Scheduled Events

Saturday & Sunday, October 03 & 04, 2009

Sam Tahmasian

Superior Valley, Hinkley, California Located off Hwy 58 about 21 miles west of Kramer Junction.

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We’ll meet on Saturday afternoon at the campsite and await the cloak of darkness that is night to begin the pumpkin run. Each car will be given a map to find its way in the spooky night. Be aware of lit jack-o-lanterns as you drive for this is the mission of the night. At the conclusion of the event, all of the jack-o-lanterns will be collected and one ticket shall be drawn from each to award a prize. The more jack-o-lanterns you find, the better your chances of winning a prize! Do expect a very late Saturday night. On Sunday morning we’ll awake as late as possible, strike camp, and do a scenic trail ride out to the highway toward home.

This trip will be appropriate for drivers of all experience levels and for any stock Land Rover.

Although it is not necessary, a GPS might come in handy. This is a good opportunity to practice your backcountry navigation skills.

All participants must have an FRS radio. If we have to come looking for you, it will be much easier for us to find you. "Marco!" "Polo!"

This trip is limited to 20 vehicles.

Make your way to the 15 Freeway north to Hisperia, then take Hwy 395 north for 35 miles to Kramer Junction. Here you should gas up then continue east on Hwy 58 for 21 miles to Hinkley Road. Turn left on Hinkley Road and continue through the town. After 7.5 miles from Hwy 58, turn northeast on an improved dirt road called Coolgardie Road. Continue 8.5 miles then turn left for about 100 yards to our campsite in the rock cliff enclosed area called Murphy Well. Click here for a PDF map of route from Hinkley to campsite.

Make your way to the 14 Freeway north to Mojave, turn east on Hwy 58 and continue 35 miles to Kramer Junction. See the above directions to the campsite.

Arrive at Murphy Well, set up your camp, and prepare an early dinner. At dusk, we’ll caravan to Inscription Canyon to wait the fall of darkness. Then I’ll unleash the hounds (you) to scour the local trails in hopes of locating our illuminated plastic pumpkin pails. Each car will be given ten tickets; when you find a pumpkin, place a ticket in the pumpkin. You’ll have around two hours to find as many pumpkins as you can then return to camp. Don’t be late, as there will be penalties for arriving to camp after the deadline. There will be a prize for being the first to find each pumpkin and finding the most pumpkins. Also, a ticket will be drawn from each pumpkin that will result in a small prize. Hence, the more pumpkins you find, the greater your chances of winning!

Since we will be up late on Saturday night, expect a little bit of sleeping in on Sunday. We’ll leave plenty of time for breakfast and to strike camp and then we’ll head back to the highway via a short but scenic backcountry route. (Note: we may consult a route back at camp based on input from the participants).

Below are links to PDF maps our play area. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU DOWNLOAD AND PRINT THEM OUT! They will be immensely helpful during the game.

Note that these are hi-res PDF files. When you print them out, be sure to select "fit to page" to shrink them to one page.

Feel free to arrive at the campsite early for a Friday night stay, as well! There are lots of great places to explore on your own during the day on Saturday before the great pumpkin hunt begins.

Email Sam: sam_sc@yahoo.com or call 818-631-0656.

The participants

The kebob at trip leader’s camp site.