Mojave Trail & Baja (Part 1)

Plan was to head back down to Baja for about two months.  Tiffany and the boys would fly down during the Christmas holidays.  I made a call to my friend, Wayne, up in Canada as I knew he was headed down as well.  We decided we'd meet up before crossing the border, jump on the Mojave Trail for a few days, and then cross the border together.

I arrived a couple of nights before Wayne where I camped, hiked a little and explored the area for a couple of days prior to his arrival.  Wayne arrived late one afternoon and we departed the following morning to get on the trail and head east.  Our first order of business was a fairly substantial water crossing. I was first in line and when I pulled up to this my thought was that I should get out and walk across to check for depth and bottom conditions, or possibly end up swimming, the crossing to ensure it was a doable crossing.  I opted for the "go big or go home" method and threw caution out the window, slowly pulling in.  This crossing is probably well over 100 feet in width and as the water started creeping towards the bottom of the window I began praying that it didn't get any deeper and god forbid, the engine stalls out.  With the water level approaching the bottom of the window I thought I'd made a big mistake but after a few tense moments the truck eventually started crawling out the other side.  Exiting the truck, water poured out of the cab.  Carpet was wet but hey, I'm in the desert and it will dry.  I grabbed the camera and shot Wayne coming across behind me.  This was certainly the deepest crossing I'd done with my Tacoma.

The remainder of the day we crawled east along the trail where we became lost a few times.  Tough following the trail in places as it exits out of some major washes and you just don't know which direction to take.  We ended up in some large dunes where we became stuck but eventually reconnected with what we assumed was the trail. We were still lost but enjoyed a spectacular full moon and ended up making camp for the night.

 The trail is out there somewhere.

Stuck!

 

  Moon rising as we looked for a campsite that evening.

The following day we got back on the trail and kept working our way east towards Marl Spring.  After camping at the springs the second night we needed to make a decision as to whether to finish the trail or cut off and head south towards the border.  The weather was really turning cold and it was forecasted that the winds the following day would be a consistent 40+ mph.  We decided that the warmer weather of Baja was looking good so after two nights on the Mojave Trail, we cut off and pointed the rigs south towards Baja.  I'll have to return later to finish the second half.

Camp at Marl Spring.

Stopped and did some hiking in the eastern part of the preserve.

Smoky Mountains & Little Bears

I'm no longer in the land of snowflakes.  The Seattle area disappeared in the rearview many days ago.   It has now been over a month since my last blog post and almost three since I left Tacoma....the days, sites, tradeshows and miles are beginning to blur.  I'm  having a hard time remembering where I've been and where I have to be next. Only certainty is that I've done a little over 9500 miles since leaving Tacoma and have had a great time.  I keep telling myself to keep a detailed written travel journal but I never get around to it.  This blog ends up being my journal and I've relived my travels numerous times over the past couple of years by going back over some of the posts.  Luckily, Tiffany reminds me where to be and on what date in regards to the work portion of the trip.  As long as I show up as scheduled, I can roam about anywhere in between.  It's the "in-between" that keeps me out here.  Work related, I've been to Collinsville Illinois, Akron Ohio, Novi Michigan, and Syracuse New York, since my last post.   Some areas have been better than others since the last blog post but the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia and The Upper Peninsula in Michigan certainly stand out.  I'm currently in the Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York where I've been for the past two nights.   Camping has been good as the place is deserted but that is expected to change come this Memorial Day Weekend. I've been boondock camping and have found plenty of it here so I should be able to avoid the crowds this weekend by steering clear of the campgrounds.  Locals tell me that you never can tell about Memorial Day Weekend up here.  May be crowded, or not, dependent on the weather and the black fly situation.  My guess is that the area will be a deserted wasteland as the friggin black flies will carry you away if you don't keep moving.  Went out exploring on the mountain bike two nights ago and thank god I didn't have a flat.  If I had of, I don't think I'd be alive to write this post. No question... I would have abandoned the stinking bike and sprinted back to the camper! I came across a lady today while out hiking that was covered in some kind of mosquito net outfit.  Pants, shirt, gloves, and headgear.....nothing was exposed.  She also smelled like she'd been soaking for days in a 50 gallon drum of  deet. Stated she lives to hike but has a severe reaction to any kind of bug bite.  Personally, I think she picked the wrong hobby but I guess as long as they keep producing deet and netting....what the hell.  I'm sitting there breathing in the damn things, trying to defend myself against the constant onslaught, while she was kicked back enjoying the day reeking of deet.    Not sure what she does out there if mother nature calls and she has to go see a man about a horse.  Maybe she had a diaper on? The mere thought of performing that act amongst those millions of biting hordes will make a grown man cry.   The bugs will be really bad in one area, but drive a mile an all is well.  Water everywhere here with the river and lakes so not sure why they'll be bad in one area and not the next.  I'm seriously thinking about getting a head net and will be ensuring I take care of business before leaving the camper. Without a net, you ingest a few every other breath.  This is not the place for a mouth breather. Of course, I've got a head net back in Tacoma....a lot of good it's doing me back there. 

To date, a highlight of this road trip has been the week I camped in Cades Cove located in the Smoky Mountains National Park.  I had been to the Smoky National Park numerous times over the years but this trip topped them all. It's a photographers dream spot.  Wildlife, fauna, and vistas.  I was lucky enough to meet and hang out with some talented photographers visiting the area.  All really nice people with a passion for wildlife photography. On a couple of these days we were able to photograph and observe a sow and her four cubs.  I took way too many pictures of the cubs and should get them all sorted within the next twenty years or so.  I need to familiarize myself with the delete button.  My first time of ever seeing four cubs with a sow.  I've seen up to three with a sow but never four.  Much more exciting shooting pictures of Grizzlies in Alaska but observing these cubs interact/nurse with the sow, and romp around with each other ranks right up there.  Weather wasn't the greatest, but the subject matter and hanging out with like minded people more than made up for the wet skies.

Deer, turkeys, bobcats, hawks, eagles can all be found here, but the bears are the prize.

Petey enjoying a nice wade one afternoon after a long walk.

A quiet spot next to an old cemetery Petey and I would go to midday.  Little reading, possible
napping, sorting pictures and a long walk for  Petey before the late evening routine of trying to locate more bears.

 Old Church in the Cove.

Spent a few hours at this great swimming hole.

Petey helping with the navigation duties.

Next post.....Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Gear Review

Wherever the sun was shining you'd find the Overland Solar panel and Petey.  

First, I was not given this solar panel and paid for it just like anyone else.  If I didn't like the product I wouldn't be doing the write-up or listing a link on my blogsite.  I was asked to use the product and to write the review, good or bad.  I decided that if I didn't like the product I wouldn't be endorsing it.  However, I will receive a small stipend should you purchase anything by using the link on my blog.  So, if you purchase please use my link!  It will help keep me out on the road.  Just wanted to be upfront on all that.   Since I'm writing I guess you've now figured out that I approved....with one exception.  Prior to heading down to Baja back in December, I decided to purchase a solar system to keep the camper battery charged during extended stays in one spot. On previous trips, I'd only been running lights in the camper and occasionally charging computer and camera batteries and could go days without needing to run the truck for re-charging the camper battery. Adding an ARB fridge/freezer to the system and my plans for being in one spot for longer periods was going to require some additional power so I started some research on solar systems.   My system has two batteries.  One for the truck engine and one for the camper.  A separator keeps any devices in the camper from drawing on the engine battery.  You don't want to be in some remote location and discover that you've drawn down your engine battery from running too much stuff in the camper.    It is unbelievable how much detailed information one can find on a simple solar system set up! Wattage, amps/hrs, load, cable gauge, controllers, battery types, etc., etc.!  One can spend days and drive yourself crazy trying to figure it all out. I simply wanted to ensure I had a large enough system to charge the damn battery so lights would work and my beer would stay cold.  I've been told when purchasing a solar system you can never buy too much but I wanted something that would hold up to some abuse, fold down to a storable size and again, keep the beer cold. My research showed that a 60-watt system would probably do the job but I wasn't sure this would be enough and remember "you can never have too much solar wattage".  Additionally, I did not want a system that had to be permanently mounted to the camper as I wanted to be able to move the panel throughout the day to maximize the solar input.  If parking in the shade you really limit the panels ability. Numerous others had recommended Overland Solar to me and I had looked at their product while at Overland Expo the previous year so I decided to give them a call.   I was in Tacoma at the time and when I called, the owner, Brian Wurts, was visiting family and not far from me.  After he discussed in detail with me the in and outs of the solar world he agreed to meet with me the following day to take a look at my rig and make some recommendations on what I needed.  We met up at the agreed time and Brian was more than helpful in explaining what I needed and how to run the wiring and utilize the panels.  Based on his recommendation I ended up purchasing the 90-watt system and followed his instructions on the wiring procedures.  I had to make one additional phone call to Brian with a question and again, he was more than helpful.  I've now been using the product for the past 6 months and highly recommend it.  The only thing I have found that I would change is to increase the length of the power cord.  It's not quite long enough and a longer cord would help keep the unit in the sun when camped among trees or parked in the shade. Even in Baja, which is sunny 90 percent of the time, I needed to move the unit to the other side of the truck on occasion.   It was doable but a longer cord would have made the job much easier. An accessory extension cord is available but wouldn't be needed if they'd make the primary cord about 10-15 feet longer.  You can buy cheaper stuff out there but Brian's stuff is solid and does the job.  The beer was always cold and my battery stayed charged throughout the trip.  Even on cloudy days it kept the battery at a sufficient level to supply all my power needs and I went as long as a full week without cranking the truck to charge off the alternator.  Rather than list all the detailed specs on the panel here just go to his site at Overland Solar for the nitty gritty stuff and a video.   The product performed as promised and Brian's customer service is exceptional.  If you have any questions on the wiring install on the FWC or further questions on the product feel free to contact me.

Soaking up those last drops of energy till the very end.