Monthly So Cal Off-Road Run

Nice! I might try those out. Can’t find Rodriguez canyon through my all trails app. Which trail is more fun? What kind of terrain?

 

Thanks for the tips. Holcomb Valley might come in handy one day. We stayed in McCain Valley (BLM) two weeks ago. SW of AB. We had to wear layers at sunset - damned cold - and windy - at ~3,600'. It was a shock.

Six weeks ago we went to Chimney Wilderness area (40mi. NE of Kernville) on BLM land. Three days/two nights and only saw 4 vehicles and a pair of bicyclists.

Years ago we dropped into Oriflamme Canyon from Sunset Highway. Short and easy.

 

If you look at the Eastern San Diego map here https://www.blm.gov/maps/georeferenced-PDFs you can see the trail off 78 east of Julian. Alltrails has it all as Oriflamme but it's actually several different trails. I have only gone down and up one side (Oriflamme), it had good views and was interesting enough to drive. I wouldn't call it challenging but I have a little bit of experience off road. My truck was 2wd open when I did it and had to get pulled up over two spots. Would have easily made it with 4wd, probably could have made it 2wd locked. The rest of the group went down Rodriguez and up Oriflamme.

Also shout out to @computeruser6 for being the first I saw to post the BLM maps link

 

Nice I will definitely check that out! Thank you for the description and tips.

 

Also those Blm maps are super cool! No idea those existed but will be using them often now.

 

If you download them in the Avenza app you can see where you are on the map.

 

Count me in

 

I'm new to BLM land, but caltopo.com has worked great for me. It is free for one map. I paid the $20 year for many maps (100?). Turn on the PUBLIC LANDS layer to locate BLM (orange color). You can also see USFS, NPS, FWS, and State land marked in different colors. Create the waypoints online. Save the map and use their phone app to access and download. I just recently realized my phone works as a GPS even when not connected to a phone satellite.

 

Do they still have that 4x4 playground there?

 

Yep

 

Still went to cleghorn and the fire road is getting pretty sketchy now. I can’t imagine a 2wd making it through anymore with out at least a locker

 

What comms do most people use?

 

Here's a popular entry hand held unit. Although this is for a dual pack, you can buy them singular.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01HICB5M4

Other folks use various in-cab mounted ham radios.

 

Thanks. I'm a noob when it comes to radios. Do I need a ham license for that?

 

The simple answer is yes. Although most do not have one.

 

yes you do. a tech license is easy to get and cheap.
2m and 70 cm is plenty for trail riding.

 

So I recently just purchased my first "book" in years and it was the best decision ever haha.

Had no idea this existed until I saw a comment from another TW member. It's a bit outdated "2002" but still has a lot of useful information on 150+ trails here in SoCal (Central Mountains, South Coast, Desert Regions) it even includes all the GPS coordinates etc.

I put the most common trail on here as reference (Cleghorn)

I've been riding the trails solo since I've moved back to SoCal but always down to meet new ppls!

 

I currently use a cab mounted CB Radio, but want to move to Ham at least as secondary. Can you get a tech license online or do you still have to go in person? Seems like a hassle with stuff still being shut down right now.

 

as far as I know you have to test in person.
the thing is though there are tests all over the place.
check here for a testing location.
http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-session

with those BF radios, you can contact the entire country using repeaters, 4ish miles LOS.

 

A few places have started doing online proctored tests.
You will need a webcam.

https://hamradioprep.com/ham-radio-license-test-online/