Mojave Road Expedition ~ 2009

[AZ Outlaws]

Got any older trail ride stories, pics?

LOL... got any older trail ride stories, pics you ask?? How about 11 years worth?? Here's my trip report taken from another forum/club I belong to....




We're back!!!

It was a great two day run across 130 miles of the Mojave Desert!! I wanted to get this thread started. I'll edit this post later with the trip report and more pics as I get them edited down in size.

Edit: Trip Report...

Thanks to Vern, Mike and Katelyn from AZ LOST JEEPS for joining with Beth and I, and our friends Dave and Kathy, Preston and Jessica from EV 4x4 to do this expedition across 130 miles of the Mojave Desert wilderness.

I first started thinking about this expedition in Oct 2008. I finally posted it in Jan 2009. This past weekend it all came together!!

It was truly an adventure not soon to be forgotten, at least not by me or Beth. Two days and one night running a trail that used to take people from centuries past much, much longer to cross and without any of the conveniences we had... it really made you stop and think.

The trail itself was not technically difficult, although there were a few fun spots and driving in the sand was cool. Crossing the five mile wide Soda Dry Lake and stopping at the Traveler's Monument was an adventure in itself. The monument it is a large pile of rocks that visitor's out of tradition add a rock to it on their way across the dry lake. There is a plaque in the center of the rock pile that makes up Traveler's Monument. The words written on it are known only to those that have made the journey across the Mojave Road... we won't tell, so don't ask.

It was slow going over some rocky and bumpy terrain. There was one water crossing at the beginning of the trail that came up over the center hubs of everyone's wheels (according to Dave, it was put there to wash off the tire shine on Mall Jeeps like mine). Route finding was a challenge and Vern came through with flying colors, leading us across the open desert. I was originally going to lead the expedition, but happily gave that position up to Vern with his better GPS and more detailed way points. Instead I was regulated to the back of the line to make sure we stayed together and no one got lost.

Of all the places to camp along the trail, we found a great spot in the rocks at the base of the Beale Mountains. It was the best place we could have found anywhere. It looked just like a camp you'd expect to see in a good western movie. After a hot day, it cooled off to a very nippy 47 degrees by morning.

There's not much else to tell except maybe to say that two days was not nearly long enough to fully explore what the area has to offer. I defiantly want to run the trail again, this time going east to west as all the guide books are written (makes route finding much easier). If anyone is interested, let me know and we'll put together another expedition. The earliest I would consider running it again would be sometime in early to mid Nov (after the monsoon) and it has cooled off or spring 2010. Several people who made this run have already indicated an interest in running the trail again.

Here of a few of the pics from our adventure....

The group shot at the beginning of the trail....
(Vern, Beth, Katelyn, Mike, Preston, Jessica, Dave and Kathy)

The only water crossing a few miles into the trail....

On the trail...

Crossing Soda Dry Lake...

The rock pile that makes up Traveler's Monument on Soda Dry Lake...
(we had 2 JK's, 1 KJ, 1 LJ and 1 TJ make the trip)

Group shot...

Leaving Soda Dry Lake...

The Mailbox in the middle of nowhere...
(Preston and Jessica, Katelyn and Mike, Dave and Kathy, Vern, AJ and Beth)

Beth signing the log at the mailbox...

Vern and Mike putting an AZ LOST JEEPS decal on the flag pole...

Mine and Beth's camp...

Vern's camp...

Mike and Katelyn's expedition trailer...

Settling in around the campfire just before nightfall after dinner of marinated ribeye steaks, fried potatoes and cucumber salad...

Vern looking off in the distance at the end of the first day....

Vern up early catching the first rays of a new day...

Mike and Katelyn doing the same...

Beth at the historical marker at the end of the central portion of the trail...

Climbing a steep hill...

Near the end of the trail, Katelyn doing a very good job pulling the trailer through some off camber spots...

That's it, the expedition is in the history books. I'm looking forward to more pics from the rest of the people.

And, thanks again folks, for coming together and making a trip I wanted to do happen!!

AJ and Beth