For anyone looking for info on Mojave Road, here is a quick report on the first 60 miles....
We stated at Avi Hotel Gas Station, and coming from the central coast of California, $2.45 a gallon was a relief. All you from other states can suck it! LOL.
We loaded up on some of the goodies in the store, then headed over to the river to collect our rocks. It was a little windy but warm. With the rocks loaded we headed to the trail. We aired down just after crossing over Laughlin HWY, which anyone doing this the first time I would recommend airing down at the river. The wash between the river and the highway sucks with full tire pressure.
The first 5 miles was as expected and nothing out of the ordinary. I had never veered off course before, but I saw an American flag flying and had to go check it out. It had been a year and a half since I had been out there, and I didn't remember seeing that before. Gave me a good opportunity to take a photo of me and my wife a state apart, but just feet away from each other.
Once we were back on track, we started to play leap frog with a group driving 80's model Chevy suburbans and blazers. Kinda annoying, but I guess part of the experience. We crossed over 95, and made our way to Fort Piute. The approximate 2 mile drive up sucks because of all the rocks, but the family enjoyed seeing the history.
Back down the powerline road and to the right turn back onto Mojave Road, we ran into a group of three enduro riders. There were two signs posted, one said "caution" and the other "dangerous in wet weather", or something like that. I saw the 80's Chevy group head past the right turn. I asked one of the guys on the enduro what he thought, and he said, "if it was me, I would do it." Well that's all I needed to hear. I told my wife to follow me, and we headed up toward the pass into Lanfiar Valley. There was only one narrow spot, but both the Jeep and my wife's 4Runner made it no problem. There are a couple sections going up that are in need of attention, but still totally passable in a stock Wrangler Sport.
We set up camp at the corral near Piute Gorge. Had an early dinner, used what we got at the Avi gas station, then went to bed early. It was much colder than what any weather report stated. Must have been down into the low 30's. That's when the trip took a turn for the bad. My daughter got sick, place barf face here, in the tent. It was tooooooo cold to even clean it up. We buried our heads in our sleeping bags for 7 more hours, and took care of the mess in the morning.
After coffee and eggs, we decided to head home. We stayed on the trail out to Cedar Canyon Road. Along the way we stopped briefly at the school bus, and I wondered what happened to the car that used to be parked in front of it, I think it was a Ford Galaxy. We also stopped at the penny can, where we had a quick photo op. The last stop was the WWI house, that I refer to as the mustard gas house. My wife and daughter truly appreciated the history of that house, along with the opportunity to use the outhouse.
We bypassed the downhill into rock springs since my daughter wasn't feeling well, so I have no report on the condition.
From there we headed down Cedar Canyon Road to Kelso Cima Road. We aired up, turned left, and headed home. That was exactly 60 miles, almost exactly. When we got home we put our Colorado River rocks in a box and taped it closed. I placed it with my camping stuff. We shall return to complete the other half, someday.
In all the trail was great. This was about the 10th time for me, and it was as expected. My concerns about the pass to Piute Gorge were unfounded, as it was easy going.
Hope this helps anyone looking to head out there soon.
Safe travels, and Happy Thanksgiving!
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