Bagstr 288 Posted January 9, 2016 McTrails and SurfnRide,,, Scout the horizon for Adventure Truly a Special Day in Anza Borrego More Later Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bagstr 288 Posted January 9, 2016 What would the Day Bring? Rain, Flood, Mud; all unknown. Given the short window for perfection after a significant rain, I Had to take the chance. The recent rains in town and the mountains, the sketchy un-reliable weather reports on dez conditions; created significant known un-knowns. :-) Lucky for me two Adventurers joined to explore. Excellent riders, even temperament allowed us to push as far as you can go in the Park. 54f at gametime, Clear skies, moist soil. Would the mud allow us through? Just! Mctrails and I arrive at the Sweeny Pass area about 0800 and took a few photos So. Carrizo Creek Lower Arroyo Seco de Diablo Upper We hiked up to a plateau in order to place ourselves relative to Arroyo Tapiado, Sandstone, Diablo Drop, Canebrake The "Flooded" Fish Creek near Diablo Cut-Across Trail Desert IT Motoz something? Below - ?? At the Diablo Drop we met Officer Don and had a great conversation about the park. Sunshine, cold breeze and after about 15 minutes we were getting cold and headed down to Fish to warm-up. Up stream to Sandstone Canyon. At this point I stopped taking photos because my hands were full navigating. About 1/3 or less of the way up there is a wall to wall rock and mud pile. The One route over turns out to have a 4ft hole on the backside with a Soft 12" shoulder of undetermined stability available. McTrails = Hole in one. SurfnRide = Clean. Bagstr = Hole #2 with shoulder roll. I am getting pretty good at the shoulder roll. We got through and the whole time while riding up and back, I wondered What if the shoulder collapses ? That would be carry the bikes over time. I followed the guys up-stream over many rock obstacles, just about the most I can handle. Actually, The Most I can handle. After the last fork, up the narrows to one final major rock fall that stopped us. On the way down, I played out That narrow shelf accent. Do Not accelerate on the climb! Have speed and roll over. Man. This is way down toward the bottom of the canyon and will restrict access to most of the canyon. The site needs another wall collapse to fill in the hole. So, we made it through as the washes were just dry enough to throw off the tire. We learned to avoid the slimy areas. All the washes had been flooded wall to wall with at least 4-6" inches of material eroded. Diablo Drop was damp but all the 4wheel chaos was still in place. Still a mess. We all enjoyed to the max the challenge and privilege of making the first tracks through the "Clean" washes. Only about 10% of the two track was visible making navigation something of a challenge. SurfnRide, McTrails and myself shared two beers back at the trucks while congratulating ourselves on how lucky the day had been. Bags Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beezzz 6 Posted January 9, 2016 Nice write up. Thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mctrails 38 Posted January 9, 2016 My riding partners for the day (the Troy Lee Designs twins) at the top of the hill we climbed to check out the view of the desert. Bagstr after taking a right turn into the "4ft hole" at the wall to wall rock and mud pile in Sandstone Canyon. We told him to stay to the left but he did not believe us... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bp619 104 Posted January 9, 2016 Nice pics bummer about the hole. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Reximus 10 Posted January 9, 2016 Those washes look prime for shredding! Great photos Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MacDuncan 132 Posted January 10, 2016 Nice report guys, wish I was there too, thanks for sharing! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bagstr 288 Posted January 11, 2016 How Much Soil/Mud will you pick up? And this Weighs how much?? The scoop weighs less than a pound - And the water? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
