Calico Wheeling on Memorial Day weekend

[Dusty]

We've had a blast this Memorial Day weekend revisiting some of our favorite areas of the Calico Mountains in our 2-door Base Bronco, Chanel

























We also shot a quick episode for our YouTube channel Horsin' Around, with a Memorial Day message and a few clips from the trail. Hope you enjoy it

 

[Brncool]

Great photo shots. Where is the trailhead for this area?

 

[Dusty]

Great photo shots. Where is the trailhead for this area?

There are several ways in, off Ghost Town Road, Yermo CA. You can probably find some trail guides for Calico Mountains online or in some of the map apps (ONX, Gaia, etc.).

 

[JediMcMuffin]

Found it, pretty sure this is what you ran?

 

[Dusty]

Found it, pretty sure this is what you ran?

We came down the left side of the loop shown on that screen, which is Doran Canyon. The right side of that loop is Odessa. We didn't go up Odessa that day, except for crossing over a short section of it at the top, on our way over to Bismarck and the top of Doran. We've been all over those canyons in our Early Broncos over the years but I have to be a bit more careful with my Base 6G.

 

[ntsqd]

That loop is on old maps as the "Doran Scenic Loop." It used to be paved all the way around. I don't think that the current AAA County map lists it, but earlier versions did. That is why there is the pavement 'shelf' in the slot obstacle near the top of Odessa Canyon and fragments of it elsewhere. My dad drove it in a Studebaker in the 50's during a photography field trip. He told me that the pavement was failing then and that he'd had to cut a pinched section of rear brake line loose, fold it over on itself several times, and smash it flat with a rock to have brakes again after a particularly nasty bump that pinched the line against the frame and cracked it.