Has anyone here done the Husky Monument ride near Jawbone canyon?
Can you give any details of the distance from any camping area's?
Degree of difficulty during the ride? various terrain along the way?
I am a skilled rider, with about 40 years experience, so I'm just asking this for my daughters behalf and benefit. I have never done this ride and would very much like to do it.
My 9 year old daughter has been asking me for a Daddy/Daughter weekend of riding, (translate that to,...."lets leave Mommy and little brother at home, so we can hit the trail", lol!), and I promised her that we would go somewhere this coming weekend.
We may just go out to Johnson Valley again, but I thought I'd ask here about Husky Monument.
Although she is still a novice rider, she does very well on her TRX90, and has been out with me on a few 20+ mile rides.
She has ridden El Mirage, through the Shadow Mountains, done a few mild hillclimbs, handles sandy washes, rocky trails, and has decent control of her quad.
She has also ridden Johnson Valley, Soggy Dry Lake and the surrounding rocky trails, The Rock Pile area, and well out into the flats, minor whoops, etc.
she is quite the little trooper, and loves to go on "long" rides with Daddy.
I do not ride fast when she is with me, and it is all about having fun and being safe. I have a rear rack on my TRX400EX, with a large cargo bag, stuffed full of plenty of drinks, lunch, munchies, saftey gear, tools, and all the essentials. (think of it as a Rincon or Ranger on steroids) LOL!
My question is,...
Is this a ride that she would be able to handle? or are there parts of the trail that demand a higher skill level of rider?
Is it possible to drive my 2WD dually w/ big Lance cabover camper, to within 20 miles of the Monument, and set up our camp?
I would be towing a 5'x11' cargo trailer with the two quads.
any suggestions or thoughts from those of you who are familiar with this ride, will be greatly appreciated.
thanks, Ron
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Husky Monument N 35 13 12 W 117 19 00
I havent been there but, yes their are more than a few here that have. Its closer to red mtn. though
Gun metal gray 07 new body style 3500 diesel crew cab 4x4 dually
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Your daughter won't have any trouble, easy dirt road to the monument. Only problem could be sand in some spots. My daughter has done it numerous times on her quad. I would not recommend doing your father/daughter weekend until the fall. Temps are too high right now.
The Husky monument is about 15/20 miles east of Cuddeback dry lake. I don't know the road name/number unfortunately.
35°12'56.82"N 117°19'3.33"W Plug these numbers into Google earth.
When you do go the only concern is too watch for traffic coming back from the monument. Speed kills.
Yes you can drive/camp near within 20 miles of the monument. You can camp anywhere you want to on Cuddeback lake. I'd recommend camping on the shores/outskirts of the lake. Many easy trails in the area for you and your daughter to ride.
Thanks for the replies so far guys, and please keep 'em coming.
I realize that the desert is going to be pretty hot now, so if we DO do the desert, we will probably not go on too strenuious of a ride.
I'm also open to suggestions for other places to ride. prefferably a fairly local place,(2 to 3 hour drive from O.C.), that we can ride/explore, that would not be as hot as Lucerne Valley, El Mirage, Jawbone, etc.
maybe something around Big Bear ? Arrowhead ?
My Wife and I rode the Pinnacles area last year, Had a blast, but we did get into some trails that were beyond her riding skills. So she is a little concerned with me taking my daughter there.
Actually my daughter is a little more fearless, and a little better rider than my wife.
but then again, while out on the trail... my wifes adult judgement and fears, should outrank and outweigh my daughters fearless inexperience.
I'm pretty much obligated to make this daddy/daughter thing happen THIS weekend, so any suggestions would be helpful.
Arrowhead has 99 miles of trails for 2, 3 and 4-wheelers. There are about 4 miles of motorcycle trails, 30 miles of ATV trails and 65 miles of full-width trails and roads.
LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY: Each trails clearly marked indicating its level of difficulty. GREEN is the "easiest", BLUE is "more difficult" and BLACK is "most difficult". Pinnacles can accommodate all levels of riders.
VEHICLES PERMITTED: 4WD's, motorcycle's, and ATV's. Maps and trail signs indicate which type of vehicle is allowed on each trail. Note: Not all trails allow 4WD's or ATV's.
DIRECTIONS: From Highway 18 take the Highway 173 turnoff. Follow Highway 173 around the lake. After the pavement ends, continue on the dirt road for 1/2 mile. Turn east on Forest Road 3N34. This will take you to the Pinnacles staging area.
LOCAL RANGER DISTRICT: (contact for more info and map) Arrowhead office PO Box 350, Skyforest, CA. 92385 (909)337-2444 TDD, (909)336-1626
Awesome idea but I would wait until the fall, just too hot right now. As suggested Cuddeback is easy to get to with your rig, I've taken mine there and its only about 15 miles I think to the Husky, all two track roads, real easy on any quad, she'll be fine.
Personally I would head up to the mountains this time of year (going to Kennedy Meadows this weekend myself, but that's two wheels only). I ride a plated dual sport bike so not sure how much is open to OHV up in Big Bear. There are some challenging trails but also a lot of fire roads but with a fair amount of traffic, which could be a concern with a young one.
Husky Monument is an easy ride from someplace closer (Cuddeback), but I'd be concerned about just the two of you this time of year. There won't be much traffic out there, so if anything happened to either one of you, it could be a long long wait until anyone passed by to help you. Even a mechanical breakdown would be a real bummer this time of year.
Plus the novelty of the monument might not be as impressive to a 9 yr old as it would be to you.
Teagle Wash to Trona Pinnacles is a pretty simple road ride. There's one rocky spot and a couple of sandy stretches that might be tough with her small wheels, but it's very doable. Just make sure to do it in the morning and not the afternoon. Riding straight into the sun in the afternoon is a real booger. But at least you could expect more traffic on that road (not much though this time of year).
I'm with everyone else on the weather though. I wouldn't go out there in July/August. How about a daddy/daughter beach trip?
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