The Baja Treffen July 29-August 7, 2011

" Welcome to Ultimate Aircooled Forums "
To view ALL of the forums we have to offer please take a second and register to become a UAC member.
Its FREE! And only takes a second! IF YOU HAVE REGISTERED AND HAVEN'T GOT A VALIDATION EMAIL CHECK YOUR SPAM FOLDER FIRST. If not there then PLEASE EMAIL ME AT administrator@ultimateaircooled.com

[Greg Urrutia]

BAJA TREFFEN 2011 OFFROAD CRUISE


From the Rose City Bug-In in Portland, Oregon on Sunday July 31st down scenic coast line for a week of fun and adventure!

We will starting from Half Moon Bay early Friday morning July 29th. Next stop will be in the Oroville area.
From there we will take 99 to the Redding Area and a stop at Wolfgang International for a quick visit and to address any parts or service needs.

Back on the road we will shoot for the Oregon Border. Once inside Oregon we will have a couple of options for lodging. Camping or lodging with friends/relatives is available.
Day two (Friday) will take us to Portland. We have have a crash pad at my cousins place. We will stay the night and have an open day on Saturday to recoup and to plan for Sunday.

Sunday we will find our way over to the Rose City Bugging. We (our vehicle) plan to race in the Sportsman Class....just because it's Oregon.
At the end of the event we will lineup with the Air Head Treffen Group and roll out with them at the start or their event.
Once we get down the road we will veer off and head for the Oregon Coast to start our own Baja Treffen.

Our course over the next 2 days will parallel the coast line in search of the road less traveled. We will jump on to Hwys 1 and 101 as needed to connect our southward path.
Highlights include Oregon Dunes, Avenue of the Giants, and Usal Road. In route mapping will take us to as many optional back road adventures as possible.

Next scheduled/organized event will be on Wednesday August 3 where we can catch up with the original Treffen group for an optional visit to the Marin Highlands for a photo op of the Golden Gate Bridge followed by a tour of the Black Hawk Museum.
Back in the Bay Area some may choose to end their Baja Treffen and head home.
 
The original Treffen group will find their way to another photo op, Buses on Lombard Street, Thursday August 8, 7am. We will participate in this event after a vehicle swap and welcome other Baja Treffen participants to join us.

These notes are just the initial thoughts and we will have more details as they are realized.
 

Any interested parties can comment on this thread or call me at 916-952-6568.
See you on the Backroads!

Greg

[Greg Urrutia]

Although our trip parallels the HWY 1 Treffen, Jason and myself sort of create our own trek. It's nice to be part of the whole well organized event that Scott Dempster and the rest of his staff from Air Head Parts and KGP&R has put together, but much like we have done in the past, our participation with the main group is limited.

With that said, this is sort of a crash version of the Treffen week.
We prefer to avoid the KOA type camping. We also plan to spend the least amount of time on I-5 as possible.

We will start the first leg of our expedition with what we call "The Dam Treffen". We will be leaving on Friday, July 29 from Half Moon Bay and heading to Oroville Dam for our first photo op. From there we will head to Redding and possibly stop at Wolfgang International for a quick visit and for any needed parts or repairs. Then we will make it over to Shasta Dam for another drive over and photo ops.

There is an OHV park on the far side of the Shasta Dam and we may decide do some offroading for a bit. There is also a camp ground there that might be an option for Friday night. Right now are thinking is to get back on the road and get into Oregon.
We will probably camp somewhere in Oregon depending on what time of day we find ourselves there. We also have several invitations from friends that live in that area. Bottom line is we are going to wing it.

I have a relative in the Portland area that we have plans to stay with on Saturday night (July 30). He has a small apt so I can't invite others to stay with us that night.
There is also the outside chance we might make it up to Portland on Friday although I highly doubt it.
Saturday will just be a visiting day with no real agenda.

Sunday morning (July 31) it's off the the Rose City Bug In. We will be racing the Baja in the drag racing portion of the show. So, we will be removed from the rest of the activities for the most part.
At the end of the day when the Treffen officially starts we will be in line with everyone else.

http://airheadparts.com/cruise.asp

We will follow the group for a bit but much like we did last year, then we will be breaking away and making a bee line for the coast. The next day or two we will be doing our own version of the Baja Treffen on mostly unpaved and undeveloped roads.
Our plan is to cross paths and meet up again with the main group on following days. We hope to camp with the group on the one night they are not staying at a KOA. We may also find a motel for one night to catch a shower and reorganize our supplies.

We do plan to catch the group for the photo op at the GGB on (August 3). From there we will break away again and head to Half Moon Bay to a vehicle swap (pick up my Bus) so we can get in on the Buses Invade Lombard Street photo op (7am August 4).

At this point we may opt out and end our version of the Treffen but who knows, we may continue on. We just like to wing it.

Much like the announcement says to join the main group for 6 blocks or all 6 days....We invite any and all interested parties to join us for one day or any part of the trip, but we will definately be doing our own Baja version of the "Official HWY 1 Treffen".

[Greg Urrutia]

I've been studying my geography for this trip

[Greg Urrutia]

Now that Jason and I have had a chance to pow-wow and study some maps we have more of an itinerary for this trip

It all starts 6am Friday morning July 29, 2011
Day one will be referred to as "The Dam Treffen". We will be launching from Jason's Beach House in Half Moon Bay.
From there we take the Super Slabs out of the Bay Area and through Sacramento.
Ultimately we will find our way to Hwy 70 taking us into Oroville. This will be our first side trip and refueling stop. We will cross over Oroville Dam and check out the Visitors Center on the other side. I'm sure we will pickup some sovenirs and take some pics of the Baja on the Dam.

Then our GPS will take us to Hwy 99 to Redding. A stop at Wolfgang International to say hi to friends and to pick up any needed parts for the road. Depending on the time of day, we might do lunch with the Wolfgang crew.
The Dam Treffen Map will then lead us to Shasta Dam. We will cross over to find the Chappie-Shasta OHV Area. After some light offroading and photo ops at the Dam we will catch Hwy 299 heading west.

Third Dam stop will be the Whiskeytown Dam. Just eight miles outside of Redding and along Hwy 299. Whiskeytowm Lake is favored by the locals for it is less visited by vacationeer's. It is said that you can see more than 30 feet in the crystal clear waters. The area is also known for numerous breeding pairs of Bald Eagles.

Hwy 299 will then lead us into the Lewiston area were we will make our next Dam stop.  A right turn on Trinity Dam Blvd will lead us right up to the 4th and last Dam point of interest and thus successfully completing our Dam mission.

We will wind our way through the Trinity Lake area until we finally get off the Dam Road which dumps us on to Hwy 3. Heading north on 3 we have us bordering the Trinity Alps and the Klamath National Forest. Next fuel stop will likely be in Yreka.

Just outside of Yreka we will catch Hwy 96 which runs west and winds like a snake. This road follows the Klamath River and appears to have several bridges jumping the river. This highway will take us to the junction of Hwy 48 at Happy Camp.

48 runs north-north west and will ultimately take us into Oregon. The plan is to spend our first night of this road trip in Cave Junction.
This ultimately ends the first leg of our trip and the Dam Treffen.   
   

[Joe Hamilton]

This looks like alot of fun.  Make sure to get pics !   


My manx will not be even close for this trip.   Just now getting the body lift finished and the chassis rolling.

[Greg Urrutia]

Saturday July 30, 2011 - Day 2

Out of the Cave Junstion area we will start to head to the Oregon Coast.

We are comtemplating Lone Mountain Road that we can jump onto out of O'Brien, Or.
It then connects to NFD 4402 and then Wimer Road. These roads parallel the Oregon border jumping back and forth across the state line.

Along the way we will consider a number of off road options including Chetco Divide Trail. A number of creek and river crossing may deem these routes impassable.

If we get turned around, we would be forced to drop back into California via Low Divide Road and just follow that in to Smith River, Ca.

Eventually we will find ourselves on Hwy 101 heading north along the Oregon Coast.
Next junction would be Hwy 18 in the Lincoln City/Otis area in the north coast of Oregon. We will follow Hwy 18 inland to Portland where we will stay for the night with friends or relatives.

[Greg Urrutia]

Sunday, July 31, 2011 - Rose City Bug In

We should be in the line going into Portland International Raceway with the rest of the Racers. We hope to pit with racing friends so we can empty out the Baja of all our travel gear. Jason will be running in the Sportsman Class.
How cool would that be to come home with a plaque from the Rose City Bug In?

Cruising the Dam Roads, exploring the off roads, and drag racing at PIR...pretty well rounded Treffen adventure if you ask me.
Although we will be busy running the car, I hope to make the rounds hooking up with our many friends that live in this area.

At the end of the event we will be lining up and rolling out with the official Hwy 1 Treffen group.
I won't be much past the main entrance into PIR that we will be peeling off to catch Hwy 26 heading west-north west towards Cannon Beach, Oregon.
This is were we start out own unique, Baja Treffen.

From there we will catch Hwy 101 south possibly camping in Pacific City, Lincoln City, or any number of coast side campgrounds that line the Pacific Ocean.

[Greg Urrutia]

Monday August 1, 2011-Elk Prairie, CA

Traveling on the coast we will visit Oregon Dunes, Coos Bay, and possibly some other road side attractions along the coast before crossing back in to California.

Once inside California we will be veering off 101 to take as many coastal roads that parallel the Pacific. We may catch the Hwy 1 Treffen group at their sceduled stops in Crescent City.

Our goal destination of the day is Elk Prairie Campground. Just south of Klamath, CA we will catch Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway. We passed through this area last year and were amazed at the sights. As the aformentioned name suggests, Elk Praire has some of the largest herds of Elk to be found anywhere in the world. When we made a visit last year there must have been at least 500 Elk grazing just feet from the shoulder of the road.
There are a number of signs cautioning drivers to be alert. A collision with one of these huge animals can be fatal.   

[Greg Urrutia]

Tuesday August 2, 2011 - Usal Road

Departing from Elk Prairie will take us south on 101 through Arcata and Eureka. We then have the option to take Hwy 211 towards Ferdale and Mattole Road or opt to go through Fortuna. Staying on 101 will lead us into Humbolt Redwoods State Park where there is a scheduled porluck BBQ in the Redwoods hosted by Humbugs (Humboldt VW Club). We bring the Burgers and Chicken, Humbugs do the rest!
That sounds very inviting with the option being another drive down a lonely coastal road leading us into Petrolia.

What ever we decide we hope to be passing through Honeydew, Ca and entering the northern gateway into King Range National Conservation Area aka "The Lost Coast". This is the most likely spot for fellow adventurer's to jump into the trek.
Here is gets very interesting with a number of challenging roads to traverse leading us up to the main attraction of this Baja Treffen, a little jewel of an off road trail known as
 Usal Road.

At the trailhead of Usual we will stop,  repack making sure to really tie things down proper. In turn, we will then belt ourselves in, cinching down the belts. It should be about mid day that we find ourselves on this incredible back road adventure. Chances are we will make a number of stops along the way for photo ops and some video capturing.

If all goes according to plan, we should be at Usal Beach well before sunset. Here we camp for the night.

[Greg Urrutia]

Wednesday August 3, 2011 - Golden Gate Bridge Photo Op

Depending on what time we break camp on Wednesday morning, we may or may not catch up again with the Hwy1 Treffen group. They will be staying in Fort Bragg which a few miles south of us. Their plan is to leave Fort Bragg at 8am with their sights set on Schooner Gulch State Beach. ETA is approxomately 9:15am. The plan is to take a group photo and get back on the road by 9:35a.

About an hour and a half later the next stop on their agenda is a fuel and restroom break at Tide's Union 76. The schedule has us departing at 11:35a.

From there it's a straight drive down the PCH to the Marin Headlands for a beautiful  photo op featuring the Golden Gate Bridge. In my participation with the Hwy 1 Treffen in the last 3 years, I've had a different vehicle in the pictures. First year was the Mushroom Bus, second year was the Shasta Bus, this year will be the J-Dog Baja.
Doesn't matter how many times you see the GGB, the City of San Francisco, and Alcatraz from this vantage point....it's always breath taking.

Breaking away at 3pm we will roll with the caravan towards Santa Cruz. We will jump off at Jason's Beach House in Half Moon Bay for a much needed shower, do some laundry, and a good comfy nights rest.

[bajamike560]

Sounds like a blast Greg, wish my baja was street legal for this trip...
Call me if you need anything while close or in the area 360-606-0481 cell#.
Or I will just see ya at the bugin. I think I will blast the mud off from our run 2 weeks ago and "show" my car again this year.

Mike

[Greg Urrutia]

Sounds like a blast Greg, wish my baja was street legal for this trip...
Call me if you need anything while close or in the area 360-606-0481 cell#.
Or I will just see ya at the bugin. I think I will blast the mud off from our run 2 weeks ago and "show" my car again this year.

Mike

Thanks Mike,

I'll hit you up if we need anything. See you at the Rose City Bug-In.