> AG, I'll be there in my new (yes, picked it up Wednesday) gas
> guzzling 4
> wheel drive SUV in about 10 days. The photographs are
> wonderful and I look
> forward to spending a couple of days there. Bill Barber
It'll be such a shame to get a scratch on that brand new truck.
But, oh well, either you or some moron with a key.
Air those tires down when hitting the 4wd trail. 15 pounds is
about right--too much and you'll bog down in the sand, too
little and you'll damage the sidewalls. My wife bought me a
portable air-compresser for Father's Day. Way to go! It's got
it's own battery and charge up via 110v or cigarette lighter.
Once charged it can even be used to power other things through
it's cigarette lighter output. Like cellphones, laptops,
digital camera batteries, etc. Now we've just got to go on
another trip.
The first 2 1/2 miles of the trail are sandy. Keep your
momentum up and don't use low-range until after you clear the
sand. Once you cross the first creek things start firming up
and become hardpack. After the third crossing, the trail gets
tighter and rockier. There are two spots which are pretty tight
and you'll want to have somebody spotting for you to keep the
rockerpanels off of a particular rock. Don't worry about the
underside. A 4WD truck will have enough clearance for all the
vitals. You might bang on the frame in one or two spots, but
we're talking pretty minor stuff. Once you clear the tight
rocky spot, it's clean sailing all of the way up to the pass.
There is a nifty whoopdeedoo which looks ugly, but is fine as
long as you keep the headlights pointed up or down, not across
the hill. Near the top there is a trail that takes off to the
north. Excellent spot back in there for a picnic or even
camping. During the journey you will pass multiple back-country
spots which are quite beautiful. The mountain slopes on one
side are quite "robust" and mountain critters are abundant.
Would I hesitate to take a brand new vehicle on this trail?
Nah. With a full-size truck, though, I might take a couple
stretches a little slower and more carefully than I did in the
Jeep Grand Cherokee. When in doubt, get out and walk the
section first to know where you want to place the tires.
Two nights stay at the dunes is highly recommended. An
in-and-out just doesn't do it justice. There's more than just
sand and the campground is far above average. You'll have the
place pretty much to yourself during the day as people pack and
go by eight in the morning and don't start drifting in until
four or five in the afternoon.
If you are so inclined, at night, pop back to the entrance and
try some night shots of the dunes. The distance from the
gov'ment campground back to the entrance is JUST beyond what
your FRS radios (channels 8-12) will reach, but the more
powerful GMRS channels (1-7, 15-22) will work fine to keep you
in touch with the clan.
Have you paid your TNC dues lately?
AG
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