Bradshaw Trail (Gold Road to La Paz) in mid-March?

[salad_man]

Mid April would work out better for me as well, I would also like to attend

[Chazz Layne]

Tim, have you firmed up dates for your trip yet? April 10th is the M&G/test in San Diego, so that leaves either Easter weekend or 16-18 for me. If you don't mind a few extra vehicles we could join up with your group for this.

This will be the shakedown cruise for the rebuilt Discovery, so the latter only gives me a week to fix any problems that show up before the Indian trip.

[taugust]

Sorry for the long delay in responding, but I haven't been on much lately.

The dates for my Bradshaw Trail run are April 17-18, 2010. I am leading this as an "official" club run for Tierra del Sol 4WD Club. All guests (non-members) are welcome. There is no charge to attend. Please don't let the fact that it is another group's run discourage you if you want to attend. TDS is a very friendly club.

Last year I had 11 vehicles attend, both members and guests.

I usually camp on the bluffs over Truckhaven on Friday night to avoid the long drive early on Sat. We meet at the ARCO in Salton City (corner of Hwy 86 and S-22) at 7:00 am. We will drive north around the Salton Sea to the trailhead on the other side. We travel the length of the trail on Sat. and Sunday, ending near Blythe on Sun. afternoon. Return is open, but will probably be on I-10. I am working on another scenic stop near Mecca on the return if time permits.

On the trail, we will stop at scenic and historical points of interest, including: the Eagle Mountain Railroad trestle, Red Canyon and the bluffs above, Augustine Pass and the Chuckwalla Mtns. and several mines in the area, Bell Ranch and others.

Primary communication will be on 2M Ham radio, 147.48 MHz simplex. I will have CB radio but will mostly use ham for trail comms.

If you have any questions, PM me or email me directly, or post up here. The best is email (address in the flyer).

Chazz mentioned a light show. While It hasn't happened during the run the last two years, I did have one when I pre-ran the first time. I arrived at Augustine Pass Rd. after dark and setup camp. While cooking dinner, I noticed a flare in the sky to the south in the bombing range. I heard heavy machine gun fire (probably from helicopters) in the canyons to the south and a C-130 circling directly overhead for hours. The flares appeared several times throughout the evening. They were probably keeping an eye on me through night vision. Last year we several low flying fighters pass overhead on Sat.. Our military is very cool to see (and hear) in action.

[Chazz Layne]

Sounds like fun, 90% chance I'm in... I'll know for sure after this weekend.

I'd be coming to you from Joshua Tree NP out by Chiriaco Summit, would it be ok if I met up with the group at the trailhead?

[taugust]

Absolutely! Up till now, everyone has been coming from San Diego. Once we get closer, we can firm up location, as that may change. Last year, there was concern that access would be a problem. We had to alter the route from the guidebook starting point due to gate closures near the canal. I am going to try to pre-run parts to verify some locations in the next couple weeks.

[Chazz Layne]

Sounds like fun, 90% chance I'm in... I'll know for sure after this weekend.

I'm in. Everything went back together ok and the Disco is drivable once more.

[taugust]

Cool, will be glad to have you along.

[OLLIE]

It looks my son and I are about 98% sure onboard for this. I owe my son a camping trip and the 17th is my B-Day so I sold the boss on it that way.

[taugust]

Ollie,

It will be great to have you and your son along. It's been way too long since we wheeled together. And, for him, we will have some "bumps" and bombs.

[BorregoWrangler]

I would have loved to do this but I'll be up in Big Bear on those dates. Take lots of pictures!