Last minute change of plan Dumont trip

[sand chick]

Right after our last trip to Dumont, Mike and I started laying down plans for a "just us" trip. Unwind, unplug and relax at Coral Pink. After the busy vending season and non stop work, Mike was really needing a break. A break from work. A much needed vacation. I love going to Coral Pink with it's amazing scenery! But one of my favorite things is the little to no cell service! So we thought this would be the perfect get away, and it had been quite a few years since we had been to Coral Pink, just us.

As the weekend drew closer, we started watching the weather. And in just a few days it went from perfect cool mountain conditions, to chance of rain on Friday, to clear on Friday chance of rain on Saturday, to rain all day Saturday and by Thursday morning, it was rain and snow all weekend!

We were going SOMEPLACE! ANYPLACE, not sure where, but we were going!

So we looked at weather reports for Amargosa, Dumont and even Glamis!

Dumont looked decent, and it was close to home. Friday 83/60, Saturday was a bit of a different story, rain 30% chance, winds 9-12 mph with gusts up to 23 and 65/44, Sunday back to 82/65. Well we figured we could at least get two good days in and if it rained on Saturday, we could chill out and watch movies until it passed. So we headed out Thursday night after work and into the storm that had brewed up here in Las Vegas. Thursday was supposed to be rainy at Dumont as well, but we figured we could unload in the morning if needed. The weather leaving town didn't give us much promise, and we hoped it wasn't a sign of the weekend to come. But we are die hards and were not going to let a bit of weather stop us!

As we rolled onto Dumont road, the rain drops started splashing on the windshield. Drip drop drop. But as we pulled up to the flats they had passed and left us with a really great sunset with rain in the distance. Temp at 7:45 pm was 80! That wasn't too promising either. One other person Spenser had decided to head on out as well and asked to join our camp. We said sure, and Dave from DW Performance had decided to head our direction as well, both making the trip from St. George. Not exactly the "just us" weekend I was looking forward to, but hey, we'd have cell service anyway, so I knew no matter what Mike would be working all weekend any way. GTP Off Road never sleeps or rests within cell reception! Once we located good cell service, we stopped and dropped. Unloaded and the rain drip drip dropped just a little. Dave was bringing the firewood and wouldn't be arriving until noon on Friday. So we parted ways with Spenser for the night and put on a movie and got out some Gentleman Jack on the rocks before heading to bed.

The dogs were excited about being back out at the dunes and woke us up at 6:15 in the morning! Thanks dogs! We are supposed to be on a vacation! That means sleep in at least a little! But thanks to them, we were hitting the dunes by 8:00 AM! And they were PERFECT! Untracked sand, buttery smooth and surprisingly rollers and not razors! We made our way cutting through the dunes, laying down fresh tracks from the west side big dunes behind comp, just cruising to get a feel for the unexpected changes, witches eyes and shifts. Hit up comp and we were the only ones there. About the 3rd run up comp, Spenser's belt was starting to go, so we made our way back to camp to get it changed. While the guys were changing the belt, I ran back to Banshee to take some photos, you know the ones.. wish you were all here! See what you are missing!

The guys met me at the top of Banshee and we cruised the dunes on our way towards the North Pole, taking note of several shifted areas, some of Mike's favorite run had changed significantly, shelves were there were none before and big drop off where there was once good jumps and wheelie spots. And we were at the North Pole by 10:30 AM! We hung out there for a little bit, there were also a couple of guys on dirt bikes out there shredding some sand. On the way back, the dunes were getting hard to read and Dave should be rolling in any time, so we made our way back to camp.

Dave showed up right on time, but the sun was still no good for duning, so we hung out for a bit and had some lunch. As he was unloading, we got a spectacular sight of some fighter jets out playing, they buzzed us several times, seeming like they were flying just above the finger dune as we cheered and waved.

One of our friends, Nick was posting on Facebook, asking where people were riding this weekend. So we told him we were out at Dumont currently and the conditions were beautiful. Someone else on his post whined about the chance of wind and suggested going to Coral Pink... apparently they hadn't checked that weather forecast and was steering him towards the frozen tundra! So I had to step in! Dude, bring your snowboard if you head to Coral! Nick chose Dumont and brought his crew with him. Good choice!

Back out to hit up Banshee until the shadows returned to dune conditions. Dave needed to make some test and tune runs anyway. And I wanted to get him some photos for his website.

As soon as the sun was right, we headed right back out to track up some untouched dunes. Taking a break, we started talking about the Superbowl. Dave had never been to the Superbowl, so we decided he HAD to go.

Break and then dune up to watch the sun go down on a perfect day at the dunes.

As we were sitting on the hill, the wind kicked it up, and I thought for sure the person who whined about the wind, was going to make a correct prediction, I was thinking they had doomed us to a hurricane on Saturday.

Back at camp, we retreated into haulers. I made Dave and us a dinner of carnitas burritos. We had some drinks and turned in early. Exhausted from the day of sun and sand.

Windows open in the hauler, the breeze kept gusting, getting stronger and stronger. I tried to sleep, but it kept waking me up. As I lay there, it just got worse and worse, the hauler was rocking, I shut the window, but the wind was relentless. Rocking the hauler harder and harder, I finally had to get up and out of bed, retreating to the back of the hauler, trying to not wake up Dave. The seasick feeling would not go away., It was 2:30 in the morning. Shortly after Mike came out to check on me and we were all up. Thinking that the hauler was going over. Mike had not set the stabilizers on the hauler, so it was just a wind free for all! The guys went out into the hurricane and set the stabilizers and the E brake on the truck and I clutched onto the couch, trying to get my brain to stop rocking. I get terrible motion sickness, so I grabbed some Dramamine, hoping it would kick in soon. By about 3:15 AM, the guys were done and the hauler was only shifting slightly. So we headed back to bed and the Dramamine kicked it and I no longer felt seasick on land!

We woke in the morning to cool and cloudy conditions. But we woke up late after a night of little sleep, I was exhausted and sleepy. I made us breakfast and thought I would head back to bed and try to get some more sleep. Spenser came in and said "Epic dune conditions" enough times to convince to go! I'll take a nap later when we can't see shadows any longer. By now it was already 10:30 AM! EPIC DUNE CONDITIONS were correct! Dark and cloudy skies, cool weather, sweatshirt and long pants cool weather. You could see the rain all around us, so we made sure to get the most of the time, before any rain started falling on us. We found wheelie spots, jumping spots, where Spenser and Dave hucked it out and probably should have had their pilots licenses they went so big! We duned and duned and duned until we had no choice but to head back and fill up the gas tanks and get some lunch. After lunch, I decided to let the guys do a fast guys run, now that we had covered all of the dunes and Mike knew what to expect. I needed to try to get some sleep, being up all night had caught up with me. When the guys returned, it was almost time for the sunset run. Nick and his crew had ran into Mike, Spenser and Dave out in the dunes and stopped by to visit. They took off to do their own dune run and our little group cruised our way up to watch the sun go down, playing on the way. We still never had a drop of rain in the dunes, just epic cool, cloudy conditions. Nick and his group joined ours for the sun down festivities.

We stayed until late and duned back to camp in the dark a fun little fast cruise. I kept on Dave's a$$ with my foot into it so that I would not lose sight of anyone, probably the fastest I have ever had the Ace, but I didn't want to be lost in the dark and the rollers, no razors made me much more confident. Back at camp we had perfect conditions for a campfire. So after dinner we sparked it up and enjoyed the fire until we were too sleepy to stay awake. It was another early night, after a day packed full of nonstop duning. As we started to head to the hauler, we finally got our rain.. drip drop drop sprinkle.. ok done! That was our big rain for the weekend!

Up by 8:00 AM on Sunday, Dave had to load up and make the drive back to St.George. But Spenser and his family and friend stayed for one more ride. They were ready before us, so they went on their own cruise, while Mike and I went on our own.

Mike really loved having his new turbo XP. The latest GTP Off Road build. I even got to take it for a mini spin around the smaller stuff and it was pretty comfy to drive! The Ace kept up good with the big boys, I guess I am getting even more comfortable, or I am just more comfortable in the smaller group rides, with epic dune conditions!

The only wind we got was Friday night and a sprinkle or two... so happy we didn't listen to the wind whiners and nay sayers... BUT that's why we are die hards that take chances and ended up with the best weekend of the Dumont season!

Some pics from the weekend....

Edited May 4, 2016 by sand chick

[dunefreak]

Great photos and trip report as awlays, Jodi. You guys scored an awesome weekend out there. I love it when it's overcast and empty. It feels like a whole different place.

[Dent boy]

Great write up and pics.

[aceisback]

Nice write up and photos. Looks like this would be an awesome weekend coming up but with Kelbaker Road closed I would have to take the looooong way around to get there from 29. Ain't doing that!

Probably go get some of Johnson Valley on Friday and/or Saturday.

[sand chick]

Thank you guys

[sand chick]

Nice write up and photos. Looks like this would be an awesome weekend coming up but with Kelbaker Road closed I would have to take the looooong way around to get there from 29. Ain't doing that!

Probably go get some of Johnson Valley on Friday and/or Saturday.

Can you still go up passed Kelso and onto Cima then back down the 15 to Baker? That way is faster then the looooong way. The long way sucks from 29!

[aceisback]

That whole route is being worked on right now with a lot of it completely closed. It needs repair bad. From National Trails to the 15 needs to be dug up and redone. Kelso to Cima, Ivanpah, Nipton, all of those have been beat up for quite a few years now but Kelso to Baker will tear up a car.

Not that I agree with the whole Sand to Snow Monument issue and all of the reductions/restrictions that come with it I have noticed that they are pumping a lot of dollars into making the routes to and through those places much better.