END OF THE ROAD

TO SKIRT THE TEDIUM OF THE L.A.-TO-VEGAS SLOG, LEAVE THE PAVEMENT BEHIND.

- BY JOHN PEARLEY

THERE’S NO ESCAPING Las Vegas. Even if you never gamble, some convention, trade show, or sports thing will eventually drag you to the town. It is, for instance, the only place in the world with a NASCAR race, an NHRA Nationals event, the classic Mint 400 off-road fiesta, and a Formula 1 grand prix every year. It also hosts approximately 24,000 meetings and conventions annually. Vegas is inevitable. But driving there? It sucks.

For many Californians, getting to Las Vegas means cannonballing north from Los Angeles on I-15 through a desert of apparent nothingness. It’s about 270 miles and takes four-or-so hours when you obey the 70-mph speed limit. But I-15 is boring and awful, and getting it behind you matters. So no one obeys the limit on the 15, and a three-hour blitz to Vegas is a frequent achievement.

After 11 straight years of attending the SEMA Show in Vegas, and many more ripping out there for press events and other stories, I became obsessed with trekking from L.A. to Vegas without getting on the 15—ideally without even touching pavement. It had to be possible. California is largely desert north of the Sierra Pelona Mountains, and over 80 percent of Nevada is owned by the United States government. Avoiding any trespass onto private land seemed doable. On the internet, motorcycling adventurers write about similar trips. There had to be a way to string together enough cow paths, public-utility service roads, and actual public off-road trails to make such a journey possible.