Outdoor Adventure USA

It's time once again for the OAUSA version of the outdoor travel advisor. The net will be a great opportunity to get some ideas for future outdoor adventures. The "5 Minute" idea is our way of getting as many participants as possible, as they each have 5 minutes for their adventure. Each will post information and pictures.

Don't be shy - if you have a favorite camping spot, hiking adventure, hunting trip, river rafting trip, 4 wheel drive adventure, or sky diving trip, post up with a description and pictures. As long as it's an outdoor adventure, it's fair game!!! So, join us on the net.

If you're ever down in the Anza Borrego area it's well worth taking a half a day or more to check out the 130 or so sculptures by Ricardo Breceda that are scattered around the outskirts of the town of Borrego Springs.
The serpent sculpture is one of the largest and most spectacular. It actually crosses a paved road.
As you can see here, you can actually drive right up to most of them. It's well worth while to get out of your vehicle and walk around them to take in the level of detail.
Here is one of a slightly larger than life size couple enjoying their Jeep outing although I think they are about to get high centered on the rock pile.
There are many smaller ones to check out. Here is part of a family of tortises. Some of them require a short walk to view closely. Many of the sculptures are of animals, particularly pre-historic beasties and dinosaurs together in their respective areas.
This sculpture of a miner and his mule is a ways off of the pavement but can easily be reached with a 4 wheel drive vehicle. Generally the only obstacle you will find driving to the scluptures will be sandy stretches of road.

More information on the sculptures can be found at these URLs -

https://www.desertusa.com/borrego/Borre ... tures.html

https://www.desertusa.com/borrego/bs-art.html

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/187180928244535088/

The Borrego Springs Desert Nature Center just off of Christmas Circle has a great map to help you find all of the Ricardo Breceda sculptures in the area.

http://www.abdnha.org/store/index.html

Goat Canyon Trestle Hike

The Goat Canyon trestle the largest curved railroad trestle in the world.

The trestle is 600 feet long and 200 foot tall and was built in 1932. It was constructed of wood because the extreme temperature changes in Carrizo Gorge (where the railroad was built) would cause metal fatigue.


The trestle is part of the San Diego and Arizona Railroad (The Impossible Railroad). The following book describes the history of the railroad and all the perils it endured through the decades.

Some words of caution for anyone thinking of the Trestle hike:

Wear a good pair of hiking boots, preferable ankle high or higher to protect from twisting an ankle bouldering.
Wearing long pants protects you from thorns and scrapes from rocks.
Take gloves to protect your hands from rocks.
Take plenty of water, more than you think. You will need plenty of water hiking in this terrain.
First aid kit in case you get tangled up with a cactus.

This is not an easy hike so make sure you are in good shape and never hike alone.

Even though the trail is pretty well marked. Take a paper map of the area and a GPS with the track loaded to confirm you are on the correct trail.

I prefer to hike in the spring because everything is greener and milder temperatures.

This was an awesome, yet strenuous, hike and I highly recommend it for anyone who likes trains, railroads, and the history of them.

Area Along Interstate 40 (Route 66) A motel along the Mother Road (66)
Vulcan Mine
Mojave Preserve Mining History
“The most important wartime production came from the Vulcan Mine in the Providence Mountains, which supplied iron ore for the blast furnaces of Henry Kaiser's Fontana steel mill and turned Kelso into a boom town of 1,500 people.” Panorama of Vulcan Mine Night hunt with UV light for fluorescing rocks Scott cooking up breakfast Concrete slab made a nice, flat trailer park View of Kelso Dunes from Vulcan Mine Road going long way around to Mitchell Caverns (since my trailer couldn't make the short way) Trailer Life
Mitchell Caverns
Path to Mitchell Caverns View from the path Cavern Views Very fuzzy pic of tiny spider-scorpion only found in Mitchell Caverns, about 1/8" long
Pisgah Crater
PDF on Pisgah Crater Lava Tubes
Arriving at the Crater View from the Top Mounds of Volcanic Soil

Well, I was going to write about Galleta Meadows but that was already taken.

Instead, I will write about a location suitable for a nice day trip or quick weekend getaway. The Santa Rosa mountain is a great trip with scenic vistas and enough of a challenging road. High clearance and 4x4 are preferred but not necessarily required. Watch out for large boulders and rocks on the forest trail.

The area is accessible from Mountain Center off California Highway 74 and California 371, Use Forest Trail 7S02 Yellow post sites are great for camping, with great views, There is a SOTA Summit at Toro Peak that would be fun to activate and enjoy operating from an 8 point summit.
My last trip up i did not take any real photos but photos do not do justice to the area.

DESERT WILDFLOWERS

Much of the American Southwest has desert areas, whether the Mojave or elsewhere, and spring time bring out the color. Every year is different with something new to offer.

Although there has not been much rain here in the southwest, there should still be some areas with decent wildflower viewing, and any excuse to get out exploring, is a great excuse.

Listed below are links and information regarding some of the more popular locations in the Southwest for wildflower viewing.

1. Anza Borrego Desert State Park http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=638

From their website:

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is the largest state park in California. Five hundred miles of dirt roads, 12 wilderness areas and many miles of hiking trails provide visitors with an unparalleled opportunity to experience the wonders of the California Desert.

For a current update with a map of the park, click this link: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=28694

2. California Poppy Reserve - http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=627

From their website:

This State Natural Reserve is located on California's most consistent poppy-bearing land. Other wildflowers: owl's clover, lupine, goldfield, cream cups, and coreopsis, to name a few, share the desert grassland to produce a mosaic of color and fragrance each spring.

3. Excellent sources for additional information:

Wildflowers.com - This site is a good source of information for all states and includes information on festivals, fairs and photography http://www.cwildflowers.com/California.htm

From their website:

Welcome to Wildflowers.com! This site is dedicated to helping you find the best wildflower viewing in the U.S.

Desert USA: http://www.desertusa.com/wildflo/ca.html

Plants Blooming Now In Southern California: http://tchester.org/plants/lists/blooms.html


GOOD ADVICE

These above sources of wildflower activity are a great resource to help locate active areas, but sometime there is no substitute for exploring. The benefits are discoveries of new areas and the pleasant lack of crowds. Often times our travels in the Eastern California Mojave Desert have revealed large areas of blooms that were not reported on any site. Here are a couple of examples:

Marietta Wild Burro Range

Located in Mineral County, Nevada, Marietta is the Nation's first formally recognized Wild Burro Range.

The 68,000-acre range is managed for between 78-104 wild burros (Equus asinus asinus). The burros roam freely near the ruins of the historic Nevada mining town of Marietta and the seasonally changing Teels Marsh.
The Marietta Wild Burro Range was publicly dedicated in 1991-- the 20th anniversary of passage of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.
The range is located south east of Hawthorne, Nevada. The area includes nearly 66,500 acres of public land. Patented mining claims around Teels Marsh and the Marietta mining district account for 1,500 acres of private lands within the area.
This is an old mining district. Open mine shafts, shaky buildings, unstable rock ruins and rattlesnakes are common. LOOK before you STEP, TOUCH or CAMP.
A BURRO HAVEN
Designation as a Wild Burro Range means the area may be managed "principally", but not necessarily exclusively, for wild burros. This is a national designation conferred by the Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). One reason for this area's designation as a range is the unique opportunity available for public viewing of the herd and its habitat.

LIVING SYMBOLS OF THE WEST
Congress said "...wild free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West...they contribute to the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American people." The Marietta Wild Burro Range is one of about 15 areas where burros can be found in Nevada. As of August 2011, there were approximately 38,500 wild horses (Equus caballas) and burros on BLM-managed lands. A majority of these animals reside in Nevada and are managed by the BLM.
The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971
The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act was passed, unanimously, through Congress and signed by former President Nixon on December 15, 1971. It became Public Law 92-195, which protects wild horses and burros within designated territories on both Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands. This law mandates that these horses and burros are managed in a thriving ecological balance with the land and as part of the natural landscape.
Wild horses and burros have few natural predators, except for humans and mountain lions.
Wild horses and burros have an average recruitment rate of 18% per year, so their populations double about every 5 years.
During the 1950s in Nevada, Velma B. Johnston, later known as Wild Horse Annie, became aware of the ruthless and indiscriminate manner in which wild horses were being rounded up from the rangelands. Ranchers, hunters and "mustangers" played a major role in harvesting wild horses for commercial purposes.
Wild Horse Annie lead a grassroots campaign, involving mostly school children, that outraged the public and ultimately got them fully engaged in the issue.
Newspapers published articles about the exploitation of wild horses and burros and as noted in a July 15, 1959, Associated Press article, "Seldom has an issue touched such a responsive chord."
In January 1959, Nevada Congressman Walter Baring introduced a bill prohibiting the use of motorized vehicles to hunt wild horses and burros on all public lands.
The House of Representatives unanimously passed the bill which became known as the "Wild Horse Annie Act." The bill became Public Law 86-234 on Sept. 8, 1959; however, it did not include Annie's recommendation that Congress initiate a program to protect, manage and control wild horses and burros.
Public interest and concern continued to mount, and with it came the realization that federal management, protection, and control of wild horses and burros was essential.
This would result in enactment of the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act.
Wild Horse Annie Act -
The Marietta Wild Burro Range is the first and only of it's kind of Herd Management Area in the United States.

Getting There
a. US395 to Bishop CA – about 265 from LA area. Then take US 6 out of the north end of Bishop towards NV
b. US95 to Tonopah. Then west on US6
c. US95 (or US95Alt to US95) south to Hawthorne. Then stay on south US95 to State 360

Trail Difficulty
Mostly class I , II and III - possibility of a bit of class IV. See Mitchel book for his definition.
Dirt roads, dusty, wash board, desert, mountains, steep grades, canyons, areas of soft sand, shelve roads, dry lake beds

How long is it, how much time?
This can be done in a day on a long weekend 0r 2 days if you camp. If you have more time there are several other trails worth exploring that are nearby. – eg Bodie , Arora and Masonic.
Seasons
Spring, and fall. This is desert: at the lower elevations (3500 -4500) so it can be hot in the summer. In the winter, the higher elevations (7000+) may be snowed in.

Elevation
4500 to 9700 feet
Cell phone signal
Intermittent – but always places where it is available.

Ham radio repeaters
The Bishop Repeater club operates a repeater on Mazourka peak [146.760 (-) 100 ] that is linked to the Bishop repeater [ 146.940 (-) 103.5 ] on Silver peak to the north.
They hold a nightly net at 8:00pm. They really like guests.

Tonopah repeater on Mt. Oddie is 146.460 (-) Pl 123. It has an IRLP node.

In the Hawthorne area try Corey Peak 146.790 (-) open
Access to Stores, Gas Stations, Medical facilities (distance)
Gas and supplies are available Bishop, Benton, Dyer, Hawthorne, & Tonopah
Dyer will have only one grade of gasoline. Mina no longer has gas.
The closest medical facilities are
Northern Inyo Hospital in Bishop 760-873-5811 150 Pioneer Lane Bishop
Nye Regional Medical Center 775-482-6233 825 Main St. Tonopah

Trail travel density
Very low.

Any special precautions, extra gas
Normal for remote travel in mountains and deserts
2 or more vehicles
Extra supplies, water, and gas


Camping options
Disbursed camping is allow
No formal camp grounds
It is possible to stay in a motel & do day runs from Tonopah, NV, Bishop, CA and Hawthorne, NV (plan to spend an extra hour & a half each way).
Terrain
Very remote
High view

What kind of vehicle do you need?
Recommend 4WD with low range. SUV ok
Driving Skills required: Normal Emergency Numbers
• Inyo County Sheriff 760-878-0323 Central dispatch
• Mono County CA Sheriff 760-932-7549 (Dispatch)
• Nye County Sheriff 775-771-7000 (non-emergency south area)
• Esmeralda County Sheriff 775-485-6373 Goldfield, NV
• Inyo National Forest HQ - Bishop 760-873-24000

Weather
Some spot forecasts in areas you might be near. They are only good for 7 day into the future, so check them just before you depart.

Teel’s Marsh
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.ph ... zi4zJ_n_mQ

Excelsior Mountains
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.ph ... zi5C5_n_mQ

Check in - Thanks - Bernie

Early check-in, please. Thanks Randy KF6KOC

Hey another great net looking foward too
K9ATK BRIAN
K9FOG TRISH
W9RIK RICK
KD0EXI CHEYENNE
KD0GPE AUSTIN
THANKS