Warning: There are a LOT of pictures from this trip. If you are connecting via dialup connection, i would suggest going to make a cup of coffee or tea while the page finishes. It could take a while....

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The Mojave Road was originally used by the Mojave Indians as part of their extensive travel network across the desert. Later it was used primarily by the cavalry and the military, and settlers traveling to and from Prescott, AZ and Los Angeles, CA.

Starting near Needles, CA at the site of Ft Mojave, it winds approximately 138 miles to near Barstow, CA.

We decided to take Chris' (my wife) 2000 Ford Explorer XLT this time for several reasons. It is an easy trail, (for 4 wheel drive vehicles), i didn't feel like putting another 600+ miles on my 206,500+ mile Jeep, and 4 people and a dog plus everything for a 3 day camping trip just isn't going to work in a Wrangler! Also Chris has never taken this Explorer on a trail, and it was time to try it out.

We left Long Beach at 3:30pm Friday, and arrived in at the campsite at 12:30am Saturday. 6 hours of driving for 280 miles. And this was on the freeway!! First the 91 was jammed even worst than usual, 2 1/2 hours to go 10 miles. Then the Las Vegas traffic up the I15. When we finally got onto I40, i put the foot down and saw triple digits in my rush to get there. So of course i ran out of gas 13 miles outside of Needles! Thank god for AAA! We finally found Dale Davis and his friend, Roger Hauer a way back from the highway, and set up camp. That's when i found out a sleeping bag and the pump for the airbed had disappeared from the roofrack somewhere on the way up! By this time it was 2:30am Saturday, and we were exhausted. Fortunately Dale and Roger proved to be our saviors (in fact, they proved it over and over again all weekend) by improvising with an air compressor and the carcass of a bic pen to get the mattress up. Thanks guys.

Anyway, we got going on the trail by 8:30am, after waiting to see if anyone would show up. Two other groups drove through while we waited and in fact we would leapfrog them for the next two days. No-one else from the club showed up (which is, unfortunately, becoming a trend) so we took off.

First major stop was at "Fort" Piute. An outpost for up to 18 soldiers assigned to protect travelers and prospectors from the locals. The ruins of the Fort would suggest a living area of about 15' by 15' for 18 people to live and a slightly larger area for the horses in the next room! Perhaps it was good thing the Fort was only used for 6 months before being closed. Not much remains of the Fort now, due to Souvenir hunters, and pinheads with nothing else to think of.

 

Further on we saw the wagon train version of Surprise Canyon. Known as Piute Hill, it was one of the toughest parts of the Mojave Road for the travelers to traverse. Quite steep, with loose dirt and a lack of horsepower (4 or 5 horses!) made it very tricky.

 

We got to see plenty of the local wildlife, some more wild than others. Jackrabbits, Burro's, Caterpillars, and Snakes. One of the snakes had just been accidentally run over by a dirt bike rider (we think) while it was crossing the trail. It looked hurt, but none of us really wanted to pick it up to kiss it better, as it looked like a Mojave Green, which i was told is NOT the snake to piss off. 

 

We stopped to camp about 60 miles into the trail after passing several groups of "wheelers" driving everything from Full-size rigs to Soft-roaders, in an effort to reach a favorite campsite of our trail leader. Also there were a LOT of bikers from the Big Bear Trail Riders *ahem* flying down the trail. (Easy there, Dale!!) Our leader commented that he had never seen so many people out on the road. Hopefully this is a good thing. We were tired after such a long day of exploring, and walking around. In fact, Sadie, our dog had just enough energy to stagger out of the car, limp over to her blanket, collapse, and refuse to move!

Dale very thoughtfully brought his blender and firepit, so we stayed warm one way or the other until about 10:30, when we all turned in.

Next day we were back on the trail exploring and getting very good information from out tour guides over the CB. Again thanks you two, it made it much more interesting to know where the places mentioned in the book actually were. Chris drove all day Sunday, and i think she may even be catching the bug, as she enjoyed 4-wheeling her car over some fairly good bumps, and through some deep river crossings.

I was actually surprised on how well the Explorer managed on the trail. I had been worried as it is a "soft-roader" and only has all-wheel drive instead of a true transfer case, but it actually worked just fine. Though it did get "air" at times, including front left and rear right at the same time at one point. 

We decided to attack Soda Springs lake bed after some deliberation. Its a huge prehistoric dried up lake that is still wet underneath after it has rained recently. If the crust on top holds, its fine, but if you break through, you can get stuck in some very corrosive goop under the surface. We got over it without too much trouble. And stopped at the rockpile to add our contribution. There's a tradition of adding a piece of volcanic rock from the shore to the growing pile in the center of the lakebed. There is a plaque to mark a date in history in the center of the pile, but another tradition is to keep it a secret, so people have to go see for themselves. Also the beer cans where you have to put a penny in and the mail box where you sign your name to prove you were there are still there and in use.

We tried to look for the caves in Afton Canyon where the settlers used to stay overnight for protection from the Indians. But the route has been changed, so now you have to walk over to them. We finished our Mojave Road trip at the BLM campsite, and headed for home in time for the traffic returning home from Vegas. *sigh*

A very good trip, and very educational for us and the kids. My 4th grader is studying California history and this gave him a chance to experience in a way you cannot get out of a book. He recognized names and places that were mentioned, and it was good to see him make the connection. If you haven't done this trail yet, you may want to consider it. GO WITH A GROUP, the AAA driver (mentioned at the beginning) told us that he cannot get down there. And help is a long way away if a Rattler gets ticked off with you!

Tim Cooper.