Rockhound's Offroad Adventures
Chase's 1st Annual  HI-Desert Full Moon Chingo                                                          July 8, 2006                                                                               Johnson Valley, CA.                                                                     The Hammers

Chase, an avid wheeler, invited a few friends out for a night run at the Hammers.

This thunderhead dwarfs the mountains.

This is looking toward the east near Back Door. The lake bed is deserted, but for a few dirt bikers.

There was a hot wind blowing, I tried to find a protected area to camp.

After waiting for 3 hours for someone to show up, I spotted these guys pull in with a couple Jeeps. I figured if no one showed from our group maybe I could tag along.

It turns out a couple other people with Chase's group did the same thing.

Wes, Brad, Brian, Carlos and more wait for Chase to show. He had some trouble with his trailer and arrived later.

Once we killed a few cold ones, we hit Clawhammer.

The little digital camera doesn't do the run justice. With the full moon and all the rigs running rock lights, you could see the immediate areas real good.

We didn't even make it to the trailhead before Chase's rig started overheating. He rolled it last week and never checked the vital fluids.

Then his fan was hitting the shroud.

. Wes jacks the fan support, while Chase looks on.

Trail repairs.

Cutting away the shroud.

Back to the business at hand.

Starting to hit some rocks.

Brian's rig.

Wes had a bad axle seal leaking on his rotor.

Chase with his roof cut off.

Portals at night.

Four years building this rig.

I tried to catch the moon and the rigs. Next time I'm bringing my 35 mm SLR!

After the first trail, Brian took us to a spot where he and others built this memorial to a fellow wheeler .The man  died here one year ago last week. The picture doesn't quite do justice to the effort that went into this sculpture.

A moving and heartfelt moment late at night and deep into the Hammers. A new trail is dedicated to their friend. An official run to christen the new trail is scheduled later this year.

My first time running at night was a little overwhelming. I hadn't realized a night run could take you into the sunrise.

It puts new perspective and a new level of extreme on my experiences wheeling.

I had an opportunity to meet some dedicated and fiercely fun loving four wheelers. I'm honored to be included in their circle.

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