Outdoor Adventure USA

During the recent net on desert destinations, the Bradshaw Trail was mentioned. Dave K requested that I post a writeup of the run that I led last year. I have led a run on the Bradshaw Trail for the past three years for Tierra del Sol 4WD Club. Following is the writeup that I did for our club newsletter. It will be somewhat light on photos because I am still on dialup and uploading takes a while. Sorry. I will be leading this trip again on April 16th and 17th, 2011. All are welcome to come along.

Bradshaw Trail 2010
April 16 - 18, 2010


The Bradshaw Trail Run in 2010 was the largest group and we got the furthest. Some of us finally made it to the final destination of the original trail: La Paz, Arizona.

Some of the participants assembled near TDS headquarters in Ocotillo Wells SVRA on Friday night and camped to be nearby for the early start to the run. We chatted for a short time before most went to bed early. There were some surprises on Saturday morning as Joey H. and Brady H. had some fun with a plastic rattlesnake. We packed up and headed to the Arco station in Salton City for the meet up at 7:00 am.
Those in attendance were: members Gary and Kathy R., Bill and Irene K., Lyle B., Bob and Denny L., Philip L. with Elaine L. and daughter Michelle, Joey H. and daughter Sammy, Brady H.. Joe and Sue H., Ron K., Carlos R., and Tim A., and guests Steve U., Rick S., Terry and Tracy M., Bruce and Virginia D., Shane O. and son William, Charlie N. with sons Anthony and Johnnie, and Bruce B. In all, we had 17 vehicles and 30 people. A nice large group it was. Even with that many vehicles, we had no trouble staying together and in contact with our 2-meter radios.

After a short meeting and fuel up, we left on Hwy 86 to drive around the north side of the Salton Sea, and the trailhead on the other side. At Parkside Dr. we left the highway and, after letting a train pass, met up with Bruce from Orange Co. We drove east, then north and stopped to air down as we left pavement. We used the same access as last year, crossing over the canal and traveling on the north side. This section of road was the Old Canal access road. There was an interesting discussion on the radio speculating how the stagecoaches and other vehicles navigated the canal.

The next stop was at the Eagle Mountain Railroad trestle where we chatted, snacked, walked on the trestle, took photos, and Joey and Sammy hammered rocks. Ron discovered that his rear bumper was failing, so Shane took over towing his trailer.
We soon continued on to our next stop at the end of Red Canyon. We drove to the end and stopped to explore. Philip tried to conquer some boulders, but was stopped. Some of the kids played in the shade of the canyon walls. We headed back down the canyon to a side canyon called Pinnacle Canyon and drove to the end. Here we explored some more. Philip and I drove up and out of the canyon, discovering the ruins of several mines and a sheer dropoff dead-end branch of the trail.
When we returned someone had found some large Chuckwalla lizards in the rocks. We ended up seeing many different types of lizards on this trip. We drove back down the canyon and out the east side, driving up onto a ridge for a beautiful view to the south and east into the Chocolate Mountains. Returning to the main trail, we stopped in Salt Creek Wash for lunch.
After lunch, we made a brief stop to see and photograph a large washed out section of the railroad and another stop to see the practice bombs left next to the trail. At about 2:00 pm, we reached Augustine Pass Rd. and headed north, away from the main trail. We drove up and over the pass and down into the narrow canyon leading north through the Chuckwalla Mountains. This tight winding canyon eventually opens out to views to the north of Interstate 10. We stopped at the 5 Acre Mill Site and chose our camping sites. Some were right beside the mill, while most camped in the wash below.
There was plenty of time to setup camp, cook dinner, play games, and explore before dark. The Londos set up their wooden block game and others drove up the canyon to get some target practice. Shane setup an HF antenna and made several long distance contacts on his radio. Steve set his fire barrel in the middle of the wash and the camp fire started early. He cooked his dinner over the coals. Some of us shared dinner and I made my usual triple chocolate and triple vanilla cakes. They were shared around the campfire and they both disappeared. After a long day on the trail, bedtime came early for most.

On Sunday morning, we packed up and left camp about 8:30 am and headed up the wash and out of the canyon to another mill or mine site. We stopped briefly to take some photos, then drove up the hillside to a ridge overlooking the main trail. With the low sun angle and the wildflowers, the hillsides were covered in color. After I read a short paragraph describing the mineral Bloodstone, which I had found, Joey started a hilarious round of people reading from anything they could find in their vehicles as we drove, including a repeater directory, sunscreen bottles, airbag warnings, and others. We reached the summit and headed down the razorback to the main trail, where we encountered another group headed up.
After a few miles on the trail, we took another side trip to the Bell Ranch site. The site includes an old windmill, corrals and a wildlife guzzler. Returning to the main trail, we picked up the pace and made good time. At about 12:30 pm, we stopped at the junction with Hwy 78 on the outskirts of Blythe. We aired up our tires and the group broke up at that point. Some headed for home on Hwy 78, some went into Ehrenberg, AZ for lunch and fuel, before heading home.

A group of six vehicles decided to continue on to the final destination of the trail at La Paz, AZ. This included Bill and Irene, Gary and Kathy, Bruce, Steve, Lyle and I. We found a small park with shade where we stopped for lunch. The weather was very warm, so the shade was a welcome relief.

Placer gold was discovered near La Paz in 1862 and a rush began shortly thereafter. The Bradshaw Trail was the ‘shortcut' across the desert and was very well used for quite some time. Now, all that remains of La Paz is a small fenced area of stone foundations and depressions where buildings used to be. It was exciting to finally make the end of the trail and see the remains of the town.
We headed south, back to Ehrenberg to refill fuel tanks and return home. We went west on I-10 and the group gradually broke up as each went their own way. It was a fantastic trip.

This was a great rip Tim. My son and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I regret that I won't be able to make this year's trip. I'll be tootling around in the Mojave Preserve.

There was a report made on this trip... http://www.oausa.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=1962

Goes to show you what kind of memory Dave has.

Good report and pictures! I've been meaning to get out there.

OLLIE wrote:This was a great rip Tim. My son and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I regret that I won't be able to make this year's trip. I'll be tootling around in the Mojave Preserve.

There was a report made on this trip... http://www.oausa.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=1962

Goes to show you what kind of memory Dave has.

Oh Ollie, you rascal!!

We definitely need to get you to listen to the nets more often!

During last week's net Tim was asked to report on the Bradshaw trail and we asked him to "repost" his previous article with updates and any new information such as the reference materials he mentioned. Mission accomplished!!!

Great writeup and photos Ollie. I had missed that post. Sorry you can't make it this year. Maybe next time.

Howdy
Great report Mc Mom and I have talked about that trail.
Will try to join this year