44th Annual TDS Desert Safari Trip Report

[Britain]

It was good to meet most of ya all. I think the small traillers are the way to go. Perhaps soon I'll get one.

Sara/Rick
Really nice meeting you two! Dust .....no mo end round up! Nice trail picks though!

Thanks Erik for the test drive, the 5:1 is on my list. Need to see what the new atlas 4 has to offer. For sure the ram steering is a must!

I left about 8pm couldnt see nothing, visability was windshield depth . Did get out and the law was real heavy all the way out. Must of got pulled over 4 times...good thing though..

Sam15,
I'm sure you got my back up lights a bit. But that one hill shoved enough gravel down my shirt and pants to give good case of dirt rash! But it was pretty cool! Wonder what happened to the people that got air lift out from the roll over?


Any one get pictures of that roll over? Russ it was slightly north of the water fall that George. Steve/Nora and Myself went up last time out here!

Lucas? We seem to be missing the runs!

Drew...You get out alive?HaHa

See you all on the trials!

[TDS SD]

TDS Safari

Hope all That went had a good time. I did safet checks from 1-6 on Friday and was too tired to look for anybody. I was the rover between check point one and two and had my hands full trying to keep the line of vehicles moving . But that is safari. We had about 1400 register and we appreciate that. We gave away some big prize packages, hope some one from MJR won one.
George

[01Sport]

I'm not sure where everyone is intending on camping, I am going down on thursday and will try to find a spot somewhere to the left of the tent area.




If you see this trailer, you'll know where I am camped.

igo, I only got to check out TDS Saturday night but I was on my way to Cabazon yesterday and I think I saw you over the wall on your way home. Your trailer gave it away. Anyway...

[Russ Chung]

44th Annual TDS Desert Safari Trip Report

The 44th Annual Tierra Del Sol Desert Safari was held on March 4 & 5, 2006 in the Truckhaven Hills area of the California desert just west of the Salton Sea.. This annual event is organized by the Tierra Del Sol Four Wheel Drive Club of San Diego (TDS) and is one of the premier four wheeling events in the United States; about 1,400 vehicles registered for the event and the club estimates that 15,000 people will be in the Truckhaven area because of this event. The TDS Desert Safari generates funds to help keep 4WD trails open. In addition, it is a major fund raising source for local non-profit organizations such as the VFW and Senior Center who set up dining facilities during the event.

The Truckhaven Hills area consists of sandy washes, rocky ravines and dried out mud hills. A rainstorm passed through the area earlier in the week, but the rain evaporated in the dry desert air before reaching the ground. As a result, a gust of wind or a passing vehicle would produce a billowing cloud of dust. This is a photo of the area with the Salton Sea in the distance.



MJR set up a campsite near the event headquarters. A low hill separated our camp from the headquarters. This photo of our campsite was taken from the top of the hill. There was a discussion in a separate thread about an incident the previous year in which a speeding drunk driver rolled his vehicle near the MJR campsite. Notice how we arranged the campsite in a circle, with the vehicles arranged to shield the tents and trailers. Clockwise from the left, Chuck’s (Chucks XJ) RV, Fernando’s (FMejia69) red Rubicon, Chuck’s red XJ, Al’s (Igofshn) aluminum travel trailer, Bryan’s (Kaffa) black TJ (behind Al’s trailer), Eric’s (Nailer341) white travel trailer, Eric’s red YJ, and Drew’s (Drewminator) black/yellow tent and green YJ. Al’s TJ and my tent and TJ are not pictured.



This photo of the event headquarters was taken from the top of the same hill but in the opposite direction. It shows how close our camp was to the headquarters. The event registration was beneath the Yellow canopies, the vendor exhibits were beneath the blue canopies.



One of the vendors offered ultralight aerial tours of the Truckhaven area:



On Friday night, Eric (Nailer341) led us on a night run:





We went to an area of gullies and washes known as the Notches. Hundreds of people had gathered there and were lined up shoulder to shoulder to watch built up rigs climb the sides of the gullies. After the night run, we huddled around the campfire. Left to right, Brian (Kaffa), Fernando (FMejia69) and Chuck (Chuck’s XJ):



Chuck seems comfortable by the fire in his shorts, while Fernando looks cold despite being bundled up:



On Saturday morning, Eric discovered that he had a flat tire. He had a cut in his sidewall that was too large to plug, and he had to change tires:

[Russ Chung]

The TDS Four Wheel Club organized a trail run through the Truckhaven Hills on Saturday. The basic route, bypasses, and more challenging alternates are marked with arrows, and hundreds of vehicles leave camp in single file. Mark (MParker) decided to join the TDS Truckhaven run, while the rest of us decided to explore the area on our own. Our group consisted of nine vehicles: Eric’s (Nailer341) red YJ, Al’s (Igofshn) red TJ, Drew’s (Drewminator) green YJ, Fernando’s (FMejia69) red Rubicon, Fernando’s friend Chau in a white XJ, Chuck’s (Chucks XJ) red XJ, Bryan’s (Kaffa) black TJ, Lucas’ (Skates04) red TJ, and my khaki TJ.

Chau is Fernando’s business partner, and he said that he had never been off-roading before:



I snapped this picture during one of our breaks. From left to right, Bryan (Kaffa), Chuck (Chucks XJ), Marco (riding with Chuck), Al (Igofshn), and Lucas (Skates04).



Eric led us to short side canyon that had some challenging dry waterfalls. The side canyon was only big enough for two vehicles at a time; one or two would try it, then exit, and someone else would try it. This is a picture of Drew (Drewminator) on the obstacle:



Lucas (Skates04):





Chuck (Chucks XJ):



Bryan (Kaffa):





Fernando (FMejia69):





Since I just got my lift installed, I decided to try the obstacle, and to everyone’s surprise (including myself) I made it with only minor carnage (my front license plate came loose):



I got some kidding about my goggles, but it kept the dust out of my eyes:



Meanwhile Chuck (Chucks XJ) decided to pose his rig for a shot:

[Russ Chung]

We returned from our run early in the afternoon. Shortly after we got back to camp, we were joined by Vern (Britain), Rick (Sam15) and Sarah (Sarah) and Rick, JJ (FYRMNJJ) and their family.

Eric (Nailer341), Drew (Drewminator), Vern (Britain), Rick (Sam15), Sarah (Sarah), and JJ went on another run. Vern wrinkled his left front fender during the run, so now he has an excuse to flat-fender his rig. I'm sorry that I don't have a picture of Vern's carnage.

After the group returned from the run, we prepared dinner and got ready to go to the TDS raffle. Fernando and Al were the gourmet chefs of the desert, and they offered samples of their great cooking to the rest of the group.

The TDS raffle is one of the highlights of the Desert Safari. The prizes were arranged in 63 prize packages each worth over $1,000. Each registered participant got one raffle ticket, so the odds were pretty good since there were only about 1,400 raffle tickets. This year, none of the MJR participants won any of the raffle prizes.

After the raffle, we returned to camp and sat around the campfire while Al (Igofshn) set up a dutch oven and prepared a delicious apple cobbler for dessert. After dessert, we decided against making another night run, except that Bryan (Kaffa) and his GF went back to the Notches to watch the rigs play in the gullies. They reported that the crowd was bigger than the night before.

[Russ Chung]

On Sunday morning, we broke camp. Chuck (Chucks XJ) trailered his XJ



Eric (Nailer341) hooked up his travel trailer. He recently bought this trailer, and this is his first trip in it:



Al (Igofshn) hooked up his trailer:



The rest of us pulled our tent stakes and began loading up while Jill (Sarah and Rick’s dog) looked on:



TDS provided a free air up facility:



We had a great weekend of camping, wheeling and hanging out with friends. Our group had only minor carnage: a flat tire, a broken license plate frame and a bent fender. Another group suffered a serious accident during the run on Saturday; a vehicle overturned and required a medevac helicopter. I don’t know the condition of the occupants. As a result of the complaints about reckless driving in the camp area last year, there was a noticeable law enforcement presence this year. The weather was good but the dust was a nuisance; that’s to be expected in the desert. I’m looking forward to the 45th Annual TDS Desert Safari.

[steelman]

Russ,

As usual, great trip report and pics! :thumbs_up :thumbs_up

[igofshn]

Great pics (as usual) Russ. I had a fantastic time.

[sarah]

Ok, I merged all the threads and posts here. It was very, very nice to meet everyone! I wish I could have been feeling better, but I still had a great time. Excellent pics posted so far, unfortunately we didn't even take one this time. Al, I need the recipe for that cobbler of yours , and your trailer is the definition of convenience!; Britain, Sam, Drew, Fernando and Chuck is was great to finally meet ya'll; Kaffa, we hope to see Nikki again ; JJ it was nice to hang out with ya's again - need to do that more and I enjoyed showing the kids how to set up the tent, hehe, In-N-Out, mmmm...; mParker, it was nice to meet your family, and we wish we could have spent more time with everyone; and last but very much not least, Erik & Beaner, I love your little hut and always enjoy your company.

We did catch up with saki669 around the booths. Said hello to JC Fab, Badlands Offroad and 4XDoctor.

BACHMAN, WHERE WERE YOU!?!?

All in all, we had a much less traffic-ridden camp this year, which made the stay more pleasant (but still with about zero sleep, unfortunately). There was plenty of law enforcement out and pulling people over. I'm not sure how it was at night, we hung out at camp mostly, but the days were packed with cops, which is a great thing. Marina Drive is going to be full of houses real soon, if TDS happens again at the same place it will definitely be like a parade going through there. George, sorry we didn't get a chance to catch up with you.

.. til next time!!

[Chucks XJ]

Excellent write up Russ and great Pics. We had a great time. I will post some more pic this afternoon.

[igofshn]

Here is a link to my pics. Only took a couple.



http://photobucket.com/albums/v82/igofshn/TDS%202006/


Sean (bachman) is fine. He broke his phone. He did make it but didn't find us. He also won something.

[skates04]

Had a good time saturday, wish I could have stayed for the second run on Saturday, but my buddy's land cruiser was falling apart and I did'nt want him to have to drive back to San Diego alone just incase somthing happend to it!

Vern sorry I missed you, Me and Drewminator are planning on Bronco's peak in about 2 weeks, PM me if your interested.

Lucas

[FRMNJJ]

We also had a great time. wish we could have stayed and camped with all of you who stayed. Hope the kids didnt get in your hair and thanks to all who entertained them. Till next time

[NAILER341]

it sure was a great time. it was some entertaining wheeling, and plenty of it. i had a nice time watching the lookies playing in the notches as well.

it was a pleasure meeting those of you i have not met on previous runs, and look forward to seeing many of you on the trail clean up runs coming up.
jasmine really enjoyed herself as well, and wants to come to more of these runs.

great company, and conversation through the whole weekend.
i'm looking forward to the next one.

my pictures will be up soon, i hope. having some trouble with my web site host at the moment.