The Dirtbike Safari

The inspiration for this trip actually came from a video tape that came out in 1996. It's called Crusty Demons of Dirt and features some pretty outrageous stuff. Serious Motocross stars flying high off the top of some huge sand dunes, vertical jumps that boggle the mind and general mayhem in the dirt. After viewing this inspiring video I decided that what I needed was to hit the road and check out some new places to ride and create a little mayhem of my own. ROAD TRIP!

My first objective was to put together a rough plan of action for places to go and things to see. I grabbed my box of AAA maps and then went digging in my closet for my "Guide to Off-Highway Vehicle Areas of California". The latter is a compilation of various State, Federal and local OHV parks. In no time at all I had a rough plan laid out. The KDX and DR got loaded into the van along with a couple of sleeping bags, some clothes and an ice chest of ample capacity to hold the necessary hop and malt beverages needed for fluid replenishment at the end of a full day of dirt riding.

Day 1 - First stop, Clear Creek Management Area, located just 30 miles Northwest of Coalinga, this park is managed by the Federal Bureau of Land Management. Clear Creek is laid out in a valley going west to East. There is a gravel access road that follows the bottom of the valley and then winds it's way up to the top of the ridge on the East end. Along both the North and South sides of the valley are some great single track trails, 4x4 paths and fire roads, some trees but mostly open hill sides.

After unloading my bikes, I grabbed the KDX and went out for an exploratory ride. Within minutes I was having a great time winding my way up the side of the valley. The trails were cut through a series of bushes that were only four to five feet high. It was like being a rabbit running through the briar patch. Pretty cool! Up on top of the North ridge I found several acres of barren wilderness and a killer view. This time of year the traction was great. I could see though that during the dry months it could be a real dustbowl. Not too good considering the high level of asbestos in the soil.

After a bit I came back to the van and took a short break. I then hopped on the DR to do some serious explorations. I went back up on the ridge and then set my sights for the snow covered peak out at the East end. The fire road I was on wound its way up and down along the ridge. I would occasionally hit pockets of snow and mud that made for an interesting time. At one point I heard a loud "clunk" as I came over the top of a small jump. I pulled over and stopped to check it out. It seems that the two bolts holding the tail end of the exhaust onto the bike had come loose and dropped off allowing the muffler to drop down against the rear suspension. Not cool! I managed to find a spare bolt on the bike and accomplished a quick fix. Off and running again! I soon found myself up at the top of the mountain. It was an incredible view. After an hour or so I finally managed to tear myself away and gathered up the strength to ride down into the valley and back to the van for my first night of camping out. Not a bad start. I finished the evening off with dinner under the stars. (Beer, chips, potato salad and sandwiches, I spared no expense!)

Day 2 - I managed to get loaded up and on the road fairly early. Today's destination…Hungry Valley. Unlike Clear Creek, Hungry Valley is a State Run park, roughly 19,000 acres of mountainous terrain that borders on the Los Padres National Forest. Elevation ranges from 2,600 to 8,000 feet. This is one hell of a place to ride! I immediately took off on the KDX toward the nearest, nastiest, gnarliest trail I could find. Tejon 122. Nothing more than a rocky goat path that climbs up the side of a mountain from the bottom of the park. Yee Ha! I soon found myself negotiating some serious switchbacks with major drop-offs and some pretty hairy hill climbs. One mistake and you find yourself tumbling down the side of the mountain. My kind of riding!

Toward the middle of this trail I found another branch that went up even higher. In no time at all I found myself trying to get through some serious loose rocks and in some cases, tried to get through a trail that had been washed out or was sliding down the side of the mountain. At one point the poor little KDX started to overheat from too much first gear rear-wheel spin. I found that packing a little snow onto the radiator helped to cool things down. I finally managed to wear myself out on a hill climb and turned tail for easier trails. I got back on Tejon 122 and wandered on out toward the West side of the park. After a few miles of riding I became aware of the fact that I had not seen or passed anyone else on this trail during the entire ride. I decided that my risk of getting caught out there alone was fairly high so I turned around and headed back towards my camp.

After a short lunch break I took off again in search of more adventure. This time I got on Tejon 120. This was very similar to the other trail in that it climbed up the side of the mountain with some serious switchbacks and a touch of snow and mud. At the top though, it opened up into a wide dirt highway that looked to me like it was going to head all the way out to the coast. Again, there were only a couple other riders out on the trail and they were heading the opposite direction so I chose to play it safe and head home.

I finished up the day by taking a twilight romp on the DR around some of the less technical trails and sand wash in the lower elevations of the park. It's amazing how much territory there is to explore here. I will definitely plan another trip to explore some more. I finally bedded down for the night and enjoyed the sounds of the local vocal group led by none other than Wile E Coyote himself.

Day 3 - Packed up and on the road again. I took off East on 138 toward Victorville. North at I-15 toward Barstow and then off the highway at Hodge Road. This morning's riding area is called Stoddard Valley and is another BLM managed area. Talk about barren landscape! I felt like I was suddenly transported to the back side of the moon. This place was rocky, ragged, and totally barren. Not much to look at compared to the places I'd already been. Not to mention totally devoid of human habitation. No one in sight and no evidence of anyone having been there in a while.

Adventure is where you find it. I donned my riding gear and took off down the trail to see what I could find. Most of the trails were dual track jeep roads. Not too exciting. I rode up to the top of the nearest hill to see what I could see. More hills. Down into a valley and out further into the desert. I finally found some bike tracks so I knew others had been here. Unfortunately, there was not too much challenge to the place and after a few miles I turned back to the van.

On the way out I had experienced some problems with the acceleration of the van. It was really having a hard time getting up to speed. I decided to check it out before I hit the road. I almost ended up spending the night there. I popped the top of the carb and found major dirt build-up in the float bowl. I carefully removed the float, drained the carb, removed the jets and cleaned every thing. I put the top back on and tried to fire the beast up. Gas everywhere! Ooops! I forgot to reinstall the jets. This allowed gas to fill at least one of the cylinders and thus, hydro lock! I managed to get the jets reinstalled, then the float which I had also left out and then drained the gas out of the cylinders. I crossed my fingers, turned the key and to my amazement, it ran. Finally, back in business. The van ran great the rest of the trip (Thankfully!).

I took off South toward the San Bernardino National Forest with the intent of riding at Lytle Creek. Unfortunately, the weather took a turn for the worse and a major deluge came down. Not being up for mud riding I decided to take a break in Riverside and rest up a little. I got my laundry done and picked up a couple of parts from the local Cow-and-sake shop. It sure was nice to have a hot shower and a comfy bed to sleep in. I must admit that it was quite interesting to watch TV and see the couple next door on the screen doing something in bed (I guess that's what I get for staying at a $20 motel!).

Day 4 - After some serious highway driving I managed to make it to Ocotillo Wells. This is one of the eight main parks managed by the State. As with Stoddard Valley, this was yet another open desert area. Not too scenic and yet still rather interesting. I took the KDX out to explore some strange formations not far from my campsite. There were a series of mounds with some really great trails cut into the sides and along the tops. I managed to find some great places to do jumps and some great berm shots. Yee ha! The best part was the fact that I had the park to myself.

After some strenuous thrashing on the KDX I switched over to the DR to do some serious mileage. The park is fairly flat and borders the highway. There are main dirt roads that originate from the road and crisscross the desert. I just started circulating each of the roads just to see what I could find. At one junction I found a large hill with a fairly large sand dune pushed up against it. Another area was fenced off and had some information signs posted that described the region way back when and talked about the activities of the Indians in those days. Pretty cool. All in all it was a lot of fun to just cruise around without worrying about getting run over by someone or without having to leave enough time at the end of the day to drive home. Very relaxing.

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Day 5 - Glamis! One of the highlights of the Crusty Demons of Dirt tape is a sequence where Seth goes airborne off a huge sand dune and flies forever until he lands going ass-over-teakettle at the bottom. The location of this event? The Algondones Sand Dunes in the Imperial Valley adjacent to the town of Glamis. I had to see this place for myself. Dunes that are as high as four story tall buildings. Miles and miles of sand. Was I suddenly transported onto the set of Lawrence of Arabia?

Once again, I had the whole place to myself. I didn't even bother to unload the DR, this was definitely KDX territory. It was a bit of a disadvantage not having a sand tire but I still managed to have some fun. My first run consisted of a short downhill jump and then a fast swoop across the face of a giant dune. Too much fun! I soon tried blasting over the top of another dune and then attempted to cross the middle face of the dune. I had noticed the different color of the sand but paid it no attention. That is until I ended up going over the handlebars face first into the sand. Once again, ooops! The light colored sand was like fine powder. The front wheel plowed right in, the bike bogged and then stopped, I didn't. Thankfully, crashing on the sand is relatively easy on the bod. I jumped back onto the bike and took off again, this time taking notice of the sand color and formation. It was just too much fun jumping and carving the dunes.

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Finally I had to break myself away from Glamis. I still had more street mileage to do this day. I ran into El Centro for a fuel up and restocking run and then turned south for my ultimate destination, San Felipe, Baja, CA. The border crossing was a breeze. I did have to stop and show paperwork for both my bikes. Once provided, I was on my way. The drive was relatively uneventful. It's just a straight run down the coast to San Felipe. I did get stopped by the Federales. Over the last couple of years they have been setting up inspection points to make sure people aren't transporting guns or drugs through the country. By nightfall I arrived at the land of open desert roads, fish tacos and cold cervesa. Heaven!

Day 6 - After spending the night parked just outside of town on a dirt road, I decided to find a better camp site out in the middle of no where. There is one road that goes from town out into the desert and T's at another main dirt road called "Zoo Road". It was at this juncture that I made my camp site. The primary advantage to this location is the fact that it is right in the middle of the Tecate 250 race course. With the race only a couple of days away I was able to go out, ride sections of the course and also watch some of the racers go out and prerun each of the sections. Not bad at all.

My first run took me out along the power line road. This is the primary access road for the power lines which run from town on out into the desert up north. It's a narrow two-track road covered in sand with lots of whoops and a few hundred hidden rocks. Not the easiest thing to ride. I managed to get up to 35-40 mph but after just a few miles of this stuff I had to stop and take a break. I can't imagine riding 60-80 miles of this first thing in a 250 mile race. Not to mention worrying about the rocky mountain pass up ahead or the deep sand wash 100 miles after that!;

After a brief break I decided to head on out to the dry lake bed. This is one of my personal favorites in all of Baja. Northwest of San Felipe is a monster of a dry lake bed called Laguna Diablo. It's roughly 30 miles long and is just fabulous to ride. The surface is a thick crust of dirt that looks like dried mud tiles. You can blast right across the top of these tiles, throw the bike into a nice sweeping turn and get into an easy, controllable slide. Too much fun! On my way back off the lake bed I noticed a group of cows congregating right in the middle of the road bed through the lake. It's amazing how with all the room in the world they would stand right in the middle of the road.

The end of the day found me sitting in a chair just out back of my camp site. Good music playing on the tape player, sky changing from orange to red to blue to black, a warm wind blowing gently from the West, cold beer in hand and millions of stars coming out into the sky. What more could you ask for?

Day 7 - In the few times that I've been to Baja, I've always traveled pretty much the same routes and have visited the same places. This time, I decided to try something new. I fired up the DR and headed down toward the dry lake bed. From there I followed the race course which veered off the beaten path and up into the mountains outside of town. I had never ridden this area before and it was a novel experience. I made sure to carry plenty of spares and lots of water since you never know what you will encounter in Baja. Fortunately for me today, no surprises. The course followed a major sand wash up into a large canyon. It was simply a matter of keeping the gas on and my weight back over the rear wheel. I must admit, it was pretty difficult in some sections. The whoops were up to two feet high and it took a lot of energy to stay up on the pegs and deal with the pounding the bike was giving me.

After 50 plus miles of riding I managed to negotiate the canyon and get back out into the desert flats just south of town. I looped back up onto the Puertocitos road and rolled back into town just as the parade of race vehicles was beginning at the contingency line. Great timing! The contingency line is basically a series of booths and vendors that support the racers and the race. The cars, trucks, bikes and quads all line up to pick up sponsor goodies like oil and parts and show off for the fans. I spent the rest of the day checking out the different race vehicles and generally having a good time. In the evening I managed to hook up with the guys coming down for the Mulege ride. We had dinner, swapped stories and managed to kill a few Tecates that night. I was kind of sorry I wasn't going to continue on South with them.

Day 7 - I decided to hang around for a while to check out the start of the race. I had previously been told that the crossing at Zoo road was one of the best places to watch the start. I got out there early to watch the bikes go by. They are always the first out at 6:30 in the morning. True to form, they came blasting by in one minute intervals. All I can say is, these guys must be major animals. Two hundred and fifty miles of sandy, hot, whooped out desert. Most of this while standing on the pegs. Yeow!

Right behind the bikes are the quads. These guys rank right up there with the bikes. You can't just sit there and ride, not in this stuff. On the gas, on the pegs, and haulin' ass. Incredible! But the most amazing thing to watch is not the bikes, not the quads, not the buggies and not the trucks. The most amazing thing to watch are the people. These crazy Mexicans stay up all night getting drunk and rowdy, sometimes even building booby traps in the course by making big jumps where the drivers least expect it. Then when the race starts, these guys stand out in the middle of the course until the last minute. Stepping off to the side while the racers go by at 60 mph. Nuts!

I finally called it quits and loaded up the van. I was getting tired of watching the racers go by and I was really getting the itch to go ride somewhere with big mountains and really tight trails. So I loaded up the van and drove straight to Riverside where once again, I checked into a hotel for the night and slept in a real bed and had a hot shower. It's amazing how little things like a hot shower and a comfy bed suddenly become the most wonderful things in the world.

There's a lot more to this trip….stay tuned!!!

Day 8 - The next morning I took off toward the North. This time the pass over the San Bernardino Mountains was clear and sunny. I first tried to find Lytle Creek. After a few wrong turns I made it to the ranger station only to find out that they didn't allow OHV use in the local area. So much for the info on my California Off-road riding chart. I took notes off the bulletin board and then jumped back in the van. Luckily, most of the ranger stations posts notes on activities in the area and this one had directions to several camping areas that allowed OHV use.

In just 30 miles I managed to find Lake Silverwood. It's just North of I-15 in the pass between Riverside and Victorville. Part of the San Bernardino National Forest, this place has a nice mixture of fire roads and 4x4 trails. I managed to park at the foot of a particularly nasty jeep trail. I didn't know this at the time so I just jumped on the DR and blasted up the trail. Next thing I know I'm knee deep in ruts and struggling to get up some pretty serious hills. Not being one to back away from a challenge I gritted my teeth and battled it out. It was well worth the effort. At the top of the trail was the primary ridge road that connected the lake to some of the other camp grounds and riding areas. I managed to make it over to the Pinnacles staging area and beyond. All in all a worthwhile place to be. The view was quite spectacular as well. Mt. Baldy to the North was topped with snow and quite beautiful.

There were quite a few bikes out and most everyone I passed was quite courteous and made sure I knew how many riders were behind them on the trail. Never once did I have a problem getting run off the trail or being passed by someone in a hurry. The trails were in great shape and the creek crossings were not too difficult. I stopped to talk to a few people on the trails and they told me that you can easily cover over a hundred miles of trail all across the mountain tops from Mount Baldy to points east.

Since my vacation time was running lower by the day and my list of riding areas was not getting sufficiently smaller I decided to take off for Ojai in the afternoon. I managed to make it up over the pass and out of the LA area toward the coast in record time. I stopped in town for a quick resupply and then consulted the local ranger station for directions on where to ride. The map indicated that there is one particularly difficult trail called "The Ortega Trail" which was located next to the campground in Wheeler Gorge. I set off down Highway 33 in search of my destination.

Unbelievable! There really is a Wheeler Gorge and it was simply incredible. I felt like a tiny little bug traveling along the bottom of some immense rift in the Earth. I almost missed the turn for my camp site because I was gawking at the gorge. Once settled in I unloaded the DR and set off in search of the trail. Unfortunately, it was no where to be found. I looked around my camp area, I ran up and down the highway looking for a turn off but to no avail. Since it was Sunday there were no rangers around to consult. I have a feeling it is either shut down for winter or it may be permanently out of commission.

Never one to be cheated out of a ride I set off West on Highway 33. This is one hell of a great motorcycle road. It winds along from Ojai up into the mountains and eventually ends up over in the valley. I road for 20 or 30 miles before turning back. Not only was the road a blast to ride but the scenery was fantastic. I took note of several camp grounds along the way and also noted that the Ballinger Canyon riding area was further up the road. I intend to return in the future to check out that place. I finished out the evening by enjoying yet another sandwich and beer meal along side of a babbling brook down under the trees near the base of the gorge.

Day 9 - Pismo Beach! Yee Ha! I've been to Pismo once before but unfortunately, I was on a streetbike and was unable to enjoy the sand dunes to their fullest. This time, I came prepared. I took the van down on the beach and found a suitable place to park. Out came the KDX. On went the riding gear. Look out world, here I come!

Pismo is a wee bit different than the sand dunes at Glamis. Those were much bigger and went for miles. The riding area at Pismo is only five miles long and barely a half mile wide. There are no major towering dunes here but the shape of these dunes is somewhat different. They flow differently and have some wonderful combinations that are perfect for jumping. Luckily, it was a Monday so all the crazies had gone back to work leaving me all alone to terrorize the dunes by myself. Always being the cautious one, I scoped out the place first before attempting any crazy maneuvers.

Most of the dunes were drop offs. If you came from the ocean side you suddenly found yourself airborne with the ground way down below. If you went inland and then turned around you found yourself staring at a great wall of sand. Accelerate up to speed and hit the dune hard and you found yourself airborne once again. This time you could time it so that your landing was a little more controlled. It was too much fun!

One of the sequences in Crusty Demons of dirt shows a couple of riders out carving the dunes in the sunset. Unfortunately, it was mid-morning but I still managed to do a little carving. Not only that, I managed to get down in the hardpack and do a little flat tracking. Lay it over and gas it until the back end starts to slide out. If you make a mistake and fall, no big deal. The sand makes a wonderful cushion. I really wanted to go ride in and out of the water as it came in to the beach but knowing how caustic salt water is I showed a little restraint and stayed away.

I finally grew bored with the sand and decided to go search out another mountainous area to ride. The map indicated a riding area at Black Mountain up in the Los Padres National Forest. I asked a guy at a local motorcycle shop and he directed me out the valley to Lopez Lake. I talked to the ranger there and she pointed me off down the road toward Pozo. They must have had a good laugh at my expense. I took off in the van and read the first sign on the road which stated "Pozo - 15 miles". The next sign I read said "Pavement ends - 6 miles". I ended up following this nasty little road for over 7 miles. I counted nine little creek crossings (luckily they only had 6 to 10 inches of water in them). I lost count at the number of switchbacks and turns. Over an hour later I made it to the top of the ridge and found a campground called Hi Mountain Lookout. Whew!

I unloaded the DR and set off in search of something fun to ride. I found it. Yet another 4x4 trail on yet another mountain ridgeline. Boy was it fun! More nasty ruts. Killer Manzanita bushes. Thousands of loose rocks. A couple of really challenging hill climbs. A view to die for and more than 15 miles of riding fun! Apparently this trail was established by the SLO off-road club. I wondered why they would take pride in being SLO until I realized that stood for San Luis Obispo. Duh! I rode the trail out until it started to drop back down into the valley. Not wanting to get too far out I turned tail and headed back to the van for a quick break.

My next run was on down the mountain into Pozo. The signs indicated that it was only four miles down the trail and I knew that you could get there from the highway. Not really wanting to go back out that gnarly little road I was all for heading out this way. With only a half mile to go before getting to Pozo I found out why I didn't come in that way. There is a major creek crossing with almost 2 feet of water in it. No problem for the DR but a big mistake for the van. I silently said thanks to my friends back in town and then checked out the ranger station. Apparently there are other campgrounds in the area with more places to ride. I filed the information away for future reference and then raced back up the side of the mountain.

Once on top of the ridge I went west to see what I could see. There was a nice wide fire road that was in great shape. I managed to race my way along it for 20 miles before coming to a dead end. Oh well, I guess a trail has to end some how. I turned tail and searched out more fun in the way of a couple of horse trails. Lot's of fun but technically very difficult. I also managed to scare up a deer or two and saw quite a bit of other wildlife. Previously, I had also noticed the warning signs about mountain lions. Not having a riding companion and not wanting to become cat food I decided to once again play it safe and head for home. Besides, the fog was coming in and I was getting cold!

Day 10 - Day ten started with a trickle and ended with a major down pour. I woke up around 5:30 to the sound of water trickling down from the trees onto the top of the van. I realized that it was starting to rain and thought "How nice" and started to drift back to sleep. Suddenly I jumped up, yelled "Oh shit" and started packing like crazy. It was enough of a challenge climbing up that mountain in the van when it was dry. What's it going to be like in the rain? I soon found out. I started down the mountain at a painfully slow pace. About a third of the way down I encountered a rather slick section that consisted mostly of clay and had a fair amount of water running across it. With the clutch in and the brakes on I was barely moving. Five mile per hour at best. I began to notice the world skewing about. Instead of watching the road go by through the front window, the view was rotating around to the side window. Yeow! I quickly counter steered and managed to get back on track. An hour later I hit the pavement and nailed the gas, never looking back.

The drive home was miserable. Pouring rain with no end in sight. I had hoped to make it to Hollister Hills SRVA and then hit Carnagie on the way home the next day. So much for those plans. I ended up driving straight up 101 and then cut off on 880 and home.

All in all I had a great time. I covered over 1800 miles in the van, almost 400 in the DR and about 250 on the KDX. For the most part the weather was great and the riding areas fabulous. I will definitely return to most of the places I visited and have decided that definitely I need to do this on an annual basis. Next time, I might even invite a friend or two along! If you're interested in traveling around and checking out the parks I highly recommend getting a copy of the Off-Highway Vehicle Areas map. They have a lot of information on the parks including phone numbers to call for information. Most SRVAs have copies of the map or you can call 916-653-9072 to have them mail you a copy. Have fun!

Craig

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