COMPLETED: Anza Borrego Desert Meet - pre-Thanksgiving 2009

[The Roadie]

Attendees: Philberto, The Roadie, Teebes, NickNorie.

Pose by the anticline (geological folding) in Split Mountain



Sunrise on the way in



At the top of the Borrego Mountain Dropoff, before we met up with Teebes



On the trail



Parking in my favorite turnaround spot in "The Slot" canyon



Driving in The Slot





Parked at Inspiration Point overlooking the badlands.



In the badlands on the way to Pumpkin Patch





Posed on top of the Calcite Mine Trail - 100 mile visibility





Locomotive Rock on the way down Calcite Mine Trail



The shelf road is really wide at this spot

[The Roadie]

It DID get narrow from a washout in this spot.





Advised Phil to not roast a hot dog in the smoke from a wax-based fireplace log.



Ick - oily grease



Split Mountain



Sandstone Canyon, in the guide books as THE ONE TRAIL to ride if you only have time for ONE in the region.





In the hiking-only section of the canyon - used to be driveable but now it's blocked off due to sand erosion. I have pics of driving through here on my own and with Teebes.



Coming down off the ledge obstacle. Videos to come.



New steel sculptures placed all around Borrego Springs by philanthropist Dennis Avery (Avery Labels): http://www.galletameadows.com/

Map of the art: http://www.galletameadows.com/brochure/brochure.pdf





Sunset pic looking east 100 miles from the mountain grade leaving town.

[irishboy02]

Looks like a great trip. Dont have that scenery around here where i live

[AlekG]

Oh the days of silver and gold (trailvoys that is ...)

I think there's a country song in there somewhare ...

Great report guys.

AG

[That1Guy]

Heres my pix and two vids.
The anticline.



Here is a vid from The Drop Off of Bills and Phils run down


A vid of Phil and Greg on The Ledge


Bill on the ledge


And some randoms.







The best mirror pic while driving The Rodie Mobile


And my new desktop



OH yeah! And I must not forget to mention, I am only 2WD with really bald tires. Bill tried getting me stuck but picking the right line, the G-80, and a little bit of experience go a long way. Only time I got "stuck" was trying to back into a spot at camp. Needed a little tug from Bill and before we aired down at camp, but all I needed to do that time was let air out. So for all you who say 2wd isnt good offroad, oh you should only offroad with 4wd and to all those other 2wd bashers, I say .

[Trail X]

Wow guys... I didn't know you were going to go to the MOON! (at least, that's what it looks like to me)

More pics!

[Philberto]

My pics are coming as soon as I'm home long enough to upload them to Photobucket... Or maybe I'll ask my gf to do it...

-edit: Oh, and I think we can upgrade Nick to "Trail Ready"

--edit again: And in case anybody wonders why teebes isn't posting pics, he's out there for the week, so I'm sure he'll chime in when he gets back.

[bgwolfpack]

My pics are coming as soon as I'm home long enough to upload them to Photobucket... Or maybe I'll ask my gf to do it...

-edit: Oh, and I think we can upgrade Nick to "Trail Ready"

--edit again: And in case anybody wonders why teebes isn't posting pics, he's out there for the week, so I'm sure he'll chime in when he gets back.

Thanks again to Roadie for returning from the trip and posting pics up for others to see.

[Gordinho80]

Wow. Looks like you guys had a blast. Too bad we don't have anything like that around here.

[The Roadie]

The terrain certainly elevates the technical challenge to see the incredible sights. It's odd that we have to climb up from sea level to 5000 feet to even GET to the sea level desert area. And 5000 feet is about three times the highest elevation in New Jersey!

If I had to relocate back east I'd have to find a new hobby. Now I know why a bunch of well-off east coasters on Expedition Portal own expedition vehicles but LEAVE them parked out west for fly-out visits.

[teebes]

Made it back in one piece. Have a few pics of Coyote Canyon amongst others, but they'll have to wait till Monday when I have my laptop back.

Oh, and the water crossing was a bit deeper than last time

[The Roadie]

DARN! I was going to take them out to CC, but worried about the water. Deeper? Sheesh. That'll keep out the unsnorkled speedsters. Don't need hydrolock.

Take the trailer through the water, you nut case?

Anyway - video's out of the oven:

[bgwolfpack]

Very nice.

[EwingJK]

Nice trip guys! I wish I could have been there. The last time I was in Anza-Borrego was April 2006. Great pics!

[Philberto]

Okay, massive picture dump ahead!


Me: Right after sunrise, waiting for Roadie and Nick


More zoomed-out version, you can see the little brush around the entrance to Hawk Canyon


Roadie, Nick, and me


Same people, just different angle, with desert mountains backdrop


Gratuitous scenery shot


More calendar-friendly shot of Roadie in his turnaround spot


Leaving Slot Canyon


Suspended rockfall wedged at the top of Slot Canyon


A view up through one of the narrower spots in Slot Canyon


Some random pics of the group on the trail



More gratuitous desert scenery





Some of the sandstone concretions near the Pumpkin Patch

[Philberto]

Some more photos:

The 3 of us (pre-teebes's arrival) stopped at the Pumpkin Patch


At the top of Calcite Mine... Note the Salton Sea in the distance



Looking down the trail


One of the narrow slots used to excavate calcite



Gratuitous scenery take 3



Driving down Calcite Mine






That's a nice ass right there

[Philberto]

Gigantic Picture Post pt. 3

The most-photographed spot on the trip, the anticline




Stairstep on the way to Sandstone Canyon







Waiting for my turn:


Walking down Sandstone Canyon



More gratuitous scenery shots in Sandstone Canyon





Leaving Sandstone Canyon


Stopped for lunch


Interesting cut through the hills on the road to Borrego Springs


Stopped at Galleta Meadows


Our final scenic stop before parting ways

[Philberto]

And just in case you think I forgot, here's some video love!










They're not the best, but I don't have editing software right now, and it's hard to hold a camera/tripod offroad. Enjoy!

[MrSmithsTB]

Simply fantastic!

[The Roadie]

Teebes and I were just joking today that we could whip off a memorable outing like this on 2-3 hours notice max. The ones that take a week or two to plan, discuss, debate, and agonize over are the historic ones like the Rubicon and Wheeler Ridge and Death Valley. Although it really took me about 4 years to get ready and fabricate and plan for a mere 5 hours on the Rubicon.