Outdoor Adventure USA

OK, it looks like next Saturday it is. Here's the plan:

Description
Anza Borrego Desert State Park - Oriflamme or Rodriguez Canyon, Valecito Wash, Arroyo Seco Del Diablo, Diablo Dropoff, Fish Creek, Sandstone Canyon (if it's open), Hapatha Flats, Split Rock over to the base of Pinyon Dropoff, Split Mtn, etc.


Confirmed
sdnative
SSC
jdholder
Ralphie
THATSALEXUS?

Unconfirmed / Tentative
BorregoWrangler
Ollie
snowby4


Difficulty
Medium. Most of the area is fine for a stock 4wd vehicle with good ground clearance. A few rocky and off-camber spots. Sandstone Canyon, if open, has a number of rough sections, not for stock vehicles.


Meeting Location
Dudley's Bakery, Santa Ysabel
http://www.dudleysbakery.com/contact.html





Meeting Time
Saturday Jan.3, 2009
8:00 AM for breakfast, be on the road by 8:45AM

Fuel
Available in Santa Ysabel

Comms
2m Repeater - Palomar 147.030 (+103.5)
2m Simplex - 147.510
CB - Channel 23


Additional Notes
Bring extra clothing and gear for cold weather.
Minimum 5 gallons of water per vehicle AND 1 gallon per person.
Enough food for yourself for the entire day.

I am there. I will be in Vegas the 26th-28. I can do weekdays or the Sat. I will be going to Havasu at some point--good wheeling there.

Just let me know the day and time. Not too early, I need my beauty sleep I will bring your goodies.

Regards, SSC

sdnative wrote: Probably want to hit up Arroyo Seco Del Diablo, Diablo Dropoff, Fish Creek, Sandstone Canyon (hopefully it will be open), Hapatha Flats, Split Rock over to the base of Pinyon Dropoff, Split Mtn, yada, yada.

I am pretty positive the back half of Sandstone is closed for good. We're not talking about temporary barricades. We're talking metal poles set in the ground. The picture below shows as far as you can go. Just past this point is where BlueFJ's avatar was taken. You can't even see the spot where BlueFJ got his avatar from the barricade.

Ollie (K6JYB) wrote:Just past this point is where BlueFJ's avatar was taken. You can't even see the spot where BlueFJ got his avatar from the barricade.

Yep, I know exactly where that is. I was there when that picture was taken.

Matter of fact, last year one of the guys that was on our run said that the week or two before there were barricades in place, then when we went out, they were gone. Not sure if they were the same type, but they seem to come and go.

Craig or Steve, do you remember anything about that?


BTW, I see a bunch of mud in those videos so they did get some rain down there. Do you think it will be safe going near those steep walls in these wet conditions?

sdnative wrote: BTW, I see a bunch of mud in those videos so they did get some rain down there. Do you think it will be safe going near those steep walls in these wet conditions?

Depends how soon after a rain you go out there. There were small slides happening due to the sound of Johns jeep as we were going through Arroyo Seco Del Diablo. It was about as wet as I'd be comfortable going out there when we were there. Especially back behind Ocotillo Wells (the last part of my video). Diablo Drop Off and the canyon out to Fish Creek were smoother than I've ever experienced as far as the obstacles go. There has been a lot of rock stacking and hole filling taking place. Getting the Touregs through there this time wouldn't have been nearly as hard as it was a few weeks ago.

sdnative wrote:
Matter of fact, last year one of the guys that was on our run said that the week or two before there were barricades in place, then when we went out, they were gone. Not sure if they were the same type, but they seem to come and go.

Craig or Steve, do you remember anything about that?

Sorry Eric, I don't. That run where my avatar was shot was my last run before I heard it had been closed and I didn't hear about it being closed until the last Borrego Fest.

I'm in - I've never been to Anza - but looking at the pics, I think my truck is about 3 times larger than an FJ. So please let me know I am going to get stuck before we are 3/4 of the way through a slot canyon, ok?

The only days I can't go are 27th and 1st. Other than that, let me know!!

jdholder wrote:I'm in - I've never been to Anza - but looking at the pics, I think my truck is about 3 times larger than an FJ. So please let me know I am going to get stuck before we are 3/4 of the way through a slot canyon, ok?

The only days I can't go are 27th and 1st. Other than that, let me know!!

Well, some of the places we are talking about may be a little, um, interesting for an excursion

Do you have anything not so super-sized?

I think you will be OK for about 90% of it, but there are a few tight areas. I'll see if I can dig up some pictures.

No - I do everything LARGE!!

I will see what I can do. Just give me ample warning and I'll go guard the beers at camp!

jdholder wrote:I'm in - I've never been to Anza - but looking at the pics, I think my truck is about 3 times larger than an FJ. So please let me know I am going to get stuck before we are 3/4 of the way through a slot canyon, ok?

The only days I can't go are 27th and 1st. Other than that, let me know!!

All the tight areas were further in Sandstone which is closed, you won't have anything to worry about unless you plan to do the squeeze . You are only 5 1/2 inches wider than and FJ.

FJ Cruiser

Exterior Dimensions (in.)
Overall height 71.3
Overall width 74.6
Overall length 183.9
Wheelbase 105.9
Track (front/rear) 63.2/63.6

Ford Excursion

Vehicle Dimensions
Weight: 2989 kg (6,589.6 pounds)
Towing weight: 3266 kg (7,200.3 pounds)
Overall length: 5760 mm (226.8 inches)
Overall width: 2040 mm (80.3 inches)
Overall height: 1970 mm (77.6 inches)
Ground clearance: 190 mm (7.5 inches)
Wheelbase: 3490 mm (137.4 inches)
Fuel capacity: 167.0 litres (44.12 gallons)