2 New Johnson Valley Trails! Crowbar and Shaft Canyon

[TurtleTruck]

These trails are in the Soggy Dry Lake area, in the Fry Mountains.  Both trails are about equal to Aftershock in difficulty if the easiest route is taken (except for the waterfall entrance to Crowbar, which has only been winched, so far)...  there are plenty of alternate lines to play on.  Many thanks to my fellow Spinnin' Fours for all their hard work opening these trails!

Crowbar
First run 4/23/05

The dramatic entrance to Crowbar is a 12' - 15' very steep, very slick (water worn smooth) waterfall.  I am sure that someone will drive it (and earn the right to name it) someday, but for now it has only been winched.

It is steeper than it looks in this picture.




This well built Sammy buggy with Toyota axles gave up after several tries.  There was NO traction on the slick rock.




The first ascent was me on the winch.




This was a tight spot for the Toyotas.  You can see where we used a crowbar to pry a large rock off of the wall near the passenger side door.  This rock would have taken out my A pillar and gave the trail its name, Crowbar.




The canyon is tight and twisty, even for Sammys and Jeeps.



The canyon is different from the Hammer trails...  many of the rocks are set in sand like a Japanese rock garden...  you pull up to it with your rear tires and just dig in.  This makes some obstacles that look straight forward, much more difficult.



Nice flex, full size axles...



Continues on next post...

Note:  This post is a copy of my original post on the Tin Benders BB, 12/2/05.

[TurtleTruck]

Crowbar Continued...

The last major obstacle before the bail out.
   


It is tight, even for a Sammy.
   


Glad that I took off the top!
   


Above this point there are no tracks, not even Motorcycle tracks.
   


The upper canyon is going to take a lot of work to allow anything but a buggy to pass.
   


Hammer time!
   


2 galleries with more pics are here:

-First trip, up to the 1st bail out, 4/23/05:

  http://spinninfours.com/trips/crowbar_sb/index.htm 

-Second trip, in the 1st bail out, finish the lower canyon, and out the upper bail out, 5/21/05: 

  http://spinninfours.com/trips/crowbar05_05/index.html

Next post:  Shaft Canyon

Note:  This post is a copy of my original post on the Tin Benders BB, 12/2/05.

[TurtleTruck]

Shaft Canyon

This trail is similar to Crowbar, but shorter.  I thought it was easier, but others thought it was harder...  This canyon is named for a vertical mine shaft located half way up, near the end of the main trail.

We bypassed the lower canyon.  It, like Crowbar, has a dramatic entrance, this time with a rocky notch that has the potential to take out a lot of sheet metal.

We probed the lower canyon entrance last spring and decided to bypass it and drop into the main canyon a few hundred yards above.

Here Vince probes the lower canyon (last spring) and then goes back down (it was an exploration trip).







Now for the 10/22/05 trip:  We bypassed the extreme hardcore lower canyon and dropped into the canyon.

This is the first obstacle.



The Buggy tried this slot, but didn't fit.



A Sammy did fit, and make it!





Continued in next post...

Note:  This post is a copy of my original post on the Tin Benders BB, 12/2/05.

[TurtleTruck]

Shaft Canyon Continued...

Some fun ledges and climbs.
   

   


This notch is the crux of the route, and the last difficult spot before the moderate Cross Mountain Route drops into the canyon at the vertical mine shaft.
   

   


A gallery of all pictures is here (note that they are not in order):

   http://spinninfours.com/trips/shaft10_05/index.html   


And now...  for some maps!

First, a close in view of the trails and access routes:

   

Click here for a full res version of this map (363k), suitable for printing.


Next, a larger view, showing the proximity of the trails to Soggy Dry Lake:

   

Click here for a full res version of this map (719k), suitable for printing.


Directions to Soggy Dry Lake, Johnson Valley OHV area

From Victorville, exit the I-15 at Bear Valley Road, head East. Pass out of Victorville and enter Apple Valley. Continuing East, intersect Hwy 18 and head toward Lucerne Valley. In Lucerne Valley (the last gas if coming from this direction) stay on the same road, which becomes Hwy 247 as Hwy 18 turns South toward Big Bear.

Head East out of Lucerne Valley for about 13 miles and watch for Bessemer Mine Road (at approximately milepost 31.5). There will be a large BLM Johnson Valley OHV Area sign on the right.

Turn left on Bessemer Mine Road (well graded dirt) and head North for about 3.5 miles to Soggy Dry Lake.

Here is a map of the area:



Click here for a larger version of this map (79k), suitable for printing.

This is a good dirt road route from Means Dry Lake to Soggy Dry Lake:  13.5 miles and 30 minutes driving time with speeds varying from 10 mph on the worst whoops to 55 mph on the smooth sections.  Your driving time may vary, but I think most rigs could make the trip in 30 minutes (or less).  The trails are another 10 minutes past the lakebed.


Click here for a larger version of this map (782k), suitable for printing.

Recommendations

I would say that Crowbar is too tight for full sized rigs.  An Early Bronco is about the maximum width you would want to squeeze up some of the obstacles.  A full size rig may not even fit through 2 or 3 of the squeezes on Crowbar, and there is no bypass for those. 

I would recommend that if a full size wants to try Crowbar, walk the trail first.  It would only take 30 minutes round trip from the waterfall to the upper bail out, and may save much frustration and body damage.

Full size vehicles could probably do Shaft Canyon (not including the extreme lower canyon entrance).  I would still suggest walking it first, it is a very short trail.

Suggested minimum vehicle requirements:

Toyotas, Jeeps, Early Broncos and similar rigs
33" tires (you will be doing a lot of rock stacking, 35's would be better)

Samurai's
31" tires (you will also be stacking rocks a lot, 33's would be better)

All Rigs
At least one rig must have a winch in good and safe working order and a couple of tow straps and clevis' to winch the entrance waterfall on Crowbar.  We have found that it is quicker to have the first rig up winch the rest up.
2 lockers
crawler gears highly recommended
rock sliders highly recommended
Hard Tops should be removed (especially 4Runners)!
Body Damage is likely

If anyone does these trails, please let me know what you think... 

If you would like me to guide you or show you where they are, let me know and I will try to accommodate.

My next certain trip to Johnson Valley will be New Years.

Note:  This post is a copy of my original post on the Tin Benders BB, 12/2/05.

[BigMike]

nice write-up and pictures! I'll be sure to check it out next summer when I am ready for anything!

[motorider228]

those look like some fun trails. where is johnson valley? I dont know southern california too well. I live in vegas now so i wont really be wheeling nor cal as much anymore so i need to find some good trails in my area.

[TurtleTruck]

those look like some fun trails. where is johnson valley? I dont know southern california too well. I live in vegas now so i wont really be wheeling nor cal as much anymore so i need to find some good trails in my area.

From Las Vegas you would take I-15 south to Barstow, then Hwy 247 south to Lucerne Valley and follow my directions above from there.  Probably 3.5 to 4 hours from Las Vegas, depending upon how fast you drive.

Go to Google local and search for Johnson Valley, CA and it will pull up the general area.

There are some very active wheelers in Las Vegas.  Roc Doc on the Pirate BB comes to mind, as does Vegas Valley 4Wheelers ( http://www.vv4w.org/ ) you should try to hook up with them and wheel the local trails.

[motorider228]

thanks for the info turtle    after i finish my sas i will have to take a trip down there.

[toybuilt]

That looks like fun all have to head down there sometime.

[TurtleTruck]

thanks for the info turtle    after i finish my sas i will have to take a trip down there.

I forgot about this post on our BB that has links to trail maps, road maps, BLM info, weather, and directions:

http://www.spinninfours.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=408

[Shoyrtt]

Would you happen to have the GPS coordinates for the trail heads?

[TurtleTruck]

Would you happen to have the GPS coordinates for the trail heads?

I prefer a good topo map to GPS, so I don't bother to get GPS coordinates...  I do carry a GPS for emergencies, but rarely use it.

Click on the link for the larger (suitable for printing) view of the maps and there are coordinates along the margins...  that should get you really close.

[TurtleTruck]

The Waterfall entrance to Crowbar has been driven! 

Shane (whitebrowithafro on the Pirate BB) drove it in his custom buggy with Dana 60 axles and a V6 Vortec Saturday night.  It took him 6 tries.  The successful first ascent took a near full throtle effort!

Shane named the waterfall Ballerina Rock because it makes you dance around on the slick face of the rock!

Picture and video quality are poor because it was dark:

3 videos are located here

This video (1.24 MB) is the best of the 3.  It shows the last few feet of the sucessful ascent and gives you a good idea how much power Shane applied to get up!

I have always known that it would take a very determined, committed, fearless, heavy right foot kind of attack to get up this obstacle...  congrats to Shane!   

whitebro (on the left) and friends on top:


Looking down:

[toybuilt]

Thats awesome

[Rocksurfer]

  I knew it was gonna take an awsome rig and someone that knew how to apply the skinny pedal to get up that thing.

[rockscrambler]

cool pics and write-up mark cool to see someone else I know on the board   

[Rocksurfer]

Does anyone know an offroad route from Means to Soggy? A few of us are going out on Friday to map a route to Soggy for the Jambo.

[TurtleTruck]

Friday we scouted a good dirt road route from Means Dry Lake to Soggy Dry Lake:  13.5 miles and 30 minutes driving time with speeds varying from 10 mph on the worst whoops to 55 mph on the smooth sections.  Your driving time may vary, but I think most rigs could make the trip in 30 minutes (or less!).  The trails are another 10 minutes past the lakebed.


Click here for a larger version of this map (782k), suitable for printing.

I also edited the post above with the maps to add this info...

[Rocksurfer]

I didn't want to miss that trip but my time-frame for moving got moved up a month. I really wanted to go out one last time before going.

[Cuz]

We did Crowbar this weekend! This was way cool and I think it was a little more diffecalt than the last time we did After Shock. There was no tire marks to be found on the trail which means no has done it sense the rains and flash flooding we had here last.  We find that the difficulty of the trails change with the amount of travel and rain they get over time, sometimes they get harder and sometimes easier. We did make a wrong turn and headed up the first side canyon because we gave our map to the other half of our group to meet us at the top. It was cool too but we had to turn around and come back out.









A lot move pic's here

http://www.ucora.org/ew4c/bb/viewtopic.php?t=159

[Hammer Hog]

Very fun!!!

[catfish]

so many trails so little time

bob

www.extremewheelers4christ.org

[dizzydevil]

sweet gotta try that SOON!

[Willy Mammoth]

Lot of red exes, but the pics that I can see makes me want to pick up and move.

[iNfErNaL]

Hey Mark,you guys SHOULD pack up and move out here.You'd have a lot of fun.GUARANTEED!!!!...You'd be so close to The Hammers,The Rubicon,Fordyce,Moab and TruckHeaven,where TDS is held at in March.SO much fun!!!.

[Rocksurfer]

He mentioned that the Mammoth may not be so purdy if they ever moved out our way and he wheeled the Hammers and all the stuff in the area.

[Willy Mammoth]

He mentioned that the Mammoth may not be so purdy if they ever moved out our way and he wheeled the Hammers and all the stuff in the area.

Yea, I would wind up building a buggy. Wheels are turning with that thought in mind.

[catfish]

body=sliders=fun

bob

www.extremewheelers4christ.org