Fremont OHV - (Garlock, CA) - ride report


the Eel

~SPONSOR~
Sep 23, 2000
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Well I botched the TWMC directions again and wound up in a sleepy little town called Red Mountain.

After alot of driving and the brutal realization that I was in the process of missing another TWMC enduro, Captain Jack and I pulled a left off of the 395 just a little north of Red Mountain. We figured we'd take the little road across to the 14 and go to Dove Springs.

The round wound around till you could see a ziggurated mine area and a small town below it. I think this was the ghost town of Garlock. There wasn't a person in sight and all the little ramshackle houses were boarded up - but it still looked like there might be people there. No - no people, but we did see trails !!

Up a little further the highway ran along a 30 ft. wide trench colored yellow-orange on the sides, and lined with deep sand and big bluish rocks ... and motorcycle tracks. Looked incredible ! We rode a little further and soon saw a Fremont OHV entrance sign ... in we go.

The weather was beautiful - sunny and cool and windy. We staged on a flat area covered in light-green grass amongst the dirt and sand. Finally, we'd be riding.

This place doesn't look like much from the entrance but once in the interior there is some incredible riding. We never strayed further than 5 or so miles from the truck in any direction and encountered:

The Yellow Trench - across the road from the entrance - we dropped down into the trench and rode it for a mile or so - it looked like it went on further but the sand was so deep we were barely moving. Awesome big blue rocks to get over the entire way if you want to keep going ... I think this trench goes on for quite a while and it really does present some neat but low-key trials-type blue-rock obstacles. The colors here were amazing.

Yellow Sand Hill - we rode up out of the trench after following it south along the 395 and crossed over again - kept going south again and rode by some awesome hill climbs (notice we "rode by"). This trail then curved east and the next thing you know you are barely moving in deep, bright YELLOW SAND ! This stuff looked like something out of a movie. We got thru the sand and back onto the hard rocky trail that rode up to a peak littered with broken up quartz-like stones. Looked east off the hilltop and we saw something that looked like an Area 51 government project ......

The Sand Swirls - a big fenced in area with another huge mine ziggurat looming over it in the background. The fenced in area was housing a weird plain of dark brown sand with these very configured swirls on it. Looked like a huge alien Japanese sand garden. It was kinda spooky ... off to the right of this was another yellow, sandy area ... I'll call it ....

The Sand Pit - 30 feet from the fence of the fenced in area and this yellow sand dropped off like a cliff ... we actually saw guys riding down it to the bottom. You would have to work your way down between 6 or 7 foot high yellow walls 3 or 4 feet apart and then it just dropped off to the bottom. It was rideable ... but I wasn't gonna ride it !! It was a long, long, steep sandy stretch to the bottom.

Hill Climbs - Jack and I were pretty stoked when we both got up the biggest hillclimb we had ever tried. We had a few get offs trying but it was a reall buzz when we both finally made it. There are some awesome hills to climb here - many of which I would never have the guts to attempt - I mean huge and some almost vert at the top.

Otherwise the place is very roller coaster up and down and there are alot of rocks - pretty challenging and really amazing variety.

This place reminded me of some of the wacky trax you might download to play on Motocross Madness (an admittedly guilty pleasure of mine).

When i get the exact directions to this spot I'll post them. I can't wait to get back there ... any takers ?

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The Eel
97 XR 250R
 

Farmer John

T.C.F.<br>(tire changin' fool)
LIFETIME SPONSOR
Mar 8, 2000
1,993
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Eel,
do you really think we're going to trust your directions???? :p

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<A HREF="http://www.timekeepersmc.com" TARGET=_blank>www.timekeepersmc.com
</A> 97 CR 250
I like 4 strokes...got one in my truck.
 

CPT Jack

~SPONSOR~
Jun 27, 2000
485
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Ha! Farmer, that's funny! But hey, I should know, huh?

Eel, your becoming quite the creative writer - the narration was both descriptive and imaginative at once. I even learned a new word "ziggawhatever".

Yes, this place was pretty far out. It felt like being in a movie or one of those Star Trek episodes where kirk is one the alien desert planet. (well come to think of it, they probably did film close by!) I wouldn't have been suprised if a gang full of guys on black bikes & dune buggys started chasing us.

We definitely got some killer views. My favorite was riding up that classic sand dune hill into that huge patch of snow white quartz was. That was a great spot, w/ a unique view of that giant sand table w/ the crop circle patterns on it. There's some wierd stuff going on out there for sure!

You forgot to mention that that place is loose and rocky as all heck. When I dared you to atttempt the hillclimb, I didn't think you'd actually try it. Almost made it the first time too! I really can't believe I followed you up though. (I made it on the third try!)

For anyone who's curious, the place is full of big hills and goat trails - and there's not a tree in sight. However there are a lot of areas where you can basically make your own trail and there is a lot of variety. Not nearly as much sand as you would expect although it is pretty dry and loose.

I was chancing it w/ a weak knee & even though I had a lot of get off's (including 4 on one descent!) and added a couple new bruised to the collection, I felt just fine on Monday.

Cheers!

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JCM
L.A., CA
'98 XR400 - 'The Jolly Roger'
"Dismounts Happen"
 

JWW

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Apr 13, 2000
2,529
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Ok I need to get out with you guys. You seem to mistakenly find all the cool stuff.
 

the Eel

~SPONSOR~
Sep 23, 2000
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Farmer John - can't say i'd blame ya for not wanting my directions ...

RM Jeff - funny how I've heard about you but we've never ridden together ... gotta do it sometime ...

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The Eel
97 XR 250R
 

brett r

Member
Nov 6, 2000
132
0
How do you always get lost finding the twmc events and you can find us in the middle of no where? I was going to call you to see if you wanted to ride out with eric h but couldnt find your # sounds like you had fun anyways, i have never ridden out there but it sounds like a good spot.The twmc race was fun it was harder than any of the other club events ive done at the end they had an expert special test,i caught the minute in front of me and did not want to make a risky pass in the dust and rocks,i tried that at prospectors and ended up with a concussion.Other than that i had a good run i think that was the best twmc course so far.See you at the keg run if you can find it.What about snowy this sun?
 

the Eel

~SPONSOR~
Sep 23, 2000
1,747
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Sunday sounds great for Snowy ... I did have a tentative to meet Kiwi and his Krazy Krew at Jawbone though ... I'll check up with him ... we should all meet somewhere regardless ... glad to see you did well at
the Running Cactus ... you're tearin' it up bro' !
323-461-2811
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The Eel
97 XR 250R

[This message has been edited by the Eel (edited 03-29-2001).]
 

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