As we did earlier this year, we went out with the folks of Channel Islands 4×4 for a run. This time we ran Nightmare Gulch and left through Moody Canyon down the obstacle known as “the Moon.” Like last time it rained, but not enough to deter us from doing the Moon this time.

The day started off with a small group that met at the store and caravanned to Mojave. We stopped off for gas and to meet up with the rest of the group. Upon leaving the gas station, we met up at Ricardo Campground to disconnect sway bars and air down the tires.

The group had about 22 vehicles, including our Smittybilt JK. We had newer JK Wranglers, TJs, XJs, CJs, a Samurai, and some Toyota 4Runners. The group included a good mix of rigs, from mildly lifted to full-blown linked and coilovered custom jobs.

Red Rock Canyon OHV

The Red Rock Canyon OHV area has many different trails, ranging from mild to difficult. But this is not an open riding area. You must stay on designated trails and obey posted signs. Within the park, Nightmare Gulch closes February through June. In July through January, the gulch is only open to motor vehicles in the second half of each month.

A tight squeeze at Nightmare Gulch

The drive to the trail is very scenic, but mostly uneventful. The fun starts when you pass the gate to Nightmare Gulch. Like most canyon trails in the area, this one is narrow and rocky. Expect to see many ledges in tight canyon walls that hover 50’ above you. A notable obstacle is “the squeeze,” which is a narrow passage between a large rock and the canyon wall. It’s made more difficult by a tight turn to line up for the squeeze. This is easily done by smaller rigs like the Samurai, but far more difficult for the longer, four-door JKs.

The Moon

Once out of the canyon, we made our way deeper in the park and eventually stopped for lunch on a scenic overlook. Here it was windy and cold, but we persevered and did a raffle for all the participants of the run. After cleaning up from lunch, we made our way to the Moon. The Moon is named after its unique landscape, which is very jagged and harsh — as if you were on the surface of the moon. It was made a little more difficult by the slippery conditions from the steady rain.

All the vehicles made it down without incident. After regrouping, we took the long way back to camp. The group aired back up, reconnected the sway bars, and headed for home.

Again we enjoyed the run and hope our fellow off-roaders did too. Thank you, Channels Islands 4×4!