Banner Oriflamme Loop 4x4 Adventure 2 17 2024

Video edit of a pretty exciting day on trail in Banner by Julian, CA and the Anza Borrego Desert State Park on the Oriflamme Canyon Loop. The morning started out pretty basic airing down the tires in Banner then a solo run through the lower Julian Mining District and all the way up Mason Valley Truck Trail for a lunch stop before heading down towards the main part of Oriflamme Canyon. After the first switchback near the top of Oriflamme Canyon I came across a group of rigs and a very stuck full-size Ford F-150 4x2 truck. At first there were 4 of us working to get the full size 4x2 truck back up the hill, in the end it was myself in my basically stock 5th Gen 4runner, a trail built 3rd Gen 4runner, and a trail built Lexus GX470 that were able to get the stranded explorer safely back to the pavement on Hwy 78 in Banner right before dark after a three hour adventure that included a lot of rock stacking and digging, 2 tow straps, and a tire change on a very steep section of trail. Normally in a recovery situation you would go downhill, in this case towards the S2 Great Southern Overland Stage Route, but other wheelers coming up from the bottom said the trail got much worse below us and there were 6 other stuck rigs they had to go around so the decision was made to go back over the top to the pavement in Banner. Got to be ready for anything on the trail and by pooling our tools, working together with awesome camaraderie everyone made it safely off of the trail with a great story to remember!
The video clips were shot on an iPhone 15 Pro and edited with iMovie. The song is "Chase" by Giorgio Moroder from the Midnight Express Soundtrack.

[@macklersick]

I got stuck at the same spot in my Toyota 4WD TRD OR. Traction board helped me get free, then I took a better line hugging the cilffside. Good times!

[@elcaminomant]

Ran the loop yesterday the 18th in clockwise direction taking Rodriguez Spur to Mason Valley Trail and back. It's a good thing that F150 didn't try to go further as below the next switchback it's way more torn up. That rock that he was stuck on looked like it has snagged more than a few people when we went by.