LR 4 Mojave Rd and Preserve: Fuel, maps, etc.

[mirowsky]

This is some info from my 4-days in and around the Mojave Road and Preserve (3 nights camping) in a stock LR4.

 

MPG and MPH

 

Over 4 days I averaged 10 mpg and 10 to 12 mph, almost all on dirt. I filled the tank and a 5-gallon NATO can in Laughlin NV. I refilled the tank at the end of 4 off-road days, in Baker CA. I bought 15.2 gallons in Baker, so I used a total of 15.2 + 5 = 20.2 total, or about 5 gallons per day.  

 

Baker is a side-trip up the east side of Soda Lake. IF I HAD KNOWN, I would have crossed Soda Lake and taken Rasor Road up the west side to the Shell Station on I-15 at Rasor Road. That station was not on my maps. My fuel computer said I did not have the fuel to make it to Barstow, so I aborted before crossing Soda Lake. 

 

BEST MAP

 

Tom Harrison, by a clear margin. Why?

        (1) Codes 4 levels of dirt roads: graded, usually OK for street autos; high-clearance usually needed; rough, 4wd usually needed; extremely rough, 4wd required.

        (2) Covers more of the Mojave Road, from Nevada to west of Afton Canyon (Nat Geo Trails Illustrated cuts off on the EAST side of Soda Lake).

        (3) All on 1 page, easier to use.

 

The Nat Geo map has one main plus: it shows private land (which can be gated or posted, although this is rarely marked on either map).

 

BEST GUIDE BOOKS

 

For the Mojave Road and history of the Preserve area, Casebier's Mojave Road Guide is tops. For side-trails off the Mojave Road or nearby, Huegel's California Desert Byways and Massey, Wilson and Titus' California Trails: Desert Region both prove worth their prices. Huegel favors minimalist but sufficient summaries, maps and GPS coordinates, and has more trails.  Massey et al. has much greater detail on history, geography, maps, GPS coordinates, and turn-by-turn directions. Both cover the Mojave Road as well as some cross-trails. Massey et al. would work as a substitute for the full-blown detail of Casebier's coverage of the Mojave Road. 

 

DON'T TRUST THE MAPS, BOOKS AND GPS GADGETS ENTIRELY

 

Make no mistake, there are no complete and certain representations of places like this. In addition to the sources above, I had my Rover in-dash GPS and a TRX7 specialized off-road GPS. My Jeep friend also had an excellent Garmin GPS. We still managed to make wrong turns, find roads that were not mapped, mapped roads that no longer existed, and supposedly public roads that were chained and posted. ADVENTURE. Expect it. 

 

HOW HARD?

 

My stock LR4 with street tires (Toyo Open Country light-truck) had no trouble on the "extremely rough, 4wd required" parts. I did use the IID Tool to lift the reference (standard) height. This was useful going fast on sand or slow for rock crawling. Sand is by far the most common. The only rock crawling was a short optional stretch in Carruther's Canyon north of the campground. I made it almost as far as my friend in a lifted and locked wrangler with 33 inch tires. The only trouble I got into was later on a little-used, unmarked trail over a ridge of loose rock. I started to slide sideways down the edge, and needed to shore it up and back out.

 

I recommend wandering off on some of the side roads not in the books.  Sometimes we had to turn back. Sometimes we found trails that made us feel like pioneers or ranchers. Many of the best views were on these secondary trails.  

 

AIRING DOWN?

 

I doubt that airing down or zooming over sand is necessary east of Soda Lake. I did drop about 4 psi, and switched Terrain Response to sand mode in the soft areas. 

 

A few days after leaving the Mojave Preserve, I slashed a sidewall in Redrock Canyon State Park. I had dropped the psi some, and was zooming on soft sand when I encountered sharp rocks in the sand. Whoosh. Flat. So much for that day. I limped back fully inflated, with 60 psi in a hard-rubber spare. Never sank in once, and scrabbled over rock just fine. Airing down and "floatation" may be over-rated for stock Rovers.

 

PLACES RECOMMENDED

 

PIUTE GORGE.  From the Mojave Road, just north of Piute Corral and the Piute Springs hiking trails. Worth seeing this rent in the valley and range. Good for lunch, camping, or hiking. As a side-trip, better than the Fort. It is on the East Lanfair Valley trail that runs along the western foot of the Piute Range and then crosses the valley going up to the Castle Mountains. Be forewarned that roads across the south side of the Castle Mountains are blocked by renewed operation of the gold mine up there.

 

CARRUTHERS CANYON CAMP. Huge granite boulders in a canyon forest. The road up is fun. The rock crawl just north is short but worthy. The camp could get full for holidays or popular weekends. There is lots of private and group overflow space.  Its especially nice to have all to yourself.

 

ZIG-ZAG THE GOLD VALLEY.  Old ranch and mine roads criss-cross between Wild Horse and Black Canyon Roads, south of Round Valley and Midhills Campground and north of Hole-in-the-Wall Campground and visitors Center. For the best views run north to south. Feel like a pioneer rancher for half a day. For longer and slower views, walk the north-south hiking trail that is crossed by the 4wd roads at several points.

 

AIKEN CINDER MINE. Odds are you'll want to see the Lava Tubes on the Aiken Mine Road, near the intersection of Kelbaker and Mojave Roads. Go the extra mile and see the mine. The drive is fun, the views fabulous, and the abandoned machinery a photographer's dream.

Edited November 17, 2019 by mirowsky

[Mr.BlueSky]

\Sounds like it was a great trip. 

 

Thanks for the awesome write-up! A lot of good information here.

 

I will certainly be referencing it when we plan a Mojave trip.