dunefreak

Dumont Dunes has many landmarks that duners commonly refer to; the North Pole, Comp Hill, Banshee Hill, the Superbowl, etc. The North Pole has been a popular destination for riders for years. If you've been to Dumont, chances are you have ridden out there and visited the mailbox. But how about the South Pole? Have you been there? Back in 2006, some of us from DDR felt we needed an additional landmark. Here is a little history of the South Pole and what it now looks like as of Presidents Weekend 2017. 1/21/2006: The Dumont South Pole Is Established A group of us from DDR decided Dumont needed a South Pole. After all, how can we have a North Pole with no South Pole? We wanted to have another landmark where we could ride and meet up with others from the site. We picked the south-most corner of the dunes where it was still legal to ride. Located out in the rocky sand hills overlooking the Salt Creek Hills and Sulurian Valley, it felt like the perfect place to put it up. You could get there from the finger dunes that connect to the big dunes in the south or you could take the sand highway on the eastern edge of the dunes. Another option would be to ride from the camp area via the trails on the back side of the rocky hills. The original South Pole was simple. It was just a red pole with some reflective stickers for visibility at night and some DDR stickers of course. We hauled the necessary tools and supplies out with a truck and after a little group effort of digging the hole, the Dumont South Pole was established! For a while, it was new to most and we made it game for others to find and post a picture next to it. Although it's extremely easy to find, some still had no idea. Over the Years Trinkets and items started appearing on the South Pole. More and more stickers were placed to decorate it and give it some character. Riders would visit the South Pole, kick back and enjoy the nice view of the dunes. It offered much better looking backdrops than the North Pole. DDR Meet & Greets For many years, the South Pole was used as our meeting place for DDR Meet & Greets. On the Saturday of every holiday weekend at 2PM, DDR members would meet up at the South Pole to say hi, meet some new faces and chat for a bit. It was a fun and social informal meet up that many would normally look forward to. December 2009: The military mailbox was added Some additional members of DDR decided to add a mailbox. Since the kids wrote letters to Santa at the North Pole, they felt the South Pole would be a great place to write the military troops. DDR member, termiteslayer, took it upon himself to collect and mail the letters each time he went out. Feb 2017: The South Pole Gets a Makeover Over President's Weekend, the "Regulators" group gave the South Pole a face lift. A supersized pole was erected and put into place. A large telephone pole, painted red, white and blue, was garnished with buggy parts that have been claimed by the dunes over the years. The parts were made into art to resemble a person, a dog and a buggy doing a wheelie. Up top sits a nice, big "South Pole" sign. They used two RZRs to hoist it into place by means of some cables and eye hooks attached to top of the pole. Great job on the Regulators part in reviving an old tradition with the passion we all share. It's group efforts like this that make Dumont a fun community and place to be a part of. Now that you know a little history of the South Pole, stop by the next time you are out at Dumont Dunes and be part of the tradition.

This year it seems the forecast of rain scared away most of the regulars that go out to Dumont for Presidents Weekend. Others were already dedicated and going out regardless. All photos tagged or sent in to @dumontduneriders from the DDR community Thursday afternoon the weather couldn't have been better. It was business as usual at Dumont with smooth sand and clear skies. There was hardly anyone out there that early. Vendors rolled in and got set up on Vendor Row. Come Friday morning, the cloudy skies indicated a storm was brewing. Some light rain came in and sprinkled the dunes for a few hours. Duners grabbed their camping spots and filled in close to where the action was going to take place. There was a short break in the weather. As most people call it, "the calm before the storm". There was no shortage of Presidents Day spirit with these guys! And then....WHAM. The W came in with a vengeance. Gusts over 35 mph blew hard all afternoon and into the night. On Saturday morning, Dumont resembled someplace out of a science fiction novel. Low lying clouds and fog hung over the dunes. Although it rained for several hours, many still went out to play. Duners showed up at the hill with their trucks, umbrellas and any other way they could stay dry to watch the Jeep hill climbs. As the day went on, the rain finally subsided. The best part of a storm at Dumont is the riding afterwards. It turned out to be a nice afternoon in the dunes. Sunday started off with great weather. The storms were over and the drags were underway. Duners showed up to watch the races and have a good time. Although the poor weather scared most of the duners away this year, the Jeep drags still attracted a decent crowd. The wet sand worked in favor for some of the dragsters, others not so much. Check out the wheelie that this Blazer pulled during one of the races! Talk about a wild ride. This year's President's Day t-shirts by California Casuals featured Trump driving a sandrail. Another great sunset closed out the weekend. We thank everyone who sent in all the great photos and video from the weekend! Do you have pictures from Presidents Weekend you'd like to share? Post them on our forum in the link listed below....