Events/Trails Quick Mojave Road Trip

[Markuson]

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.

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Certainly not a difficult trail.
We were discussing whether the guide book’s medium rating was even justified. I think the consensus was that it was not labeled “green” (easy rated) because you couldn’t just drive without thought. You have to be smart about moguls and some ruts. Other than that, you could easily do the trail in any Subaru (minus the water crossing).

Just wouldn’t want anything but a short, high clearance trailer on the moguls.

 

[indycole]

@indycole awesome thanks! This definitely looks like something I could do in two days and one tank of gas.

It's a cool trail because there's more than enough to keep you busy for a week or you could do it as a kamikaze run in a single day. The 200 makes short work of the terrain, in general.

 

[Mogwai]

The water is pretty stale but I don't recall any smell when we went through. Here's our vid, was shot in 360 so if you're on your phone or touchscreen computer you can spin the video around to see @RET2 (who's behind me) and how high the water was.

Mojave is def a fun trail, we ran it w/ 2 trailers in tow, not of airstream size but they did great and really no place they wouldn't go.

 

[Markuson]

The water is pretty stale but I don't recall any smell when we went through. Here's our vid, was shot in 360 so if you're on your phone or touchscreen computer you can spin the video around to see @RET2 (who's behind me) and how high the water was.

Mojave is def a fun trail, we ran it w/ 2 trailers in tow, not of airstream size but they did great and really no place they wouldn't go.

I’m thinking the mogul section we took may have been an alternate route at that point. I seem to recall something about a 4 mile shortcut. I dunno.

I would happily do this trail again during Spring.

 

[ethernectar]

Our two days on the trail timelapsed down to four minutes:

 

[RET2]

Thanks, hopefully it will encourage others to hit the trail. If I didn't know better I would think was driving

 

[Union]

Sweet video, based on that, I wonder if it would be more interesting and a better use of limited time to jump on the trail around baker and head east from there? Did you encounter any deep sand?

 

[indycole]

Sweet video, based on that, I wonder if it would be more interesting and a better use of limited time to jump on the trail around baker and head east from there? Did you encounter any deep sand?

I think we all remarked that the trail would be tougher from east to west due to a few long slogs of uphill sand. Completely doable, just tougher.

 

[ethernectar]

Here's a few docs from the trip planning...

 

[Markuson]

Bethany flashes her street gang sign...

 

[Markuson]

Following the aircraft carrier...

(Zoom in and you’ll see @TRD Burglar has quite a roof-line!).

Cole is in front of him...

Edit:
OK...Auto-zoomed fer ya...

 

[SGT0311]

Really nice trip guys, and gals!!! I have looked through the photos many times and forced my wife and son to look at them, Ha!!!

 

[Roy Park]

There is a power line road to bypass the whoops section. It’s out of the way but you can haul ass down it. I think it worth bypassing. Those whoops are for dirt bikes and utv’s.

This is my buddies 4R doing the water crossing December 2017. We had a little rain before we went but not like this year.

I drove my Tundra for this trip and I have no fender liners and I was fine. But it was close.

 

[Union]

Whoops for dirtbikes? Oh man, that sounds terrible! Definitely going to plan to route over to the poleline bypass road or go full retard and install a long travel setup haha.

 

[TRD Burglar]

The whoops weren't that bad. Just a series of 2ft high sand dunes, one after another, after another for several miles.
The kind that put you in false sense of security with your speed, then the spacing changes and it throws the rear end up into the air.
Nothing that needs to be bypassed.

 

[Markuson]

The whoops weren't that bad. Just a series of 2ft high sand dunes, one after another, after another for several miles.
The kind that put you in false sense of security with your speed, then the spacing changes and it throws the rear end up into the air.
Nothing that needs to be bypassed.

Ya, it wasn’t like they were difficult. More about being tedious & feeling ready to be out of them. That was the only stretch where a trailer might have been a chore.

Most washboard/bumpy desert roads let you find kind of a happy-speed-sweet-spot where a bit of added gas improves the handling. These little whoops pretty much force you to take each one individually bc like @TRD Burglar says...as soon as you think there’s a rhythm...the spacing changes and your back end is going < WHEEEEEE like the pig on Geiko commercials.

Sort of an exercise in skinny-peddle driver restraint, haha.

PS. If my cargo area had been better-secured so that moving bags weren’t terrorizing my poor dog...this little stretch would probably be forgotten. That was my bad & I’m still apologizing to Bindi who suddenly hated my truck...

 

[Mogwai]

Ya, it wasn’t like they were difficult. More about being tedious & feeling ready to be out of them. That was the only stretch where a trailer might have been a chore.

Most washboard/bumpy desert roads let you find kind of a happy-speed-sweet-spot where a bit of added gas improves the handling. These little whoops pretty much force you to take each one individually bc like @TRD Burglar says...as soon as you think there’s a rhythm...the spacing changes and your back end is going < WHEEEEEE like the pig on Geiko commercials.

Sort of an exercise in skinny-peddle driver restraint, haha.

Really I hear the faster you go the smoother the ride

And lemme guess @Markuson was running gunner, one second you couldn't see him he'd be so far back and 5 minutes later a storm of dust and he was right on your tail! Rinse. Repeat.

 

[Markuson]

Really I hear the faster you go the smoother the ride

And lemme guess @Markuson was running gunner, one second you couldn't see him he'd be so far back and 5 minutes later a storm of dust and he was right on your tail! Rinse. Repeat.

Doh!
Yes. But it was made worse bc we didn’t know the truck in front of me couldn’t hear my radio even when near...at all...so when I’d report the need to stop...it didn’t get through.

Catching up on the whoops with extra speed was impossible.

But ya, I think @TRD Burglar will fire me from gunner next time.

 

[RET2]

Maybe the aircraft carrier thingy did it?

 

[Markuson]

Our two days on the trail timelapsed down to four minutes:

That is just really cool, Matt!