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DESERT RATS OFF-ROAD CLUB · BARSTOW, CALIFORNIA Jeeps, trucks, families and a whole lot of Mojave dust since 1993

Hey, this is Rick and Tammy, and this is the web page for the Desert Rats. We're a family off-road club out of Barstow with about 20 member families, a couple dozen rigs, and a pretty relaxed attitude. We're not a rock-crawling club and we're not a racing club. We're the kind of club where the kids ride along, somebody's grandpa comes in the stock Cherokee, and we stop for lunch on top of a hill and look at the view. If that sounds like your speed, come to a meeting. Tammy does most of the typing here and Rick does most of the complaining about how long it takes. [ Trip Reports | Calendar | Trail Etiquette | What to Bring | Meetings | Members' Rigs ]

COMING UP Wednesday, October 6 — Monthly meeting, 7:00 p.m., back room at the pizza place on Main Street. Trip sign-ups for the fall run. Bring your $10 if you haven't paid fall dues yet. Saturday and Sunday, October 9-10 — FALL RUN. Two days in the eastern Mojave: old mining roads, a dry lake, and camp Saturday night at the usual spot below the pass. Meet at the gas station on the east end of town at 7:00 a.m. Saturday, tanks full, tires aired, CBs on channel 4. This is a stock-friendly trip but it is a long one; figure 60 miles of dirt on Saturday and 40 on Sunday. Potluck Saturday night. Rick is bringing the Dutch oven again and has promised not to burn the cobbler this time. (He got the recipe from Camp Cook Carl, next site over on the ring, so if it burns it's his own fault.) Wednesday, November 3 — Monthly meeting. Elections for 2000 officers. Somebody please run for treasurer.

1999 TRIP REPORTS Pictures are coming. Half the club still shoots film and the other half hasn't figured out the scanner. We'll get there. Johnson Valley — March 13-14 Eleven rigs, 34 people counting kids and two dogs. Weather was perfect: 60s during the day, cold at night, and the desert was green from the winter rains, which if you've never seen it, is something. We took the easy loop out past the dry lake on Saturday and let the newer drivers get a feel for sand. Big lesson of the day: air down. Two guys who didn't listen spent a half hour getting dug out and then aired down. Saturday night was chili and a good campfire. Sunday we ran a moderate trail up the wash. Everybody made it up, nobody made it up pretty. One broken CV boot (Gary), one lost hubcap (never found, Danny), zero tow trucks. Great trip. Mojave Ghost Town Run — May 15 A day trip, nine rigs, out to an old silver camp north of town that Frank's grandfather worked in the 1920s. Not much left but stone foundations, a few rusted-out cans, the head frame over the shaft (fenced, stay out), and the cemetery, which is the part everybody remembers. The kids were very quiet there and I think that's good for them. The road in is graded most of the way with about four miles of rocky two-track at the end. We had lunch in the shade of the old mill wall. Please, if you go on your own: take only pictures. Somebody's been prying up the boards on the last standing cabin and it wasn't us and it makes us mad. Night Run — July 24 It was 108 during the day so we didn't leave town until 7:30 p.m. Seven rigs. Ran the graded road out to the tank and then the sandy loop by headlight and moonlight; the moon was nearly full and you could almost drive without lights on the open stretches. Stopped at the top of the hill around 10:30, shut everything off, and just looked up. You have never seen so many stars. Ronnie had brought his telescope and we all looked at the moon and Jupiter. Rick says the night run was the best trip of the year and Tammy says it was the one where she found a scorpion in her boot, so, mixed reviews. Back in town by 1 a.m. Rule for next time: bring more water than you think. It was still 90 at midnight.

TRAIL ETIQUETTE This is the part Rick wants everybody to read twice. The desert is getting more crowded every year and areas get closed when people act stupid. We follow the "Tread Lightly" idea and we expect everybody who rides with us to do the same. It's not complicated. Stay on the trail. Established roads and washes only. No cutting switchbacks, no making a new road around a mud hole, no "just going over there to look." The tracks you make in the desert last for decades. Pack it in, pack it out. Everything. Cans, bottles, orange peels, cigarette butts, the kids' juice boxes. If you have room on the way out, pick up somebody else's trash too. We usually come home with a bag or two that isn't ours. Yield to uphill traffic. The rig coming up has the right of way because it's harder to get going again on a grade. If you're going down, find a wide spot and wait. Also yield to hikers, horses and mountain bikes. Slow down and give them room; a horse doesn't know what a Jeep is. Gates: leave them the way you found them. Open stays open, closed gets closed behind you. Keep the group together. You should always be able to see the rig behind you in your mirror. If you can't, stop and wait. Nobody gets left at a fork. Respect private property and mining claims, and stay out of old mine shafts. They are not safe. They are never safe. Fires only where they're allowed, in an existing ring, and dead out with water (not dirt) before you leave. Noise: other people are out there for the quiet. Ease off the throttle near camps.

WHAT TO BRING The desert is not a place to find out what you forgot. Here's our checklist. The first section is not optional; if you show up without it, the trail boss can and will send you home. REQUIRED Water: one gallon per person per day, plus five extra gallons in the rig Tow strap (real strap with loops, NOT a chain, NOT one with hooks) Full-size spare, jack, and lug wrench that fits your lugs CB radio (we run channel 4) First aid kit Fire extinguisher, mounted where you can reach it Full tank of gas at the meeting point Shovel Hat, sunscreen, and a jacket (yes, even in July, it's cold at night) STRONGLY SUGGESTED Tire gauge and a way to air back up (12-volt compressor or a tank) Basic tools, duct tape, bailing wire, zip ties Spare belts and hoses, extra oil and coolant Jumper cables Tarp and rope Paper map of the area (a real one; the trails aren't on the road atlas) Flashlight with fresh batteries Trash bags Snacks for the kids, and then more snacks for the kids Camera and extra film

MEETINGS & JOINING We meet the first Wednesday of every month at 7:00 p.m. in the back room of the pizza place on Main Street in Barstow. Show up, buy a slice, sit down. Meetings last about an hour: trip planning, who's got what broken, and the raffle (Tammy runs the raffle, and no, it's not rigged). Dues are $20 a year per family, which pays for the club T-shirts, the campground fees when there are any, and the Christmas party. You can come on two trips as a guest before you have to join. Kids ride free, obviously. We do ask that every rig on a club run has the required gear above and that the driver has a license and insurance. We don't care what you drive. We have Jeeps, we have full-size pickups, we have a Samurai and we have a stock Explorer that has been everywhere the Jeeps have been, just slower. What matters is that you're careful, you're friendly, and you pack out your trash.

MEMBERS' RIGS As of September 1999. If yours is missing or wrong, e-mail Tammy. Who Rig Notes Rick & Tammy 1995 Jeep Wrangler 31s, 2-inch lift, club trail boss (Rick) and raffle boss (Tammy) Frank & Donna 1979 Ford F-150 4x4 Frank's had it since new. Carries the club's water on every trip. Gary 1988 Jeep Cherokee New CV boot as of March. Ask him about it. Danny & Michelle 1997 Jeep Wrangler Missing one hubcap somewhere in Johnson Valley Ronnie 1986 Toyota 4x4 pickup Has the telescope. Has never been stuck. We're watching him. Carlos & Ana 1992 Chevy K1500 Brings the big cooler. Everybody's favorite rig for that reason. Walt (Gary's dad) 1996 Jeep Cherokee, stock Goes everywhere. Slowly. Tells the best stories at the fire. Steve & Kim 1998 Ford Explorer Stock. Proof you don't need a lift to have fun. Pete 1987 Suzuki Samurai Goes places the big trucks can't. Also gets blown around by the wind. Dave & Lori 1994 Dodge Ram 4x4 The recovery truck. Winch on the front. Has pulled out half this list. Joe & Barb 1984 Jeep CJ-7 Rebuilt the engine over the winter of '98. Runs great now (knock wood). Ed 1990 Isuzu Trooper Newest member. Welcome, Ed. Plus about eight more families who ride along in somebody else's rig or only come to the potlucks, which is fine too, somebody has to bring the potato salad.

Other pages worth a look: Hank & Peggy's Great American Road Trip (they run the Backroads ring) · Project '67 Mustang · Sierra Peaks Log · the Baja neighborhood Still working on: a trail map page, the photo page, and the recipe for Donna's trail mix that everybody keeps asking about.

This site is a member of the Backroads WebRing, owned by Rick & Tammy V. [ << Prev | List Sites | Next >> ]

Rigs through the gate so far: visitors since January 1999 [email protected] Last updated: September 19, 1999 © 1999 Desert Rats Off-Road Club. Tread lightly, drive safe, air down.