TrailRecon

02 January 2016: A great first trip out with the San Diego Jeep Club. We explored the Pole Line Trail, some of Ocotillo Wells, the Crossover Trail and the Tierra Del Sol training area. There were all types of Jeeps there from bone stock, to highly modified with large tires and custom lift kits. Although it was day time, the dust was pretty thick on the pole line trail and those with light bars, led light and hid lights made being seen easy. If you ever get a chance to go out on a run with the San Diego Jeep Club, I would highly recommend it. I know I will be going out with this great group of folks again!

Our first off-road adventure in the Jeep with a good friend. Started on the West side of Otay Mountain and then head to the East side and headed straight up. Amazing views from the top.

16 January 2016: Exploring the Oriflamme Canyon Trail was the best way to spend the day. The Oriflamme Trail had elements of sand, mud, dirt, rock and both easy and moderately technical sections. Great views all day long. Here are the GPS coordinates we started at: 33.007467, -116.456492. Be on the lookout of the Mason Valley Truck Trail and you know you are in the right place. Go find your adventure! Oriflamme Canyon is a steep mountain canyon, in San Diego County, California that descends from its head in the Laguna Mountains,in an arc northwestward then northeastward to join Rodriquez Canyon at the northwest end of Mason Valley. This canyon was along the route of Native Americans across the mountains and desert between the Native American peoples of what is now mountain and coastal San Diego County, California and those on the Colorado River. It was later used by Spanish, Mexican and American travelers, including U. S. Army couriers and the San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line. The latter's passengers rode up and down the canyon on mules between Carrizo Creek Station and Lassitor's Ranch in Green Valley on the short route to San Diego.

Cleghorn Ridge Trail is located in the San Bernardino National Forest mountain range and is a point-to-point trail that has some amazing scenic views. The Cleghorn trail ( 2N47 ) can be accessed near Silverwood Lake on Highway 138 or off Interstate 15. This trail is great for all skill levels. There is a main trail that is easy for most vehicles and there are parallel detours off the main trail that offer a varied degree of challenges. Some of the detours have a very high degree of difficulty and should be assessed before being attempted. The San Bernardino National Forest is a federally managed forest encompassing 823,816 acres of which 677,982 acres are federal. The forest is made up of two main divisions, the San Bernardino Mountains on the easternmost of the Transverse Ranges, and the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains on the northernmost of the Peninsular Ranges. Elevations range from 2,000 to 11,499 feet. The forest includes five wilderness areas: San Gorgonio, Cucamonga, San Jacinto, Santa Rosa and Bighorn Mountain. Forest headquarters are located in the city of San Bernardino. There are district offices in Fontana, Idyllwild, and Skyforest.

30 January 2016: We set out on a day of overlanding, hiking (see "Off the Rails Hike" video) and camping. The off-roading was a blast, the hiking was ardous and 35+ mile an hour winds ended our camping trip. Truthfully, it was still an amazing adventure! Trail starts at Mortero Wash, takes you to the train tracks, head north on Dos Cabezas Rd for about 1/3 of mile (past the small train trestle bridge on your left and take a right to link up with the Jojoba Wash (not ladled). A few moderate technical spots along Jojoba, and Piepkorn Slot is pretty tight, so large SUV’s are not recommended.

30 January 2016: We set out on a day of hiking, off roading (see "Mortero wash to Jojoba Was" video) and camping. The offroading was a blast, the hiking was arduous and 35+ mile an hour winds ended our camping trip pretty quickly. Truthfully, it was still an amazing adventure! Goat Canyon Trestle has been called the highest wood trestle in the United States. It was constructed in 1932 after an earthquake collapsed one of the railroad tunnels in Goat Canyon and is 600 ft. in length and 180 ft. tall at its highest point. Due to the complete remoteness and volatile nature of the terrain, the Carrizo Gorge railroad is nothing short of an engineering marvel. Mortero Palms lies in the southernmost reaches of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, not far from the old Dos Cabezos railroad siding. Thanks to Anza-Borrego’s open-camping policy, you can car camp or carry your overnight gear as near or far from the road end as you like and commune with nature without having to deal with reservations or fees. To get to Mortero Palms, drive east on I-8. Take the Highway S-2 exit at Ocotillo, and continue 4 miles to an unsigned dirt road on the left. Go south on this road and swing right after 1.1 miles. Continue west for another 4.6 miles, and turn left across the disused San Diego & Arizona Eastern railroad tracks on a paved crossover. Continue another 0.1 mile, then veer left, away from the tracks. Go another 1.6 miles, staying left at the next two junctions and then go right toward the Mortero Palms road end.

06 February 2016: We had wanted to take a trip up to Big Bear to hit some trails in the snow and we just happened to get connected with some guys on the JK Forum website that were making the trip. We met at the Big Bear Discovery Center, shook hands, discussed the days events, aired down our tires and headed out. What a great group of guys, most with some solid 4 wheeling experience. Everyone had the same goal, have fun, enjoy the day, and be safe. Our kind of group!

06 February 2016: We had wanted to take a trip up to Big Bear to hit some trails in the snow and we just happened to get connected with some guys on the JK Forum website that were making the trip tackle the Gold Mountain Trail. We met at the Big Bear Discovery Center, shook hands, discussed the days events, aired down our tires and headed out. What a great group of guys, most with some solid 4 wheeling experience. Everyone had the same goal, have fun, enjoy the day, and be safe. Our kind of group!

At TrailRecon, we’re all about getting dirty and having fun as we hit the road on foot and four-wheels. Adventure is what we crave as we explore new trails all over Southern California and the Southwest. Looking to venture off the beaten path? Check out our travels and decide if the trails on our excursions are right for you. Along the way, we’ll review gear and equipment, show you some great locations, and, hopefully, provide a little entertainment. Enjoy the 4x4 videos and if you see us on the trail, say hey. This video is a just a glimpse at the fun we have been having with our Jeep Wrangler Unlimited since buying it 6 month ago. We have met some great people, explored tons of off road trails near by, and learned a lot about off roading. We are lucky to have some of the best 4x4 trails around, with wide open desert, ohv trails and mountains not too far off that provide plenty of mud and snow.

Finding a new trail to explore can sometimes be challenging. I admit I have done my share of scrolling around on google earth looking for dirt roads near by. Once and a while I find a new trail we can venture off onto, but most of the time the trails are gated or have signs saying private property. This week I found a great web site called dirtopia www.dirtopia.com . It list hundreds of trails by state and county with directions, pictures and difficulty ratings for most trails. The Main Divide Road leading up to Santiago Point caught my eye as it is only a short drive, so off we went. The first ¾ of a mile of the trail was concrete and honestly I was worried this wasn’t going to be a very good trail. Thankfully I was wrong and we soon hit the dirt! This trail had a great variety of packed dirt, rocky sections, and rutted out muddy sections. The scenery was constantly changing. One moment we were in a canyon, the next a mountain cliff and then in a canopy of pine trees…. The drive never got boring. The trail was narrow for the most part and we did encounter some fellow off-roaders, but we were always able to find a good passing spot. The Holy Jim Trail is located near the peak and we had to be cautious of blind spots for hikers making their way to and from the trail head. Santiago Peak was pretty spectacular with 180 degree views of Riverside County. The drive down the mountain along the Indian Truck Trail was just as great as the drive up. Except for a few off-road motorcycles, we pretty much had the 11 mile drive down all to ourselves. The trail ends behind a new housing neighborhood and if you didn’t know what you were looking for, finding the trail here wouldn’t be easy as it isn’t marked. This was a great adventure and if you are looking for an easy trail in the Riverside County area, I can now recommend this one. Don’t forget to comment and tell us what you thought of the trail and please subscribe, like and share.

Bee Canyon Truck Trail to San Jacinto Ridge Truck Trail with the San Diego Jeep Club. Hemet to Idyllwild. 27 Feb 2016 was a great outing on the Bee Canyon and San Jacinto Ridge Truck trails. We met up with the San Diego Jeep Club in Hemet and divided into two groups. One group, with the heavily modified Jeeps, was set to tackle a black diamond portion of the trail, while the rest of us were going to take the easy to moderate route. The trail was dusty almost the entire way, but the trail had some nice rutted out obstacles, a few rocky sections and a scenic water crossing. The trail climbed the mountain almost 2/3 of the trail and ended up in a cedar wooded area. There was still a hint of snow at the top from a few weeks prior. The waterfall is just past the midway point is a great place to stop for lunch if you venture off on this trail.

An amazing adventure weekend during the 54th Tierra Del Sol Desert Safari. The San Diego Jeep Club organized a weekend camping trip with several trail runs. We had a great trip to the Pumpkin Patch, Fonts Point, an adventurous Night Trail Run, a great run exploring Ocotillo Wells, and a cool trip out to an abandoned Naval Base along the Salton Sea. Great people, some capable Jeeps, and some awesome excursions equaled one epic weekend. 2016 Tierra Del Sol. Tierra Del Sol Four Wheel Club puts on a great event. With lots of vendors, raffle prizes, and a 4x4 obstacle playground. Normally they conduct organized trail runs, but this year due to state restrictions, they were not able to. They hope to be back in the organized trail run business next year, but they need everyone’s help in working with state and local legislations.

Jeep getting flex tested on Lift3K Metalcloak had at their Tierra Del Sol booth.