Cerro Gordo - The Reward Mine - The Alabama Hills
The ghost town of Cerro Gordo is the main destination for our MeetUp Camp & Ride scheduled for June 13th - 15th 2025. This year we are camping at Diaz Lake and Boulder Creek. You must reserve a space at Diaz Lake and make a reservation at Boulder Creek. Currently we have 40 SxS's and 67 riders / passengers signed up for this ride. Even with the normal no-show rate, this is too many vehicles for a single ride. We will be breaking the group into two with one group doing Cerro Gordo on Friday, and the other the Reward Mine. These will switch on Saturday.
In order to eliminate radio confusion, the Cerro Gordo group will use VHF frequency 151.6250. This is channel 1 on most Rugged Radios (WXMAN). That group will continue to use that channel when they go on the Reward Mine, Manzanar, and the Alabama Hills ride. The group that starts off with the Reward Mine ride will use VHF frequency 158.4000 for both Friday & Saturday rides. This is channel 6 on most Rugged Radios (RUGGED2). Both these frequencies are licensed by Rugged for Nationwide use and are approved for up to 35 WATTS. For the Sunday ride, we will use 151.6250 (WXMAN). If you don't know how to program these frequencies into your radio, please email me with the brand and model of your radio and I will send you back instructions. If you don't have a radio, email me and I will bring you a programmed hand-held radio ([email protected])
We will do our riders meetings on the dirt road next to the Boulder Creek RV Resort for the Friday & Saturday rides. The Reward Mine group will meet there no later than 8:15AM and our riders meeting will start at 8:30AM. This ride is almost 90 miles round-trip so it will start earlier than the Cerro Gordo ride. Please line up in single file and do not block the entrance to boulder creek and make sure vehicles can pass on the dirt road.
The Cerro Gordo group will line up at 9:00AM with the riders Meeting at 9:15AM. That ride is about 70 miles round-trip. The Sunday ride is over to the Alabama Hills and will be from 9:00AM to 1:00PM. That riders meeting will be at Diaz Lake at 8:45AM. I need everyone to complete the simple form below so that I can try and balance out the two groups. If you don't complete the form, I will assign you a group and would appreciate it if you only joined that group.
The ghost town of Cerro Gordo is the main destination for our MeetUp Camp & Ride scheduled for June 13th - 15th 2025. This year we are camping at Diaz Lake and Boulder Creek. You must reserve a space at Diaz Lake and make a reservation at Boulder Creek. Currently we have 40 SxS's and 67 riders / passengers signed up for this ride. Even with the normal no-show rate, this is too many vehicles for a single ride. We will be breaking the group into two with one group doing Cerro Gordo on Friday, and the other the Reward Mine. These will switch on Saturday.
In order to eliminate radio confusion, the Cerro Gordo group will use VHF frequency 151.6250. This is channel 1 on most Rugged Radios (WXMAN). That group will continue to use that channel when they go on the Reward Mine, Manzanar, and the Alabama Hills ride. The group that starts off with the Reward Mine ride will use VHF frequency 158.4000 for both Friday & Saturday rides. This is channel 6 on most Rugged Radios (RUGGED2). Both these frequencies are licensed by Rugged for Nationwide use and are approved for up to 35 WATTS. For the Sunday ride, we will use 151.6250 (WXMAN). If you don't know how to program these frequencies into your radio, please email me with the brand and model of your radio and I will send you back instructions. If you don't have a radio, email me and I will bring you a programmed hand-held radio ([email protected])
We will do our riders meetings on the dirt road next to the Boulder Creek RV Resort for the Friday & Saturday rides. The Reward Mine group will meet there no later than 8:15AM and our riders meeting will start at 8:30AM. This ride is almost 90 miles round-trip so it will start earlier than the Cerro Gordo ride. Please line up in single file and do not block the entrance to boulder creek and make sure vehicles can pass on the dirt road.
The Cerro Gordo group will line up at 9:00AM with the riders Meeting at 9:15AM. That ride is about 70 miles round-trip. The Sunday ride is over to the Alabama Hills and will be from 9:00AM to 1:00PM. That riders meeting will be at Diaz Lake at 8:45AM. I need everyone to complete the simple form below so that I can try and balance out the two groups. If you don't complete the form, I will assign you a group and would appreciate it if you only joined that group.
Each ride will have an experienced leader with a radio car calling out the turns and a sweeper to ensure everyone stays with the group. The sweeper will assign each vehicle a number. Once assigned a number, please stay in that order. This makes it easier for everyone to communicate. The trail leader will have a number plate showing the total number of vehicles behind him and will display that to any vehicles going in the opposite direction. No one else needs to communicate with cars coming at you. The sweeper will indicate that he is the last vehicle.
If you need to speak to the car in front of you, call out their number on the radio along with your message (car 10 you lost your whip). We will be stopping along the route for bio breaks. If you need to stop for any reason (bio break, picture, pick up something on the trail), not a problem. The cars behind you will need to wait until your rolling again. |
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If it is a prolonged stop (flat tire, broken belt), please get on the radio and make an announcement. All cars behind the disabled vehicle should move to the side of the road so that the sweeper can make it to the disabled vehicle and assist with the fix.
There is a lot to see in this area, and it is difficult if you are following too close to the car in front of you. Try and stay out of their dust, you will enjoy the ride if you're not breathing in dust the whole day. Slower riders or riders that expect to make multiple stops along the route should ride towards the rear. The sweeper is ok with whatever pace the group is riding at. If for some reason you decide to leave the group, please inform the sweeper or the leader. We have always managed to get everyone back to camp no matter what the problem was. We will not leave anyone behind.
It is everyone's responsibility to wait at EVERY TURN; Y intersections are turns. Please stop on the trail you were on before the turn. Do not make your turn then stop. That makes it more difficult for the car behind you to see you. I really need to emphasize this since it has been a recurring problem lately and we have had to go find riders because the car in front did not wait at a turn. If you can't follow this simple rule, then please do not ride with our group. If you find yourself on the trail by yourself (you see no dust in the distance and it's been a while since you saw the car in front of you, get on the radio and call the car in front of you to see if they made a turn and did not wait. If you get no response, STOP! Just wait and at some point, the sweeper will come back and look for you. If you notice that the car in front of you is no longer the car that started out in front of you, radio the car telling them your number and asking for their number. If it is not the number before yours, stop and inform the group that we may have lost a vehicle.
I recommend that every car have a spare tire and belt. If you don't know how to change a broken belt, someone will help you, but you need to at least have a spare with you. If you have a spare but not a jack, someone will help you. If you don't have a spare and get a flat, you may need to ride 40+ miles back to camp on your rim. There will be a stop for lunch, but you can eat at any break.
These rides will reach altitudes above 8000 feet. Make sure you have dressed for the altitude. The trails consist of dirt roads (both narrow and wide), some rocky trails, some sections where you will need to navigate around or over moderate sized rocks. While there are some sections with steep drop-offs to the right, the trails are plenty wide for all SxS's. These sections are short and should not present a challenge.
You can download the GPX file by clicking the link below. It includes all 3 tracks and related waypoints.
There is a lot to see in this area, and it is difficult if you are following too close to the car in front of you. Try and stay out of their dust, you will enjoy the ride if you're not breathing in dust the whole day. Slower riders or riders that expect to make multiple stops along the route should ride towards the rear. The sweeper is ok with whatever pace the group is riding at. If for some reason you decide to leave the group, please inform the sweeper or the leader. We have always managed to get everyone back to camp no matter what the problem was. We will not leave anyone behind.
It is everyone's responsibility to wait at EVERY TURN; Y intersections are turns. Please stop on the trail you were on before the turn. Do not make your turn then stop. That makes it more difficult for the car behind you to see you. I really need to emphasize this since it has been a recurring problem lately and we have had to go find riders because the car in front did not wait at a turn. If you can't follow this simple rule, then please do not ride with our group. If you find yourself on the trail by yourself (you see no dust in the distance and it's been a while since you saw the car in front of you, get on the radio and call the car in front of you to see if they made a turn and did not wait. If you get no response, STOP! Just wait and at some point, the sweeper will come back and look for you. If you notice that the car in front of you is no longer the car that started out in front of you, radio the car telling them your number and asking for their number. If it is not the number before yours, stop and inform the group that we may have lost a vehicle.
I recommend that every car have a spare tire and belt. If you don't know how to change a broken belt, someone will help you, but you need to at least have a spare with you. If you have a spare but not a jack, someone will help you. If you don't have a spare and get a flat, you may need to ride 40+ miles back to camp on your rim. There will be a stop for lunch, but you can eat at any break.
These rides will reach altitudes above 8000 feet. Make sure you have dressed for the altitude. The trails consist of dirt roads (both narrow and wide), some rocky trails, some sections where you will need to navigate around or over moderate sized rocks. While there are some sections with steep drop-offs to the right, the trails are plenty wide for all SxS's. These sections are short and should not present a challenge.
You can download the GPX file by clicking the link below. It includes all 3 tracks and related waypoints.
| june_2025_lone_pine_tracks.gpx |
