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Posted by: sandjunkie
My brother-in-law and I were thinking about taking an exploratory trip to this area around the last weekend in September. I want to check out this area without the ToyHauler and the entire family so that I can scope out some good places to go and camp later on.
Posted by: sandjunkie
That would be great to hookup for a ride. I've never been or even heard of Olancha Dunes. I have almost solely been going to Glamis with the occasional trips to Dumont, Pismo, Johnsons Valley, or the Pinnacles. My brother-in-law just bought a brand new 400ex and so we thought we would get some maps and do some exploring. Maybe we could hook-up some time before hand and discuss? Will you be going to the Sand Sports Show in September?
Posted by: sandjunkie
Recon?
Posted by: sandjunkie
Thanks for the additional info. I will let you know what weekend we will head up when it gets closer. I have only been to the Chaparral sale once. Once the food and coffee started slinging through the crowd at 5:00am, that was enough for me.
Posted by: CdaleUSA
Hey if you guys want some good riding, small dunes lots of open desert nobody else except us desert rats, and all the ammenities of a small town, motel, grocerie store, mini marts,resturants, mobil park. Check out Trona, CA were about 30 miles east of ridgecrest on hwy 178, check it out it's a neat place to ride.
Posted by: CdaleUSA
reconranger,
No I don't work for Trona Chamber of Commerece. Is there one?? ; ) j/k no I'm far from a town promoter,
I just thout some might like to see some of the nice riding spots that this little hole in the wall has to offer. I've never rode at spangler hills/Charlies place as us locals call it, but the riding areas I have seen don't even look like they are worth the trip via bike or truck cus' I have the same thing in my front yard. I see all the people there at Charlies place but never see anybody drive the extra 20 mins. in to Trona to see what it has to offer. There is no disturbance from blm or police very rare sight to see a ranger/cop while out riding the desert. 10-15 min. ride from my house you can be at a nice little set of dunes overlooking China Lake NWC/Ridgecrest all kinds of washes to ride through many old mine tunnels to explore natural terrain motocross track. Great Falls in spring and fall there is water flowing down the falls and sometimes a pool of 4-6 ft. deep water to go for a cold swim in.(the blm has pretty much trashed the place from what it was to what they think it should look like)Used to be some really nasty hill climbs that made a boy a man. the locals are in the process of restoring/making new hills up this huge mound of dirt that came out of the canyon. as far as the Trona Pinnacles I'm really not shure if they are open to OHV's but I have rode out there a number of times in my life and have never had any problems. anyway sorry for the long post but I though some of you city folk' might like to see what there is for riding out here.
Posted by: reconranger
This area is east of Lone Pine, in the Inyo Mtns. Going to explore this area which is rich in old mining history, when the weather cools down. Anybody been there??
Would like to ascend on the Swansea Grade. "Inyo-Mono SUV Tails" by Roger Mitchell (his own rating system) rates it as class 3, with some class 4, and two short class 5 sections (may need a winch). And, then descend on the county road through Cerro Gordo ghost town and back down to Keeler.
Posted by: reconranger
Let me know if you want to hook up for a ride? I too was going to travel light, and check the area out for future trips. The elevation is high, so once you are out of the valley it should cool off pretty well.
Have you ever checked out Olancha Dunes?? I went there once. It is small, and the sand is kind of coarse. But, you have the whole place to yourself.
Posted by: reconranger
Most of the public land in So. Calif. that isn't national forest, is BLM. They have a nice set of maps that you can order online, see http://store.ca.blm.gov (You will be surprised at how much land they made into wilderness, so it is off limits to riding!) Other useful maps are the "Southern & Central California, Atlas and Gazetteer", published by DeLorme. It is bound like a road atlas, and a lot of bookstores carry them. I would also recommend the book by Roger Mitchell that I mentioned earlier. It also has great reviews of the history of the area.
Olancha Dunes is on Hwy 190 several miles east of Olancha, and is not far from the trailhead for the Cerro Gordo ride. It is a BLM open area. It isn't so great that I would make a trip up there just for the dunes, but if you are in the area, it is worth checking it out.
You ever go to Rasor? It has some nice sand. Nothing huge, but still fun http://bokasmo.com/pages/ohv/california/rasor/index.html
Picking a weekend for a trip is never easy because of coordinating everybody's different schedules. e-mail me and we can see what works out. (Doubt I will make it to the Sand Sports Show, I have never made it yet! Same weekend as the Chaparral sale isn't it???)
Posted by: reconranger
So, you work for the Trona Chamber of Commerce??
We ride Spangler Hills now and then. Can you ride out to Trona Pinnacles, or is it a closed area?
Posted by: reconranger
Thanks!! Have not been to Trona in years. Isn't there some area north of town that's great, but they went and made it a wilderness area? I'll have to pull my maps out and take a look.
Posted by: reconranger
http://my.iols.com/users/cqm/4wd_Trails/Cerro_Gordo/cerro_gordo_main.htm
Nice site that outlines the whole trip! We did the ride up from Keeler, this fall (waypoints 22 thru 14). There was a HUGE amount of flood damage everywhere from the summer thunderstorms. But, the road from Keeler to Cerro Gordo had been regraded, and was in very good shape. The 2X4 Rancher and Recon did the trip just fine. Cerro Gordo itself was a little disapointing. Not at all as big as it looks in the pictures. Unfortunately all the mines along the way, and the salt tram, have no trespassing signs. Takes the whole fun out of exploring!!
If you are going to go up the back way from Swansee (waypoints 1 thru 13), it might be best to have a 4X4 and maybe a winch. Don't know what the flood damage is like on that route, but probably bad!!
Posted by: HappywithVForce
Man, i wish i could get back into exploring like i used to do. I bet many areas are wilderness areas now! I have been stuck going to the usual sand dunes.
