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Sharksbaja
Elite Nomad
    
Posts: 5814
Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
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Owning the road
Have you ever had that selfish feeling you get when you're 50 friggin' miles from nothing on some left turn. It's a wonderful feeling. You look down
at the track yer on and the only tire prints you see are those behind your rig.
How far should you go. How long should you stay? That my friend is your decision.
I just want to command and control that road I'm on. One thang fer sure. My
life will be enriched with every pit and shore, dune or arroyo I cross. I envy the likes of Neil Johns, squarecircle et all. Yah, I'll be out there
owning my own road as soon as I can.
I need a fix bigtime! .
DON\'T SQUINT! Give yer eyes a break!
Try holding down [control] key and toggle the [+ and -] keys
Viva Mulege!
Nomads\' Sunsets
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craiggers
Junior Nomad
Posts: 42
Registered: 3-2-2007
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When traveling alone I prefer the road less traveled vs the road not traveled at all. I don't mind seeing one or two fresh tracks on the trail I'm on.
It usually mean that trail goes somewhere.
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Mexitron
Ultra Nomad
   
Posts: 3397
Registered: 9-21-2003
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Member Is Offline
Mood: Happy!
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One road we went on in the North Central Baja Highlands only had our tracks from the year before...windswept lonely place but beautiful...ahhhh....
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Osprey
Ultra Nomad
   
Posts: 3694
Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
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Sharks, you must have ESPN. I was just thinking about me and the outback last night. I stay off the beach here on Sundays because there is too much
activity -- mostly daytrippers, campers who like to camp while touching each other. Yuck! Then I day dreamed about all the zillions of weekend and
other trips I took from Las Vegas to the ends of the unwanted, unused earth so I could be alone (or almost). One favorite was on the Arizona strip
where my jeep just followed animal tracks to the river or Lake Mead. In southern Utah I found over 40 places to fish where I could be almost
guaranteed a solo camp spot at times. One such end of the puckerbrush trail creek (Browse Creek) I came to call "One Time Creek" because nobody would
go there with me a second time. For empty space nobody cares about you just can't beat the west with all that BLM land.
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wilderone
Ultra Nomad
   
Posts: 3881
Registered: 2-9-2004
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" For empty space nobody cares about you just can't beat the west with all that BLM land."
We wilderness lovers care most deeply about all that empty space, which is why we support NRDC, SUWA, et al. And it is because of the protectors and
conservators of open space that it is still there. The BLM has been notoriously imprudent in its management of our public lands, succumbing to
demands of offroad enthusiasts, oil exploration, mining, grazing. If you love it, help protect it.
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Osprey
Ultra Nomad
   
Posts: 3694
Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
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Ok "For empty space nobody cares to travel through...... happy now?
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Roberto
Banned
Posts: 2162
Registered: 9-5-2003
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I would doubt that wilderone would support your jeep following animal tracks just so you can be alone. But, I might be wrong.
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shari
Select Nomad
     
Posts: 13050
Registered: 3-10-2006
Location: bahia asuncion, baja sur
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Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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Gotta love baja...we returned to el Tordillo beach and ours were the only tracks from a couple weeks ago...but when we went to leave we surprisingly
found another set close to our truck...the vigilancia was checking up I guess...probably just bowed out quietly when he found us jay bird style on the
beach! We never saw or heard them! Juan is an expert on tracks and can tell who's been where and when.
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Osprey
Ultra Nomad
   
Posts: 3694
Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
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Roberto, I sure hope I get support. I need support. I need love. At times when I feel I'm not being loved I get so depressed I just have to jump in
my jeep and follow animal tracks. There's just no way out of this dilema.
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vgabndo
Ultra Nomad
   
Posts: 3461
Registered: 12-8-2003
Location: Mt. Shasta, CA
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Mood: Checking-off my bucket list.
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Osprey: I agree with everything you are saying, but I hope that your days of driving vehicles on animal tracks are over.
I do a lot of dual sport motorcycling here in Northern California and only two things really P me off. Clear cut logging and the scars left by people
who won't be satisfied to just use the tens of thousands of miles of dirt roads that are open to them.
On our last two rides we got a chance to stop and watch a pretty little doe and her two spotted fawns, we crossed the tracks in the dust of two bears,
one of them a cub with feet the size of a coyote, a covey of quail with chicks the size of your thumb, and an Osprey with a pan sized trout in it's
bomb rack. We passed zero other vehicles on the dirt roads.
Its different than Baja, but almost as good! Here's the highest elevation from yesterday. Sheep Rock in the foreground and Mt. Shasta (very bare this
year). Castle Spire is just barely visible on the horizon, and Black Butte is in the smoke from the Happy Camp fire at center right.
I can't wait to get back to Baja now that I have a dirt bike again.
Undoubtedly, there are people who cannot afford to give the anchor of sanity even the slightest tug. Sam Harris
"The situation is far too dire for pessimism."
Bill Kauth
Carl Sagan said, "We are a way for the cosmos to know itself."
PEACE, LOVE AND FISH TACOS
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Osprey
Ultra Nomad
   
Posts: 3694
Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
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Wow, that is spectacular. You're a lucky guy. The Arizona strip where I fished, hunted and camped is in the Lake Mead National Rec. Area, then part
is BLM, very little private land. The area I traveled had a few dirt roads but most were not maintained and many were no more than tracks, none were
fenced or posted so it was a perfect opportunity to get away from it all enjoy the out of doors without disturbing the environment (except for the
intrusion of me, my wife, my jeep and my puppy). I'm not gonna apologize to anyone for the good times I had there.
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Cypress
Elite Nomad
    
Posts: 7641
Registered: 3-12-2006
Location: on the bayou
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Mood: undecided
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If you really want the experience of getting back in the boonies, you've got to park your 4x4, quad etc., put on your hiking boots, saddle up your nag
and get a map.
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Sharksbaja
Elite Nomad
    
Posts: 5814
Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
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New track, old track, no track?
I would agree in principal that blatant trailblazing can be detrimental in varying degrees upon varied terrain. As an example, I don't see the harm
done to tidal beaches from vehicles driving along them. I'm not talking about the bother of hordes of quads. Just the terrain.
By contrast, driving off unestablished roads or tracks can do bad things. Many of these old roads or tracks lead to ranchos or beaches or ?? and are
seldom used anymore. Occasionally the military Humvees will follow your tracks or just take these routes as part of the drug patrol. I've been shocked
to see them in many places out in nowheresville.
I prefer to think that nomads have enough common sense when it comes to oof-roading er, off-roading.
Besides how else can some remote beautiful place get exploited. Just post the greatness along with the GPS and highlighted maps. You'll soon have a
Pemex at the fork where everyone turns off. 
Now, go find your own desolate track and let me be! 
DON\'T SQUINT! Give yer eyes a break!
Try holding down [control] key and toggle the [+ and -] keys
Viva Mulege!
Nomads\' Sunsets
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toneart
Ultra Nomad
   
Posts: 4901
Registered: 7-23-2006
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Mood: Skeptical
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I prefer hiking boots and a bicycle, where possible; in Baja or in Northern California. Also, if I can get away from the terrain scars and the
noisemakers, I'm happy!
(My avatar self destructed. I'll have to work on that.)
Here is a view from my deck:
Nothing wrong with Shark's quest for solitude on trackless roads.
[Edited on 7-31-2007 by toneart]
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CaboRon
Ultra Nomad
   
Posts: 3401
Registered: 3-24-2007
Location: The Valley of the Moon
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Mood: Peacefull
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Quote: | Originally posted by Cypress
If you really want the experience of getting back in the boonies, you've got to park your 4x4, quad etc., put on your hiking boots, saddle up your nag
and get a map. |
I totally agree, CaboRon
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bajadogs
Super Nomad
  
Posts: 1076
Registered: 8-28-2006
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I love the spirit of this thread.
My brother and I made a quick trip this past weekend to discover new areas. The place where we camped was ruled by 4x4's, quads and dune buggies
leaving scars all over the place. We woke up early, drove my truck down an established dirt road for a few miles till it narrowed to a path, parked
the truck, put on our hiking boots and wandered a few more miles in a direction that lead us to an area that no machine has ever been. We hiked over
boulders and through canyons that few, if any people have ever been while the off-roaders tore up circles miles away.
Right on Cypress - Park the cage and hike.
It was a great weekend, except for the 3 hour wait at Otay.
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oldhippie
Banned
Posts: 742
Registered: 6-25-2006
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Mood: muted
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I was up at the observatory a few weeks ago, midweek. The national park is wonderful. We were the only tourists there from what I could tell. The road
is paved except for the last 10 kilometers or so. Cars and large RVs would have a tough time on the last stretch. The Ford Condominium did fine.
There was no wind, it was completely silent except for an occasional bird. I enjoyed listening to a woodpecker do his thing.
You could smell the pine.
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oldhippie
Banned
Posts: 742
Registered: 6-25-2006
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Mood: muted
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Smiley on point.
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oldhippie
Banned
Posts: 742
Registered: 6-25-2006
Member Is Offline
Mood: muted
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aspen
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oldhippie
Banned
Posts: 742
Registered: 6-25-2006
Member Is Offline
Mood: muted
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Ford Condominium at campsite
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