My first post to the new blog– an ordinary, not average weekend with friends at a hidden away spot in the desert. 

Eric had been planning a bikepacking trip into JTNP, which became less favorable with the government shutdown, talk of the park closing, and ultimately a turn toward cold, rainy weather throughout Southern California. We decided to come up with a “plan B” in an area far to the east, and out of the weather– the Chuckwalla Mountains.

The Bambi and the Chuckwallas

I shot the message out to some friends– something to the effect of  “Hey we have this half-baked idea and we don’t really know whats out there, where to camp or what to expect. Oh and we’ll get there really late and it might rain. Wanna join?”

David’s 4 Runner was broken down and in the shop (something about meathead driving) and he managed to convince Ken it’d be a great idea to drive, late at night, to an unknown area, in a bit of January rain. David googled “things to do in Chuckwalla Mountains” and came up with some results. Tessa drove out from Los Angeles. We met up Friday night around 11pm, in a spooky palm oasis.

The next morning Eric joined us in camp and we made Mexican hot dogs for breakfast and rolled out into the nearby sand washes– and found petroglyphs galore.

We began learning of a historical area character named Gus Lederer– a burro fancier, and flapjack maker. I won’t ruin the story for you in hopes you’ll go out, poke around, and discover it for yourself. It’s quite entertaining. We later found his cabin, and ultimately his grave site.

In the course of the next 36 hours we rode bikes, crashed on our face, made and ate lots of food, laughed around the campfire (“Cherro Gordo!”) collected rocks, discovered– and left all of– many artifacts, explored several mines, found more cabins, trucks, beer can collections, and reveled in sun, rain, clouds, and sand. It whet an interest in riding and exploring the desert I haven’t felt in a while, and I can’t wait to get out for more trips again soon.