Off-Road Trails: Exploring State-Owned Lands, Part II

Apr. 28, 2015 By Kevin Blumer

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Yes, I’d driven up Diablo Dropoff five months prior. In the interim, massive rainstorms had swept through the area and created some nasty ruts. My left front and right rear tires clawed at the air as the 4Runner’s progress halted. My custom Currie 9-inch rearend contains an ARB Air Locker, but I hadn’t yet hooked up the compressor. Using a combination of sawing the steering side-to-side and a bit of throttle finesse, I got going again.

When the Federal Government shuts down, Federal Lands shut down with it. What do you do when a Federal Government shutdown scuttles your original itinerary? Grab a map and formulate Plan B!

California features an extensive state park system as well as several State Vehicular Recreation Areas (SVRAs). Two such gems, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and Ocotillo Wells SVRA, are next door to what was our Plan A route. As such, we explored extensively without touching even a sliver of shut-down Federal land.

In Part I, we were about to shoot down Diablo Dropoff and pay a short visit to the Wind Caves. The sun was fading into the horizon, but I’d driven up Diablo Dropoff just a few months prior. Descending Diablo Dropoff would be quick and easy: no headlights required.

Just as the Federal shutdown scuttled our Plan A, Mother Nature modified our Plan B. That’s okay with us: if everything always went as planned it couldn’t be called an adventure.

The freedom was short-lived. Fifty yards later, the side of the trail gave way and dropped my right front tire onto a soft slope. A ridge in front of the tire stood firm. Stuck again!

Matt drove his Explorer down the same slope in one fell swoop. The 4Runner highlighted the bad spots, and Matt was able to guide his Explorer around them. We still had a few miles to go before we hit the road back to camp, but it was time for a nutrition break. Dan, Dave, and Matt enjoyed the chance to fuel up.

Where’d that rock come from? The skidplate on our Total Chaos lower control arm laughed off the encounter. We backed up and took a different line.

This tight spot had Matt fearing for his fiberglass. He was able to tiptoe his way through, making plans for a future set of rock sliders. We were soon driving down Split Mountain Gorge toward Borrego Springs.

The Sky Art sculptures were crafted by artist Ricardo Breceda. Painstaking details, such as skin texture pounded into the sheet metal, aren’t obvious from a distance. The metal is left uncoated on purpose, and the resulting rust adds character and depth to each sculpture.

Ocotillo Wells provided an ideal backdrop for shooting Matt’s Explorer. The build included a bumper-to-bumper rollcage. The engine crossover brace took some tricky tube bends to clear all the vital components and avoid hitting the hood. The Explorer was built by “Smitty” of Tucson, Arizona.

Matt caught some air …

… and slung some sand. Good times!

The tan ridge on the horizon is known as the Elephant Knees. Diablo Dropoff is somewhere in the distance off to the right.

We hiked back down in the dark. Partway through, we all heard a distinctive buzz and stopped in our tracks. When you hear a rattler, your best move is to stop, figure out where the snake is, and back away slowly. After we’d located the snake, Dave moved in for a photo. His zoom lens allowed a close-up shot from a still-safe distance.

The sidewinder was a smallish one, but respect was nonetheless required. After taking a few photos, we backed away and gave the snake a chance to slither to a distance more comfortable to both parties.