A summer trip to the area


Message posted by Hank on July 03, 2007 at 16:46:11 PST:

As the summer is here and some of you have emailed me that you will be going into the area for the first time here are some hints that may make your trip easier and more enjoyable. First and foremost carry more water than you think that you will ever need. You will be traveling in the high desert. Rachel is 5000 ft. and the top of Tikaboo is 9000 ft.. The temps in the area are already over 100 degrees.Their is very low humidity so the chance of dehydration is very great. Consider the water as a lifesaver not only for you but for your vehicle. This will probably be the most desolate area you've have ever been in. If you break down their is virtually no help. Cell phone service is pretty much non existent, so you are on your own. Depending where you are exploring it is possible that you would have a very long hike to get to a road where their is very little traffic. As an example when I go to the area in the summer I carry 8 gallons of water, and a separate cooler for ice that I usually buy in Alamo, and I have food for at least 3 days. I carry the usual common sense car stuff that I carry here in Phoenix. Cans of fix a flat, the old radiator hoses and fan belt that I had changed out the last time I had them replaced, and a good flashlight. In the interest of full disclosure I have to say that in all the years (over 25) and all the trips Ive made up there (over 100) I have only run into car trouble once while exploring off road, and it turned out ok because of what I had in the back of the Blazer. This is not meant to deter anyone from going into the area. Its just some suggestions to make your trip more trouble free. Its a great adventure and should be experienced by anyone with interest in the area.
Most of this stuff is common sense which is good to have in the area. Just be aware. If you are off road their are many sand washes, huge rocks, cactus, chuckholes, and cows that could be in your way.
Speaking of common sense I got an email two days ago wanting to know if it was ok to just run across the border on GLR and run back. NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Will they shoot you? Probably not, but it could be very expensive and cost you more than some dollars. The same person wanted to know if the night time was a good time to cross. THEIR IS NO GOOD TIME TO CROSS. Its also not a good idea to fly an R/C anything near the border, and no its not ok to chuck rocks at the cammos. They are just doing their job and they aren't coming to your business and chucking rocks at you. Their job is to help keep secure a top secret installation, why would anyone argue with that?
Their are three main gates. The main gate or the GLR Gate, the Rachel or Back Gate and Cedar Gate. Cammos are at the first two and I believe Cedar Gate is manned by the military. the roads to GLR and the back gate are graded and the road to Cedar Gate with some chuckholes that I could bury my Blazer in. You can drive to the signs on GLR, and to the Gate behind the Inn. At Cedar gate their are signs way before the gate and the signs are the border. If you look to the right of Cedar Gate you can see the Fan Song russian radar, also the new airfield called Keno is in the area. The area is also where you may see some paradrops,and midair refueling.
As always the Inn is a great stop and a good source of info of whats going on in the area.
Last but not least please remember that their is no gas in Rachel anymore. The last gas if you come up 93 is Ash Springs or Alamo. The Chevron in Alamo is also a good sized grocery if you need food, water or ice. From there its about 50 miles to Rachel. If you travel up 95 the last gas is in Tonopah, 100 miles from Rachel.
It would be good to have a camera, a scanner that can pic up milair freqs. (225 to 400mhz) and a GPS.
None of these are a requirement to have a good trip but they may enhance your experience.
If you have any questions please post them in the forum or email me at bljk8@cox.net
Hank
Moderator


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