BigJ
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Well I'm happy to say another successful DV trip is in the books! This time it was myself and Betsy (my dog) in our Raptor, bstoner59 in his, and OUTCAST & his son OUTCAST Jr in theirs, joining us all the way from Louisiana! These two guys are hardfreakingcore! I think they said they figure the whole trip to be around 4k miles when all is said and done?? 
We met up at 8am in Ridgecrest and headed out to Ballarat, where we aired down. We were asked several times if we were part of some sort of factory performance or race team or something. Seeing those three big beautiful white trucks lined up, I can see why they'd think that!
(From left to right is OUTCAST, bstoner59 and BigJ's trucks)
We had to take a minute and check out Charles Manson's power wagon. Kinda creepy, that.
It was busy out there this time, with lots of RVs and campers. We didn't see the "grocery" store owner Rock this time, but we did see his trusty pal PotLicker, keeping an eye on things.
We set out south and eventually turned east at Goler Wash
All was well until we reached the "Waterfall". Last time we cruised over the dry rocks with little trouble. This time... not so much. Its crazy how much difference a little bit of water makes.
We came upon two families in their expedition vans. One was already over, and this guy was just airing down before trying. They helped move rocks and guide bstoner up and over. Only took three tries
Once 'stoner was over, the second van barely slowed down and he made it up. He used all 9000+ lbs of his monster, stuck it in 4lo, lock out the front and rear and just let that big ole diesel idle as it carried him up and over. It was impressive to see, for sure.
They made sure we had tow straps (a really good thing, see below as to why) we waved our thanks and goodbyes and proceeded to get OUTCAST up next.
Then it was my turn. After 4 or 5 tries, we gave up. Ya see, I'm running the stock BFGs with about 35k hard miles on 'em, where the other two guys are running Generals. I had no chance. We ended up tieing up to bstoner's truck and dragging my sawery butt up. I aint too proud to admit defeat, but you can bet I'm not gonna let that happen again
We then carried on to Barker (where Charles Manson was caught), and spent a few minutes.
Then it was down and out Mengle Pass.
And then past Striped Butte via Warm Springs
We then hit pavement, and drove thru a crazy crowded Badwater as we started looking for somewhere to camp for the night. We were turned away at Furnace Creek (totally full) so we decided to head up toward Beatty, and out into Box Canyon on BLM land for the night. It was dark by the time we got there, but 'stoner found us a kickass spot to hunker down, complete with an already ready to go firepit! Here's a shot from the site the next morning
We spent some time in the ghost town of Rhyolite, and then on to Titus Canyon. I didn't take many pics there, 'cause quite honestly I got caught up in just enjoying it. Its one of my favorite spots in the park, and I love just being out there. Here are a couple though, this one leading into the canyon
And here's one from Leadfield, a ghost town situated at the canyon's doorstep
After that, we had lunch at Scotty's castle, and then made our way down Racetrack to see the rocks and the tracks they leave
We had originally planned to spend the night there at the south end of Racetrack, but called an audible at the last minute; 'stoner had an event's schedule change on him and was moved to that night, and OUTCAST & Jr loved Titus so much they wanted to hit it again in the morning to get it on video. So rather than hunker down for the night, we decided to hit Hidden Valley and Hunter Mountain that evening, and head our separate ways that night.
I gotta tell ya, Hidden Valley was already one of my favorite parts of this trip, and seeing it at dusk and into night only made it better. Its absolutely stunningly gorgeous. Period.
We then hit 190 via Saline Road, said our goodbyes and well wishes and went our separate ways. 'stoner made his event, I made it home around 1230am safe and sound and I'm pretty sure OUTCAST & Jr. hit Titus again early that next morning and are now on their way home.
All in all this was a shorter trip than we expected, but it was none the less spectacular for it. It was truly an honor to meet and hang with OUTCAST and Jr., and as always I dig spending time with 'stoner.
We'll definitely be doing this again, and you're more than welcome to join! 'stoner and OUTCAST took lots of pics and vids too, so hopefully when they get settled they'll have time to post some up here.
Great folks and good times all around!
We met up at 8am in Ridgecrest and headed out to Ballarat, where we aired down. We were asked several times if we were part of some sort of factory performance or race team or something. Seeing those three big beautiful white trucks lined up, I can see why they'd think that!
(From left to right is OUTCAST, bstoner59 and BigJ's trucks)
We had to take a minute and check out Charles Manson's power wagon. Kinda creepy, that.
It was busy out there this time, with lots of RVs and campers. We didn't see the "grocery" store owner Rock this time, but we did see his trusty pal PotLicker, keeping an eye on things.
We set out south and eventually turned east at Goler Wash
All was well until we reached the "Waterfall". Last time we cruised over the dry rocks with little trouble. This time... not so much. Its crazy how much difference a little bit of water makes.
We came upon two families in their expedition vans. One was already over, and this guy was just airing down before trying. They helped move rocks and guide bstoner up and over. Only took three tries
Once 'stoner was over, the second van barely slowed down and he made it up. He used all 9000+ lbs of his monster, stuck it in 4lo, lock out the front and rear and just let that big ole diesel idle as it carried him up and over. It was impressive to see, for sure.
They made sure we had tow straps (a really good thing, see below as to why) we waved our thanks and goodbyes and proceeded to get OUTCAST up next.
Then it was my turn. After 4 or 5 tries, we gave up. Ya see, I'm running the stock BFGs with about 35k hard miles on 'em, where the other two guys are running Generals. I had no chance. We ended up tieing up to bstoner's truck and dragging my sawery butt up. I aint too proud to admit defeat, but you can bet I'm not gonna let that happen again
We then carried on to Barker (where Charles Manson was caught), and spent a few minutes.
Then it was down and out Mengle Pass.
And then past Striped Butte via Warm Springs
We then hit pavement, and drove thru a crazy crowded Badwater as we started looking for somewhere to camp for the night. We were turned away at Furnace Creek (totally full) so we decided to head up toward Beatty, and out into Box Canyon on BLM land for the night. It was dark by the time we got there, but 'stoner found us a kickass spot to hunker down, complete with an already ready to go firepit! Here's a shot from the site the next morning
We spent some time in the ghost town of Rhyolite, and then on to Titus Canyon. I didn't take many pics there, 'cause quite honestly I got caught up in just enjoying it. Its one of my favorite spots in the park, and I love just being out there. Here are a couple though, this one leading into the canyon
And here's one from Leadfield, a ghost town situated at the canyon's doorstep
After that, we had lunch at Scotty's castle, and then made our way down Racetrack to see the rocks and the tracks they leave
We had originally planned to spend the night there at the south end of Racetrack, but called an audible at the last minute; 'stoner had an event's schedule change on him and was moved to that night, and OUTCAST & Jr loved Titus so much they wanted to hit it again in the morning to get it on video. So rather than hunker down for the night, we decided to hit Hidden Valley and Hunter Mountain that evening, and head our separate ways that night.
I gotta tell ya, Hidden Valley was already one of my favorite parts of this trip, and seeing it at dusk and into night only made it better. Its absolutely stunningly gorgeous. Period.
We then hit 190 via Saline Road, said our goodbyes and well wishes and went our separate ways. 'stoner made his event, I made it home around 1230am safe and sound and I'm pretty sure OUTCAST & Jr. hit Titus again early that next morning and are now on their way home.
All in all this was a shorter trip than we expected, but it was none the less spectacular for it. It was truly an honor to meet and hang with OUTCAST and Jr., and as always I dig spending time with 'stoner.
We'll definitely be doing this again, and you're more than welcome to join! 'stoner and OUTCAST took lots of pics and vids too, so hopefully when they get settled they'll have time to post some up here.
Great folks and good times all around!
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Fortunately there were none. We think she'd only slipped a gear and caught on the next tooth. It happens, but I'm glad to say there didn't seem to be any damage from it. That sure as hell was the signal I'd pushed as far as I should, and that it was time to put ego aside and yield to mother nature. B pulled me up and over after that with little trouble.
