Good film here about where not to pitch a tent.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/_yCnQuILmsM?feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/embed/_yCnQuILmsM?feature=player_embedded
WATCH where you pitch your tent
- Thread starter OldRider
- Start date
Wow. I've seen the after effects of a desert flood but never the leading edge. Amazing. Should be required viewing for anyone venturing into the desert. Notice it wasn't raining where the cameraman was. Cool stuff.
hANNAbONE
...Patiently Waited...
Founding Member
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Day-Yumm....not that is something I've never viewed or contemplated before.
Wowzee
Wowzee
That's hideous! Looks like something from Hollywood, but it's scary real. Great lesson to learn the easy way. 
Watch the video, camp on high ground. I mean, you might never know it rained 40 miles away...and with the water showing up 6 HOURS later, holy crap...dangerous...
Watch the video, camp on high ground. I mean, you might never know it rained 40 miles away...and with the water showing up 6 HOURS later, holy crap...dangerous...
UncaBuddha
Well... okay then...
I was only lucky enough to see this once and from an airplane in the Grand Canyon. After a rainstorm, BIG waterfalls into the main channel! I wasn't able to make out the debris on the leading edge though.
Out in the canyons you oftentimes see debris WAY up the canyon walls. Evidence of a huge amount of water. You have to watch for storms!
Out in the canyons you oftentimes see debris WAY up the canyon walls. Evidence of a huge amount of water. You have to watch for storms!
spacemanspiff
New Member
This is a valid concern!
Years ago, I camped at a pull-out on the red dirt road that ends up at the Mexican Hat rock formation in UT. Got caught in a wicked thunderstorm (wondered about getting struck by lightning, if the bike had blown over, etc.). Luckily, the pounding rain only lasted 10-15 minutes (or the road would have turned into snot). Relived, I eventually fell back asleep...only to wake to the soothing sounds of a babbling brook flowing underneath my tent! ??? My campsite was on a slight slope, in small bowl (so I wouldn't be visible from the highway)...but certainly not in the floodplain of a creek. By 8am the road was perfectly dry.
A little pre-caution when selecting a campsite is a good idea. O
Years ago, I camped at a pull-out on the red dirt road that ends up at the Mexican Hat rock formation in UT. Got caught in a wicked thunderstorm (wondered about getting struck by lightning, if the bike had blown over, etc.). Luckily, the pounding rain only lasted 10-15 minutes (or the road would have turned into snot). Relived, I eventually fell back asleep...only to wake to the soothing sounds of a babbling brook flowing underneath my tent! ??? My campsite was on a slight slope, in small bowl (so I wouldn't be visible from the highway)...but certainly not in the floodplain of a creek. By 8am the road was perfectly dry.
A little pre-caution when selecting a campsite is a good idea. O
bob dirt
Member
we were messing around on dirt bikes in the DRY hassayampa river bottom south of Wickenburg AZ and had the same thing happen to us. Scary when you don't expect it. The river bottom is mostly dry all year, then the monsoons come in August. No pictures or vids...it was way before smart phones. That guys video was way cool.
kmac
Kelly kmac
I think there is a couple of lessons there...Camp on higher ground !!!!!
But also, no matter how many times your have ridden through ANY desert, know that any and ALL trails change a lot with rain in the desert. Ride with your heads up and eyes down trail, but know that sharp edges often aren't visible from above. I have seen trails I have ridden literally hundreds of times out in Ocotillo Wells and after small storms had 3 and 4 ft. drop offs that were not there weeks earlier...big bikes do not seem to like medium speed sudden drops.
But also, no matter how many times your have ridden through ANY desert, know that any and ALL trails change a lot with rain in the desert. Ride with your heads up and eyes down trail, but know that sharp edges often aren't visible from above. I have seen trails I have ridden literally hundreds of times out in Ocotillo Wells and after small storms had 3 and 4 ft. drop offs that were not there weeks earlier...big bikes do not seem to like medium speed sudden drops.