Dumont Dunes
Thanks Giving Weekend 2001
I was heading off to meet my old buddy Scot for some off-roading. We haven't off-roaded together in several years. So when he called to ask if I wanted to meet him at the dunes I was absolutely determined to make it.
This was to be my first outing since New Years Day. I pulled the car out preped and washed it. I gave it a thourough once over and then ran it around the block once. Everything seemed fine so I started getting everthing together for a long weekend in the sand. I got all my gear rounded up bought a ton of food and was ready to go. All I needed was the trailer to hall the car on, so off to U-haul I went. Bad news here. They said that my hitch wasn't rated for the trailer but I could use a car dolly, for $40 a day. I didn't think so. If I'm going to tow it with the wheels on the ground. I will just use my tow bar, so home I went. I pulled the tow bar out of the back yard only to find it wouldn't fit around my roll cage. It's now Tuesday afternoon times running short. I made the neccessary measurements and ran down to the steel shop to get what I needed. When I got home I called my buddy Bill (he's going with me) for some help. We cut and modified the tow bar and got it welded back together. We hooked it up and connected it to the tow car and ran it down the freeway about 10 miles. Everything was great, problem solved and I saved $150.:)
We left the rig hooked up and packed everything except the food in. Bill had to work Wensday morning. So I disconnected the rear axles for towing and loaded the coolers and got them packed in the cars. I picked him up at noon, got the rest of his gear packed in and we were on our way by 1:00pm.
The traffic wasn't bad espeacilly for a holiday weekend. We arrived in Baker, Califonia around 9:00pm. We gassed up both cars and started looking for the turn to the dunes. I have never been here before, so I wasn't real sure where to go. The next thing I knew the road I'm on becomes the entrance to the freeway. Damn I missed the turn and who knows how far to the next exit. So I made a rapid stop and hung a U-turn. I didn't feel so bad when the next guy coming down the road did the same thing. As I came back into the bussiness district I saw a guy gassing up with a dirt bike in the back of his truck. The bike had a paddle tire on the rear so I knew he was going to the dunes. I pulled in and asked him directions (see ladys, men aren't affraid to ask directions). He told me to go back to the stop sign. Once there I saw the road marker and headed in the right direction. I had been driving for about a half an hour so I knew I was getting close. Then a convoy of sand vehicles past me going the opposite way. Unfortunatly people had stolen the entrance signs to the dunes, so I ended up driving right by them (thanks guys). Luckily I had only missed it buy a half a mile. I turned around and followed the convoy in. It's quite a ways off the road and there was no breeze at all. We were eating serious dust already. Fortunately Scot gave us good directions on where they would be camped. He saw my coming down the trail and flagged me in. The baja towed great and after eight and a half hours we were more than ready to get out of the car.
We unhooked the baja reconnected the axles and after some quick introductions we were off to compitition hill. Being Wensday night there wasn't alot of people there yet. Scot gave me my first ride in his rail. The thing was awsome. It was even better the next morning when you could see what was going on around you. At night you don't get as good a feel for the speed and terrain.
Scot's rail that's him in the yellow jacket.
Here's a shot of a few group members at the base of competition hill.
Thanks Giving morning everyone (except me) made a few passes on competition hill then decide to return to camp. Instead of heading back on the main trail they decided to head around the other side of competition hill and through the dunes. I wasn't real sure if my car would make it, but they asured me that it would. They also asured me that if I got stuck they wouldn't leave me there to die. So I fell in line and off we went. I was quite surprised at how well my car actually did seeing as how it's quite heavy and didn't have sand tires. I was crusing along pretty well when I got cut off coming over a ridge and lost some momentum. As I came over the top I saw the group going over another ridge. I could not get enough speed back to get over it. I stopped before completly burriing the car, then proceeded to back down and turn around. Unfortunatly I didn't back far enough and when I tried to get going the rear end sank. S*#t... I'm stuck!!! Again I didn't bury it. I get out and proceed to start removing sand from around the rear tires. Then I hear someone say "hey I know that car". I looked up and it wasn't anyone I reconized. I came to find out it was John, a reader of this site. I further learned that he had sent me photos to post of his baja. It was also stuck in the sand, but at Glamis rather than here. He snapped this shot an sent it to me.
It was really cool meeting a viewer out here. John showed up at my camp later that day for a little BSing. He informed me that his baja wasn't there because it was down for repairs (what a drag).
It only took a slight push to get me moving again. I let a little air out of the tires and this made a big difference. I had one more minor incedent on the way back. The front tire caught a bite going over a ridge and covered me in sand. All I saw was a wall of sand coming in the window!! I was covered, I even had it coming out of my pant legs when I got out of the car. It suddenly became very clear why people run smoothies on their rails.
Yeah Baby....I'VE GOT SAND!!!
We Had a feast for Thanks Giving dinner. I,m talking turkey, ham and all the fixings. I would like to give a special thanks to all the wives. They worked diligently to prepare the food and clean up afterwards. Mind you this no easy feat anywhere, but imagine what it's like out here. My hats off to them.
I didn't get any pics of the feast. I quess I was to busy stuffing my face :)!!!
It was terrific. Thanks ladies
Here's Bill getting ready for a trip up competition hill in Dan's rail.
These guys are having a good time cruising the ridge.
This a view as we crested a ridge in Scot's rail.
It's staight down from here!!!
Here I am throwing a little sand.
In the second picture you'll notice that the sand is wet. This was taken Satuday after it rained.
I had a little trouble this weekend. I couldn't keep the revs up going up the hills. I just didn't seem to have any power. I finally realized that I was only getting half throttle. The linkage on my new manifold was wierd, so I did some modifications (bending). This helped, but I still wasn't getting full throttle. The next step was to replace the throttle pedal. I bought a roller pedal and cut the limiter off of it. Once installed I had full throttle...YEA. Unfortunately I finished this just as the weather changed. It got cold and rainy. The cold prevents me from making any power. Anyone who runs a single Weber IDF without a manifold heater knows what i'm talking about. I was getting farther up the hills the day before with only half throttle. This sucked, but it didn't keep me from having a good time.
The wind came up a few times. This shot was taken Saturday afternoon preceeding a rain storm. The rain was heavy, but brief. The worst part of it was the drop in temp. It got pretty chilly afterwards. This really sucked because my car does not run well in cold weather.
This is where a baja is really great! This is the main trail to comp hill. Normally it's so crowded it's hard not to drive over someone. While everyone else waits it out at their camps, I roll up the windows and keep on playin'.
I'm sure this guy is having no fun.
This is not exactly the place you want to be in a wind storm!!!
That flying sand is from the wind not his tires.
Here's a couple shots of our camp. The rain has stopped, but the wind is still blowing like mad.
The sun has returned and the dunes are already drying out. The sand is still fairly heavy and traction is good. Now if it would just warm up so I can make some horsepower.
Here's a couple more shots of scots rail
Heres a video. 819kb
Scot built this entire car.
If your interested in having a car built or live in the Las Vegas area and would like to have a cage put in your baja, custom bumpers, etc. you can contact Chambers Chassis.
Here's a couple of night shots
