Desert Dash Dualsport Ride Day 2
My riding partner Bruce from the previous day was only going to ride the first day, so I took off solo. This is not a problem, since multiple groups of riders all head out at different times, so you will end up seeing others on the trails if you have any problems. The SDAR sweep team also makes sure no one is left out on the trail broken down.
The first section of the ride headed over to the Pinyon Mountain area of Anza-Borrego. The trail heads up into the mountains where the infamous "Squeeze" and "Drop Off" are located. The trail is posted as one way through these two obstacles. The Squeeze is two large rocks barely wide enough for a jeep to pass through, and it also drops down over some smaller boulders.
Here is a photo of me going through the Squeeze.
After the Squeeze comes the dreaded Drop Off. It is a very steep, rutted and slippery incline that drops down at least 50 yards. Photos don't really do it justice. I was able to get down it without incident, then I parked the bike, got out the camera and waited for more riders to come through. Only saw one person out of over a dozen dump their bike over on it.
Once you are over the Drop Off, the trail heads down into another Wash, which eventually takes you through Split Mountain and north to Ocotillo Wells. I headed onto Old Kane Springs Rd, then crossed Hwy 78 and back over to Buttes Pass. There is really scenic canyon there and eventually the trail takes you over to another Drop Off. This one was not as difficult as the other one. I got down it OK and took some pictures. I was hoping for some other riders to come through, but no one did so I continued on.
The next section was an area that I was familiar with. From San Felipe Wash I picked up the Cut-Across Trail out to 5 Palms Oasis, then up to the Arroyo Salada campground. Next stop was Font's Point which is a very scenic overlook of the Borrego Badlands. I got out and took photos and there were several other riders there. From Font's Point the trail heads back to the S-22 Highway briefly, then into Inspiration Wash. This was the first time I had been down this section. It was very sandy and twisty. Probably the worst part of the days ride. The wash takes you up to Inspiration point which is yet another very scenic view of the west towards Borrego Springs. From there the trail goes down into another wash on the other side of the ridge and into some very large sand dunes. The GPS tracks kept me on course here because there was really no clear trail. I finally got out to the road near the Borrego Springs Airport and had only 2 miles to the first gas stop of the day when I ran out of fuel. I quickly switched to reserve and was able to continue. This was at 95 miles, and I filled up with 1.8 gallons.
The Borrego Springs Fire Department put on a BBQ lunch for the riders and took donations. Lunch was really good and they made over $1300 for their charities. The next section was a reverse of what we did on Saturday. Up Montezuma Grade to Culp Valley Road, down Jasper Trail to Grapevine Canyon and then on Hwy 78 to Banner.
The final section took us to Rodriguez Canyon, which parallels Oriflame Canyon, back behind the Cuyamaca Mountains. This section was very rocky and there were several gates you had to open/close to get through. I got back to the RV park by 3pm and was headed home by 4pm. I was pretty tired, but it was a great adventure doing this 2 day ride. Hopefully I'll be able to do more rides like this in the future.
Pictures of the event are here.
