MagicMtnDan
FRF Addict
I was invited by friends to go on what has become an annual Death Valley trip. The group had the usual collection of Jeeps (TJ Rubicon, a couple Cherokees), Bronco, Landcruiser, Nissan Exterra, M-B Gwagen, a Chevy Tahoe, and one lone Raptor.
As with most trips, it was an adventure. We had great company, really nice weather (no rain), offroading/exploring delicious food and enjoyable campfire conversations.
Friday night (2/18) we camped out in the open (the storm brought a lot of wind but no rain) Friday night on Big Four Mine Road just below the canyon leading to Big Four Mine.
Saturday morning (2/19) we drove up the canyon as far as possible into some technical areas and the group managed to get some pent-up desire to stack rocks out of our systems. We left that afternoon and headed through South Pass into Saline Valley on Saline Valley Road where we camped at the Lower Warm Springs.
The Springs is a very different kind of place that attracts many characters. (From Wikipedia: The Saline Valley Warm Springs, as they are called, have become controversial in recent years. The improvements would have violated Park Service policy if they had taken place today, and nudity is against park regulations. There has been compromise so far; a park host is always on duty, visitors are limited to 30 days per year, and the springs do not appear on any official NPS map. A "clothing optional" policy is still permitted at the springs, but nudity is frowned upon elsewhere at the site).
Sunday morning (2/20) we started our drive to the north headed towards Steel Pass. The Chevy Tahoe had a mechanical so it was decided to leave it alongside the trail. On the way north we looked for, located and visited Berman Cabin (where the Bermans were found dead). http://www.deathvalley.com/dvtalkarc3/messages/2832.shtml
We continued on, climbing out to the north up and over Steel Pass, through Dedeckera Canyon (where, with some excellent spotting help from Justin, we managed to squeeze the Raptor through the rock waterfalls and squeezes in Dedeckera Canyon) and down into Eureka Valley.
We stopped at the Eureka Dunes where we had lunch and said goodbye to several in our group when they left for their homes in NorCal. We continued on (taking a route different than originally planned) going towards Big Pine then heading over North Pass (well over 7000 feet) where we motored through some fresh snow from the recent storm (about 18" deep in some places). We encountered five off road motorcyclists who were separated from each other each one struggling to get their bikes down the mountain. It was 24 degrees and the temperature was falling and one had already left his bike behind with a clutch problem. One of our group told them they couldn't spend the night on the mountain (they were in bike gear but had nothing else). It didn’t take much to get them to agree to leave their bikes up on the mountain so we found seats for three of them and the other two rode down the mountain sitting on top of the lifted Cherokee's roof rack! We got them back to their campsite at Lower Warm Springs where we camped again (Sat & Sun nights).
Monday morning (2/21), Presidents Day, several in our group worked on the Chevy Tahoe which sounded like it was having fuel delivery issues. The problem couldn’t be determined so no repair was made so the Tahoe idled out of the Springs and on Saline Valley Road at very slow speed. The Tahoe only made it a couple-three miles out of the Springs so the Tahoe had to be towed (about 15MPH max). A couple of us were urged to leave as they had four vehicles and enough people to deal with the Tahoe slow tow, so we left and headed for home back down Saline Valley Road going up and over South Pass. On the way up the summit there were some shaded areas where the snow was packed into ice that were troublesome for others and I wondered how the others would be able to tow the heavy Tahoe up and over the South Pass.
(I'll add more pics and there's a story about the Tahoe tow team which I can post later).
As with most trips, it was an adventure. We had great company, really nice weather (no rain), offroading/exploring delicious food and enjoyable campfire conversations.
Friday night (2/18) we camped out in the open (the storm brought a lot of wind but no rain) Friday night on Big Four Mine Road just below the canyon leading to Big Four Mine.
Saturday morning (2/19) we drove up the canyon as far as possible into some technical areas and the group managed to get some pent-up desire to stack rocks out of our systems. We left that afternoon and headed through South Pass into Saline Valley on Saline Valley Road where we camped at the Lower Warm Springs.
The Springs is a very different kind of place that attracts many characters. (From Wikipedia: The Saline Valley Warm Springs, as they are called, have become controversial in recent years. The improvements would have violated Park Service policy if they had taken place today, and nudity is against park regulations. There has been compromise so far; a park host is always on duty, visitors are limited to 30 days per year, and the springs do not appear on any official NPS map. A "clothing optional" policy is still permitted at the springs, but nudity is frowned upon elsewhere at the site).
Sunday morning (2/20) we started our drive to the north headed towards Steel Pass. The Chevy Tahoe had a mechanical so it was decided to leave it alongside the trail. On the way north we looked for, located and visited Berman Cabin (where the Bermans were found dead). http://www.deathvalley.com/dvtalkarc3/messages/2832.shtml
We continued on, climbing out to the north up and over Steel Pass, through Dedeckera Canyon (where, with some excellent spotting help from Justin, we managed to squeeze the Raptor through the rock waterfalls and squeezes in Dedeckera Canyon) and down into Eureka Valley.
We stopped at the Eureka Dunes where we had lunch and said goodbye to several in our group when they left for their homes in NorCal. We continued on (taking a route different than originally planned) going towards Big Pine then heading over North Pass (well over 7000 feet) where we motored through some fresh snow from the recent storm (about 18" deep in some places). We encountered five off road motorcyclists who were separated from each other each one struggling to get their bikes down the mountain. It was 24 degrees and the temperature was falling and one had already left his bike behind with a clutch problem. One of our group told them they couldn't spend the night on the mountain (they were in bike gear but had nothing else). It didn’t take much to get them to agree to leave their bikes up on the mountain so we found seats for three of them and the other two rode down the mountain sitting on top of the lifted Cherokee's roof rack! We got them back to their campsite at Lower Warm Springs where we camped again (Sat & Sun nights).
Monday morning (2/21), Presidents Day, several in our group worked on the Chevy Tahoe which sounded like it was having fuel delivery issues. The problem couldn’t be determined so no repair was made so the Tahoe idled out of the Springs and on Saline Valley Road at very slow speed. The Tahoe only made it a couple-three miles out of the Springs so the Tahoe had to be towed (about 15MPH max). A couple of us were urged to leave as they had four vehicles and enough people to deal with the Tahoe slow tow, so we left and headed for home back down Saline Valley Road going up and over South Pass. On the way up the summit there were some shaded areas where the snow was packed into ice that were troublesome for others and I wondered how the others would be able to tow the heavy Tahoe up and over the South Pass.
(I'll add more pics and there's a story about the Tahoe tow team which I can post later).
