Ok, so this comment got me curious about the runs that we do. So, I took a look at the entire year's worth of runs, from last May until this May:
May - Grapevine Springs, Mt. Charleston
June - Wheeler Pass
July - Ely
August - Mormon Well Road
September - Gold Point, Death Valley
October - Wee Thump, Searchlight
November - Bitter Springs
December - None
January - Electric Avenue, Colorado River
February - Talc Mine and Sperry Wash, Tecopa
March - Picture Rocks, Sandy Valley
April - Titus Canyon
May - Mt. Irish
Of these, I would consider Ely, Gold Point, Titus Canyon, and Mt. Irish to be far away, while I would consider all of the others to be pretty local. Ely and Titus are standards every year, so the only "new" runs that were far away this year were Gold Point and Mt. Irish. Four out of 12 non-local runs doesn't seem too bad (or, 2 out of 12 if you only count the "new" ones).
I think we're incredibly lucky to live in a place where there are so many local runs so near a major city. I bet there are folks in other big cites who would drool to have ANY runs within an hour drive of their home.
What other major city has places like Wheeler Pass or Sperry Wash within a day's drive, let alone just a hop down the road? Hell (pun intended), how many people fly thousands of miles to visit Death Valley, yet we're irritated that it's a couple hours away by car? I am as guilty as anyone else. I haven't done Titus Canyon in years, because it just seems so dang far away. Nah. I'm just spoiled.
Yep, gas is expensive. And, as we all know, the fuel efficiency rating of a jeep is "are you kidding?" But, even without high gas prices, let's face it. jeeping is not a cheap hobby. What good hobby is?
What we DO need is for other folks to suggest runs, close OR far. New runs are always exciting. For example, when we first did the Lucy Gray a few years ago (new run, close to town), we had 42 vehicles! Everyone loves new runs. Don't think that you have to lead a run, just because you're the one who found it. You can always describe it to one of the folks who commonly leads runs, and they can check it out.
Speak up! We need you!
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