Short Winter Trip 2020 - A Socal Desert Winter

richard310

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A small impromptu camping trip out to our local Sothern California deserts, going back to the basics of camping and relaxing this time around. Not much off-roading or distanced travel as we wanted to hangout a few nights per camp to unwind for the end of this interesting year. We started off the first two nights at Cougar Buttes and ended the trip with a few nights off of Old Dale Mine Road near Joshua Tree NP. The weather was chilly and windy with a few nights of rain but overall decent weather. Although it did rain, it wasn't enough to pack the sand as it was pretty deep, but I was able to rack up some more experience points in sand... plus a number of tip overs.

Excuse the mixture of DSLR and cell phone photos... And the crappy thrown together video too, which consists of dashcam and helmet mounted GoPro footage. Enjoy!

I had to find the campsite where the guys were already setup so it took some time and exploring, but of course, it was the last visible site off the main path. Had a few spills along the way but luckily had some friendly passerby's to help lift the loaded bike up.

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After a quick trail run on Day-02, we got rained on that night. Not enough to pack up the sand but enough to give everything a washing.

Day-02 Trail run:
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That morning of Day-03, we were expecting a storm to pass over us as we were preparing to pack up and head to the next site. We decided to wait it out for a few hours, but fortunately the storm skirted us. So we wrapped up breakfast and continued on course to pack up and head to the local cafe to further discuss plans as to where we should be headed. The storm cells were continuing to move in so we needed a plan as to avoid being rained on.

Day-03:
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After having a delicious lunch at 247 Cafe, we ended up deciding on heading southeast towards Old Dale Mine Road and find a place to setup there. Forecasted weather in that area made it prime as it was in the direction of the tail end of the rain cells.

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We camped just a few miles off of Old Dale Mine Road (Gold Crown Road) and enjoyed the rest of our trip there until we had to pack up and head home. It was a windy spot but bearable.

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And that's all for 2020. See y'all in 2021!
 
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It was a fun trip, even if we could only make it out for two days this year, just too much going on.
 
Nice! Though your continued adventures on two wheels inspire me to keep four under me lol.
 
Really cool. I'm standing over here in the envious crowd :D

The population density of the east coast makes finding the empty spaces a little more difficult.
 
Tell me about it... I miss being on 4-wheels although it is fun when I'm not having to pick up a loaded 500lb bike.

Two wheels puts you IN the environment, which is nice. I've told friends it's a lot like hiking, but faster and with slightly less physical effort.

4 Wheels is good too though...there's cup holders and air conditioning.
 
Bullshit. You guys don’t look hard enough.

Fair enough. Maybe the places I've found have just gotten too popular and well known because they've been shared by too many people or people geo tagged them in pics. I roll into a a favorite spot and someone's already there. Time to hunt for some new places.
 
Two wheels puts you IN the environment, which is nice. I've told friends it's a lot like hiking, but faster and with slightly less physical effort.

4 Wheels is good too though...there's cup holders and air conditioning.

...And all the amenities you can ask for with little penalty other than weight. And not worrying about terrain. And low fuel-water restrictions. And low chance of tip overs. And larger food variety. And not limited with cooking materials. And not needing to suit up to ride or suit down to relax. And having fresh clothes to change out into. And heater and AC.... MAN I miss 4wheeling hahahah.

I do love the "in-environment" aspect of motorcycling but I'm unable to enjoy what's around me without stopping. Take your eyes off the road for a few seconds and you're in a ditch or bush. Technically I should be stopping anyways to enjoy my surroundings...

Serisoulsy though, I'm enjoying my experience thus far on the bike :D and look forward to more!
 
Fair enough. Maybe the places I've found have just gotten too popular and well known because they've been shared by too many people or people geo tagged them in pics. I roll into a a favorite spot and someone's already there. Time to hunt for some new places.

It's only going to get worse in these times with all these yahoos getting trucks/SUVs, thinking they're in a commercial and overrun the lands....
 
Looks like a great trip!

OT: Who has the white gladiator? I am super interested in the little flap/wing in front of the roof vent? Is that to keep branches off or for wind? My roof is a super low pressure zone and always tugging up on the fan....
 
Looks like a great trip!

OT: Who has the white gladiator? I am super interested in the little flap/wing in front of the roof vent? Is that to keep branches off or for wind? My roof is a super low pressure zone and always tugging up on the fan....

That would be @Luke
 
Looks like a great trip!

OT: Who has the white gladiator? I am super interested in the little flap/wing in front of the roof vent? Is that to keep branches off or for wind? My roof is a super low pressure zone and always tugging up on the fan....

It works well for both! I can take close up photos when I get the truck back from Whiteknucle this weekend. You may be able to ask Vagabond Outdoors about it, I ordered the camper with it installed - but it may be a part they sell individually.
 
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