Palm Springs, CA Trails

[BrownDogs]

Hi, all!

I'll be in Palm Springs for the weekend of Septmeber 21-22. I'm looking for some trails to ride on Satruday 9/22. If anyone has any plans in the Palm Springs area to ride let me know and we can meet. I have a stock 1997 XLT 4X4 so nothing too extreme.

I've never been riding up in Palm Springs so if you have any advice of what trails are good (for a stock 4x4)please tell me. Also, how far is Joshua Tree from Palm Springs?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[Ken Cooke]

Joshua Tree is a good bet!

From Palm Springs, you can travel down the I-10 to Dillon Road, exit Dillon Road, and travel north up Dillon Road to Berdoo Canyon Road. That will place you at the entrance to Joshua Tree NP. From there, you can see some of the mining operations that dot the area, along with a few "wild" sections that are both open or closed, depending on the amount of risk-taking you are up for. The Old Dale Mining District is a great place to take your un-modified X. The Golden Egg mine is located just off of the trail, and is a simple, white-knuckle access route descending to the Golden Egg mineshaft. Because of the pucker factor in accessing this trail, the condition of this mine is in great shape.

The route to O.K. Mine is in good shape, but with an un-modified X, you'll be pushing the envelope, but you'll have a great time. This trail ends at the entrance to Brooklyn Mine Jeep Trail - which will chew up your front end, and spit out control arms. It's a good time, but nothing you will want to take your stocker on.

Be sure to take plenty of water and travel with 1 other vehicle. The heat in the park might not be as bad as the weather has been around the Inland Emprire lately, but I would not want to take any chances. Tell the park rangers, "The Desert Outlaw" sent you, and they'll run to the parking lot looking all over for me! I played a trick on them in June, and they probably haven't forgotten me yet!

 

[BrownDogs]

Thanks, Desert Outlaw! Great directions... I'm getting psyched up.

If anyone is going up to Joshua Tree on Saturday 9/21 and wants to give a rookie with a stock Xplorer some pointers then I will be there.

I'm interested in that 'trick' you did on the rangers.

So let me know,
-Mark

 

[DesertSpive]

Berdoo Canyon and Old Dale are great, but you don't want to run the Jeep trail on anything smaller than 31s. It is one of those trails where 1st gear, 4Lo is too fast! The scenery is amazing, but there are some pretty rough sections that will test your dricing ability. Nice place to have a spotter. At any rate it is a great day trip, lots of fun. Bring water and a spare for sure though.

Old Dale

Jeep Trail

--Sean

 

[DB_1]

I'd be interested in going....i'm in the palm springs area so it would be a nice local trip.
Say desertspive...where exactly are those trails at in those photos?
Dave
db1_one@yahoo.com

 

[Ken Cooke]

Missing a little info on that Jeep?

What Desertspive mentions is that you need to bring a spare. What he doesn't mention is the brutal carnage that trail dealt on the Grand Cherokee's aluminum rim! It got what we call a, "Rock Bashing!"
What I did to get the rangers up in an uproar was post info about the June Gold Mine run on all of the Rave sites (SoCal Raves.org, etc), and this caught the attention of the BLM, Park Rangers, Local Police Departments, etc. And, the fact that the guy organizing the whole thing is named, "Desert Outlaw" they thought I'd be some hairy-armed brute driving some Mack Truck through their virgin desert! It was funny stuff.
I'll ask my wife if she's cool with me doing two runs back to back (Sat. the 14th, then Sat. the 21st). If things are cool, then I'll be able to make it out for a run in Joshua Tree. I know where there are plenty of old Mining areas that you'll need 4WD to reach. With 31s and a little determination, you'll reach the locations without too much trouble...:redexp:

 

[DesertSpive]

Originally posted by DB_1

Say desertspive...where exactly are those trails at in those photos?
Dave
db1_one@yahoo.com

Old Dale comes from the Southern entrance to Joshua Tree north in to the hills just outside of the park. The jeep trail runs from a fork off Old Dale and heads northeast back to Highway 62.

Trust me that trail was a b!tch! I marred one of my rims but the Jeep bent a rim and got a flat. And he was on BFGs too. Like I said, you don't want to do it with less than 31s. Be preparred to drag your diff on rocks, and to use your skidplates. It is hard to tell in the pic, but the Jeep trail is covered in rocks the size of your head. And the trail is only about a car width and a half at the widest, and a car width at the narrowest. Be preparred for jegged rocks sticking out of the hillside on one side ready to drag across your doors, while the sheer drop off on the other side is a little close for comfort in other areas. Oh, did I mention it is rough. Hope you have new kidneys. One more thing. It'll take 2-3 hours to go about 5 miles. Is it fun? You are damn right it is fun!

--Sean

 

[DB_1]

Sounds awesome, i'd like to run it sometime but i know if we all meet for a run we'd want to keep it on the mild side so everyone can run together.
Dave

 

[Ken Cooke]

Monsoon Rains

I heard from my friend "Desert Dan" that local monsoonal rains have fallen in the 29 Palms area, affecting the trails - hopefully for the better! This should make things a little interesting since just a little rain can carve deep canyons in the dirt, making a little noticed section challenging and sometimes impassable!:roll:
As far as mild goes, Desert Dan took his bone-stock Explorer with 30" Goodyear MT/Rs on many of these trails in the Old Dale area, and he came out fine. His only difficult moment came when he attempted driving down ROCKHOUSE CANYON, where he completely blew out his control arm assembly, dented his skidplates, and was forced to limp back to Palm Springs and to the dealership for a "tune-up."
If the Mrs. comes along, she won't be in the mood for too much Rockin' & Rollin', but we'll see what is out there for the fun of it, and take it from there...

 

[BrownDogs]

Full Moon

I'm glad to hear that there is some interest in going up to Palm Springs area on Saturday 9/21. I just checked the calendar and it's a full moon on 9/21. I won't be out in the desert at night but it should be really neat to see the full moon rise out in the desert.

If you blow out the control arm, how do you limp home? Is it still driveable? How much $$$ does that take to fix?

-Mark

 

[Ken Cooke]

Control Arm$

I don't know exactly what Dan did to get his rig home. What I do know is, is that he took his truck to the dealership, and told the mechanics that he accidently hit a sidewalk. He washed off the dirt, and crossed his fingers that nobody would notice the skidplates. $1,100 worth of damage was fixed under warranty...

 

[BrownDogs]

Wheels and Lift

Can I put on 31 x 10.5 x 15 on the stock 15 inch rims of a 1997 Explorer with no mods yet? Anyone know the width of the stock 15 inch rims for a 1997?

I'm thinking about doing the torsion lift for the front and Warrior shackles on the rear to raise about 1.5 inches all around. Is this lift needed to put 31s on? What would be the biggest tires if I did the torsion and shackle lifts?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[BrownDogs]

Rim Width

I've found the answer to one of my questions. My door panel sticker says 15 x 7 rims. So how big can I go with these rims? I may lift 1.5 inces with shackles and torsion lift. I'd like to fit 31" or 32" tires. Anyone have the stock rims with BFG All-Terrians? What size and did you have to lift?

-Mark

 

[DesertSpive]

31x10.5s are OK for a 15x7 rim.

--Sean

 

[DB_1]

I was thinking since Mark is already going to be in Palm Springs at the time of the run and looks like the rest of you will be coming from the west on the 10, that Windy Point might be a good meeting place for everyone and plus we can have a little fun in the sand there before we move on to the trails. For you guys coming from the west on the 10 take hwy 111 like your heading into Palm Springs. As soon as you take that turn off look for snow creek road on the right hand side. As for you Mark take 111 like your leaving town and look for Snow Creek road on the left hand side and I guess whoever gets there first just pull over where you'll be seen. It's hard not to be seen on that road cause it's pretty desolate.
Let me know if that sounds good to everyone.
Thanks,
Dave

 

[Big Bear Bob]

So I have to wonder if 31s and a TT Warrior Shackle lift will do the trick out there? I mean if "Desert Dan" had 30s on I mean there's only a half inch difference in lift between 30's and 31s.
I know I'm a newbie but I really do want to keep the differential intact if possible

 

[BrownDogs]

Dave, this sounds good. Thanks for picking a meeting spot. What time do you guys think you'll all be there? Since I'll already be up in Palm Springs I can meet any time.

So how many do we have for the run?

Here is a list of those who expressed interest. Please confirm if you'll be going? Also, feel free to invite others.

Mark YES
Ken ?
DesertSpive (Sean) ?
DB_1 (Dave) ?
Big Bear Bob ?

Also, do you think it is a good idea to exchange cell phone numbers before hand? Privately, please, not on the board.

 

[Ken Cooke]

My cell phone # is (909) 255-1589

I'm definitely down for going and having a good time. I really want to check out O.K. Mine again with you guys, as it is a nice run with a couple of challenging spots. The Golden Egg mine is a blast, and a little sand would be fun too. Berdoo Canyon Road is a nice warmup and is also on the mild side.
A rig with 31's will do just fine out there. There are a few spots on the O.K. Mine trail that test your clearance, but nothing will get trashed out there. Because the temperatures will be on the warm side, please - everyone bring 1-2 gallons of water per person. That way, if our Fords take a dive, we'll be drinking plenty of water, not dying of thirst!
I'll meet everyone Saturday the 21st at let's say...9 a.m.

 

[DB_1]

9 am on sat sounds good to me...also we should get a count on who has CB's and agree to a channel, how does channel 21 sound? Email me for my cell #
I'm a yes on that list markmeen.

db1_one@yahoo.com

 

[Ken Cooke]

CB Channels

In the Joshua Tree/Palm Springs area, Channel 33 works the best... That's my understanding from past experience, and Harry Lewellyn (Ecological 4 Wheeling)...