This was supposed to be a simple weekend trip to play in the desert. And for the most part it was. Everyone had a good time even though two people had to limp home.

First the introductions. Wayne has been out on club runs before driving a red Suzuki. At Truckhaven, the rig was almost stock. Since then, it has experienced a serious change in elevation due to a spring-over lift and the application of 32s. Aaron has also joined the club on previous runs in his black Suzuki wearing most of the parts featured in the PetroWorks catalog. Steve is an Internet friend of Wayne and Aaron who also drives a red Suzuki. Steve’s rig is well built for the trail and Steve, himself, is well equipped for a day of ‘wheeling in a Sami, right down to the orthopedic neck brace (actually, he was recovering from having a disc removed from his neck).

Wayne, Aaron and Steve drove down to the Desert Ironwood Campground on Friday night. The next morning Peter, Gary and Mike & Tammy, representing the Cherokee contingency drove down from Orange County. Gary Rose drives a bone-stock Cherokee complete with street tires. The only off-road equipment on Gary’s rig is a pair of tow hooks. Mike, Gary’s son, and his girlfriend Tammy were also running in a Cherokee. Mike’s rig is lifted and shod with 31s. I represented the third Cherokee which evened up the Suzuki-Jeep score.

Charles, a friend of Wayne and Aaron, showed up later in the morning in his 2WD Ford pickup which he left at camp so he could ride with Wayne.

By 10:30 we were finally on our way out of camp. The weather was gorgeous and a quick stop at the Ranger’s Station resulted in free maps and no day-use fee (actually, no ranger). The plan was to take the "usual" Anza-Borrego run starting and ending near Blow Sand Hill. The first part of the run went as expected, not counting a couple of missed turns. We reached The Slot just in time for lunch. The Samis and I took a run at the hill. The Samis did just fine. I didn’t fair as well. The sand had turned to a fine powder prompting me to go for the lockers. The front ARB worked fine, for a moment, and then quit. A not-so-quick diagnosis revealed that the air solenoid was not engaging. No big deal, just no locker. I did learn one new thing: while power is applied to the air solenoids, they get really hot. I didn’t disengage the rear locker after the run at The Slot. While working on the front locker problem I found that the rear air solenoid was hot enough to almost burn fingers.

After lunch we continued on down the trail. Gary’s rig had a small clearance problem going down the little (dry) waterfall after The Slot. Nothing serious. When we reached the San Felipe Wash, the Suzukis decided they wanted to find someplace a little more challenging that we had planned. We found the entrance to Hills of the Moon Wash and left them to play.

The three Cherokees continued on to the dump at Borrego Springs where we headed into town for gas and ice cream. After town, we headed to Font’s Point. After a good look around, we doubled back in search of Short Wash and, ultimately, 17 Palms. It appears that the entrance to Short Wash from Font’s Point Wash is closed. We had to go back to S-22 and take Thimble Trail to Short Wash to get back on track.

The run over to 17 Palms was uneventful. Apparently the trail near 17 Palms suffered a slide and was moved slightly north. If you plan on going be aware that you have to double-back on the old trail for 100 yards until you can see the 17 Palms sign.

Nothing much has changed at 17 Palms except the "mailbox" is now plastic and the water in the well is looking even more questionable. It was about 5:30 in the afternoon when we left 17 Palms to head for camp. We went back to the Palo Verde Wash and ran it back to Blow Sand Hill. It was getting dark so I had the chance to check out the new driving lights up front and on top. Lots of light, small aiming problems. We made it back to camp around 6:15. The Suzukis were already there. Aaron was working under his Sami…a blown EZ-Locker ended his day.

After dinner, Steve packed the rig and headed for home. Everyone else settled down for the night around the campfire. Charles was so inspired by his day of ‘wheeling that he decide to bomb around the small hills around camp. A little while later he rolled back into camp proceeded by the smell of burnt clutch. The rest of the evening was uneventful except for the science lesson in the pyrotechnic effects produced by pouring water on burning magnesium.

The next morning we decided that Charles was going to follow Aaron’s Sami back home and Wayne was going to join Gary, Mike & Tammy and myself for a run up Coyote Canyon. The plans changed suddenly when, as we were pulling out of camp, Charles’ clutch gave out. Since the starter is interlocked with the clutch, just getting the truck started involved wiring a bypass to the starter solenoid. Wayne decided that he would be the healthy vehicle and help Charles grind the gears all the way home and watch Aaron negotiate the mountain roads in front wheel drive, locked! Everyone made it home safely under their own power.

The three Cherokees headed for Coyote Canyon for a morning of fun. There are only a couple of tough places on that trail but, to a stock Cherokee, they look even tougher. Gary made it all the way to the Middle Willows with no problems (just a slight match to the previous day’s rock rash). The two water crossings were noticeable higher than I remember. The water in the upper crossing came to the top of my rims. Again, everything looks bigger from the seat of a stock rig, but Gary made it OK. I must admit that I was surprised how well Gary’s rig did. A couple of times I thought we would have to turn around. I guess all that experience running the trails in a buggy can be applied to four wheeling too.