Trail Report: Weekend in Calico

[dirtman13]

I’ve been itching to getaway for a while so after finding out that a couple of friends were heading to Calico this weekend one Saturday and one Sunday we decided on a last minute getaway to Calico. Unbelievably the ghost town had one cabin still available so we nabbed it. Saturday the wives wanted to go to the outlet center so we had a hard choice to make. Outlet center or Doran? Tuff decision but we decided on Doran.
We headed over to Gatekeeper to see how it held up to the rains and I have to say it looks much tougher then I remember. Right about the time we were going to head to the bypass a few rigs pulled up so we decided to see if they were going to give it a go. The first one to try it was a nicely modified Toyota truck. Before he even got to the v-notch he had bent his rear leaf and exploded his front hub.


Half time show.

After winching him out a modified YJ made his attempt. He had a tough going and rode the wall for a while but we needed to get going. I later found out he made it through.



We were supposed to meet the ladies back at camp at 2 o’clock so we could take them to the ghost town. I don’t think we went 1/16th of a mile before we come upon some Land Rovers blocking the trail. One of them busted the drag link end and the link went through the tire. After about 30-45 min. we were on our way. Not more then a 1/2 mile we were stopped again. This time the same vehicle snapped his tie rod.

We rummaged around for something to repair it. I could not believe it but the double headed socket for my lug wrench was a perfect fit. It was even tapered like the tie rod.

We welded it on and we were on our way again.

We didn't have a welding mask so it was welded blind. Can you tell.

I’m sure it’s a combination of rain and all the vehicles but Doran was a little more challenging then before. Once we reached the waterfall I was sure we were going to have troubles with them getting up. I had to get winched up once and now it’s even more eroded. I will say these guys don’t quit they tried their best to get up the fall but to no avail.

There was an older FJ at the top and he helped winched the first one up. I made my way around and assisted with the rest. Again, these guys did go quietly. They made some nice attempts.

Yes that's a new $40,000 Land Rover going up Doran.

Once past the waterfall we trucked along for a while until we come upon another small fall. Everything was going fine and then the one right in front of me blew his rear axle and then popped his bead. These guys were brutes in their Land Rovers. They were on a mission and they were out to conquerer Doran.
I think when we reached Bismark we had gone just over 4 miles and we were on Doran for almost 5 hours. We got back to camp at 5pm. Glad they made it back to camp.

[flatpoint]

Very, very cool!

[womb raider 940]

calico, lately has been eating vehicles.

awesome job on the trail report

[JJsKJ]

dang! Sure am glad we got around the Rovers when/where we did or we would been stuck for a while waiting. I Do agree on the trail conditions, they were rougher than I recall on any previous trip over the years. The slot canyon at the bottom of Doran (section near the gatekeeper) was a mess compared to a year ago when I was on it, a lot of soil has washed away form that area.

[dirtman13]

Day 2

On day 2 Scott (dr.clean), Mike (mywifesjeephitapole), and another JK met us at the entrance to Calico. We made our way to Odessa. This was going to be a quick trip for me since I had dinner plans that night.
Scott back to his old ways. dr.dirty is back.

Mike sporting the new tube fenders. Funny story about those fenders.

I'm horrible with names but I believe it was Andy.

Mike kissing the wall a bit.


I think Cloe' was mad at Scott for not looking for Geocache.

I tried and I tried to make it up the wall at the end but it was not meant to be...this time.


Almost made it.

After re-stacking the rocks we headed for Bismark. Andy noticed that Mike's Jeep was swaying a little to much. We got out and found this nice break.

I figured something was up when I saw this.

You would think the weekend was a Ready Welder commercial.


Needless to say I missed my dinner but what a great weekend. Looking forward to IDTT. The rest of my pics are here.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v2...-08/?start=all

[dr.dirty]

dude we had an awesome time as always cant wait for the next one

[dirtman13]

On a side note I hope the clean up happens soon. The trails were a mess. My bag from last years clean up was filled to about 3/4's just on Odessa.

[dr.dirty]

hope fully the idiots in the fj will not be around for IDTT

[RAT]

Looks like the Gatekeeper will be ready for some challengers. WHo's up?

[mywifesjeep]

Blast

Thanks to Chuck, Elliot, Scott and Andy for getting me home Sunday. Oh and Ready Weld. Would of made a great commercial. As for the Tube Fenders, my wife decided to drive the jeep around our house and hit the only fence pole with concrete in at mach 1 and tore the fender off........... so came the tube fenders complements of USAA.

Had allot of fun evan when I broke my Jeep........ Mostly cause I knew Chuck had is welder so thanks Chuck again really appreciated it.

[nwoods]

Curt and Joe, the SCLR (Southern California Land Rover) guys wanted to make sure to thank you again for your help on the trail!
Here is their thread: http://www.sclr.org/forums/ubbthread...t&Number=21654

[Materdaddy]

Nice report, thanks for sharing! I can't believe there's people that actually wheel Land Rovers on those trails! Hearing all the reports of damage, and recent conditions are making me second guess this year's IDTT in my Jeep... ok... not really!

Chuck, you seem to have a knack for being in the places where people need help:


I still owe you a few gallons of gas... wonder what those LR guys feel like they owe you? Glad everybody made it safely off the trail (Jeeps and LRs).

[badfysh]

well, i apologize first for not having a trip report on our own website for you guys to link to but I have been under the weather.

Anyway, Doran Loop has been a favorite of mine for a while and yet I havent been for nearly two years. Laid off and broken trucks have takem their toll. But I have had time lately to get my truck up to par and recently a friend called and said "lets go to Calico". So I obliged and set it up.

5 trucks total. D2, D2, LR3, D1, D1. A small but good size group for that trail. I estimated 3-4 hours. WRONG.

The day started like any other. Wake up late, laugh at last nights silly campfire behavior, have breakfast, laugh some more, etc. Then hit the trail.

We are smart enough not to waste time going into Gatekeeper but definitely looked down at the beast from the bypass before dropping in. Looks meaner than it ever has.

So we get into the first obstacle in the slot canyon and the excitement starts to build, the trail is definitely torn up. But thats no deterrent and I happily drive in. first 5 minutes I get pitched into the wall and take out the side marker and manage to get the first REAL scratch my 04 Discovery has ever seen. At this point I realize it might be a long day because my ass end is only about 4 inches too far to the right and thats a bad line. I make some minor adjustments and get through relatively unscathed before getting out and spotting the next two guys no problems and the last two guys just motor through having seen the perfect line.

After some hoots and hollers we continue on. We make our way up the canyon enjoying the trail but realizing that it is tougher than it has ever been and we could break anything at any time. SNAP!

While asking driver 4 to "wait" while i reposition the video camera, i hear a large metal expensive noise and then a psssssshewwww!!! I yell to stop and look over and he is way right in some large sharp nasty boulders, stuck.

I go over to spot him out and I keep telling him right, right, right, and he says, I AM! so i instantly know something is broken.

Snapped a tie rod end on the drag link. the drag link has alos punctured the tire. This could be a problem since driver doesn't have a spare TRE and its right in the middle of the trail. I remember I have a spare in my truck but we both have aftermarket steering and from different places. mine uses a left and a right threaded but i couldnt remember which I had and we didnt know what his had. long story short I had both on hand so we got to work happy that after an hour or so(yes a longer repair than you would think due to rust? location? who knows?), we were on way again. I do want to mention that during that hour a jeep pulls up alone behind us. seeing that its going to be a wait, they hopped out and laughed out the hour with us and even helped a bit. Chuck and Joe were really cool so as soon as we could we proceeded on.

I rolled forward to see what was next and right as I pull up to the last major obstacle, my radio starts blabbering, "come back, come back, truck down".

well, within 50 yards or so of getting the drag link TRE back together the track rod has now snapped. BAD news this time because it isn't the TRE (not that I had more than two anyway), its the bar. sheared.

Curious why an aftermarket HD tie rod would use a stock end, i was a bit stumped, but before I could even get out of my truck after returning, i was being asked if I had dual batteries because "the jeep guys have a welder". I was taken aback at first but to be honest, was actually optimistic that someone that had seen the damage before i did first felt it could be fixed, and then more importantly, had the required equipment to get that truck off the trail. i want to add at this point that the trail was definitely wide enough to pass but chuck and joe wanted nothing to do with that. they were their to help at this point and see us out. not only did they offer help and tools, but chuck gave up his only lug socket, one that miraculously fit almost perfect on the tie rod, without hesitation. we all of coursed made many jokes over the next 2 hours while joe welded most of it and chuck finished it off. toed in real bad and weld bead looked like a troll on acid (friendly jab joe), but it held up to some good hammer hits and ultimately finished out the day all the way to the highway. great job guys. I cant say enough here, yes we had air tools of our own etc, but NO WAY we had a welder. more importantly, chuck and joe did nearly ALL the tough stuff. i removed my battery and added to broken truck for enough juice, but we did no welding on that truck at all. chuck and joe did it all!!! I was super impressed and more important, VERY thankful.

NO, its not over yet!!! right around the corner was the last MAJOR obstacle. the water fall. after several tries, i made the choice that i would take the offer to get our first truck winched up.
we already had one truck in limp mode and this next challenge was going to be nasty at best, so lets get one up and drag the rest up and move on.

Chuck and joe stunned me again. my truck gets winched up and is more than capable of winching my group through, but NO. chuck and joe, right there the whole time helping us through. I didnt winch even one of my own trucks. yes, i was on the ground doing grunt work right next to joes (i am joe too) side while chuck used his jeep 4 times in a row to winch each of us through one at time.


these guys are awesome and i cant say it enough. even after that!! they stayed with us. adamant about seeing us to as smooth road at the top.

well, 5th truck blew his rear end, unknown yet what, diff or axle, pinion? but definitely on two wheel drive only and a tiny little waterfall a bit up the trail proved too tough due to that problem. and to kick us in the nuts a little more, truck gets too far left pinch against a rock with a blown bead and now the winch cant even get it over. a little wrangling and we finally get it over and spend the next 30 minutes lifting the truck and reseating the bead. bleh. LONG DAY.

at this point, we realize that we are severely impaired. the #4 D1 has to be babied so we can get it out and the 5th D1 is in limp mode.

SO the #3 LR3 tows tows the D1 the rest of the way, yes, LR3 can pull a truck through the rough stuff.

We make it to the top of the hill and after a short review of the day, we thank chuck and joe for they help and they motor off to get back to wives 7 HOURS after what should have been 3-4 at MOST.

We get to the highway and limp the D1 with broken steering to the shell at the 15 where it stayed until a proper rig could pick it up and drive it home on a trailer for repairs.

then we promptly headed to am pm where we stocked up on beer and wood.

even though we were weary form the days events and just wanted to get to camp, i definitely had to stop and give thanks to chuck and joe. i dropped off a case of beer and we regaled the day and our pasts. chuck refused to let me get his address to replace his ONLY lug nut socket. and yes, the driver of that truck did FORCE money upon chuck on the trail even after repeatedly tried to refuse it. hell, he even tried to refuse the beer!!! these guys are great.

my truck didnt break this day but i have been there, actually on both sides, and i cant say how thankful we all were that they were their. yes, we could have gotten out on our own, but no we couldnt have welded and it would have been an even longer day!!! THANK YOU GUYS!!! later back at camp we hung a sheet and projected the days videos on the canyon wall and again, praised chuck and joe over fire and beer!!!

all in all a great day and even better making new friends. if you see these guys out there, offer them a beer. they deserve it even if you aren't in need of their help at that time.

and yes, the trash situation at Calico is repulsive!!! if you are reading this and shoot at bottles, leave trash, burn beer cans and bottles, take a dump and leave, etc. YOU SUCK!!!!!!!!

i will try to get pics posted but my head is in a cloud right now from being sick. maybe tomorrow. goodnight and thanks again chuck and joe, you guys ROCK.

some pics in this thread http://www.lrrforums.com/showthread.php?t=10893&page=2

[badfysh]

wow, sorry for the large pics. editing now.

[JJsKJ]

and yes, the trash situation at Calico is repulsive!!! if you are reading this and shoot at bottles, leave trash, burn beer cans and bottles, take a dump and leave, etc. YOU SUCK!!!!!!!!

Boy isn't That the truth! We took a bag out w/ us just from picking up in a few obvious spots along the trail. I'm getting real tired of cleaning up afer A-holes.:mad: