MagicMtnDan
FRF Addict
Mojave Road Trip
Friday, April 16 – Sunday, April 18
Our Mojave Road trip was a 3-day excursion led by the organizer, Al, who puts a Mojave Road trip together every year. This was the first time for me and I was able to get Al’s permission to invite some Raptor owners. I extended invitations and there were four of us: me, Brian, Tim, and Jason (who came down from San Jose) and our crew: Denise, Sadie, Kyle, Kilja and Mickey.
We had 11 vehicles (4 Jeeps, 2 Toyotas, 5 Fords: 4 Raptors and an F250) and 22 people on this 3-day trip. This is not a challenging trip in terms of difficult terrain. In fact, I drove most of it in 2-wheel drive (in fact, the FJ Cruiser was the only 2WD vehicle). But there are places where 4WD makes life a lot easier especially in the areas where there’s a lot of soft sand).
Mojave Road - Background
Perhaps the best treasure in eastern California's Mojave National Preserve is a pair of tracks that cross the middle of it. This famous trail is the Mojave Road, one of the early routes that brought American pioneers to California. This trail is unique in that for most of this 138 mile stretch it is in much the same condition as the pioneers would have found it, and a lot of the trail passes through country that is virtually unchanged since prehistoric times. The road bisects the Preserve, wandering from waterhole to waterhole, and is mostly a 4-wheel-drive trail.
The Mojave Road was a main wagon trail for only a relatively short time, two decades after the civil war, when the railroads came, as the railways created an easier route to the south complete with oases on the bitter-dry deserts. While it was used, the Mojave Road was a route plagued by hostile Indians, a lack of water, long stretches of sand and rough hill climbs. For caravans of travelers and a handful of soldiers, it was a proving ground that brought out the best and the worst of them.
The trip begins on the shore of the Colorado River, at an elevation of 500 feet and at mile 54.8 you'll be at the head of Cedar Canyon at an elevation of 5,167 feet. During the winter you could hit a snowstorm. In summer it could be 120 degrees, or a summer thunderstorm could bring heavy rain, hail and lightning. Any time of the year, you're a long way from help and city comforts.
Water is everything on the desert, and the locations of watering holes determined the route of the trail. Water was found at the end of each day's drive (about every 20 to 30 miles, depending upon the terrain) and it was water that had to be reliable and safe.
These springs were favored ambush sites, so each location had to be defended by a US Army that was hard pressed to do it. So the Army established outposts, military camps of sometimes just 2 or 3 men, who spent their tours of duty protecting gold-seekers and farmers heading for a better life in the golden valleys near the coast. The Army felt it had to be done; by controlling the water, they controlled the road.
It was lonely, hard duty, and some of them died doing it. A few deserted. Others became generals. It was a place that brought out the best and the worst in people, as the desert does today.
Friday, April 16 – Sunday, April 18
Our Mojave Road trip was a 3-day excursion led by the organizer, Al, who puts a Mojave Road trip together every year. This was the first time for me and I was able to get Al’s permission to invite some Raptor owners. I extended invitations and there were four of us: me, Brian, Tim, and Jason (who came down from San Jose) and our crew: Denise, Sadie, Kyle, Kilja and Mickey.
We had 11 vehicles (4 Jeeps, 2 Toyotas, 5 Fords: 4 Raptors and an F250) and 22 people on this 3-day trip. This is not a challenging trip in terms of difficult terrain. In fact, I drove most of it in 2-wheel drive (in fact, the FJ Cruiser was the only 2WD vehicle). But there are places where 4WD makes life a lot easier especially in the areas where there’s a lot of soft sand).
Mojave Road - Background
Perhaps the best treasure in eastern California's Mojave National Preserve is a pair of tracks that cross the middle of it. This famous trail is the Mojave Road, one of the early routes that brought American pioneers to California. This trail is unique in that for most of this 138 mile stretch it is in much the same condition as the pioneers would have found it, and a lot of the trail passes through country that is virtually unchanged since prehistoric times. The road bisects the Preserve, wandering from waterhole to waterhole, and is mostly a 4-wheel-drive trail.
The Mojave Road was a main wagon trail for only a relatively short time, two decades after the civil war, when the railroads came, as the railways created an easier route to the south complete with oases on the bitter-dry deserts. While it was used, the Mojave Road was a route plagued by hostile Indians, a lack of water, long stretches of sand and rough hill climbs. For caravans of travelers and a handful of soldiers, it was a proving ground that brought out the best and the worst of them.
The trip begins on the shore of the Colorado River, at an elevation of 500 feet and at mile 54.8 you'll be at the head of Cedar Canyon at an elevation of 5,167 feet. During the winter you could hit a snowstorm. In summer it could be 120 degrees, or a summer thunderstorm could bring heavy rain, hail and lightning. Any time of the year, you're a long way from help and city comforts.
Water is everything on the desert, and the locations of watering holes determined the route of the trail. Water was found at the end of each day's drive (about every 20 to 30 miles, depending upon the terrain) and it was water that had to be reliable and safe.
These springs were favored ambush sites, so each location had to be defended by a US Army that was hard pressed to do it. So the Army established outposts, military camps of sometimes just 2 or 3 men, who spent their tours of duty protecting gold-seekers and farmers heading for a better life in the golden valleys near the coast. The Army felt it had to be done; by controlling the water, they controlled the road.
It was lonely, hard duty, and some of them died doing it. A few deserted. Others became generals. It was a place that brought out the best and the worst in people, as the desert does today.
