On November 16, 1996, eight of us gathered to ride the Old Emigrant Route-- a one-way ride following the old Butterfield Stage route from Warner Springs in San Diego's mountains to the Imperial County desert town of Ocotillo.
Riders were Kathy, Sylvia, Jim, Scott, Dan and our fearless ride leader, Michelle. Our return run drivers were Philip and Sandra.
From our cold, windy starting point, we had to do a little climbing, but then coasted toward the desert along creeks filled with cottonwoods just taking on their fall colors. Although it was sunny, it never got too warm, even in the desert.
The 65 miles of the ride offered a wide variety of scenery, good roads and very little traffic. It also offered an incredible 4300 ft. of descent with only 1800 ft. of climbing! Remarkable sights along the way included watching a CDF helicopter ferrying water from Lake Henshaw to a brushfire at Butterfield Ranch and the stunning overlook of the Carrizo Badlands at the end of a challenging climb.
Thanks to Michelle for organizing the ride. And extra special thanks to Philip and Sandra, who forfeited riding for the day to drive the chase vehicles--we couldn't have done it without you!