LAM
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Larry
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2024
- Threads
- 8
- Messages
- 486
- Reaction score
- 842
- Location
- Bay Area California
- Vehicle(s)
- 2022 Sahara 4XE
- Thread starter
- #1
Headed out Tuesday for a camping trip in the San Benito Mountains. If you ever want a scenic, slow winding road from SOCAL to the Bay Area I recommend Colinga Road. Anyway exited onto Clear Creek Road which is a wide graded BLM road.
Set up camp at the Oak Flat Campground around noon, ate lunch and prepared for a leisurely afternoon. Should have just sunned ourselves at the creek like some visitors up the way, but decided to cross the creek and hike up one of the side roads.
Standing there, this road to Goat Mountain looked intimidating. 'No Way’ from my wife and ’Not So Sure’ for me. The first mile averages a 16% grade and is washed out in many places, but anyway we were walking. Jumped the creek and started up.
Clear Creek is a BLM managed area with largely serpentine soils where grass doesn’t overwhelm the native plants and wildflowers.
Most of the annuals were flowering.
A patch of purple Chinese Houses (plant name)
Lots of trees here in the mountains. We didn’t get to the higher hills which are more barren and in places have been heavily mined for mercury, asbestos, chromium and other minerals.
It was not easy walking on this steep road, especially going down. Shortly after I took this snapshot the little lady slipped and twisted her ankle.
After painfully trying to continue her hiking my wife finally let me go back to get the Jeep. I had convinced her that she at any rate would never be able to jump the creek.
So, road T103 proved a lot easier to drive than to walk, and Jeeps have no problem with Clear Creek. Guess that’s why I bought it. My ankles and knees are worn out, too. To end the story, and the abbreviated trip, we packed up the tent, drove home and sat in the emergency room that night until 11 pm. The wife's ankle had a compound fracture and dislocation; she’s now in a cast and we won’t be going anywhere for a few months (although I haven’t unpacked yet).
Set up camp at the Oak Flat Campground around noon, ate lunch and prepared for a leisurely afternoon. Should have just sunned ourselves at the creek like some visitors up the way, but decided to cross the creek and hike up one of the side roads.
Standing there, this road to Goat Mountain looked intimidating. 'No Way’ from my wife and ’Not So Sure’ for me. The first mile averages a 16% grade and is washed out in many places, but anyway we were walking. Jumped the creek and started up.
Clear Creek is a BLM managed area with largely serpentine soils where grass doesn’t overwhelm the native plants and wildflowers.
Most of the annuals were flowering.
A patch of purple Chinese Houses (plant name)
Lots of trees here in the mountains. We didn’t get to the higher hills which are more barren and in places have been heavily mined for mercury, asbestos, chromium and other minerals.
It was not easy walking on this steep road, especially going down. Shortly after I took this snapshot the little lady slipped and twisted her ankle.
After painfully trying to continue her hiking my wife finally let me go back to get the Jeep. I had convinced her that she at any rate would never be able to jump the creek.
So, road T103 proved a lot easier to drive than to walk, and Jeeps have no problem with Clear Creek. Guess that’s why I bought it. My ankles and knees are worn out, too. To end the story, and the abbreviated trip, we packed up the tent, drove home and sat in the emergency room that night until 11 pm. The wife's ankle had a compound fracture and dislocation; she’s now in a cast and we won’t be going anywhere for a few months (although I haven’t unpacked yet).
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