Santiago Peak trail run 16 Sept 2017

I got it on the GoPro but the pictures were better

 

Thanks for getting all those pictures! Turned out awesome!

 

I have so many more but it is such a pain in the ass to upload them all

 

Fify
Thanks so much Erik!

 

Thanks for going through the trouble, they look sick man!

 

Agree!!! Thank you for all of the pictures Erik!!! They're really good "action shots"!!!

 

@LOLLY This is what my light setup looks like... pretty much in pitch black!!! It's not a head-on picture shot, but you can see the "light spread" with all of my lights on. IF I was to change out the bulbs in my KC Lights from "spot" to "flood" it would give that much more light spread. So far, I like how it is, but I may or may not change the bulbs?

Anyways, this is what I was talking about... this is in Anza Borrego/Ocotillo Wells, but I don't know this trail as I was following my friend. Him and my friend behind me know those trails really well. I'm starting to get familiar with some of those trails down there though and someday thinking about hitting one with my "FunTreks" GPS.


The pictures below, I believe were after we had gone down what is known as "The Slot". There is one drop off, this one, that has a pretty BIG STEP!!! See the very last picture... you know... the one with the A$$-end of the truck WAAAAY UP in the air!!! LOL!!! My DAMN "friend" was telling his girl, "quick, quick, get a picture of Randy..." while my body is pretty much being supported by my seatbelt!!! I must have squeezed out a block or two when that happened!!!






My friend said that the picture doesn't do it any justice on how hard forward I was tipping!!! Yeah, NO SHI* SHERLOCK, I FELT IT!!! LMAO!!!


Anyways, the amber pods up front REALLY HELP cut through the dust that is in front of you!!! I am SUPER HAPPY I got them!!!

 

This is the "roll out" from the parking spot where we lined-up the trucks to take pictures and rest a bit near the fork where I SHOULD have told Jay to make a right, but I just wasn't sure at the time! At the very end of the video, it shows a snapshot of the fork and I annotated the picture... for future reference that I hope will help someone if needed? Other than that, going to the Radio Towers is pretty simple... after the fact!!!

Right around the 5min mark in the video, it doesn't show, but I started looking back and looking around the area and what I started realizing was that the terrain was just ALLLLL WRONG!!! I was saying to myself, "I, most definitely, do NOT remember the hillsides being on both sides like that as well as just the overall feel of the terrain???!!!" That is when I just radioed ahead to stop the group, pull over, get out of the truck, get a better look at the terrain and towers in the distance and rush to the group as quickly as I could as to not waste anymore time than what was done already!!!

I hope you all enjoy the video still as the roll out is pretty cool to watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw7qxkT4zA4

 

very nice truck erik!
looks like

dang erik...nice truck there!
where is that photo taken if i may ask?

 

Actually it was Rabbit dry lake bed in Lucerne Ca.

 

I'm thinking about scouting "Black Star Canyon", but don't have a date set just yet. I will keep any of you posted that is interested. PLUS, I plan on scouting that "wrong turn" that we took that day as well near the peak. (see the vid clip I posted for reference)

Let me know if any of you are interested and we can possibly set something up. Now that I know the area even that much better (i.e. from Maple Springs Rd to Santiago Peak and even Indian Truck Trail to the 15fwy from the peak) I want to scout outside of those trails.

Finally, I will be updating/redoing post #2 with better maps and annotation here soon.

NOTE:
Black Star Canyon, from my understanding, is "haunted" AND there is supposedly some gun toting old dude that will actually point a rifle at you or he is somewhere in that area??? I don't know if that canyon is a drivable route up to a certain point and then the rest is hiking or what??? Again, this is a scouting trip more than anything and I'm NOT going to do that at night. If someone knows anything, then feel free to post.

sub-NOTE:
For the guys that did the 16 Sept 2017 trail run that day, you know how loose some of those dirt/rock areas can be for 2wd vehicles... just please keep that in mind if you're 2wd. If you're a member that didn't go that day, there were some areas that were a bit challenging for 2wd vehicles, but definitely doable. Either way, bringing some recovery gear (i.e. at least a tow strap) is advisable.

 

Black star is strictly hiking no off-road... I was just there and it is real loose but I made it up. Can't say the same for someone else who got stuck and had to turn around.

 

Thank you for that one!!! I did not know that other than people driving up to the trailhead?! I've never been and now I know.

Well, there is still that wrong turn near the peak that was taken that day. There is a "parking area" where trucks can line-up to take pictures. Well, when we left that spot, we made a left instead of a right to go to the peak (my fault btw). Now I know better, but that left turn had me curious ever since??? I just know that it leads away from the towers is all I know as I've never been that direction before other than the approximate 2-3 or more miles that was done before turning around.

 

Randy, keep me in mind in mind when you pick a date. I'd be interested I wondering around those trails

 

Cool, I will do that.

 

Same.

 

I went straight instead of turning towards the towers ... ran into that but I suggest 4x4 to go that far ... I had to engage it, skinny wouldn't get me back up .... also about 30 feet before that there was a turn off to the right but didn't wanna risk it being solo out there

 

na you just don't know the secrets of the skinny to make it up in a 2wd!

 

Very very loose rocks that threw me into the side ... 4H got me through but still lost traction in a few spots ... I'll go throug my go pro see if I can find it

 

ya loose rocks are tricky.....had a hell of time going through that stuff in JT, i wasn't locked at that time either.