Bronco Knoll Named and Marked From Easter Egg Coordinates

[Svanhildr]

This is a featured trail write-up that I hope will be of interest to all Bronco enthusiasts, especially those who own/will own a 6G.

I recently saw a photo taken by a fellow Bronco enthusiast who goes by Utah.Bronco on Instagram, which showed latitude and longitude coordinates easter egg hidden on the new 2021 Ford Bronco.

I was extremely curious about where the coordinates were pointing, and was delighted to discover that the secret location was in Johnson Valley OHV Area, just a few hours from where I live. I had never been to JV before, but always wanted to go, so I began researching the area and planning a trip. I couldn't think of a more fitting day to visit the spot than New Years Day 2021, to celebrate the first day of the year of the new Bronco!

The coordinates are on the top of a small hill in the Northwestern part of the OHV area, about 5 miles East by Northeast of Cougar Buttes, just West of Anderson Dry Lake, and about 500 feet above the surrounding valley. I used Google Earth to scout out the three routes that I considered to be the most likely to allow me to get up the hill in my completely stock 1991 Bronco XLT.

I first attempted the Southern route, but the steep 35%+ hill climb with loose rocks and gravel proved to be too steep. (I may try it again next time with lower pressure in the tires.) Since I couldn't make it that way, I drove to around to the South end of Anderson Dry Lake and ascended the hill on the slightly less steep route up the East side of the hill. Here I encountered a couple of rocky ledges and took a little minor damage to a tube step, but was able to make it.

At the top, the trail turns to the West and follows the ridge to a somewhat prominent peak, with a relatively wide flat spot. At this point, I turned on the GPS (Locus app on my phone) and walked the last few feet to the precise location.

I half expected to find a plaque or memorial left there by the Ford Bronco testing team (T-shirts on the Ford Bronco amazon store tout Johnson Valley as "The Original Proving Ground", and many of the reveal photos and videos were shot there). Instead, I found nothing but rocks and great views. Being a land surveyor by profession, and having a penchant for monuments marking unique and special locations, I naturally raised a small cairn to mark the spot and named it Bronco Knoll.

On the descent, I attempted the third route, but was soon blocked by a very narrow rocky pass on a sidehill trail that I didn't dare attempt without supporting vehicles, and was forced to go back the way I had come. Maybe another day.

I'll be back in Johnson Valley again later this month and/or early next month for King of the Hammers, and will gladly lead a group of other adventurous souls to the site. I hope many Bronco owners will visit Bronco Knoll in the future and add a stone to the pile!

(Send me a PM if you'd like to have a kml file of the routes.)
[Edited for typos]

Looking forward to adding a rock!

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[Itchysquatch]

This is a featured trail write-up that I hope will be of interest to all Bronco enthusiasts, especially those who own/will own a 6G.

I recently saw a photo taken by a fellow Bronco enthusiast who goes by Utah.Bronco on Instagram, which showed latitude and longitude coordinates easter egg hidden on the new 2021 Ford Bronco.

I was extremely curious about where the coordinates were pointing, and was delighted to discover that the secret location was in Johnson Valley OHV Area, just a few hours from where I live. I had never been to JV before, but always wanted to go, so I began researching the area and planning a trip. I couldn't think of a more fitting day to visit the spot than New Years Day 2021, to celebrate the first day of the year of the new Bronco!

The coordinates are on the top of a small hill in the Northwestern part of the OHV area, about 5 miles East by Northeast of Cougar Buttes, just West of Anderson Dry Lake, and about 500 feet above the surrounding valley. I used Google Earth to scout out the three routes that I considered to be the most likely to allow me to get up the hill in my completely stock 1991 Bronco XLT.

I first attempted the Southern route, but the steep 35%+ hill climb with loose rocks and gravel proved to be too steep. (I may try it again next time with lower pressure in the tires.) Since I couldn't make it that way, I drove to around to the South end of Anderson Dry Lake and ascended the hill on the slightly less steep route up the East side of the hill. Here I encountered a couple of rocky ledges and took a little minor damage to a tube step, but was able to make it.

At the top, the trail turns to the West and follows the ridge to a somewhat prominent peak, with a relatively wide flat spot. At this point, I turned on the GPS (Locus app on my phone) and walked the last few feet to the precise location.

I half expected to find a plaque or memorial left there by the Ford Bronco testing team (T-shirts on the Ford Bronco amazon store tout Johnson Valley as "The Original Proving Ground", and many of the reveal photos and videos were shot there). Instead, I found nothing but rocks and great views. Being a land surveyor by profession, and having a penchant for monuments marking unique and special locations, I naturally raised a small cairn to mark the spot and named it Bronco Knoll.

On the descent, I attempted the third route, but was soon blocked by a very narrow rocky pass on a sidehill trail that I didn't dare attempt without supporting vehicles, and was forced to go back the way I had come. Maybe another day.

I'll be back in Johnson Valley again later this month and/or early next month for King of the Hammers, and will gladly lead a group of other adventurous souls to the site. I hope many Bronco owners will visit Bronco Knoll in the future and add a stone to the pile!

(Send me a PM if you'd like to have a kml file of the routes.)
[Edited for typos]

Now this was a post worth reading! Thanks, very cool. Looks like you had a nice adventure too.

 

[RockEye]

Cool adventure! Thanks for sharing. It'll be neat to see the rock pile grow into a monument.

 

[JaxGtc]

Very cool adventure, thank you for the effort and for posting.

 

[Willwork4bronco]

If there's nothing obvious at that location, then what are people's guesses for what happened there? Somebody took a whiz or buried a deuce? Wrap party? Something broke?

Thanks for finding Bronco Mecca!

On the reveal video I think it was at the end there were the three Broncos parked in a row. If I remember right it looked pretty similar to that area. Have to go watch the reveal again.

 

[pan-y-cerveza]

If there's nothing obvious at that location, then what are people's guesses for what happened there? Somebody took a whiz or buried a deuce? Wrap party? Something broke?

Thanks for finding Bronco Mecca!

Knowing Ford it's supposed to be some other area entirely and they just bungled the coordinates.

Pretty cool to have a little shrine though. Even if random cairns drive me mad.

 

[GToddC5]

I’m thinking you should of took a metal detector, or shovel.......lol. Very awesome, thanks for sharing!

YES! Might be a prototype Capable Bumper buried there, and could have been the only person to have one in '21

 

[Blksn955.o]

Very cool. Hope to make it out there and add a rock to the pile someday.

 

[shieldsy]

This rock pile is going to get big.

Very cool.

 

[Squatch]

https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...eries-begin-first-to-customer-in-dallas.2514/

One delivery before the end of the year (and another mentioned) totally makes it not vaporware...

They've just eked out a couple and they're not road-proven by any means. Even the greatest engineers at Ford and the fresh-out mechanical engineers driving around for NVH will tell anyone, except their bosses, that they can't find every problem before it hits the streets. The Mach-E has zero credibility aside from the Ford name and the stolen Mustang moniker which means nothing since it's brand new for Ford and shares nothing with a Mustang. They're practically starting over with a new lineup and have nearly as much risk as a brand new car manufacturer would have.

@pan-y-cerveza I'm not sure if it does now, but my point was about the novelty of the Transit. I missed thinking it through and it has been out long enough to somewhat make its bones, but the E-Series cutaway still exists. The Transit is just not filling that role yet.

 

[Beach_Bum]

One delivery before the end of the year (and another mentioned) totally makes it not vaporware...

They've just eked out a couple and they're not road-proven by any means. Even the greatest engineers at Ford and the fresh-out mechanical engineers driving around for NVH will tell anyone, except their bosses, that they can't find every problem before it hits the streets. The Mach-E has zero credibility aside from the Ford name and the stolen Mustang moniker which means nothing since it's brand new for Ford and shares nothing with a Mustang. They're practically starting over with a new lineup and have nearly as much risk as a brand new car manufacturer would have.

@pan-y-cerveza I'm not sure if it does now, but my point was about the novelty of the Transit. I missed thinking it through and it has been out long enough to somewhat make its bones, but the E-Series cutaway still exists. The Transit is just not filling that role yet.

Wrong thread?

 

[Squatch]

Wrong thread?

Hahaha, how the hell did that happen?

I blame my cat photo sharing device. I'll fix it when I get to a computer. Thanks for the heads up! lol

 

[Bronco4]

Nice to read a positive thread with no negativity to Ford. Well all most. Fun to read, Thanks.

 

[BruckinFonco]

Those battle scars are kickass and a nice souvenir from your visit. This is precisely how automobiles become a part of us, like a friend or family member. They’re often with us on our most memorable adventures, sharing experiences with us, and sometimes the sole reason we’re able to have any kind of unique experience at all (in the case of more specialized vehicles). I find that I develop a much deeper connection to a car after a long road trip, especially if it didn’t leave me stranded or otherwise cause some huge inconvenience.

This may be my favorite post on 6g since joining. Well done, sir!

 

[NVCowboy]

I can't wait for the day I'm cruising west out to Nevada in my bronco! Cool breeze on my hair. Headed down the highway of Valley of Fire.. down to Johnson Valley...then hop over to Death Valley see the racetrack playa!! Def hope this stays enacted for years be a stopping point in my adventure!

And the right time of year for your trip is March / April. This of course depends on the year. They are all different.

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