Ocotillo Well is my # 1 riding spot for the dirtbikes! But eversince they increased the fees to ride out at glamis and buttercup, Ocotillo Wells has been way more crowded! Sort of a bummer.

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Ride on.

Here are the rest of the pictures as well as maps and GPS data.

http://www.mountainbikebill.com/ABDSP-08.htm

Also thanks to Greg for grabbing my camera on numerous occasions to capture both me and the scenery. My family got a kick out of pictures of me since, I'm normally the one behind the lens.

-Bill

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www.MountainBikeBill.com

Great added detail Bill. I don't know if it's the presence of the snow or differences in bike technology or what, but two things struck me compared to my memory of my last trip thru there (in warm spring weather on rigid MTB's). One, I don't remember the Squeeze being a problem, but maybe that's because of no snow, or we didn't even consider riding it and just hopped the bikes over. I do remember it in 4WD's quite clearly.... Two, you don't even mention the "dropoff" about a mile past the squeeze. A steep descent with a left turn at the bottom. Gotta crawl it with a 4WD. Most, but not all of us back then, walked it with our bikes. Who knows, nowadays I might not even think twice about it with a better bike and more experience. I'll have to go see...

Edit: my mistake -- the "dropoff" is in the expanded report, just not with that name. There's even a good picture of it. Still looks steep, but more rideable, than twenty years ago. More rideable in the sense I can ride things now I couldn't then, and it looks less rutted. Desert 4WD trails can change dramatically season to season,and it probably also gets much more 4WD traffic now than in the past.

About pictographs in ABDSP -- they're subtle, not spectacular. I like them though. Especially the handprints. But if you really want to see some impressive rock art not far from here, check out the Coso petroglyphs on China Lake Naval Weapons Base. A World Heritage site I think. Non-Navy personnel can get on base via a tour thru Maturango Museum in Ridgecrest.

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Thus, if we are to understand the world, we should live somewhere between judgement and amazement — Alfredo Lopez Austin

cool, nice work.

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