The Mojave Road, Jan 7-8 2012

Who

-BigJ
-bstoner59
-lvdesertdawg
-MarkT
-DynoDynge
-xjrguy and Mrs. xjrguy
-Outlaw Raptor and his son
-LAHillbilly (from f150forum.com in an FX4)

PLEASE NOTE: The NPS requires a "Special Use" permit for roadside camping groups of 7+ vehicles or 15+ people. To get that permit, someone needs to provide proof of insurance ($1,000,000) with the United States Government named as an "additional insured". I am not personally able to provide that proof of insurance. So technically speaking this means we need to keep the group size down to 6 or less trucks, and 14 or less people. Obviously we have more than 6, so we must split up into individual groups when it comes time to camp. SHOULD A RANGER ASK, PLEASE ENSURE YOU MAKE IT CLEAR WE ARE NOT ONE LARGE GROUP! INSTEAD WE ARE SMALL GROUPS LEAVING AT AROUND THE SAME TIME, AND CAMPING AROUND THE SAME AREAS, AND EACH OF US IS ONLY RESPONSIBLE FOR OURSELVES. I am only posting this thread as a convenience and NOT as a solicitation to organize one large group, therefore violating the permit requirements. If you meet me out there, you are on your own and therefore no permit is required.

What
The historic Mojave Road!

This trip can be done in one long day, but 2 days allows for a night of camping, a nice easy relaxed pace and hitting a few fun and cool side trips along the way. Depending on where we stop and for how long, we should be able to finish up mid second day, giving plenty of time to head our separate ways and get home from there Sunday evening.

The indisputable authority on this trip is the book Mojave Road Guide, by Dennis Casebier. I ordered a copy and brought it with me the last time I made this trip, and it really added to my enjoyment. This is a historic trip in every sense of the word, and having Dennis' guide as copilot enhances the experience many times over as he basically takes you back into history with each mile we cover.


Here's a writeup from a previous trip we took over this same route: http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f112/mojave-road-april-16-18-2010-pics-videos-5958/

When
Saturday thru Sunday January 7-8 2012

Meeting time: 7:30am Saturday Jan 7 for a radio and gear check, airing down and meet and greet. Hitting the trail 8am.

Meeting location: Mile 0.0 of the Mojave Road, as per Dennis Casebier's "Mojave Road Guide". The GPS coordinates are 35° 2.777'N 114° 37.673'W.

Where
We'll run it from east to west, starting bright and early Saturday morning in Laughlin NV along the Colorado River, and finishing up mid day Sunday thru Afton Canyon near Barstow, CA.

Here's the Google Maps of the route, complete with points of interest along the way Mojave Road Jan2012 - Google Maps

Here's the GPX file. If you use
Internet Explorer, right click on the following link -> "Save target as..." brings up a "Save As" window with the "Save as type" set to .zip. Once downloaded, you will need to unzip the file to reveal the GPX file within.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15659016/Misc/MojaveRoadJan2012.zip

Chrome, right click on the following link -> "Save link as..." brings up a "Save As" window with the "Save as type" set to .gpx
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15659016/Misc/MojaveRoadJan2012.gpx

Firefox, right click on the following link -> "Save Link As..." brings up a "Enter name of file to save to..." window with the "Save as type:" set to .gpx
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15659016/Misc/MojaveRoadJan2012.gpx

How
You MUST bring an FRS/GMRS radio capable of channel 17. Something along these lines: Amazon.com: Midland GXT1000VP4 36-Mile 50-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio (Pair) (Black/Silver): Electronics. If you don't have a radio, ask here and maybe someone can bring one for you. I consider this an essential piece of safety gear, and you should too.

I strongly suggest you also carry a first aid kit, extra fuel (enough extra gals to take you 75miles, minimum), plenty of water (1 gal per person, per day minimum), basic recovery gear (gloves, shovel, straps, winch/power puller & accessories) firewood for 1x night campsite, and various other camping related stuffs (shelter, sleeping bag, cooking stuffs, food etc). I suggest packing cold weather gear as well as your shorts and sunscreen since temps can vary dramatically out there this time of year; figure high 20s low 30s at night, and mid 60s+ in the day. Oh and don't forget your camera and binoculars too if you've got 'em.

PLEASE NOTE: given the permit requirement, obviously we'll be taking care of ourselves and our own food. There will be no "group" cookout or pot luck! You are responsible for your own food and water, for the entire trip. I have found this works out better anyway; if there are last minute drops or adds we don't have to worry about too much or too little food.

Got questions about what to bring? By all means ask them here!

In terms of etiquette, I aint here to tell you how to behave or treat others out in the wild. But if we're going to do this together as a group, there's pretty much one rule that we all must agree to follow: you are responsible for the guy behind you. If you lose track of 'em in your rearview, you screwed up. Don't let that happen. But if by some act of God you do, stop and wait for them. If everyone up the line follows this rule, no one will get left behind since the guy ahead of him will always be there, stopped and waiting.

And when it comes to camp, many of us do this stuff to get out and away from city noise. So we tend to be respectful of the quiet and calm camping out in a place like this invites. Its never been a problem, but keep the noise down; no blasting radios, no loud DVD players for the kids, no crazy barking dogs... just sayin.

Other Stuff
Q: Can my non Raptor 4x4 on all terrain tires handle this trip?
A: Yep! The Mojave can be done in 2wd 99% of the way. The only concern might be water crossings; depending on weather and time of year, we might need to cross one or more streams. There's no way to predict how deep these might be until we're out there, so we'll just need to play it by ear. What I can say is that our Raptor's wade line is 30". If yours is less and/or you're not comfortable running up to that limit, we need to know it before hand so we can plan for it. If you don't speak up, we're going to assume 30" is aok with you.

Q: What if I break down out there?
A: Please don't . Seriously though, stuff can happen. Ask me how I know . The cold hard truth is, as I've said several times, you are 100% responsible for yourself out there. Have a back up plan, make sure friends and family know where you are and when to expect you, study and know the local resources (exit spots, garages, tow services), etc... This is the dark side of a free and non official event like this; there are no chase vehicles, there is no flatbed to haul you out, there are no mechanics out there with tools to fix you... you really are on your own.

Having said that, the default plan for the group is to stop until you are safe. You will not be left behind. Period. If that means waiting for the tow, or traveling with you as we limp out to pavement or even leaving your truck behind and carrying you out to civilization, that's what that means.

I could write a book on the various situations that might crop up, how we'd handle them and I'd still not cover it all. Its the bottom line here that matters: you will NOT be left alone as YOU put YOUR PLAN for recovery into effect. We will be there to help where we can, and make sure you are not left behind. The rest is up to YOU. Make sense?

***DISCLAIMER TIME: Without getting into a huge legal ass-covering diatribe, the bottom line here is I'm going on this trip on these dates at these times. If you want to meet up and head out in the same direction at the same time, great! But if you do, you understand that you are 100% responsible for yourself and your truck. This is not an "official" FRF event and I am no pro nor am I a guide. If you're looking for a professionally guided tour, this IS NOT the trip for you. If you do this you are 100% responsible for any/all damage or injury as a result. If you reply to this thread and/or meet us out there, you are "signing" on the X, agreeing to these terms and accepting full responsibility for yourself, all those with you, and all your gear. Ok? Ok! (hooray gold digging lawyers!).***

If we start on Saturday early morning I suggest we start in Laughlin and make our way toward Barstow. Cut a few hrs off the drive home.

Totally agreed.

So you're in then??

I guess...you know how I hate driving my truck off-road. I might have to get some new stuff on for the trip. I hope Santa has me on the 'good list!!

Twist twist



Santa? Ohh that guy. He gave up on me years ago. Put in a good word for me, will ya?

Mark and I are both in on this one, sorry for missing the DV run.

^^Sweet! Great to hear guys!

I've got a list going in the first post of confirmed folks. That's four of us so far!

J,

We have our ham test on Jan 14th in Pahrump so the 7/8 would be better for us.

I think there might be a need for permits if we get over a certain amount of trucks or we have to keep it 2 groups seperated by 1/2 mile or 1 mile...maybe MMD can answer that for me??

Consider it done 'dawg! The 7-8 it is.

First post updated with more info/detail/planning stuff. More to come soon!