thrown in with regular maintenance just weeks before we left. Plans of adding an ARB up front didn’t come through as something about the need for a case spreader thwarted the removal of the stock open carrier on the D60. It really wasn’t needed this time around as this trip would be less crawling and more bombing around in remote areas, so he didn’t kill himself to get the ARB in beforehand.

Bill and Jen were back again this time with a new rig. Gone was the Cummins Dodge and in its place is a new Toyota Tacoma with a James Baroud Roof top tent. Bill’s prep consisted of maintenance and loading the gear under the tent. Well he and I did manage to wedge his 12v fridge behind the front seats and still have room for his wheelchair inside. We added a direct power plug to the battery and popped in an actual CB to eliminate his handheld CB that we couldn’t hear him on.

Ty got the long distance award this year as he drove from home in San Diego to Pueblo CO for a family graduation and caught up with us on the first day on the trail. Only major change to his Cummins Dodge was a killer new personalized license plate “4x4 INN” on the vintage yellow over black CA plates.

Don and his Ram Power Wagon were back at it with a year’s worth of new upgrades. Lights, rack, sliders, awning, solar you name it he had it. Such a cool rig that seems to get better every year. This year he had a passenger that worked with Larry and I at Workhorse many moons ago. He’s at Dana/Spicer now and no he won’t sell any of us a D60 for cheap, I already asked. Tom’s a flatlander born and raised in Michigan and not really used to the desert climate. Boy was he in for a shock to his senses considering he was at the airport in Detroit bundled up in a hoodie because it was cold and rainy when he was leaving.

Richard has been part of the desert crew on previous trips with his Dodge ½ ton and made the return this year in his ¾ ton Silverado long bed. With a shell and gear stacked away inside he was ready to go from Southern CA as well. He proved long beds could wheel too on this run. His last adventure was also with the same target areas, but missed the Mojave part last time so he wanted to complete the pair he missed last time.

Hugo and his 4-banger Toyota Tacoma were new to the group, but known to Larry. He works with Larry at IC Bus and for a while I thought Larry might have been wondering why he made the invite. Hugo lives for busting balls as most guys in sales do and sure had his target on Larry honed in tight. It was pretty funny to see somebody else take shots at him. But it was all in good fun and kept the mood light and the crew laughing.

Last but not least is yours truly. Ian rode along again this year as efforts to get his 8.1 powered M1009 CUCV ready for the run ran out of time. This time around my K5 was mechanically ready with only revisions needed to the right exhaust routing and a change of the fuel pump to thwart the hot fuel related stalling we had last year. Levels of comfort went up slightly with the addition of the FWC Blazer pop-up camper. No more sleeping on the ground for this dude. Ian had bought an enormous Snomaster 12v fridge for our food to be nice and cold too. With Bill’s Trasharoo strapped down to the spare tire out back we were in full-blown Overland mode this time around.

Next up, the run to Kingman AZ.

 

[ZooMad75]

Saturday June 2nd was the planned departure date for the crew in Pueblo at 6:00 am. I stopped the night before at Ian’s place to load the fridge and other gear so all I had to do in the morning was pick him up. As my luck had it, I had been running behind since I left work that Friday. The delay had me up late packing and getting a grand total of 4 hours of sleep and still managed to get Ian and I to the meet up point late. Thankfully Ian fixed my sin of lateness with killer green chili breakfast burritos for all.

Bellies and fuel tanks full we hit the interstate to take a turn and travel US hwy 160 most of the way out. CB’s were dialed into channel 16 (because 4x4, get it?) and we had clear communication between the three rigs. All was going well until my phone rang as we were coming down the west side of La Veta pass. It was my wife who called to inform me that I managed to leave my duffel bag sitting on the recliner in our living room. Huh? After a few expletives later she offered to bring it to us if we could meet somewhere. I thought about it and didn’t want to be the one holding the crew up on our timeline. We had to make it to Kingman AZ for our hotel reservations. I told my wife I would just go to the Wally world in Kingman and replace what I forgot. She did send my parents this pic, which prompted another phone call where they could point and laugh at my stupidity too. Got to love my family.
The text my wife sent my parents:

Making decent time we had a bladder break in Alamosa and started our charge up the San Jaun mountain range and Wolf Creek Pass.
Larry pulling by me in 5th gear on Wolf Creek pass:

Oh and as one of you goons responded to a similar pic on IG asked if I had a Pterodactyl shit on my hood, no I've got a bird problem in my tree I need to handle with a BB gun. I meant to wash it, but ran out of time..

We had a stop for fuel on the other side of the pass and stopped again for lunch in Cortez.

In order to eliminate the possible need for stopping for fuel within the Indian Reservation, we topped off our tanks in Cortez also. The terrain changes quickly from mountains to wide-open desert leaving town and a new threat is realized.

Passing on the two-lane highway is downright dangerous. Just out of Cortez we cross the scene of an accident where three cars were involved and one was 30 yards off of the shoulder. Ian and I wondered how anybody could have a wreck with wide-open visibility and a road that is straight for miles. Bill pointed out it’s the passing. People out on this road just don’t care. Passing on double yellows, before hitting the tops of hills, where ever. If they want around you, they are going to pass. It felt like Mad Max. It was now we could feel the temps climbing. From the 50-60’s in the mountains we are now seeing 90’s and climbing. Larry and Bill’s rides having a/c had them riding in comfort. Ian and I however renamed my rig the sweat lodge in honor of the Indian land we were crossing. Still at 75mph we had pretty good airflow, it was just loud. Really loud, like me considering an intercom system so we could hear each other speak.

Our plans of not stopping on the reservation got squashed when Mr. Sidesaddle tanks didn’t want to transfer fuel on the fly and others needed a bladder break. We stop in Tuba City at the sketchiest gas station I’ve seen since the movie Vacation where they fixed the Griswold’s wagon after jumping it. Except instead of a couple of redneck’s substitute a group of panhandling Indians. I’ve met many a Native American in my life and had never met one that was the stereotypical “drunken Indian” before this day. But we found them on this day. No sooner do I swipe my card at the pump and put the nozzle in the filler neck does the first one find me. He says hello to me in Navajo and attempts to teach me how to say it. This guy was actually pretty polite and didn’t seem drunk, but hit me up for money nonetheless. Then the next one sidled up behind me and started saying please in Navajo. I don’t know a word in Navajo but he told me what it meant each time he said it, over and over. You never realize how long it takes to put fuel in until you got two guys pestering you for money in Navajo. Ian had hopped out of the K5 and went to Larry’s rig and caught him getting harassed by one. This one was more lit than the one at my truck and was completely unfazed by his statement of “ok Budweiser Bob, it’s time for you to go.” By now Bill is getting guys walking up to his truck. We load back up and pass on the idea of the bladder break here and make a move across the highway to a larger more modern travel plaza. Finally with our bladders empty and tanks full again we bug out and make the run for Flagstaff.

Upon arriving in Flagstaff we promptly hit I-40 and put the hammer down to get to Kingman before dark. Dodging construction, Semi’s and an oncoming thunderstorm we make it to our target with time to spare. Some of us hit a local joint for some dinner and a beer and some take to the hotel and clean up from the road. After dinner I go shopping to replace the stuff I left at home. While at the store I find that I’m being beckoned to the parking lot at the hotel by our ringleader. I finish up and meet back up with Larry and Ian in the hotel lot where we relax and BS over some beers. It was about this time where Don and Tom rolled up in the Waggy. Don and Ian head up to their rooms while Larry, Tom and I catch up for a little while more. Tired from the road we break up the party and head to bed so we can be ready for departure at 7:30 the next morning.

I swear Don could double as a Tornado Chaser with the Waggy. More lights, CB and HAM antennae I thought I was going to see Helen Hunt hop out of the passenger seat. Then Tommy hopped out. BOO!

Next, Meeting up with the rest of the crew and hitting dirt on the Mojave.

 

[GWeakland620]

 

[ZooMad75]

Trail day 1:
We still have Richard and Hugo to meet up with in Bullhead City, so after breakfast we top off the tanks again and head out. After a little while we are coming down the grade into Bullhead with Laughlin across the river from us. It’s pretty cool to see these towns that have sprung up on the Colorado in the middle of the desert. The meeting spot is a Wal Mart in Bullhead, one more spot to add supplies before going way off the grid. We all get what we need and our crew is complete when Richard and Hugo find our rigs in the parking lot. (we are not hard to miss) Introductions are made and we take the obligatory clean truck pics that we always do prior to hitting the trail.

Crossing the Colorado:

Everybody gets lined up on the right cb channel and we cross the Colorado and Larry leads us down through some hay fields to find the start of the Mojave road at the banks of the river. We get our first taste dust. Fine, silty dust with the ability to completely obscure your view of the truck in front of you if you ride too close.

Photo op taken, trucks are loaded and we start off on the trail. The Mojave is notoriously tricky to navigate on purpose. There are little to no signs to mark the start of the trail from the road. The friends of the Mojave have set stacks of stones called Rock Cairns on the right side of the trail as you travel from east to west. Larry is following a GPS track created from the last visit. It showed that following the track from the previous visit had us bouncing off of the actual trail a couple of times. Had we not known about the cairns we wouldn’t have known we were off track.

Still, it’s absolutely astonishing to think of traveling across this inhospitable land in anything less than our well-equipped rides full of food, water and a few beers. We stop for another photo op where the trail crosses from Nevada to California. Even that sign is subtle.

We plod on as the temp rises while we cross a large valley. We can see the trail cut through the scrub brush like a laser through the night. It’s very easy to tell where the trail is now.

You can see the line leading off of Larry's truck off into the distance.

I mentioned it was hot didn't I? Yeah according to the truck it was friggin hot..

The next landmark is Ft. Piute. It’s the first watering hole on the trail that travelers would stop at. Due to threats of Indian attacks, the Army was sent to make the trail safe to travel. With a small amount of men to do this, they protected the watering holes. Control the water and one controls the road. While it was called a Fort, it certainly wasn’t much as far as size. Time has taken its toll on the fort, but it’s easy to imagine what it was back then.

Looking at the fort in this next photo, our campsite would end up being straight up that gorge, but no trail connects for vehicles to drive so we end up going around the mountain on the left in this pic.

The timing for this stop was right to make lunch happen. Ian whips up a couple of sammiches for us and everybody else grubs on something. You can look back from where we are and see the trail heading across the Valley East almost to the horizon. (look just to the right of the topper on the Waggy and zoom in to see the trail)

The trail up to the fort is actually a dead end that we have to double back to get to the main trail. We make our way back to the next landmark of the Piute Corrals. Again, it’s on an offshoot of the main trail and connected to the fort via the Piute Gorge. We all find a place to park and set up camp. Shade is a premium to escape the sun. Don puts out his ARB awning, I pull out an idea I cooked up using a tarp, bungee, aluminum poles and some rope. Larry ties off to ours with another tarp while Richard deploys a wicked cool awning that wraps around 270 degrees of the rear of his truck. Then Mother Nature proved us all wrong. What was calm as can be turned into huge gusts of wind that effectively blew me and Larry’s tarps practically off of the trucks and inverted Richards’s super awning like an umbrella in a tornado.

Piute Gorge

 

[ZooMad75]

Don’s setup made it out unscathed as his truck blocked it from the gust. The sun was getting low, so shade ended up coming from our campers anyway. We broke out some local salsa and chips, beers and everybody started cooking dinner. Ian and I tried out his handmade Skottle built by a welder gal he works with. The skottle being the name of a stupid expensive device that overlanders are willing to pay $250 for the pleasure of cooking on it. It really is nothing more than a plow disc with the hole filled in, handles added and a bracket to hold a single Coleman burner under it. It’s also known in the southwest as a Discada. Call it a Mexican wok if you want all I know is it cooks up some mean fajitas and a pretty good breakfast too.

We didn’t starve. It was right after Dinner that Ty managed to find us via the Spot tracking Larry had running.

Obligatory desert sunset pic. Funny nobody was up early enough to take sunrise pics. I don't know why.

Mojave Road trail day 2 up next..

 

[ZooMad75]

Day 2 on the Mojave had us heading west and hitting more historic land marks.

First breakfast. Ian frying up some killer Chorizo, hash brown and egg dish. MMM.

We drive through loads of Joshua trees.

The first landmark is the Penny tree.

Hugo paying his toll:

Tradition is you leave a penny to help maintain the trail. Next up was the Nevada Southern Railway monument.

Rolling further through the desert we came across the one and only spot on the trail so far that required 4wd. Not so much for the added traction, but for the added gearing as the trail makes a significant drop downhill with large holes in the way to navigate. It was steep enough and had just the right amount of loose dirt on the surface to make it almost impossible to walk down without slipping and falling.
Richard taking the longbox downhill with some precision. Funny thing, the one spot that was actually challenging and between Larry and I we only got a pic of Richard through here. We both took video instead I guess.

With everybody through the Rock spring is just up a dry wash. We stop to check it out. Those that do get attacked by bees and make a quick turnaround back to the trucks.

Up the hill and around the corner is the Rock house. Built by a WWI vet to live in a dry climate and help his lungs from exposure to poison gas during the war.

We pass Marl Springs and stop at the Mojave mailbox.
Marl springs-

Mojave Mailbox-

This is about mile 74 from the start in the east. We all take turns signing the log and checking out the attractions near the mailbox. The frog shrine and Jeep shrine is the most notable.

Moving along we start seeing a lot of volcanic rock and see a sign for the lava tubes. With the turn to the lava tubes made we left the main trail. We stop where it looks like the short hiking trail begins to get to the tubes, but we were loosing light and figured we should be setting up camp soon. So we continue north on the trail over more and more volcanic rocks. Another old corral is found that looked as good as any for a place to stop for the night.

With camp setup many take advantage of Larry’s shower off of the side of his camper. This is the thing that makes you feel human again after sweating like mad all-day and getting covered in dust. We cook while watching the sunset.

Cooked up some Ribeye's for dinner.

Another night is spent sitting out in the dark sharing stories and jokes. We decided here that backtracking over the lava rocks to get back to the main trail isn’t really worth it. The plan is made to get back to the highway and head to Las Vegas and then onto the Arizona Strip. This will get us higher in elevation and avoid the heat of Death Valley and the Mojave.

Next up, close call and higher elevations..

 

[Fastereddie]

What’s Larry packing in the cans on the back? Water or gas? Or both

 

[Capt Ron]

So ??s
If I have done the math correctly 11 people, 7 vehicles?
What did Ian use for the "Burner" on the skottle?
Ian's fridge performance?

 

[ZooMad75]

Day 3 has us trekking north to hit I-15 over more dusty dirt roads.
Morning on the Mojave:

Lucky for us at the interstate was a gas station. Tires got put back up to normal pressure, tanks filled and a quick restock on some ice and cool drinks.

Richard had commitments back home so he split from us at this point. Bye Richard!

We said our goodbye’s and swiped his water for more showers later and laid out the way to the closest In-n-Out burger in Vegas. Since I locked on the navigation first the group elected I lead the way. I-15 starts climbing right away so I had to hit the throttle hard to get up to speed and stay there while climbing. I’ve recounted what happens next in a couple of spots but will re-tell it here.


Nearing the top, I’m rolling along at 70-75 mph when I see a white car flying up beside me in the left lane. Just as quick as the car got up to me, we see it make an immediate right turn in front of us and start a full blown drift past us. The car ends up completing a 180 and sliding into the rock wall on the right shoulder with such force the car launches into the air and flips on its roof. The car still carrying a ton of momentum manages to slide on its roof back towards us again. I don’t know how I avoided the whole mess without flipping my ride but I did manage to get to the left shoulder safely. Those in the group coming from behind us said it looked like we crashed by the cloud of dirt that erupted on impact. Still we got to a stop and both of us jumped out of the Blazer to check on the driver in the wrecked car. She was screaming about being stuck in her seat belt. I lay down on the road to reach in and help her, but she was out of my reach to cut the belt. I was able to hand my pocketknife to her and allow her to cut herself out. Once free, Ian and I helped her out of the car. She had no passengers. By then the rest of the crew stopped and came to aid. Jen is a RN and quickly got her down on the ground and kept her calm and still until help could arrive. As it turned out she was facetiming her boyfriend at the time of the accident and the phone was still connected to him as it sat on the highway. Ian and I answered questions from officer Poncherello from the CHP. We stayed on scene until the emt’s loaded the lady into the ambulance.
Larry coming up behind Ian and I and seeing the debris field. I'm parked up on the left shoulder ahead.

Ian and I at the wreck:

Ian and Jen getting the driver to her feet.

The most likely cause of the whole accident (besides facetiming at warp 20) is the chinese 22" tires:

Our good deed done for the day we made our way into Vegas for burgers and shakes.

Comparing notes from the accident the conclusion is made that the woman driving was pushing her luck as she was swerving in and out of traffic prior to getting to me, passing on the right, cutting people off. Plus her BMW was rolling on 22” bling bling wheels with cheap Chinese tires on them. It was one of the tires that popped that we believe started the entire chain of events to unfold.


Lunch completed we brave the Vegas traffic on a Tuesday through construction and brave more heat to get to Mesquite Nevada. Restocking again, we gassed up and let Trailboss Bill set the navigation for getting to the AZ strip. He had a general idea but nothing was clearly marked in person or on the maps. So we toured the town until we found a way out east to the foothills. The AZ border was crossed shortly after the road turned back to dirt.

Airing down again:

The trail took us back into a neat canyon climbing and dropping but most importantly getting us out of the heat.

Climbing again-

Entering the area of the Grand Canyon-

Bill still leading discovers a sweet camp spot nestled into the trees and gorgeous red rocks. It was by far one of our favorite spots to camp at for sure. Many beers were killed while we recounted the days events and other fun events from the past.

Ian getting the high ground-

Bill and Jen relaxing-

Hugo putting up his bed tent-

 

[ZooMad75]

Larry on the rock-

Ian giving his best Captain Morgan pose-

Ever notice Duratrac tread prints in soft dirt looks like snake skin? I thought it looked cool.

Larry's high up pics-

Chilling out..

Coming up, more dirt and one big hole in the ground.

 

[ZooMad75]

What’s Larry packing in the cans on the back? Water or gas? Or both

Both. 1 water can and 3 fuel cans. We mooched one of the fuel cans and had 2 more similar cans full of water in my rig.

So ??s
If I have done the math correctly 11 people, 7 vehicles?
What did Ian use for the "Burner" on the skottle?
Ian's fridge performance?

Yep, 11 people and 7 trucks. A larger crew than usual, but we didn't seem to be hung up by the size on the trail. Then again, we never passed anybody on the Mojave and only ran into some ranchers on the AZ strip.

The fridge did awesomely. Had both sides set to 31 degrees. Kept it plugged into to AC power while in my driveway packing the night before leaving. Once I left the house it stayed on 12v power from my Aux battery the entire trip. Crazy thing is the most we saw it pulling was 0.25 amp and saw it pulling down to 0.07 amp as we were rolling along. The battery never dropped under 12v by morning even with us using the lighting in the camper. I'm sold on the Snomaster, but the size was a challenge to deal with. Plus I about choked when I saw the price. Still, that's less than a National Luna and comparable to ARB.

 

[GWeakland620]

Cool stuff as always man!

 

[ZooMad75]

Day 4 set our course for the Tuweep overlook on the north rim of the Grand Canyon.
Stopping to regroup. We got pretty spread out from the dust.

This brought us past the Mt. Trumble school house where we stopped to eat lunch and check out some of the local history.

Jen and Lynn took time to play on the swingset for good measure.

The trail climbed up higher and brought us into a new valley that we took in a southerly direction to make it to the ranger station and on to the overlook. We spent a lot of time checking out the Grand Canyon in peace without the crowds of the south rim. Stunning is one way to describe it.

Yep that's one big ass hole in the ground..

Timing was right to stay at the Tuweep campground not too far away from the overlook. It was another great site and it even had a pit toilet so no need to take off into the bush with a shovel.

Fajita time.

We spent more time under the stars after dinner. Another great day for sure.

One more day and night camping and onto the push for home.

 

[ZooMad75]

Day 5 saw us loosing 2 more from the group. Hugo and Ty both had to head back as our plans to continue east pulled them further from home, as we got closer to ours. Nothing radical here, just more time on dusty dirt roads for mile after mile until we hit pavement.

Near the 11:00 mark we got to pavement finally. Tires were aired up and we headed out.

Lunch was had at a local restaurant in Kanab UT. After lunch we said our goodbye to Bill and Jen as they booked a room in Page and we were going to Lake Powell to camp near the lake. Taking off we covered the required miles to get to Badwater and the turn to the dirt road that led to the lake.

Reaching the lake Larry and Don quickly scope out the sole two flat spots near a large rock and fairly firm sand. I nearly get stuck and had to shift to 4wd to get out. I tried another spot and that’s where I broke the left side axle u-joint in the process.

The K5 is parked in a different spot and the top popped. Another round of showers to clean the funk.

While I’m in the shower I hear a different woman’s voice talking to the guys. I get out and ask what was going on and I’m advised that it was the local drug dealer. She was high and nuts. Oh and she was bombing her Subaru wagon around in the soft sand like it was nothing. That was until she stuffed it into a berm and gets stuck. She comes back to ask us to pull her out. It wasn’t hard to figure out this nut is using her supply and we don’t want anything of it.

She cons somebody else to pull her out to only get stuck 5 minutes later. Yes, she came to ask us again. No, we didn’t help. She came back again while we were cooking dinner and I had to get full blown rude with her to get her out of our camp spot. Another great meal, some beers and more shut-eye.

Day 6 ended up being our last day. With my broken axle we couldn’t go wheeling without making repairs. Don and Tom needed to get back to Phoenix so Tom could get an earlier flight home. It wouldn’t hurt for the rest of us to get home and spend the weekend with our families. This put us back on another cannonball run to get home by nightfall. Thankfully the temps across the northern part of AZ was less than when we went through before. Once into the mountains, the temps got even better. The marathon continued until we pulled back into Pueblo and I got home around 10:30 after dropping Ian off in Pueblo west.

According to Larry’s spot we covered 1700 miles. My fuel tracking had me at 1858 total. Still, it was a fun trip despite the heat and crazy drivers on the highway. It wasn’t as 4wd centric as last year, but the remote distance from any civilization was more than worth it. This ends another trip with plans of next years trip already getting hatched. I'd go back in a minute if I could.

 

[ZooMad75]

Random shots from the trip.

Rolling up the to the east side of Wolf Creek pass is the campground used in the movie Vacation for the "smelly tent" scene:

Funny note, a lot of that move was shot in Colorado with Uncle Eddies house actually being located east of Pueblo in Boone, CO. One of the Hotel scenes was shot in Pueblo a few miles from my house.

Continuing up Wolf Creek pass, you encounter this snow shed over the highway. It's unique to this pass as it's known for snow slides over the road.

Near the summit of pass is the Wolf Creek Ski Area.

Impressive rock formations along hwy 160 in Arizona.

A truck parked out in back of the Mt. Trumbull schoolhouse. It's amazing how well preserved these old relics are sitting out in a VERY dry environment.

Chairs situated to view another amazing sunset. Once the sun went down and the stars came out our focus went to looking up. It's so dark picking out satellites is easy. We even caught the international space station on the night in Tuweep.

 

[sponsoredbydad]

That looked like a cool(and sometimes hot) adventure. Someday I tell myself, someday

 

[ZooMad75]

That looked like a cool(and sometimes hot) adventure. Someday I tell myself, someday

It was an adventure for sure. You just got to take a run like this. You got a lot right in SoCal to spend a long weekend exploring.

 

[GWeakland620]

Very cool stuff. I love reading your trip reports. It takes me to a place I've never been, and away from this desk in the concrete jungle...

 

[ZooMad75]

Very cool stuff. I love reading your trip reports. It takes me to a place I've never been, and away from this desk in the concrete jungle...

Thanks for checking it out. We like the adventure for sure. It's fun to share it too. I've got many hours of video I shot I still have to go through.

 

[tenderfoot]

These stories take me back to when I lived in northern Nevada. A lot of fun. I mis all that BLM land. Many times I found myself in the middle of nowhere miles from anything. The ol K5 always took me through got me home.