Swingset is just not for me!

Chingon619

Chingon619

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Here I am, at yet another failed attempt of getting to the darn swingset! This time from the roadrunner side. After making the trek from the washes to sand highway, past the drags, then came pad 1, 2, 3 then Roadrunner and all the camps until I knew it was time to head in. Well, I couldn't find a flowy line. Had fams in another buggy behind me.

The dunes grew huuuugee! The sudden bowls had the craziest walls to surf and some gnarly lines that seemed to collapse to nothingness. That's where I drew the line. I came to a tabletop that only had 1 set of tracks over it and I stopped short of the edge. Couldn't see the bottom. I hopped out the car to take a look. It was what looked like an 80 foot straight drop. At the bottom? Signs of whoever went down it, also struggled to nose it back up out of it. I said nope. Decided to back up outta there. REVERSE!!! As fast as I could only to bury my rear wheels in place. Ugh!! My nose pointing to the edge, my rears were buried to the frame.

My nerves were bursting into overload! Wife and kids in car. Nephew and his siblings in the other car along with my Sis in law. I was the only adult male figure in the event. Oh and 2 dogs! LOL so glad I didnt continue down it, fams would've followed right along. Had him strap my front end to his car and turn my car 90° at least without getting him stuck. All went well, took the Pic after I did a round about. That lower area is the bottom of the drop. Clutch overheated trying to get out etc but all in all it was a fkn adventure! I was definitely close but no cigar! Decided to head back in fear of getting there, enjoying it then heading back with su setting in our face, nah. Back to the drawing board. I think Triangle of death and dunes by washes is where I live! LOL. If you read this far, thank you. Just getting past this PTSD around the campfire. Have a great weekend!! 🍻
 

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great story i remember when i first started going to the dunes coming from NJ nothing comes close except for a few sand pit where we would do hill climbs. So naturally Glamis was hill climb to hill climb across the dunes and back that lasted a year or so this was on quads around 2006. since then i finally learned how to ride the dunes and read them pretty good the place truly became small. WE were out for vets we were going to the ceremony one of the quads had a dead battery we left late was in a rush to see the planes. I was in a pro R kids both on 450 quads from wash 10 to the flag pole was just about 12 minutes pretty much can get anywhere in the dunes in 15 minutes now . My advise to you is to put down the GPS and ride the dunes and your ride will be fun don't worry about a destination the destinations have a way of just popping up . Follow some lines and look ahead for the next transition typically ill ride high in a bowl and plot out my next few turns and get a good flow going try to stay in the big stuff alot easier to find a line. I had the best times early on when the dunes were a huge challenge scared to get stuck thinking the dunes went on forever thought i might get lost and run out of gas. the first sand car i had i had a high lift jack, tow strap, tools, extra gas, a hand held gps I did get stuck a few times but very quickly realised as long as when you stop your facing slightly down even in the bottom of a bowl there is no problem getting going. So have fun and be safe sounds like you have the right amount of thrill going on.



edited to say If you are in the washes the easiest was to the swing set is to go up the valley from wash 10 11 to brawley slide. from there just keep going past the slide up into the big dunes go slightly left and 5 or 6 bowles in you should be able to see the valley on the other side and when your up high you can usually see the flag pole. the swing set is in the same valley as the flag pole jus about 1/2 mile further south
 
Last edited:
Jersey_Jeff73 said:
great story i remember when i first started going to the dunes coming from NJ nothing comes close except for a few sand pit where we would do hill climbs. So naturally Glamis was hill climb to hill climb across the dunes and back that lasted a year or so this was on quads around 2006. since then i finally learned how to ride the dunes and read them pretty good the place truly became small. WE were out for vets we were going to the ceremony one of the quads had a dead battery we left late was in a rush to see the planes. I was in a pro R kids both on 450 quads from wash 10 to the flag pole was just about 12 minutes pretty much can get anywhere in the dunes in 15 minutes now . My advise to you is to put down the GPS and ride the dunes and your ride will be fun don't worry about a destination the destinations have a way of just popping up . Follow some lines and look ahead for the next transition typically ill ride high in a bowl and plot out my next few turns and get a good flow going try to stay in the big stuff alot easier to find a line. I had the best times early on when the dunes were a huge challenge scared to get stuck thinking the dunes went on forever thought i might get lost and run out of gas. the first sand car i had i had a high lift jack, tow strap, tools, extra gas, a hand held gps I did get stuck a few times but very quickly realised as long as when you stop your facing slightly down even in the bottom of a bowl there is no problem getting going. So have fun and be safe sounds like you have the right amount of thrill going on.



edited to say If you are in the washes the easiest was to the swing set is to go up the valley from wash 10 11 to brawley slide. from there just keep going past the slide up into the big dunes go slightly left and 5 or 6 bowles in you should be able to see the valley on the other side and when your up high you can usually see the flag pole. the swing set is in the same valley as the flag pole jus about 1/2 mile further south
Click to expand...

Thank you! Yea, I think I just let ol' Momma G get to me. Still learning as always. I've bombed all over on quads but that was many a moons ago. Oh and GPS was non existent, Google somewhat showed me, but I had the general idea of where to go, just couldn't execute. The last time I tried from the washes, for some reason I went all the way to Wash 24? That time, I had someone on a quad that didn't gas up enough for the ride and had to turn it around. I'll get there one day.
 
I am fortunate to generally go with a couple trail bosses that know the dunes like the back of their hand. They can maintain as fast a pace as any group can stand, yet still keep tabs on all cars, and end up at whatever destination you please. Me, I just bounce around like a Roomba LOL. Terrible trail boss. Been out of the sport for a while, gotta get back to G.
 
Some of my worst rides have been when I felt I had to get to a specific spot. Go to Roadrunner, head southeast and follow the flow. You'll get there.
 
Getting lost in the dunes is part of the adventure.

Swingset is easy to find as the dunes turn to complete crap as you get close. There a lots of fun routes to the Swingset from the Washes. Fast flowing routes from the Gecko side.
 
I have been on ride that were off the hook fun, Rides where you cannot pick a bad line, see every drop off three turns before you get there and find perfect jumps one after another, until some A-hole says lets go to ________. Then it turns into the biggest cluster fuck of the year. Nothing flows every drop off has a lip, and the sun makes it so you can't see nothing.

Point is

Just go with the flow
 
MWB said:
I have been on ride that were off the hook fun, Rides where you cannot pick a bad line, see every drop off three turns before you get there and find perfect jumps one after another, until some A-hole says lets go to ________. Then it turns into the biggest cluster fuck of the year. Nothing flows every drop off has a lip, and the sun makes it so you can't see nothing.

Point is

Just go with the flow
Click to expand...
What he said (RIP Dev.)
 
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