Joshua Tree National Park - Berdoo Canyon Trail (into the Park) Gold Crown Rd (out of the Park)
Date/Time of the Run:
Saturday, January 17th, 2015 - 9 AM to 5 PM
Driver's Meeting @ 9 AM - Please have gas tank filled and ready to go.
January 2014 Run
Location:
Love's Travel Stop - Carl's Jr.
45761 Dillon Rd, Coachella, CA 92236
Berdoo Canyon Trail/Geology Tour Road:
Berdoo Canyon Trail will be the starting point of our day on the trail - The canyon, and later the camp, gained their names from a nickname for San Bernardino. Our group will pass an abandoned camp that was established to construct the Colorado River Aqueduct in the early 1930s, through the little San Bernardino Mountains, before ascending a dry wash on our way to Pleasant Valley with clear morning views of the nearby Salton Sea. Our group will have lunch along the Geology Tour Road - an area believed to first be populated during the Paleo-Indian period close to 9000 B.C. Our lunch spot will be near Squaw Tank - a Native American campsite with boulders bearing deep pockets where hunting implements and seeds were both ground into the rocks (where we can only walk/hike, not drive our SUVs. Our group will arrive at Park Blvd at around 1 p.m. where we will travel east, stopping at Jumbo Rocks for an unhurried chance to stretch our legs, and examine the odd rock formations that amaze travelers.
Berdoo Canyon steep climb
Into Gold Mining Country:
From Jumbo Rocks, our knobby and all-terrain treads will roll towards Old Dale Road where amazing vistas from the Pinto Mountains provide views of the nearby Hexie and Black Eagle Mountains. We will travel past the 449 ft deep Mission Well, continuing past the successful Virginia Dale Mine, continue along the trail above the almost hidden Golden Egg Mine which was worked until the 1970s and resumed and ended again in the 1990s. Continuing up the rough SUV trail past Golden Egg, we will finally connect onto Gold Crown Road - airing our tires up at Hwy 62. From here, we will be approximately 15 minutes east of the town of Twentynine Palms, CA where auto parts stores, restaurants and lodging are all available to travelers.
Difficulty Rating: 1+ includes some sand, whoops, soft dirt, rocky canyons,
narrow sections of trail containing washout/ditches, steep dropoffs and
hillclimbs). Swaybar disconnects will help in traction - but are not required, as will all-terrain-type
tires with strong sidewalls (along w/a good spare).
Run Type: Day Run (anyone want to camp out???)
Required: CB Radio, spare tire, jack capable of supporting spare tire change, drinking water.
Directions to meeting place:
Coming from Los Angeles/Riverside/Orange Counties:
Take I-10 East to Exit 146 for Dillon Road
Turn left traveling North on Dillon Road
Turn left again to Love's Travel Stop.
Carl's Jr. is located at the right side of the complex.
**Exact departure time from meeting place: 9:15 a.m. (please be prompt).
Lunch will be at 12:00 p.m. (high-noon!) alongside the Geology Tour Road at Squaw Tank.
Read: Backcountry Adventures - Southern California by Massey and Wilson
See you there!
Date/Time of the Run:
Saturday, January 17th, 2015 - 9 AM to 5 PM
Driver's Meeting @ 9 AM - Please have gas tank filled and ready to go.
January 2014 Run
Location:
Love's Travel Stop - Carl's Jr.
45761 Dillon Rd, Coachella, CA 92236
Berdoo Canyon Trail/Geology Tour Road:
Berdoo Canyon Trail will be the starting point of our day on the trail - The canyon, and later the camp, gained their names from a nickname for San Bernardino. Our group will pass an abandoned camp that was established to construct the Colorado River Aqueduct in the early 1930s, through the little San Bernardino Mountains, before ascending a dry wash on our way to Pleasant Valley with clear morning views of the nearby Salton Sea. Our group will have lunch along the Geology Tour Road - an area believed to first be populated during the Paleo-Indian period close to 9000 B.C. Our lunch spot will be near Squaw Tank - a Native American campsite with boulders bearing deep pockets where hunting implements and seeds were both ground into the rocks (where we can only walk/hike, not drive our SUVs. Our group will arrive at Park Blvd at around 1 p.m. where we will travel east, stopping at Jumbo Rocks for an unhurried chance to stretch our legs, and examine the odd rock formations that amaze travelers.
Berdoo Canyon steep climb
Into Gold Mining Country:
From Jumbo Rocks, our knobby and all-terrain treads will roll towards Old Dale Road where amazing vistas from the Pinto Mountains provide views of the nearby Hexie and Black Eagle Mountains. We will travel past the 449 ft deep Mission Well, continuing past the successful Virginia Dale Mine, continue along the trail above the almost hidden Golden Egg Mine which was worked until the 1970s and resumed and ended again in the 1990s. Continuing up the rough SUV trail past Golden Egg, we will finally connect onto Gold Crown Road - airing our tires up at Hwy 62. From here, we will be approximately 15 minutes east of the town of Twentynine Palms, CA where auto parts stores, restaurants and lodging are all available to travelers.
Difficulty Rating: 1+ includes some sand, whoops, soft dirt, rocky canyons,
narrow sections of trail containing washout/ditches, steep dropoffs and
hillclimbs). Swaybar disconnects will help in traction - but are not required, as will all-terrain-type
tires with strong sidewalls (along w/a good spare).
Run Type: Day Run (anyone want to camp out???)
Required: CB Radio, spare tire, jack capable of supporting spare tire change, drinking water.
Directions to meeting place:
Coming from Los Angeles/Riverside/Orange Counties:
Take I-10 East to Exit 146 for Dillon Road
Turn left traveling North on Dillon Road
Turn left again to Love's Travel Stop.
Carl's Jr. is located at the right side of the complex.
**Exact departure time from meeting place: 9:15 a.m. (please be prompt).
Lunch will be at 12:00 p.m. (high-noon!) alongside the Geology Tour Road at Squaw Tank.
Read: Backcountry Adventures - Southern California by Massey and Wilson
See you there!