Off Road Adventure

(click on the pictures for a full size view)

Craig and I met a group of friends yesterday for a bit of desert to the mountains and back again travel. Or at least that was our intention. The plan was to start at the Jawbone desert recreation area outside of Mojave, drive up into and through the Sequoia National Forest and down to Lake Isabella and then return via the lowland route to Jawbone. Of course no plan survives contact with reality. It was extremely windy at the desert, probably up to 60mph gusts but very sunny and not too cool. Our 5 vehicle convoy set out and climbed up through the desert to the tree line. We noticed along the way that many of the off road trails were closed by the BLM in an effort to restrict motorized travel through the desert. At the rate of closures soon no one except the Government will be allowed access to the desert.

We climbed up into the mountains where the wind dropped off but the temperature started going down as we climbed up. We stopped for lunch at this meadow. It was a perfect combination of sun, warmth, and peace.

Peace, that is until Craig started flying a R/C helicopter. Laura Ritter is about to get bonked on the head by the wayward aircraft!

We continued to climb in altitude and encountered more and more snow and ice the higher we went. We finally ran into too much snow at 8,000 feet and couldn't make it any further. That is Craig's head poking over the rock.

Rick Axt tried to carve a trail for us with his Jeep but he started sliding sideways and there was a downhill slope in the direction he was sliding. Maturity has finally taught us when to give up and turn back which is what we did and gave up on attempting to reach Lake Isabella on this trip.

Taking another route back down we came across this abandoned homestead. There was evidence of a mining operation in connection with the cabin.

Craig and I took the opportunity to plink at pine cones with the .22 rifle.

Further along the trail we came to this abandoned charcoal converter. Craig thought it resembled the upper stage of a missile. As we were exploring fog started to roll in and we thought the time had come to head back to the desert.

Eventually the fog and mist became so thick it was very difficult to see the trail in front of us. The outside temperature dropped to near freezing and ice built up quickly on the trees and shrubs.

When we reached 6,000 feet we came out of the fog and back into the sun. Returning to the desert floor we made our (slow) way back to the highway and back home by 9 p.m. What a way to spend a Saturday!