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At last minute I found that I had Saturday morning through late afternoon free to go Jeepin' (gotta feed the disease ya know). Jake & Mandy (Cherokee People) could get free to go with Sharon and I. So I checked the weather and of all the close-by places Calico had the best weather with 71 degrees and sunny!
When we get to the area, we go check out the Doran Entrance just to see what's happening. There is a Toyota club heading up the canyon. The truck we saw had been up the entrance before, but was struggling this time:
We watched for a little while and then headed over to Odessa Canyon to go up. Unfortunately, we found ourselves behind a very large group that seemed to be having problems at the first obstacle. Rather than waiting in line, we headed over to the Mule Canyon Cut-Across. We explored some areas that were new to me before heading up Phillips Loop to Kramers Arch:
Afterwards, we headed up Phillips Loop a little further to the cut across into upper Odessa Canyon. We made our way over to the Bismark Mine and had some fun exploring some of the area:
We left the mine and headed for the Wall Street Canyon Overlook. The view was great as usual:
I had heard that there was a stone cabin just North of the overlook, so we went to find it. There's not a lot left of it:
We had lunch at the Bismark Mine before heading down Doran Canyon. We quickly caught up to some folks in a brand new Ford pick-up with an off-road package. They had seen on the map that the Doran trail was the straightest way back to the paved road. After I explained what they were in for, I helped them turn around and go back. Soon after, we ran into a very large group (over 20) heading up Doran. They were struggling with some of the obstacles, so we turned back. We made our way back to the upper Odessa Canyon and took the trail down. We ran into a few folks headed up, but nothing like what we had seen with the earlier groups during the day.
The rain on the previous day had done more than just reduce the dust all day, the trail was refreshed and free of packed down sediment. This made the trail extra challenging in spots:
Once we were out of the canyon, we played in the arches of the big mine nearby:
Afterwards, we caught a snack and milk shakes in Barstow before Jake & Mandy headed home.
Since we have not traveled the trail before, Sharon & I went down to the entrance to Achy-Breaky to see what it looked like. We found the entrance with little trouble and headed up the first hill to take a peek around:
We found that the path became a little unclear after the first hill:
Since it was late in the day and we were alone, we decided to wait until another day to fully explore the area.
We headed back to the Rancho Cucamonga area and were welcomed back with the cloud bank that we had sought to escape for the day:
It was a great day, but we saw far more folks in the Calico area than I have seen in past trips. Maybe lots of people were trying to escape the gloom like we did!
To see all the photos, go to this link:
http://s139.photobucket.com/albums/q...ico%204-21-07/
When we get to the area, we go check out the Doran Entrance just to see what's happening. There is a Toyota club heading up the canyon. The truck we saw had been up the entrance before, but was struggling this time:
We watched for a little while and then headed over to Odessa Canyon to go up. Unfortunately, we found ourselves behind a very large group that seemed to be having problems at the first obstacle. Rather than waiting in line, we headed over to the Mule Canyon Cut-Across. We explored some areas that were new to me before heading up Phillips Loop to Kramers Arch:
Afterwards, we headed up Phillips Loop a little further to the cut across into upper Odessa Canyon. We made our way over to the Bismark Mine and had some fun exploring some of the area:
We left the mine and headed for the Wall Street Canyon Overlook. The view was great as usual:
I had heard that there was a stone cabin just North of the overlook, so we went to find it. There's not a lot left of it:
We had lunch at the Bismark Mine before heading down Doran Canyon. We quickly caught up to some folks in a brand new Ford pick-up with an off-road package. They had seen on the map that the Doran trail was the straightest way back to the paved road. After I explained what they were in for, I helped them turn around and go back. Soon after, we ran into a very large group (over 20) heading up Doran. They were struggling with some of the obstacles, so we turned back. We made our way back to the upper Odessa Canyon and took the trail down. We ran into a few folks headed up, but nothing like what we had seen with the earlier groups during the day.
The rain on the previous day had done more than just reduce the dust all day, the trail was refreshed and free of packed down sediment. This made the trail extra challenging in spots:
Once we were out of the canyon, we played in the arches of the big mine nearby:
Afterwards, we caught a snack and milk shakes in Barstow before Jake & Mandy headed home.
Since we have not traveled the trail before, Sharon & I went down to the entrance to Achy-Breaky to see what it looked like. We found the entrance with little trouble and headed up the first hill to take a peek around:
We found that the path became a little unclear after the first hill:
Since it was late in the day and we were alone, we decided to wait until another day to fully explore the area.
We headed back to the Rancho Cucamonga area and were welcomed back with the cloud bank that we had sought to escape for the day:
It was a great day, but we saw far more folks in the Calico area than I have seen in past trips. Maybe lots of people were trying to escape the gloom like we did!
To see all the photos, go to this link:
http://s139.photobucket.com/albums/q...ico%204-21-07/
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