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johnnyg

route help

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hey all,

i'm looking to ride and camp my way from encinitas to death valley and back... i'm thinking i can slab my way to joshua tree area, since i've ridden most of the dirt between here and there. i've never ridden in mojave and would like to ride dirt but not get mired in technical, slower stuff, so i'm looking for input as to which routes i should take. i'm on a 640 adv with camping gear and i'm breaking down my itinerary as follows: day 1, encinitas to north of joshua tree/south mojave area (primitive camp suggestions?); day 2, cross mojave and into south end of death valley via baker (anyone know if harry wade road crossing the amargosa river is currently feasible? primitive camping suggestions?); day 3, spend time in dv; days 4 and 5, return home on same or parallel tracks. or should i stay west and travel north from lucerne valley and barstow? my bike holds 7+ gallons in the stock tank, and i'm an intermediate rider, but going solo. 

any thoughts, comments, advice from those who've ridden the areas mentioned is greatly appreciated. 

best regards,

johnnyg

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Sounds like an awesome plan.  For gawd-sakes please return with pics and a story for us.  Enquiring minds want to know.

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You could camp south of joshua tree in Berdoo canyon or something but you probably want to push further. Once you're north of 29palms probly better stay out of the military base, but anywhere else in dez should be all good there.

Find/download the BLM maps for the areas to get an idea

ride n camp n live!!

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thanks for the replies... i'll definitely try to get further than berdoo on day 1, have ridden it a couple times and would like to get beyond that area to start day 2. any issues with staying east toward amboy? 

thanks for the input, it's much appreciated! and yes, there will be photos and a write-up. 

best regards,

johnnyg

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I stayed at Amboy Crater one time. Probley not legal now. 

 

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When are you planning on doing this?    If you want to get a feel for the Mojave area/Mojave Road join the Big Bear Trail Riders on their annual Barstow to AVI ride Sat the 3/11.   I'll already be out at my river house.......I'll likely swing over and say hello to the crew Sat night.....

That would be a good orientation ride to acquaint yourself with the Mojave area.......you can easily swing north to Death Valley at Baker on your return trip......Kelbaker Rd. (paved) is one way to save some time as you punch north........you could also swing north through the New York mountains/Primm

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kkug and c-daddy, thank you for your input... 

i'm hoping to ride this sometime in march. i'd like to leave some of my younger brother's ashes at striped butte in death valley, so i'm not really looking for a large group ride, but it's great to know of other groups to look into, thank you for the suggestion. i also know the dv noobs rally is toward the end of the month, so i'll avoid going then. my other brothers were going to join me in driving and riding out there, but plans fell through... 

i'm essentially looking to ride across sheephole valley, mojave and the area north of i-15 to death valley, and then either loop back through trona and down the west side of china lake to hesperia area, or simply retrace my route and stay east. i assume i can't ride through china lake naval station or fort irwin on wingate road (south from panamint valley)? it's difficult to tell in my routing website (ridewithgps.com). i've never spent any time out there, so any dirt road routes or not-to-be-missed landmark suggestions are welcome. 

thanks for your responses, every little bit helps!

best regards,

johnnyg

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Johnny do you have https://www.californiatrailmap.com/That map shows all the trails door to door to DV.  Your biggest decision is to go West or East of China Lake when coming form the south. 

One option if staying in Joshua Tree is to head west to Yucca Valley.  You can ride north from Yucca through Rattlesnake Canyon (sandy in the tight wash but similar to Anza Borrego washes)  and skirt at the eastern base of Big Bear.  From there head north through Johnson Valley OHV into Barstow - plenty of random trails as it's OHV.  From Barstow you can pick W/E of China Lake. 

When going East, you can catch the big powerline road that LABV uses (sans crowds/dust as you're solo) and either gas in Baker or head north along the 127 to Harry Wade Road to West Side Road (dirt) up Warm Spring Canyon to Butte Valley Road -- where Striped Butte is.  Coming up Warm Spring Road there is an old mine camp on the south side of the road (hard to miss) where you could likely camp Or camp at one of the couple cabins in Butte Valley (double legality but I believe it's fine to primitive camp). 

West of Barstow there are trails that will take you through the Husky Monument and then up past Trona.  Camping and/or eating at Panamint Springs Resort is nice and they have gas.  It's a quick 15 minute ride to the waterfall immediately west of PSR and you can slab the twisties up the hill from PSR for a nice view overlooking the valley.  You might backtrack slightly to get to Painted Butte but take the dirt road through Ballarat (you could also camp near to here as well..) and you'll end up heading East into Goler Wash (the "steps" exist here but you should be able to walk your bike up if you're loaded) and onward past the Charlie Manson hideout and to Painted Butte.  Then, loop down Warm Springs Canyon / West Side Road / Harry Wade Rd and the 127 into Baker. 

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goofy, thank you for your detailed response... i've looked at the ca trail map site but hadn't purchased it, but i will now! 

i've been to dv only once, to ride motos... we trucked there and back, and got in a couple long riding days and i haven't stopped thinking about it since. we staged out of psr, rode titus canyon, ubehebe crater, racetrack, west side road, up to butte valley, mengel, goler, ballarat... it was striped butte and the surrounding valley that really stuck with me. i figured making a five or six day ride out of getting there and back would give me chance to see other parts of our deserts and mountains. i've never been through mojave preserve, and considered just spending my days there, saving the ashes for another time. your tips on routing have given me lots to think about -- thank you!

i appreciate all y'all's willingness to help, many thanks and best regards,

johnnyg

 

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