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April 2003
For more trip information, see TRIPS. |
CONTENTS |
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RODRIQUEZ CANYON We all arrived at the designated hopping off point before 9:00 am. There was some dispute as to the proper time some wanted to use Atomic time, which was close to what the normal people had on their watches, mine was a few minutes fast. The weather was cold and clear with a few clouds blowing in over the mountains. The following were present and accounted for: Jones, Kellys (in their new TJ), Morey (driving the Kia), Rice, Schaffer, Trice (in their new Rubicon), Anna Fewell in her new TJ , and guests the Lloyds. The caravan consisted of nine vehicles. The drivers meeting was held with no major items of disagreement. We were off promptly at 9:05 AM. Dennis Sullivan and I had pre-ran the trip the Tuesday before and all went pretty much as planned. We pulled off at Hoover Canyon and aired down. First thing we saw was the devastation that a fire can cause in this kind of country. It was amazing how the fire could seem to skip around and miss some places and then really ruin another section. The segment down to Grapevine Mine was uneventful, with only one U turn. On up to Camel Rock and seeing some of the locals and their way of life (We really thought some hillbilly or meth chemist might take a shot at us). We found the cut across to Jasper without too much difficulty and proceeded down the canyon. There were a few bumpy spots and, more wildflowers then I remembered from the prerun. There were some signs of water (really just damp ground), We got to Stuart Springs and stopped to take a look. Then off down the wash to Yaqui Well. One more U-turn when I almost ran into one of the Locals in his tarped over van, and then we were at Yaqui Well. We were moving at a fairly good clip and seemed to be right on schedule. We decided to skip a stop at Tamarisk and headed directly to the Kumeyaay Indian village site. That was fairly interesting with some ancient history of the area presented by Rick Schaffer and Ric Jones. The weather now got pretty windy with a few, very few little water molecules failing (It really wasn't rain but it did give you some thing to think about) We stopped at Blair Valley campground and had a very nice lunch break. The wind was still blowing and it got a little colder. Nobody mentioned it but rain was definitely on my mind. We took the highway over to Oriflame Canyon and found the trailhead to Rodriguez. The trail is not well worn and we had to run in and out of the wash on many occasions to keep on track. The boulders in that canyon gave more food for thought on a possible flash flood. There were a few rough spots and the trail was tough to follow, you weren't always sure you were in the right place or if you had gone off the trail. We finally arrived at the near end of the trail when we ran into the proverbial "Locked Gate". Thankfully we had Ric Jones the "Locked Gate" expert along with his trusty "gate key" to see us through. It seems that some of the locals put a chain and a padlock on the gate, but there is a open link in the chain, (which is hard to see) so that if you look carefully you can simply unhook the link and proceed through the gate and then "relock" it. On the pre-run we didn't notice it and spent about 15 minutes trying to figure out what to do. I tried to set Ric up on this, but his vast experience with locked gates came through and he had the gate open in about a minute. Once past the gate we hit the rain. We arrived at the Banner store around 2:30PM ready for some ice cream and tall tales. Then the trip was declared over. I realized then that we could have taken some of the other side trips and still finished in time but I had 4:00 PM dinner reservations. A few members decided it was too early to head home so they headed back down Chariot Canyon. Once past the gate they lost the rain, and it was like the gate kept the rain out, and they had an uneventful trip back.
FOR SALE GPS-EAGLE EXPLORER. Comes with case, DC adapter and data cable. $50. Don't leave home without it! CAll Ric Jones at (714)962-6215.
RUBICON PLANNING The Rubicon planning committee met at the Kellys and have started making plans. The plan is to go in on Aug. I I and spend two nights. On the 13' some arc going over to Boca and explore the Fordyse area. The campground at Lake Tahoe is filling up, so if you are planning on going, you need to get your reservations in. Call Carol for details. The next planning meeting will be April 5th at the Kellys.
The bylaws were written a little over 10 years ago and we are finding that they may need a little "tweaking". So, we will have a committee to make suggestions on changing some of the wording and for taking into consideration some items that have not been addressed. If you would like to be a committee member, please give Carol Kelly a call.
NEW REQUIREMENT? For various legal reasons we may be asking all members to submit a copy of their driver's license and a copy of their insurance card. Many of the other clubs are starting to require it. I guess there's been some trouble with people driving without a license or insurance which puts the club at risk.
MORE ACHEY-BREAKY I mentioned how forgetful I am, and I forgot to mention the really challenging wash that was an option for anyone to do, or not do. After we did the "up to the sky" trail and started down, about a half mile from the top, is this wash with a few rocks in it. The Dirt Devils members who went with us on this ran said "We always take this wash when we come here." It looked interesting so I turned into it and I announced that it was strictly optional since I was not aware of what was to come. After a short distance it became clear that there was no place to turn around! Also, this was no "trail"! Only one, Bob Matula, had the good sense to avoid this place. Everyone did the "wheels in the wind" thing and most were outside taking pictures (which I haven't seen yet) and spotting. Some of the drivers may have done a little spotting to! I don't believe anyone could go up the wash without the aid of gravity! If anyone had damage I never heard of it. It is almost impossible to describe what we encountered here, but if you are of a sporting nature, we will be back there again one day and we will show you the place and many more trails that will use up the whole day, or days!
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