Dumont Dune Riders

Dumont was noticeably less busy this year compared to Halloween and even Thanksgiving last year. The camp area seemed very empty, however the dunes always seemed to have duners having fun. Many camps still carried on their Thanksgiving Day traditions with a big sit-down turkey dinner and all the fixings. Temperatures were very low all weekend. It got into the 30's at night and the day time temps stayed in the 50's. Thanksgiving Weekend has been big tradition for the Dunemasters and Sandpipers Club. They always have a HUGE camp between the last finger dune and the dunes. They are the "waterpumpers". For over 30 years, they have hosted their annual hill climbs and drag races at Dumont. Friday was the hill climbs at Comp Hill and Saturday Friday night seemed to be the night for comp hill. There were 4-5 rows, lights, campfires, and some good buggy races like the old days. Saturday was less than half of Friday night probably because many people had left on Saturday to avoid the CA traffic driving home. Vendor Row seemed very full of great vendors this year, but word has it their sales suffered greatly due to the lack of visitors. As loyal duners, we always try to stop over there and support the vendors. Even if you brought plenty of food, go grab a BBQ or ice cream and buy a t-shirt. If you like seeing the vendors out there, there is only one way to keep them coming out and that is to help them pay for their fees and gas to make it happen. As far as accidents, there were some minor ones here and there but we didn't hear of anything major. Forum discussion from the weekend here, http://www.dumontduneriders.com/invision/index.php?showtopic=20447 Thanksgiving PHOTO gallery, http://www.dumontduneriders.com/invision/index.php?app=gallery&category=20

On Monday, 11/23/15 at 5:54 PM, a fatal accident occurred on HWY127 about half way between Baker and Dumont Dunes involving an RV and a passenger car. According to preliminary reports when CHP arrived, one injured person and one deceased male had to be cut from the wreckage. No other injuries were reported. The accident is under investigation. Forum discussion topic: http://www.dumontduneriders.com/invision/index.php?showtopic=20437

We are having our annual Buggy Roundup trip December 11-13th, 2015. If you've got a buggy and want to get together with other buggy people for a weekend of duning, this is the trip for you! We always have big, fun and friendly camp. Everyone is welcome to join us. Oh and if you have an ATC70, you speak our language so bring it! If you are interested, please RSVP on our forum and post up how many people you will be. Post up a pic of your buggy too if you want. Only friendly duners need apply. That is the only rule to get in on this trip. More details and discussion on the forum, http://www.dumontduneriders.com/invision/index.php?showtopic=20413 Some pics from past years below...

It's that time of year already...Thanksgiving! Time to start prepping for one of the longest holiday weekends of the season at Dumont. Many duners camp out for the entire week of Thanksgiving while others still make it a 4 day weekend since Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday. It's always a fairly crowded weekend, but we wouldn't describe it as a very busy one. Everyone seems to go out and camp more than dune. It's a time to gather friends and family and celebrate the holiday in typical Dumont style. Just because the dunes are out in the middle of nowhere, that doesn't mean they skimp on the cooking and festivities. They get creative. There's everything from deep friers to infrared cookers and some guys do it the old fashion way- buried in the ground dutch oven style. Even though there's an abundance of turkey dinners and dune naps, there's still plenty of excitement. In addition to the best duning on Earth, the Dune Masters always make their way out to Dumont. What are the Dune Masters? They are the group that hosts the annual hill climbs on Comp Hill with their legendary "waterpumpers". What a waterpumper? Well back in the day everything used to be air-cooled. When these machines were built for steep hill climbing they typically used big V8 engines which were, of course, water-cooled. The Hill Climbs are different than most races though. The guy who takes the most time to reach the top of the hill is the winner. It's a tricky art than only these machines can seem to conquer. Some of them even have two sets of paddles on the rear. It's a tradition that has been going on for over 35 years at Dumont and worth a watch. It's going to be a great weekend. Join the community discussion: http://www.dumontduneriders.com/invision/index.php?showtopic=20379 \\