Events/Trails Quick Mojave Road Trip (1 Viewer)

[Mogwai]

From the tracks it almost looks like you detoured north around Ft. Piute/Piute range? When we went in May 16' you couldn't pass straight through so we actually went south on this route: Mojave Rd Leiser_Rae_Detour_Road_Log - Final.pdf

Was just watching a 7 min long video of our trip and reminiscing about how much fun that trip was, and not to mention how completely crappy our videos were compared to the ones from this trip!! Mojave.mp4

Here's the track and waypoints we used for guidance: GaiaGPS - Mojave Road

And here's our actual track: GaiaGPS - 200s on Mojave Road

Regarding the moguls around Fort Piute, I recall some sections where the line mattered but nothing too extreme. Brad (TRD Burglar) and I both have top-heavy trucks and there wasn't really anything that registered more than 1/10 on the sketch-o-meter.

 

[BetoLC]

So with usual caveats about wheeling without backup is this a route one could do “alone”? Just the family and take it slow, bypass anything threatening? Plenty of fuel, water, satellite comms etc etc..

It’s hard to coordinate trips with others when you have kids but I think it’s so important for them to see places like this.

Once again, thank you all for colour, gps tracks and everything. It looks amazing!

 

[indycole]

From the tracks it almost looks like you detoured north around Ft. Piute/Piute range? When we went in May 16' you couldn't pass straight through so we actually went south on this route: Mojave Rd Leiser_Rae_Detour_Road_Log - Final.pdf

Was just watching a 7 min long video of our trip and reminiscing about how much fun that trip was, and not to mention how completely crappy our videos were compared to the ones from this trip!! Mojave.mp4

I think our only detour was the ~10 mi stint on New York Mountain Road about 1/3 the way through the trail. I had a waypoint for the part of the road through the Piute range that was washed out (which I think was the cause of the detour you took in '16) and we generally stayed on the official trail in that area.

I couldn't agree more about it being a fun trip. It's a shame that we'd put it off for this long. We've been to the Death Valley / Inyo area probably 15 times but this was the first time offroad in MNP.

 

[indycole]

So with usual caveats about wheeling without backup is this a route one could do “alone”? Just the family and take it slow, bypass anything threatening? Plenty of fuel, water, satellite comms etc etc..

It’s hard to coordinate trips with others when you have kids but I think it’s so important for them to see places like this.

Once again, thank you all for colour, gps tracks and everything. It looks amazing!

We saw other folks running the route alone. For peace of mind I'd prefer to go with at least a second vehicle, but at the same time I expect the wife and I to run it solo one of these days. Here's what I'd do if running solo:

* As you mentioned, make sure you have reliable sat comms and people you can communicate with who know your trail plan and what to do if you need help (i.e. they know how to buy a part and get it to you, know how to contact and pay for a tow truck if needed, or that they can physically get to you within a day or two if needed).
* Take some time on the trail. It's easier to damage the vehicle, tear sidewalls, etc. if you're ripping through desert terrain. Enjoy the journey, try to make it to camp early enough to enjoy the evening, do a vehicle check, etc.
* Run the trail east to west so you're going downhill on some of the sandy sections.
* I tend to be more risk averse when traveling solo and would detour around the Afton Canyon Mojave River crossing unless the water was super low.
* I'd only do the run across Soda Lake if it's dry.
* It's possible that our brief detour from the road took us around a technical mogul section around Rock Springs? IMO it doesn't look too bad from the videos but nothing ever does That said, as long as there's an obvious line technical obstacles don't bother me too much in the 200. The point here is that this section has at least a couple ways around it but there'd be no way to know without GPS and maps. We had 2 GPS systems, the Mojave book, and several paper maps for the trail. There were discrepancies across all the maps in particular areas; for example, some maps show a connector from the Mojave Road to Zzyzx Road but others didn't. If traveling alone I'd make real sure to have the map working on my GPS device (for me, Gaia Maps + iPhone) plus paper maps that cover the preserve and surrounding area.

 

[Markuson]

I think our only detour was the ~10 mi stint on New York Mountain Road about 1/3 the way through the trail. I had a waypoint for the part of the road through the Piute range that was washed out (which I think was the cause of the detour you took in '16) and we generally stayed on the official trail in that area.

I couldn't agree more about it being a fun trip. It's a shame that we'd put it off for this long. We've been to the Death Valley / Inyo area probably 15 times but this was the first time offroad in MNP.

I’d like to do it again when it’s warmer.

The scenery at our first camp site was truly stunning. A total surprise to me with interesting formations worth sticking around. If it hadn’t been so bitterly cold, it’s a spot I wouldn’t mind staying at 2 nights.

Cole posted a great over-head shot of the spot, & the cool formations extend well beyond our little nestled campsite.

Always smart traveling with buddies, though I do not personally see a problem with doing it alone, since it’s not a trail you’re likely to get stuck on without the water crossing. That’s the one part I would not want to do alone. For the rest, we did see a good number of other vehicles, so it’s not like you’d be out there in complete isolation.

 

[Mogwai]

So with usual caveats about wheeling without backup is this a route one could do “alone”? Just the family and take it slow, bypass anything threatening? Plenty of fuel, water, satellite comms etc etc..

It’s hard to coordinate trips with others when you have kids but I think it’s so important for them to see places like this.

Once again, thank you all for colour, gps tracks and everything. It looks amazing!

I remember thinking about this right after the trip, would I take the family alone and it was a definite yes. A. it's a pretty busy trail and B. even though it feels remote there are a bunch of entry/exit points back to the highway. I have a Mojave Rd book I'd be happy to pass along if you want it, gives you routes plus talks about everything along the way.

 

[Roy Park]

The whoops aren’t difficult. They’re just not fun. There’s so much fun terrain around Mojave, I hate wasting time on stuff just for the sake of staying on the “Mojave Road”. My Tundra is LT and even when I roll with a bunch of Tundras, we bypass it. But we never do the whole trail. We usually cut out and hit the southern areas of Death Valley.

 

[BetoLC]

Thanks for the thoughts and comments. I am a firm believer in paper maps to complement the GPS - learnt that one the hard way a couple of times...