desertracer79
Observer
The plan was to leave Helendale, CA on Saturday morning and do a ~100 mile loop through the high desert to explore some places I had wanted to see for a long time. The weather forecasted was to be warm but with sustained winds of up to 25 mph, that can really take the fun out of a trip but we weren't about to let that stop us. There were four couples, two kids, and two dogs in three jeeps and an LR3.
From Helendale we headed North on dirt and crossed Hwy 58 then through the Abengoa Mojave Solar Project. No pics here, we were making good time headed to our first stop. I happened to look to my right just off trail and noticed a memorial of some sort. We got out and took a peak.
It was a memorial for David Cooley, a test pilot flying the F22 Raptor when he crashed near Lockhart Basin in 2009. The flag even had solar lights installed to keep it lit up at night, very cool.
We climbed back into the trucks and unfortunately our pace slowed considerably, we were in dirt bike country and the roads were all whooped out. We pressed on through wide, beautiful valleys onto our next stop, another memorial called the Husky Monument. Back in the '90's a group of friends concreted in place a Husqavarna dirtbike of a friend they had lost and the place became a memorial for many desert racers and off roaders. I had been wanting to get out there ever since a desert racing friend of mine passed away. It was a good thing I had the trusty Garmin because that place is OUT THERE. It's a good 30 miles from the nearest paved road and hidden in a place where you wouldn't just come across it. The ride was totally worth it, I was blown away by the quality of monuments, there were some bona fide artisans at work here.
![IMG_1867[1].JPG](https://expeditionportal.com/forum/data/attachments/288/288225-3e0665b62c0185b2948453be24523f65.jpg "IMG_1867[1].JPG")
My buddy Duane, nicknamed "Tree" because of his large stature, gave me his chest protector many years back and I placed it with the other memorials. Roost on brother.
We had some lunch and enjoyed the warm sun. The wind wasn't nearly as bad as we all thought it would be, just a few gusts here and there. The ride to our next destination was my favorite type of high desert scenery: long, wide valleys that seem to go on forever. The solitude of the Mojave blows me away every time I visit.
We continued Southeast towards the Black Mtn Wildnerness Area which was to be our camp spot for the night. We arrived before dusk and found a decent spot just off the road in Black Canyon. The wind was somewhat muted there but would still make it's presence known. We quickly set up camp and got the chairs out for some relaxing.
We decided to do a quick sunset drive and just explore around the mountain. We followed the trail that encircles the base and found this cool spot on the Northeast side. We hiked up to a ridge and watched the sunset on one side and the moon rise on the other, it was perfect!
We had a great fire that night and I cooked a T-bone in my trusty cast iron pan in the fire. Our friends Emily and Tyler were especially adventurous - Jumbalaya in a dutch oven. It turned out awesome! The moon was super bright and the wind turned out to be not a problem at all.
Part 2 coming soon.
From Helendale we headed North on dirt and crossed Hwy 58 then through the Abengoa Mojave Solar Project. No pics here, we were making good time headed to our first stop. I happened to look to my right just off trail and noticed a memorial of some sort. We got out and took a peak.
It was a memorial for David Cooley, a test pilot flying the F22 Raptor when he crashed near Lockhart Basin in 2009. The flag even had solar lights installed to keep it lit up at night, very cool.
We climbed back into the trucks and unfortunately our pace slowed considerably, we were in dirt bike country and the roads were all whooped out. We pressed on through wide, beautiful valleys onto our next stop, another memorial called the Husky Monument. Back in the '90's a group of friends concreted in place a Husqavarna dirtbike of a friend they had lost and the place became a memorial for many desert racers and off roaders. I had been wanting to get out there ever since a desert racing friend of mine passed away. It was a good thing I had the trusty Garmin because that place is OUT THERE. It's a good 30 miles from the nearest paved road and hidden in a place where you wouldn't just come across it. The ride was totally worth it, I was blown away by the quality of monuments, there were some bona fide artisans at work here.
My buddy Duane, nicknamed "Tree" because of his large stature, gave me his chest protector many years back and I placed it with the other memorials. Roost on brother.
We had some lunch and enjoyed the warm sun. The wind wasn't nearly as bad as we all thought it would be, just a few gusts here and there. The ride to our next destination was my favorite type of high desert scenery: long, wide valleys that seem to go on forever. The solitude of the Mojave blows me away every time I visit.
We continued Southeast towards the Black Mtn Wildnerness Area which was to be our camp spot for the night. We arrived before dusk and found a decent spot just off the road in Black Canyon. The wind was somewhat muted there but would still make it's presence known. We quickly set up camp and got the chairs out for some relaxing.
We decided to do a quick sunset drive and just explore around the mountain. We followed the trail that encircles the base and found this cool spot on the Northeast side. We hiked up to a ridge and watched the sunset on one side and the moon rise on the other, it was perfect!
We had a great fire that night and I cooked a T-bone in my trusty cast iron pan in the fire. Our friends Emily and Tyler were especially adventurous - Jumbalaya in a dutch oven. It turned out awesome! The moon was super bright and the wind turned out to be not a problem at all.
Part 2 coming soon.
