Help me plan a *lonely* trip through the SoCal desert

Stay cool. Keep a wet bandana on your head.



http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/Death+Valley+CA+USCA0286:1:US

 

I was re-reading John Steinbeck's "Travels With Charley"

He talks about the power of letting a trip develop its own itinerary - not rigidly following a pre-planned line on a map.

That struck a chord with me. That and the fact that you guys have re-emphasized the well known fact that June/July/August is pretty much the worst time to visit Death Valley. So while I do want to travel those roads in Death Valley - and also the Goler Canyon Road route - I probably won't do that on this trip, and will make a special trip to visit them some spring or fall.

So I'll stuff my truck with maps, and then start out roughly on the route I outlined - but then I'll just start seeing where my feet carry me.

 

Had a LOT of very enjoyable Saturdays on the motorcycle where I'd head out a ways, come to a crossroads, and ask myself "Wonder where this road goes?"

Had the GPS for getting home, but never used it on the way out.
Also had a few group rides that we called "Get fucking lost".
At each crossroads, the leader would pick a random direction. He would then fall back to the tail and the next rider in line picked the way to turn at the next junction.
Sometimes you end up at the end of a 20-mile dead-end, other times you find a sweet set of "twisties" up into a canyon nobody talks about.

 

well fuck me sounds like an awesome trip!.... the desert is one unforgiving motherfucker right now paired with this heat. Its a killer for sure, stay safe out their!

 

When the weather is 'right' it doesn't take much for some of us regulars to DV to get us to go. Hit us up.

Otherwise, Big Bear has a lot of fun stuff and so does the Sierras. Have a fun trip!

 

You'll never be alone with all those crazy S.O.B.'s running around in yer head


But hit us up in SD when ya get here if ya want

 

lol

 

National Rideshare week.
The next week, we had to fill out a form indicating how we got to and from work, and how many people ride with us.

HR lady was not amused when I asked if I should count the voices.

 

Hahaha, just saw this rich, funny shit .....

 

Some folks just have *no* sense of humour.

 

What are some good 2m and/or 440 repeaters I should program into my HAM transciever this week for that desert area and the eastern sierra foothills?

 

Good place to start...
http://www.snars.org/

 

For your smart phone, "repeater book" is a good app for finding local repeaters to your location.

 

Does it work in the absence of data connectivity? If I've got cellular, I'm unlikely to need 2m to request assistance.

 

yes. it's wonderful for that reason, but also because it includes any PL tones and offsets that are necessary to use the repeater. it also will tell you the distance you are from the machine. And it's free.

 

Nice!

 

PCH all the way!

 

I personally would leave the PCH only for a sports car or motorcycle - preferably with a beautiful partner and a fluffy dog.

 

that is awesome thanks for sharing.

 

Well, it's not exactly a stapler but:



and the following, from just outside Cleveland National Forest:




I'm not a prolific picture taker, but I've got a few more I'll post up tomorrow or the next day.

My original plan was insanely ambitious. No way I could have driven that route in just two and a half days. I got to my original proposed "friday" campsite spot Saturday around 3 or 4 in the afternoon, having skipped Anzo.

Because of where I started out in San Diego, ended up going thru Cleveland Natl Forest instead of Anzo (I could have Easted on 78, but I Northed on 79)

Highlights:

lonely 4x4 roads thru East Cleveland National Forest and BLM lands (camped early enough to set up camp and make dinner before dark)

Joshua Tree National Park (via mostly 4x4 roads)

Eastern Desert (via paved roads hwy 62 hwy 242 29 palms area)

9 mile canyon road/kennedy meadow road/sherman pass rd/great western divide hwy/CA 190 through southern sierra nevada. That's a very scenic route (pretty much all paved, but I bookmarked a gnarly 4x4 jeep road to come back to on another day)

Oh, and the Bald Mountain fire tower overlook is awesome, too.

Thanks for your help in planning, guys.