Valley Dirt Riders Meetup

We will be camping at the Keysville Special Recreation Management Area (SRMA). All motorized use is limited to designated roads and trails. A map of the Keysville area can be downloaded by clicking this link.

There are north and south entrances for the Keysville Special Recreation Management Area. We will be camping at the north entrance which has space for OHV staging. This entrance also offers access to the area’s trails. The trails in the area are multi-use. Motorized riders will need to give way to all other trail users, and mountain bikers should yield to pedestrians and horseback riders

These organizers are not professional guides or trained leaders and are not medically trained to handle emergencies. Please carry a personal medical emergency kit and any medications you need. If you require emergency rescue services, the cost of such services are your responsibility. If you want to purchase GEOS SARS 100 $39.95 / year. You must have your own Garmin InReach device or I can add you to my plan. If added to my plan it will only be valid when riding with me. I need 48 hours advance notice to add you to my plan.
(https://files.delorme.com/support/inreachwebdocs/GEOS_Search_and_Rescue.pdf).
Motorized off-road driving/riding is an inherently dangerous activity that can lead to serious injuries including but not limited to slip and fall injuries, fractures, rattlesnake bites, heat exhaustion, poison oak, ticks and frostbite.
By participating in this event/ride, you agree to not hold these organizers liable for any harm that may come to you, your guests, or your property. Always remember to let the event organizer know if you are leaving the group.

We will be camping at Diaz Lake. You can make reservations online at Reserve America. These are dry camping sites (water may be available) and most are $14/night. I will be in spot 112. If you want to camp as a group, sites 44, 45 and 46 are group sites that accommodate 15 people at $35 per night. Many of their sites are in the trees, and some are lake front (check Google Earth or Google Maps Sat View). If you want full hookup's, you can book a site at Boulder Creek RV Resort, or stay in a motel in town. Boulder Creek also has cabins and we will be starting our rides on the dirt road next to the resort. It is about a 10 minute ride from Diaz Lake.

Friday's Ride
This is an historical 4x4 trail to Saline-Owens-Valley Tram and Cerro Gordo Ghost Town via the Swansea Grade. It starts at 3500 feet and climbs up into the Inyo mountains to over 9000 feet.

The Saline Valley cable tramway was constructed between 1910 and 1913 by the Saline Valley Salt Works to transport salt deposits from the salt lake in Saline Valley over the Inyo Mountains to Owens Valley. Gondola cars carrying 800 pounds of salt, traversed the tramway at a rate of 20 tons per hour. A total of 30,000 tons of high grade salt was carried over the tramway on and off through the early 1930’s.

Cerro Gordo was the first major silver strike in Owens Valley. By 1869, the mine was the largest producer of silver and lead in California, yielding ores that assayed at least as high as $300 per ton. Gross production of the Cerro Gordo mine from its early profitable years up until 1938 was about $17 million.

Saturday's Ride
On Saturday we will hit the Reward Mine (which you can drive into. We will then make a stop at the Manzanar National Historic Site then on to the Alabama Hills.

RIDE OPEN TO
Side by Sides

MINIMUM SKILL LEVEL
Intermediate

ROUTE SUMMARY

• Leave Diaz Lake Campground
• Stage at the Boulder Creek RV Park
• Ride across Owens Dry lake on a dirt road
• The actual trail starts at Swansea
• Back via Cerro Gordo Rd down to Keeler
• From Keeler, backtrack across Owens Dry Lake

TRAIL CONDITIONS
I will check as we get closer to the ride date. The last time I was hope there, the trail into Cerro Gordo was unpassable so we went back down and took Cerro Gordo road to the ghost town.

WHERE
The staging area for this ride is next to Boulder Creek but you can get to the staging area from Lake Diaz on a dirt trail; distance is about 2 miles.

Ride staging area coordinates (behind Boulder Creek RV park):

• Latitude: 36°32'34.14"N
• Longitude: 118° 2'38.31"W

PREREQUISITES:
These rides are approximately 80 miles long. Bring extra fuel if you even think you might need it.

All participants should:

• Have experience doing long trail rides
• Be comfortable on rocky, sandy, off camber trails
• Be comfortable climbing and descending loose rocky trails
• Bring food, water and a coat (temp drops as we climb)

These organizers are not professional guides or trained leaders and are not medically trained to handle emergencies. Please carry a personal medical emergency kit and any medications you need.

Motorized off-road driving/riding is an inherently dangerous activity that can lead to serious injuries including but not limited to slip and fall injuries, fractures, rattlesnake bites, heat exhaustion, poison oak, ticks and frostbite.

By participating in this event/ride, you agree to not hold these organizers liable for any harm that may come to you, your guests, or your property. Always remember to let the event organizer know if you are leaving the group. Stay on the trail, never drive/ride alone and use your own common sense.