For reference, we have many listings for Past Trips.

 

Current Trip Information

Remember: You must be a member of Desert Survivors with a release on file to join in with one of these trips. Join Desert Survivors if you are not yet a member.

If you are new to Desert Survivors or contemplating joining one of our interesting desert trips as a new member please read General Trip Information at the bottom of this page.

Many of our popular trips, particularly car camps on 3 day holiday weekends, tend to fill early and quickly, so plan accordingly. We ask that if you do secure a reservation with a trip leader, please be sure to use it, but if you cannot keep the reservation then advise the trip leader immediately to allow someone on standby to take the open slot.

Other backpacking trips tend not to fill to maximum at all times and may have an open space or two. If you find yourself with an open weekend and want to join in, try phoning the trip leader, space may still be available.

Most of our trip leaders ask that you contact them directly by telephone. This enables the leaders to assess your skills and abilities and to answer any questions or concerns that you may have. Your safety and enjoyment while on the trip is just one of their many concerns. They want you have fun and the trip to be a rewarding experience. This also enables the trip leaders to build a "balanced group" that will enhance everyone's enjoyment of the trip.

Upon securing a slot for the trip you will be mailed additional information concerning the meeting area, car pooling, last minute changes, etc.

Click here for your Overnight Backpacking Checklist.

 

 

DESERT SURVIVORS TRIP SCHEDULE

WINTER  2011-2012

Also available in PDF format (168 KB)

 

 

Trip leaders may add trips during the schedule period. Refer to this webpage for updates.

Ratings: (E) EASY (M) MODERATE (S) STRENUOUS


1.    November 11–13, 2011 (Fri-Sun)
    TURTLE MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS BACKPACK (M/E)
    SOUTHEASTERN MOJAVE
This area is an ecological transition zone between the Mojave and Sonorant Deserts. It is noted for an abundance of collectable rocks like the chalcedony rose. We will meet at Turtle Mountain Road on Thursday afternoon or at Laura Dawn trailhead Friday morning. We will go to Coffin Spring and dayhike from there on a 10-mi. cross-country loop taking a recently discovered route over a pass and through a remarkable cactus garden to Gary Wash, returning over Mishap Pass and back to Coffin Spring. We will visit mine sites on the hike out. Limit 8.
Contact Leader:    Bob Davis drrcdavis@mac.com


2.    December 9–11, 2011 (Fri-Sun)
    WHIPPLE MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS BACKPACK (M/S)
    FAR EASTERN MOJAVE DESERT
This mountain area is far eastern California and is wrapped on three sides by the Colorado River and Arizona. The west side has pale green rock formations while the east consists of carved red volcanic rock. The flora and fauna of the Mojave and Sonora are both present. We will be exploring and monitoring plants for the BLM. We can meet at the trailhead road Thursday afternoon or Friday morning. Limit 8.
Contact Leader:    Bob Davis drrcdavis@mac.com


3.    December 10, 2011 (Sat)
    HOLIDAY PARTY (E)
    LIVERMORE, CA
Share a potluck dinner, holiday cheer, and a toast to the new board. Save your old travel books, backpack, camping, and climbing gear for the fundraiser auction. Re-gift those trinkets you’ve held on to for so many years at the White Elephant gift exchange. Great fun, a variety of good food and friends always make the holiday party an event not to be missed.
For more information, contact:    Steve or Marta Perry
                 (925) 443-8894


4.    December 18, 2011 (Sun)
    TRIP LEADER SEMINAR (E)
    SAN FRANCISCO, CA
This is a seminar for current and future leaders. We’ll begin with a recap of the year’s events and trips. Discussion topics include trip planning, navigation, first aid, technical problems, and creating different kinds of trips—backpacking and bowling in Baja? We need new trip leaders, so please plan to attend.
Contact Leader:    Bob Lyon (415) 586-6855


5.    January 13–15, 2012 (Fri-Sun )
    MECCA HILLS/PAINTED CANYON CARCAMP (M)
The Mecca Hills are a maze of eroded sandstone badlands of barren pinnacles, buttes, and slot canyons. It’s a real photographers’ paradise. We’ll spend a day exploring the deep winding recesses of Ladder Canyon, a gem of a place where it’s easy to get lost. Another day we’ll hike to Sheep Hole Oasis and the talus caves of The Grotto. Limit 15.
Contact: Leader:    Bob Lyon (415) 586-6855


6.    January 27–29, 2012 (Fri-Sun)
    TURTLE MOUNTAIN/MOPAH SPRING BACKPACK (M/E)
    SOUTHEASTERN MOJAVE
We will visit Mopah spring, a classic Desert Palm oasis. The plants, animals, geology, and archaeology in this area are amazing. We will day hike Vidal Wash then search for a way to get to the top of and explore a huge plateau south of the Mopah Peaks. We will meet at the Mopah Springs trailhead either Thursday afternoon or Friday morning. Limit 8.
Contact Leader:    Bob Davis drrcdavis@mac.com


7.    February 4, 2012 (Sat)
    GROUNDHOG DAY AND VALENTINE PARTY (E)
    EMERYVILLE, CA
Groundhog Day is the traditional start of spring and a new hiking season. Break out of winter doldrums, check out the Spring Trip Schedule, and share a potluck meal with friends old and new.
Information contact:    Martina Konietzny (510) 652-3136
     martinakonietzny@gmail.com


8.    February 18–20, 2012 (Sat-Mon)
    PROVIDENCE MOUNTAINS CARCAMP (M)
    MOJAVE PRESERVE
We’ll make a long dayhike into Globe Canyon to Summit Spring and Wild Horse Mesa, with side trips to Kelso Dunes, Cottonwood Springs, the Vulcan Mine, and maybe a short hike to Teutonia Peak through the world’s largest Joshua Tree forest. Lunch at Kelso Depot Cafe. Limit 15.
Contact Leader:    Bob Lyon (415) 586-6855


9.    February 23–25, 2012 (Thur-Sat)
    GRANITE MOUNTAINS BACKPACK (S)
This is the most rugged of the Desert Trail segments in California, with over 4000′ of climbing up steep granite slopes. Hiking will be in washes, along piñon-juniper ridges, and deep canyons. Water is expected at Budweiser Spring and Bull Canyon. High elevations may have snow, and it may be cold. Limit 10.
Contact Leader:    Bob Lyon (415) 586-6855

10 & 11.  March 23-25, 2012 (Fri-Sun) and March 25-29, 2012 (Sun-Wed)
     WHIPPLE WILDERNESS BACKPACKING -- TWO TRIPS BACK-TO-BACK

 10.  Bowmans Wash Road - Mine Site Exploration (M)  --   March 23-25, 2012 (Fri-Sun)
This trip is for experienced backpackers in good physical condition who want to explore remote parts of the Mojave Desert. The Whipple Mountains are outlined by a half circle meander of the Colorado River. The border along the river has a long history of Native American occupation followed by extensive mining operations. This eastern side of the Whipple Wilderness is characterized by carved red volcanic rock over a light grey-green base. Rock spines are separated by gravel filled washes. Both Mojave and Sonora flora and fauna are found here. This will be a monitoring trip and exploration of mine sites. We will start at a Bowmans Wash Road car camp at the southeast edge of the wilderness. We will need to start out with two gallons of water per hiker. The extent of our exploration will be decided as we go. Much of this trip will be on old jeep roads. Participants can continue on the trip that follows this one.
         Limit 8.   Please contact  Bob Davis       davis@desert-survivors.org

11.  Whipple Wash Exploration (S) --   March 25-29, 2012 (Sun-Wed)
This trip immediately follows the preceding trip. Participants can go on both trips. This trip is for well-seasoned backpackers, in very good or better physical condition, who are willing to travel through rough cross-country routes that have not been evaluated by the leader. The Whipple Wash runs northeast from the core on the Whipple Crest to the Colorado River. Not far from the trailhead-- on the power line access road--  the BLM has said that there are palms in this wash. Near the suggested site the USGS map indicated a spring. We will need to start with two gallons of water per hiker. 
             Limit 4.  Please contact  Bob Davis     davis@desert-survivors.org
 
12.  June 6-10 2012, Northwest Colorado
   YAMPA RIVER RAFTING TRIP          
Join Desert Survivors' own Bob Lyon and Michelle Bashin for a scenic adventure down Colorado's Yampa River Canyon. The Yampa is the last major undammed tributary in the Colorado River drainage and is runnable for only a few months each year. This inaccessibility gives the canyon a mystical and extraordinary aura; each visit is rare and unique. In June, we'll book an exclusive Desert Survivors raft trip on this spectacular river. Days on the water will be followed by camping at riverside beaches with breathtaking river and canyon views.  This trip had a sign-up deadline of Dec. 31, 2011.  Sorry, all spaces have been filled.  PLEASE NOTE CHANGES IN TRIP DATES:  Previously this trip was listed, in error, as June 6-12, 2012.  The true dates are June 6-10, 2012.
 
13.  June 11-15, 2012  Wyoming & Utah
    GREEN RIVER, DESOLATION CANYON RAFTING TRIP
For those who missed the Yampa Trip but still crave a river adventure--you have another chance! ARTA will offer a second river trip just for Desert Survivors: the Green River thru Desolation Canyon, June 11 - 15, 2012.
 
This 5-day, private-charter trip will raft the Green River through Desolation Canyon, beginning in Vernal, Wyoming and ending in Green River, Utah. It launches one day after the Yampa trip ends. We need an additional 12 people to make it a private trip.
 
The Green River starts its journey on the slopes of 13,800 foot Gannett Peak, the highest point in Wyoming, and travels nearly 700 miles before joining the Colorado River in Canyonlands National Park. The waterway is remote and vast, traversing some of the least-inhabited country in the west. We'll raft 83 miles through one of the most isolated stretches. Desolation and Gray canyons are rugged, austere, and starkly beautiful. Wide sweeping bends in the river form majestic amphitheaters which clearly display the rugged, dramatic cliffs of the neighboring Tavaputs Plateau.
 
Warm water and moderate rapids make this a great trip for novices and seasoned river runners.  We'll camp on riverside beaches with spectacular views of the river and canyon.  Price:  $769 per person.    Deadline to sign up:  February 28, 2012
 
ARTA requires a $100 per person deposit by Feb 28, 2012 . Make your check out to ARTA River Trips and mail to Bob Lyon, 569 Victoria Street, SF, CA 94132.  Bob Lyon (robtlyon@gmail) and Michelle Bashin (mbashin@yahoo.com) are the trip organizers.
 
See www.arta.org for trip details.    




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General Trip Information

Additional questions? Call: Gerry Goss, President, (408) 248-8206

Chuck McGinn, Activities Director, mcginn@desert-survivors.org

Desert Survivors online: http://www.desert-survivors.org,

 

Desert Wildflowers: Where and When?
An often asked question of Desert Survivors is "what trip should I choose to see desert wildflowers". This can sometimes be a difficult question to answer. Phone the trip leader and ask that question if you are interested in that aspect of your trip. Click on the above link for additional information about desert wildflowers.