Our group consisted of 2 Jeeps and 4 people.
A 1993 Jeep Wrangler (White) owned by Natalie & Tommy McElmeel.
And a 1985 Jeep CJ-7 (Burgundy) owned by Darrin Finn.
Doran canyon is located in the Calico mountains just north of Barstow, CA. The entrance to Doran is the most difficult part of the trail. Years ago, these same two Jeeps challenged this trail and survived, but not without paying the price of being ill-prepared. The white Wrangler suffered a smashed front fender, a broken drive shaft, a bent front bumper and a flat tire. The burgundy CJ-7 suffered a smashed fender, the loss of a flood light, a broken winch motor and a broken front axle. We survived the trail, but with a significant smack in the wallet. The second time around though, we survived the trail without a scratch. The following photos are from the second trip through. Darrin and I drove Doran Canyon again on 11-17-97. Unfortunately we forgot a camera but we both made through just fine. There were a few other Jeeps on the trail with us. They provided a bit of entertainment. Call me sadistic but watching other people damage there Jeeps is hard to turn away from. One smashed his rocker panel (that's because he just finished painting the Jeep), and another (scrambler) bent his drag link so far he couldn't turn right at all!!! (but boy could he turn left) Photos of our first time through are visible at Oops. Or you can read The Dreaded Doran Canyon Story