Here's a view of Oriflamme
Canyon. The trailhead is near
Banner Store on Hwy.78; it goes
by a couple of functioning gold
mines, and then merges with the
former Mason Valley Truck trail.
There's a fork before the first
mine - the left branch goes to
Rodriguez Canyon Truck trail,
which is an easy 2WD route. Both
trails join at Hwy.S2 about 0.8mi
south of Box Canyon Historical
Site.

Apparently, there was a brush fire
since I've been at this trail last
summer. If any biologist stumbles
upon this page, please let me know
the name of this brush!

At some point, the trail drops into
the Oriflamme Canyon. The road isn't
that narrow, but the drop-offs are
rather substantial, up to a few
hundred feet.

The trail winds along the slope of
the canyon - you could have plenty
of photo opportunities. May want
a longer focal-distance lens, though.

Rocks make drop-offs more exciting
by creating some off-camber spots.
Here, Al Metzel is observing the
bottom of the canyon from his pass.
side window.

There's a few rocks scattered along
the bottom of the canyon, challenging
your rig's articulation. No need to
jump on any of them to get through!

Another Guinness wouldn't hurt...

Let's take it from a
different angle...

A bit bigger rock - this time
I've got my jeep's rear tire a
few inches up in the air. Almost
hung it up on this rock - wouldn't
it be a bummer?

Same rock, another shot.
No tow rope this time!