Ken Cooke
Explorer Addict
- Joined
- April 18, 2000
- Messages
- 1,365
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Riverside, California
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '03 Rubicon - Tomb Raider
Trip Report
Three rigs from the Explorerforum.com page attended this fun run in the desert backcountry of the Old Dale Mining region. Mark Meenahan, Josh S., and me The Desert Outlaw traveled some loose, sometimes off-camber sections of the trail that at times resembled cliffs with tire tracks leading down, mining camps that were recently vacated, and of course, rock-filled canyons with tricky, washed-out paths for driving through.
We met up at Snow Creek Road on Highway 111 just south of I-10 at 9:25 a.m. Mark Meenahan drove north from San Diego in his newly lifted and outfitted Explorer sporting Warrior Shackles, 31" BFG A/T KO's, and a 2" torsion twist. Josh S. also piloted a newly lifted and outfitted Explorer with 5.5" Superlift, fiberglass fenders, Con-Ferr roof rack w/Hella's and Hi-Lift, and a sound system that rocked the canyons. My Ranger hasn't changed much recently, but I did discover that the 33" BFG A/T KO's *do* rub along those ribbed traction-lugs and the fender. I really do need to trim fender approximately 2"-3" in order to stuff those tires appropriately up front.
Anyway, we drove along I-10 to the Cottonwood Vistors Entrance, and quickly blew past the Rangers station, to the Old Dale Road entrance. After approximately 9 miles of high-speed washboard road, we began a 4-Lo hillclimb that took us into the mining district that to this day is experiencing some mining activity. Lunch was spent in a Truckhaven-like section of the Mining area where me, Josh and Mark all performed hillclimbs, lifted wheels, and even bounced frontends. We scoped a section of trail that DB-1 bent his tie-rod on, and we climbed some nearly vertical sections of dirt that must be seen to be believed.
After breaking from our lunchtime antics, we continued on Old Dale Road where another obstacle presented itself. We each drove down this section, lifting 1 and sometimes two wheels going down. Upon driving up this section, wheels were lifted and Josh's 'X' even became partially airborne. Josh has guts! This led to our next trail visiting O.K. Mine.
On the way to O.K. Mine, our guide Dan Wilson helped us spot several sections of the Old Dale community that now lie in ruins. He also pointed out routes to Ivanhoe Mine that I'll most likely visit in another month when his rig becomes fully operational. After some loose hillclimb sections that positioned our rigs off camber, meeting sheer dropoffs, we made our way to O.K. Mine. Dan noticed that the Vertical shaft at O.K. Mine was badly vandalized. The wood super structure which processed the Ore in this area was burned down, with just ashes and burnt timber left as a reminder of what Dan saw just 9 months ago.
Dan vowed to return to this area soon to photograph the remaining superstructures in order to preserve images of what this area looked like for future generations of mining buffs.
Exiting O.K. Mine, we were confronted with several obstacles which challeged our rigs - particularly a hillclimb with a few large rocks in the middle which provided some entertainment for all of our rigs to drive past. I actually slid sideways, bouncing past this obstacle. Josh witnessed the whole thing, and maybe he can explain what really happened here much better than I can. After another hour, we finally left the O.K. Mine trail and made our way to Brooklyn Mine Jeep Trail.
Before entering the trailhead, Mark became stuck in a sandy section of trail which led to his rig being strapped, and pulled by Josh S's "Rebel 4X4." The Rebel pulled Marks 'X' out after some tugging and pulling, and the two were finally making the hilly climb to Brooklyn Mine. Driving to the crest of this hill, you are confronted with what looks like a cliff that you cannot see past the other side. After getting out and walking most of the downhill section, I stacked a few rocks around a section of trail that experienced a tiny avalanche, and I ran back uphill to continue on down.
At Brooklyn Mine, much of the facilities are in good condition. A rock and adobe house still stands, with evidence of new construction meant to keep the structure standing. Old containers of cyanide and large quartz rocks with cyanide discoloration were seen in the area. After taking several photographs, we quickly departed, and continued on down the trail. The road out of Brooklyn Mine is at times narrow, and filled with rocks that call for paying close attention to wheel placement. Large boulder outcroppings were driven up, and like an R.T.I. ramp, we were able to check for cases of tire rubbing on fenders, improper brakeline length, and tire traction. Several photos were taken of all of this, and we continued on to the end of this fascinating trail. There were two distinctly different trails you could take through this canyon. An 'Extreme' trail lined with boulders and rocks requiring a minimum of 35" rubber, and low-gearing, and another milder trail which could be accomplished with a minimum of 31" rubber and at least 2 inches of suspension lift. Mark made it through this milder section as did the rest of us, but I would like to give the other trail a try at a later time.
At the end of Brooklyn Mine Jeep trail, we decided to go looking for Rattlesnakes! Dan led us up a tricky mining trail that led to this giant mine entrance. Upon walking in the entrance, Dan proceeded to flip over debris that could be inhabited by snakes or rodents. With a long stick, he knocked over objects one by one. He found no rattlers, but we did take home a snake skin that was recently "taken off" by a rattlesnake that was resting in this large entrance.
Dan then decided he wanted to lead us to an actual Bat cave! We exited this mine road, and traveled yet another off camber trail to a bat cave. At the cave, there was bat feces lining sections of the walls as well as the cave floor. The further we walked in, the more feces could be seen, and the more pungent the fecal odor became. Dan and Mark shone their flashlights on a section of the cave where Dan mistakenly walked inside of years past to find himself surrounded by bats! We patiently shone our flashlights on this section, and bats hanging upside down looked in our direction, awoke, and proceeded to hover about due to curiosity, self-defense, or both. Lying beside us, a young bats carcass was lying on a mound of dirt wall. This bat carcass was later carried outside by Dan who held it as Mark photographed it. With sunlight leaving our surroundings, we decided to head on out for the day.
It was only 6:15 p.m., but the extended daylight of the summer was but a memory. We drove our rigs to a flat section beside the trail used for camping and photographed our rigs against a stunning canvas of orange and purple sunset patterns. These photos may or may not have come out, but we sure enjoyed the beauty this sunset brought to this parched landscape.
Upon driving to the main road which was about 12 miles away, I found out that the hardware controlling my headlights was malfunctioning. I was able to run with bright lights, but that meant I would have to hold back the control arm to illuminate these headlights. Josh S. had a set of 55 watt Hella's attached to his roof rack which did a great job of lighting up this path. Mark had no problem either finding his way back, but my rig presented a problem all its own. After a few minutes of bumping around on the trail, the lights began to function on their own, and we were back to high-speed washboard running, and we made our way back to the main road in nighttime conditions. After airing up our tires in North Palm Springs we said our "Goodbye's."
Thanks again to Dan for his assistance in leading us to spots on the B.L.M. land that we knew nothing about, and to Josh and Mark for making this a great run. Hopefully Big Bear Bob and Thunderhorse can make our next run in the Old Dale Desert backcountry!
Three rigs from the Explorerforum.com page attended this fun run in the desert backcountry of the Old Dale Mining region. Mark Meenahan, Josh S., and me The Desert Outlaw traveled some loose, sometimes off-camber sections of the trail that at times resembled cliffs with tire tracks leading down, mining camps that were recently vacated, and of course, rock-filled canyons with tricky, washed-out paths for driving through.
We met up at Snow Creek Road on Highway 111 just south of I-10 at 9:25 a.m. Mark Meenahan drove north from San Diego in his newly lifted and outfitted Explorer sporting Warrior Shackles, 31" BFG A/T KO's, and a 2" torsion twist. Josh S. also piloted a newly lifted and outfitted Explorer with 5.5" Superlift, fiberglass fenders, Con-Ferr roof rack w/Hella's and Hi-Lift, and a sound system that rocked the canyons. My Ranger hasn't changed much recently, but I did discover that the 33" BFG A/T KO's *do* rub along those ribbed traction-lugs and the fender. I really do need to trim fender approximately 2"-3" in order to stuff those tires appropriately up front.
Anyway, we drove along I-10 to the Cottonwood Vistors Entrance, and quickly blew past the Rangers station, to the Old Dale Road entrance. After approximately 9 miles of high-speed washboard road, we began a 4-Lo hillclimb that took us into the mining district that to this day is experiencing some mining activity. Lunch was spent in a Truckhaven-like section of the Mining area where me, Josh and Mark all performed hillclimbs, lifted wheels, and even bounced frontends. We scoped a section of trail that DB-1 bent his tie-rod on, and we climbed some nearly vertical sections of dirt that must be seen to be believed.
After breaking from our lunchtime antics, we continued on Old Dale Road where another obstacle presented itself. We each drove down this section, lifting 1 and sometimes two wheels going down. Upon driving up this section, wheels were lifted and Josh's 'X' even became partially airborne. Josh has guts! This led to our next trail visiting O.K. Mine.
On the way to O.K. Mine, our guide Dan Wilson helped us spot several sections of the Old Dale community that now lie in ruins. He also pointed out routes to Ivanhoe Mine that I'll most likely visit in another month when his rig becomes fully operational. After some loose hillclimb sections that positioned our rigs off camber, meeting sheer dropoffs, we made our way to O.K. Mine. Dan noticed that the Vertical shaft at O.K. Mine was badly vandalized. The wood super structure which processed the Ore in this area was burned down, with just ashes and burnt timber left as a reminder of what Dan saw just 9 months ago.
Dan vowed to return to this area soon to photograph the remaining superstructures in order to preserve images of what this area looked like for future generations of mining buffs.Exiting O.K. Mine, we were confronted with several obstacles which challeged our rigs - particularly a hillclimb with a few large rocks in the middle which provided some entertainment for all of our rigs to drive past. I actually slid sideways, bouncing past this obstacle. Josh witnessed the whole thing, and maybe he can explain what really happened here much better than I can. After another hour, we finally left the O.K. Mine trail and made our way to Brooklyn Mine Jeep Trail.
Before entering the trailhead, Mark became stuck in a sandy section of trail which led to his rig being strapped, and pulled by Josh S's "Rebel 4X4." The Rebel pulled Marks 'X' out after some tugging and pulling, and the two were finally making the hilly climb to Brooklyn Mine. Driving to the crest of this hill, you are confronted with what looks like a cliff that you cannot see past the other side. After getting out and walking most of the downhill section, I stacked a few rocks around a section of trail that experienced a tiny avalanche, and I ran back uphill to continue on down.
At Brooklyn Mine, much of the facilities are in good condition. A rock and adobe house still stands, with evidence of new construction meant to keep the structure standing. Old containers of cyanide and large quartz rocks with cyanide discoloration were seen in the area. After taking several photographs, we quickly departed, and continued on down the trail. The road out of Brooklyn Mine is at times narrow, and filled with rocks that call for paying close attention to wheel placement. Large boulder outcroppings were driven up, and like an R.T.I. ramp, we were able to check for cases of tire rubbing on fenders, improper brakeline length, and tire traction. Several photos were taken of all of this, and we continued on to the end of this fascinating trail. There were two distinctly different trails you could take through this canyon. An 'Extreme' trail lined with boulders and rocks requiring a minimum of 35" rubber, and low-gearing, and another milder trail which could be accomplished with a minimum of 31" rubber and at least 2 inches of suspension lift. Mark made it through this milder section as did the rest of us, but I would like to give the other trail a try at a later time.
At the end of Brooklyn Mine Jeep trail, we decided to go looking for Rattlesnakes! Dan led us up a tricky mining trail that led to this giant mine entrance. Upon walking in the entrance, Dan proceeded to flip over debris that could be inhabited by snakes or rodents. With a long stick, he knocked over objects one by one. He found no rattlers, but we did take home a snake skin that was recently "taken off" by a rattlesnake that was resting in this large entrance.
Dan then decided he wanted to lead us to an actual Bat cave! We exited this mine road, and traveled yet another off camber trail to a bat cave. At the cave, there was bat feces lining sections of the walls as well as the cave floor. The further we walked in, the more feces could be seen, and the more pungent the fecal odor became. Dan and Mark shone their flashlights on a section of the cave where Dan mistakenly walked inside of years past to find himself surrounded by bats! We patiently shone our flashlights on this section, and bats hanging upside down looked in our direction, awoke, and proceeded to hover about due to curiosity, self-defense, or both. Lying beside us, a young bats carcass was lying on a mound of dirt wall. This bat carcass was later carried outside by Dan who held it as Mark photographed it. With sunlight leaving our surroundings, we decided to head on out for the day.
It was only 6:15 p.m., but the extended daylight of the summer was but a memory. We drove our rigs to a flat section beside the trail used for camping and photographed our rigs against a stunning canvas of orange and purple sunset patterns. These photos may or may not have come out, but we sure enjoyed the beauty this sunset brought to this parched landscape.
Upon driving to the main road which was about 12 miles away, I found out that the hardware controlling my headlights was malfunctioning. I was able to run with bright lights, but that meant I would have to hold back the control arm to illuminate these headlights. Josh S. had a set of 55 watt Hella's attached to his roof rack which did a great job of lighting up this path. Mark had no problem either finding his way back, but my rig presented a problem all its own. After a few minutes of bumping around on the trail, the lights began to function on their own, and we were back to high-speed washboard running, and we made our way back to the main road in nighttime conditions. After airing up our tires in North Palm Springs we said our "Goodbye's."
Thanks again to Dan for his assistance in leading us to spots on the B.L.M. land that we knew nothing about, and to Josh and Mark for making this a great run. Hopefully Big Bear Bob and Thunderhorse can make our next run in the Old Dale Desert backcountry!
