2016 WAYALIFE Newbie Camping Run Photo Highlights

wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Over the last 10 years, Cindy and I have been leading groups of people who are new to the world of off-roading out on run to help teach them about their Jeep and how to use it out on the trail. For the most part, we've been doing this up in the El Paso Mountains near the town of Ridgecrest and out on a trail known as, Last Chance Canyon. Unlike previous years, we decided to keep the size of our group small and to the point where we had about one helper for every newbie and we also made it a requirement that all participants were required to camp with us. In the end, this helped to move things along, allowed everyone a chance to take on harder lines, afforded us more time to check out historical sites and most importantly, it gave everyone a chance to get to know each other a lot better. That being said, here are some photos from our 2016 WAYALIFE Newbie Camping Run, I hope you enjoy.

Meeting up with everyone at the Last Chance Canyon trailhead, airing down and getting ready to have some fun.
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The weather forecast was predicting rain but so far, it looked like we were going to have a beautiful day.
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A quick drivers meeting before heading out.
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Lining up and getting ready to roll.
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And we're off - heading into Last Chance Canyon.
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Having shown up in a stock Rubicon, phrogbusta was without question the smallest Jeep in our group and so we had him running up in the front of the pack. Here's a shot of his getting into the first set of rocks.
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Drummergordy came in a mildly lifted Sahara and was eager to learn how to use it.
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NavyJeeper was one of two TJ's that joined us for the run and this was his first time taking it out on the rocks.
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ob_tj was the other TJ that joined us and in addition to being a newbie run, this was also a birthday run for him.
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Rud joined us in his 2" Mopar lifted JK Rubicon.
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Even though he was running a built up JK and running 37's, we made an exception for moonraker and allowed him to join our run being that his newbie girlfriend would be behind the wheel and of course, they had come out all the way from North Carolina.
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Here's a shot of Cindy having some fun on an optional obstacle.
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Ray followed her up and out of the way.
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And here's Tony picking up the rear.
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Further up the canyon, we lead everyone up onto some bigger rocks.
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Shot of Adam in his 2-Door enjoying being out on the rocks.
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Chris having a great time in his sweet JK-8.
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As luck would have it, there were more rocks just ahead.
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Continuing our way up the canyon.
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About half way up the trail, there is a challenging ledge climb that we encourage everyone to take on as it can teach you things like approach angle and throttle control.
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For those of you who know the trail, there is a v-notch just past the ledge climb and it's typically something we bypass on a run like this. But, being that we were such a small group and Chris was egging us on, Cindy agreed to take Moby up it.
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While it really isn't that hard of an obstacle, there is one point a little more than half way through the notch where there is a big crack in the wall leaving you with nothing to hold you up. One false move here and the notch will drop you on your side. It is at this point that you can offerings like this left behind for the rock gods.
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Here's Cindy starting her climb into the v-notch.
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And she's out!
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If you can believe it, even the bypass around the v-notch can be a challenge and here are a few pics of everyone climbing their way up it.
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Having come all the way out from back east, moonraker didn't want to miss a chance like this and so he asked me if I could spot him through the v-notch.
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Going slow and making sure he could make it through without doing any damage.
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And he made it through!
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Nearing the end of the canyon.
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Everyone starting to look a lot more comfortable on the rocks.
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Out into the open and nearing the end of Last Chance Canyon.
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And here we are at last, the final hill climb that leads you up and out of Last Chance Canyon. Being that this is the end of our newbie run, we affectionately call it "Graduation Hill".
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Here we go!
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ob_tj had a little trouble clearing the bump about half way up.
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But, he eventually cleared it and made it to the top.
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With the rocks behind us, it was time to head out and do some exploring.
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Our first stop was to visit the home of an early prospector and long time resident of Last Chance Canyon, Walter Bickel. Known today as Bickel Camp, the area is wonderful outdoor museum that is still maintained by his descendants.
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You think I can drive this thing out of here?
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A peak inside the old cabin.
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After our fun at the Bickel Camp, it was time to head on our to our next destination of the day.
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Here we are at the famous Burro Schmidt Tunnel.
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Time to head on in.
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Why anyone would dig a tunnel like this, through solid granite and for 38 years is beyond me. But, it sure is cool to hike through.
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And out the other side, 1/2 of a mile later.
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On our final leg of our journey.
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At camp at long last! Actually, we got here surprisingly quick :crazyeyes:
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Loving all the wildflowers out here.
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To all our friends old and new and to an awesome day out on the trail - CHEERS!!
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You can see a whole bunch more pics that others had taken and posted up from the run here:
http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?34950-2016-Newbie-Camping-Run/page7

I hope you all enjoyed following our adventures out on the Last Chance Canyon trail and with great group of guys and gals who were new to the world of Jeeps and off-roading. A BIG THANKS needs to go out to Tony and Stephanie, Rachel and Ray, Chris and Adam for their help in making this such an awesome run. We really couldn't have done it without you. :thumb:
 
Great Pics! Looks like everyone had a Blast! I am so Jealous....lol. We will "Head West" one of these days soon!
 
Seriously it's was the most fun I've had on a newbie run yet!


Thanks for putting it together ..
 
BamBamDeer said:
Great Pics! Looks like everyone had a Blast! I am so Jealous....lol. We will "Head West" one of these days soon!
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If you can make it out, you really need to let us know just like moonraker (Dana) did. :yup:

piginajeep said:
Seriously it's was the most fun I've had on a newbie run yet!


Thanks for putting it together ..
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It really was a ton of fun. I think we need to always do it like this. Thanks again for all your help. :thumb:
 
wayoflife said:
If you can make it out, you really need to let us know just like moonraker (Dana) did. :yup:



It really was a ton of fun. I think we need to always do it like this. Thanks again for all your help. :thumb:
Click to expand...

Thanks and we will let you know. We all watch the Videos and can't wait to see it for real. Thanks for fueling the fire! We may try for this Summer! I don't think I can wait for next year!
 
Had a great time thank you for putting it all together for us. Looking forward to meeting up with everyone again!
 
wow awesome pictures Eddie and Cindy, and again thank you for doing this. such a great intro to running trails and had a blast camping out!:beer:
 
From The Land Down Under

Hi Eddie

Looks like an awesome place.

Many of our tracks in Australia are being closed or graded to the point where you'd comfortably get a sedan through.

I'm curious ... is Last Chance Canyon an actual "road" or "trail" are you just heading off into no man's land?

If they're a road / trail, does anybody maintain them to a certain / agreed standard?

Do you have a peak 4WD body that represents the interests of wheelers or are you left to deal with local rangers / authorities to gain access

Sorry for so many questions ... it's getting REALLY frustrating down here :(

Cheers ... and love the vids n pics
 
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