Post your upcoming trip out to Anza Borrego here. Great place to organize a group trip.
Mortero Canyon Road
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railexplorer Posts: 71
2/7/2015
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Has anyone driven Mortero Canyon road recently? Is it still 4wd only? I was out there a couple of times last year and it was passable in 2wd.
I'm planning on heading out to the Dos Cabezas area with the family and another family in the next week or two. We're going to head out in search of Indian Hill and look around at some of the old railroad work camps.
Thanks
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2624
2/7/2015
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I was out at Thanksgiving and it was normal, a bit sandy near the S2 but probably OK for a semi high clearance 2WD. You could also just go in on the Dos Cabezas road, it is longer but more 2WD friendly. You will need to use the bypass route near the siding water tower thing, that little uphill is completely rutted out, I wouldn't even do it in my Toyota truck, I went around.
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railexplorer Posts: 71
2/9/2015
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dsefcik wrote:
I was out at Thanksgiving and it was normal, a bit sandy near the S2 but probably OK for a semi high clearance 2WD. You could also just go in on the Dos Cabezas road, it is longer but more 2WD friendly. You will need to use the bypass route near the siding water tower thing, that little uphill is completely rutted out, I wouldn't even do it in my Toyota truck, I went around.
Thanks for the info. I've got a Honda Pilot so I could go in on Mortero, but in the interest of everyone on the trip I'll probably just head in on Dos Cabezas. I'll definitely use the bypass route, I don't think there's a street legal vehicle that could handle that rutted out section.
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justinlowery Posts: 3
2/13/2015
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I've been out driving and hiking all over that area on two trips in the last two weeks. I drove the entirety of Mortero wash both times, out to Piedras Grandes the first time and out to Indian Hill the second. As always 4x4 is strongly advisable, but I only used it on one or two very short spots. As long as you have good clearance and large enough tires, you should be fine in 2wd. It will be a bumpy ride, but the ground is hard packed as long as you stay in the tracks, and you shouldn't get stuck. If you plan to go right Dos Cabezas, the bypass is tricky. There really isn't a &quotgood&quot way around, but the best way from what I saw was to take the Dos Cabezas Mine access road which connects from Motero to Dos Cabezas diagonally and bypasses the technical part. You'll see the rutted section immediately to the side of the mine road near the intersection, and it is quite horrible, so the mine road is really the only &quotsafe&quot option. It's a stunningly beautiful area. Have fun out there, and leave it as good or better than you found it! 
edited by justinlowery on 2/13/2015
edited by justinlowery on 2/13/2015
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