I survived the Valley of Death...
02-18-2004, 11:13 PM
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I survived the Valley of Death...
and all I got was a lousy T-shirt! Oh, wait no I didn't.
The president of my club puts on an annual sight seeing run to Death Valley. I finally got to go this year and it was great. The trip started out on an ominious Friday the 13th (and I'm going to DEATH VALLEY!) when we left for Ridgecrest. We met up with the rest of the group at 7:30am on Saturday morning, there were about 16 trucks total. The caravan took off down the road through the most desolate town on earth, Trona.
We turned off at what seemed to be a random dirt road in the middle of the desert and aired down to make the 120 miles of washboard dirt roads more bearable. Our first stop was to find the grave of a guy who died on the Escape Trail. We never did find it, but my former roommate, Brian, high centered his Bronco on a boulder trying to get there. After an hour of stacking, jacking and pulling we got him free. The rest of us bypassed that obstacle because we were pressed for time.
Soon after, though, the other Bronco on the trip blew a bead and ripped the sidewall. Unfortunately, Brett didn't have a full size spare and he called it a day. He just emailed and said his spare blew at 60mph on his way to back to town, fortunately he was able to pull over safely.
Then it was off to the Barker Ranch, the place where Manson and his cult were found. On the way there, we found that Brians Bronco was having fuel problems...whenever we were going up hill the engine would start to sputter and he'd have to pull over and let it cool off. I stayed with him and we finally met up with the rest of the group at the manson place. My wife refused to let me take her picture there because she thought I would capture a ghost behind her.
To make matters more interesting, there was a "bandit" out there in the desert robbing unsuspecting people. The police found his camp but he got away. At his camp they found a various guns and other things he stole.
Anyway, after the manson place it was starting to get late so we headed down the road to find a camping area.
We woke up to another beautiful day and the caravan headed off deeper into death valley. I found that the desert really stresses every component of the truck. Going down a washboard dirt road at 30-40mph I hit a dip in the road and looked back to see my hilift hanging off my bumper at a 45 degree angle. I stopped and found that the top 3/8" bolt holding the hilift on, had broken from fatigue. The bottom bolt was the only thing holding the hilift on. Time to upgrade to 1/2" bolts.
So then, we stopped at Badwater where the elevation was near 250 feet below sea level. From there we headed off to the info center and paid the entrance fee and bought some souvenirs.
We finally made it to an old abandoned mine where we could explore the tunnels. They didn’t go too far into the mountain, maybe a hundred yards or so, but it was cool nonetheless.
After that, we again hit the dirt road and made our way to the “eye of the needle”, a big hole in a rock formation that looks like an eye of the needle. That was also the site of an “impassable” obstacle, according to the rangers. We also came upon the 4wheeler of the year, you know, that lexus. Well, I hear the driver looked at the line of trucks that ranged from built Toyotas and jeeps, to a stock tundra, and started saying which ones will make it and which ones won’t. Needles to say, everybody made it without breaking a sweat.
That was pretty much the end of the official trip and we all headed off to Beatty Nevada to some hot showers and mediocre food. Oh and I actually got carded trying to play the slots…I’m 27, Brian who is 26, did not get carded.
On Monday morning, some of the group went to explore an area north of Death Valley. Brian and I decided not to go with them because of his bronco problems and the fact that we wanted to get home kinda early because of work the next day. We figured we could head out to Scotty’s Castle and the Racetrack and then head home. Well, that detour turned out to be the highlight of the trip because of some hippies we ran into (more later).
We got to Scotty’s Castle and paid the $8 for the guided tour, then we headed off to the Racetrack. The racetrack is a dry lake bed on which rocks appear to move, but nobody has ever seen them move. They leave tracks in the mud, but there are no footsteps or anything. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see any tracks. Oh well.
From there, we found a trail on the map that lead to the highway. There was a big sign that warned the trail was for experienced off roaders only. It was practically a dirt road with a few rocks here and there.
Anyway, we finally made it to the main dirt road and when we rounded a corner, came upon a VW van, a ford aerostar with a missing tire, and another car. As I pulled up, an old hippie guy came up to me and asked if I had any spare gas. Somebody else went up to Brian and asked if he had a spare tire that would fit the aerostar. Apparently what had happened was the aerostar blew a tire and the spare tire had fallen off somewhere back on the road. Randomly, the guy in the VW van happened to run out of gas at the same place. The couple in the other car just stopped to watch (and laugh?). I had about half a gallon left in my spare tank and a gallon of that emergency gas stuff they sell in the stores. They also ended up putting white gas in the VW too. Well, the guy in the VW gave the aerostar guy a ride into town to get a new tire, leaving the VW wife and aerostar wife there on the side of the road with some food and water. It was quite a site to see. I hear one of the girls in the car was high as a kite. Damn hippies. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of them.
It was a great trip and that definitely puts the trucks through their paces. My hilift almost fell off, my auto tranny light came on despite having an auxiliary cooler, a Tacoma blew its radiator, an 85 4runner had a lower radiator hose leak, a bronco had fuel problems, another bronco blew 2 tires, and a tundra developed a bubble in the sidewall of a tire.
I can’t wait for next year.
Here's a link to the rest of the 123 pics:
http://www.robinhood4x4.com/gallery/dv04
Here's the GPS track of the trip:
The president of my club puts on an annual sight seeing run to Death Valley. I finally got to go this year and it was great. The trip started out on an ominious Friday the 13th (and I'm going to DEATH VALLEY!) when we left for Ridgecrest. We met up with the rest of the group at 7:30am on Saturday morning, there were about 16 trucks total. The caravan took off down the road through the most desolate town on earth, Trona.
We turned off at what seemed to be a random dirt road in the middle of the desert and aired down to make the 120 miles of washboard dirt roads more bearable. Our first stop was to find the grave of a guy who died on the Escape Trail. We never did find it, but my former roommate, Brian, high centered his Bronco on a boulder trying to get there. After an hour of stacking, jacking and pulling we got him free. The rest of us bypassed that obstacle because we were pressed for time.
Soon after, though, the other Bronco on the trip blew a bead and ripped the sidewall. Unfortunately, Brett didn't have a full size spare and he called it a day. He just emailed and said his spare blew at 60mph on his way to back to town, fortunately he was able to pull over safely.
Then it was off to the Barker Ranch, the place where Manson and his cult were found. On the way there, we found that Brians Bronco was having fuel problems...whenever we were going up hill the engine would start to sputter and he'd have to pull over and let it cool off. I stayed with him and we finally met up with the rest of the group at the manson place. My wife refused to let me take her picture there because she thought I would capture a ghost behind her.
To make matters more interesting, there was a "bandit" out there in the desert robbing unsuspecting people. The police found his camp but he got away. At his camp they found a various guns and other things he stole.
Anyway, after the manson place it was starting to get late so we headed down the road to find a camping area.
We woke up to another beautiful day and the caravan headed off deeper into death valley. I found that the desert really stresses every component of the truck. Going down a washboard dirt road at 30-40mph I hit a dip in the road and looked back to see my hilift hanging off my bumper at a 45 degree angle. I stopped and found that the top 3/8" bolt holding the hilift on, had broken from fatigue. The bottom bolt was the only thing holding the hilift on. Time to upgrade to 1/2" bolts.
So then, we stopped at Badwater where the elevation was near 250 feet below sea level. From there we headed off to the info center and paid the entrance fee and bought some souvenirs.
We finally made it to an old abandoned mine where we could explore the tunnels. They didn’t go too far into the mountain, maybe a hundred yards or so, but it was cool nonetheless.
After that, we again hit the dirt road and made our way to the “eye of the needle”, a big hole in a rock formation that looks like an eye of the needle. That was also the site of an “impassable” obstacle, according to the rangers. We also came upon the 4wheeler of the year, you know, that lexus. Well, I hear the driver looked at the line of trucks that ranged from built Toyotas and jeeps, to a stock tundra, and started saying which ones will make it and which ones won’t. Needles to say, everybody made it without breaking a sweat.
That was pretty much the end of the official trip and we all headed off to Beatty Nevada to some hot showers and mediocre food. Oh and I actually got carded trying to play the slots…I’m 27, Brian who is 26, did not get carded.
On Monday morning, some of the group went to explore an area north of Death Valley. Brian and I decided not to go with them because of his bronco problems and the fact that we wanted to get home kinda early because of work the next day. We figured we could head out to Scotty’s Castle and the Racetrack and then head home. Well, that detour turned out to be the highlight of the trip because of some hippies we ran into (more later).
We got to Scotty’s Castle and paid the $8 for the guided tour, then we headed off to the Racetrack. The racetrack is a dry lake bed on which rocks appear to move, but nobody has ever seen them move. They leave tracks in the mud, but there are no footsteps or anything. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see any tracks. Oh well.
From there, we found a trail on the map that lead to the highway. There was a big sign that warned the trail was for experienced off roaders only. It was practically a dirt road with a few rocks here and there.
Anyway, we finally made it to the main dirt road and when we rounded a corner, came upon a VW van, a ford aerostar with a missing tire, and another car. As I pulled up, an old hippie guy came up to me and asked if I had any spare gas. Somebody else went up to Brian and asked if he had a spare tire that would fit the aerostar. Apparently what had happened was the aerostar blew a tire and the spare tire had fallen off somewhere back on the road. Randomly, the guy in the VW van happened to run out of gas at the same place. The couple in the other car just stopped to watch (and laugh?). I had about half a gallon left in my spare tank and a gallon of that emergency gas stuff they sell in the stores. They also ended up putting white gas in the VW too. Well, the guy in the VW gave the aerostar guy a ride into town to get a new tire, leaving the VW wife and aerostar wife there on the side of the road with some food and water. It was quite a site to see. I hear one of the girls in the car was high as a kite. Damn hippies. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of them.
It was a great trip and that definitely puts the trucks through their paces. My hilift almost fell off, my auto tranny light came on despite having an auxiliary cooler, a Tacoma blew its radiator, an 85 4runner had a lower radiator hose leak, a bronco had fuel problems, another bronco blew 2 tires, and a tundra developed a bubble in the sidewall of a tire.
I can’t wait for next year.
Here's a link to the rest of the 123 pics:
http://www.robinhood4x4.com/gallery/dv04
Here's the GPS track of the trip:
Last edited by Robinhood150; 02-19-2004 at 09:00 AM.
02-18-2004, 11:48 PM
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Originally Posted by Robinhood150
It was a great trip and that definitely puts the trucks through their paces. My hilift almost fell off, my auto tranny light came on despite having an auxiliary cooler, a Tacoma blew its radiator, an 85 4runner had a lower radiator hose leak, a bronco had fuel problems, another bronco blew 2 tires, and a tundra developed a bubble in the sidewall of a tire.
I can’t wait for next year.
I can’t wait for next year.
Are you a glutton for pain?
Sounds like a great trip and the pictures are AWESOME!
I was thinking of heading out there sometime and those pictures are pretty encouraging
I think I'd have to think long and hard about what to prepare though. It definitely would suck to get stranded out there.
02-19-2004, 07:07 AM
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You got some great shots!
Cool write-up. Thanks for sharing your trip with us. It's always fun to see some long-mileage, remote travel commentary and pics. Nothing like a good adventure 
Yea, washboard road + speed kills stuff. Good point to make. That is why it is critical to make stuff fit really well and reduce vibration and friction wherever possible when you put lots of gear/supplies on your vehicle.
So, since it was almost dark, why didn't you just camp at the manson shack?
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02-19-2004, 07:57 AM
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Originally Posted by BigBadBlue
It says your on 3/4's a tank of gas with 96 miles on your tripometer. Hows thats? BTW very nice write up of your trip. I liked it a lot. Blue
02-19-2004, 08:03 AM
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Scotty's castle is a mansion that some rich guy built (and it wasn't scotty) in the middle of death valley. There's a whole story that goes along with it, as most castles have. More info: http://www.nps.gov/deva/scottys1.htm
Temps were perfect, maybe 70-75 deg during the day, mid 50's during the night.
Baja, we were planning on camping next to some old abandoned mines, but opted to head down in elevation so that it would be warmer. That probably would have been almost as spooky as staying at the manson place.
Temps were perfect, maybe 70-75 deg during the day, mid 50's during the night.
Baja, we were planning on camping next to some old abandoned mines, but opted to head down in elevation so that it would be warmer. That probably would have been almost as spooky as staying at the manson place.
02-20-2004, 12:00 AM
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Nice trip write-up and pics too!! 
I have been researching doing a trip almost exactly like that. You guys went out the west side road up mengel pass correct? Also where is that tight section from your pictures?
So...a bandito??? hmm...
good trip and pics
I have been researching doing a trip almost exactly like that. You guys went out the west side road up mengel pass correct? Also where is that tight section from your pictures?
So...a bandito??? hmm...
good trip and pics
02-20-2004, 06:56 AM
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That's a great write up and very good pics. Been there many times and plan to go again. The desert's great and this is the best time of year to go. 
Here's some trail info at Roger Brown's site. http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/DeathValley/index.shtml
Mick
Here's some trail info at Roger Brown's site. http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/DeathValley/index.shtml
Mick
02-20-2004, 07:07 AM
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Originally Posted by BigBadBlue
It says your on 3/4's a tank of gas with 96 miles on your tripometer. Hows thats? BTW very nice write up of your trip. I liked it a lot. Blue
Anyway, great pics and awesome write-up Steve!
02-20-2004, 07:50 AM
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Looks like you had a rare encounter with the Wild Schnauzers of Death Valley.
Is it me, or is there something different, threatening, about the feeling experienced there? Maybe a place named "Death......" would make anyone feel that way. Or was it the combination of desolation, isolation and harsh conditions contrasting with the incredible panoramas.
Great writeup. Really makes me want to go off the beaten path next time, with at least a half-dozen other well-equipped wheelers.
Is it me, or is there something different, threatening, about the feeling experienced there? Maybe a place named "Death......" would make anyone feel that way. Or was it the combination of desolation, isolation and harsh conditions contrasting with the incredible panoramas.
Great writeup. Really makes me want to go off the beaten path next time, with at least a half-dozen other well-equipped wheelers.
02-20-2004, 09:33 AM
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Hole in the Wall
I am going out there soon. South East of Funeral Creek, near 20 Mule Team Canyon we will be turning off the paved road and head East towards the Funeral Mountains to a place called Hole-in-the-Wall. Anyone been there? The next day we will continue a few miles further towards the mountains.
I believe that there is gas available at Furnace Creek, can anyone verify this and how late is the gas station open? What is the best route to Furnace Creek from Los Angeles?
I believe that there is gas available at Furnace Creek, can anyone verify this and how late is the gas station open? What is the best route to Furnace Creek from Los Angeles?
02-20-2004, 10:15 PM
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Originally Posted by BT17R
Looks like you had a rare encounter with the Wild Schnauzers of Death Valley.
Thanks everybody.
Here's some more pics:
http://terry4x4.purpleparadise.net/
02-20-2004, 11:54 PM
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The last and first time I went there was with the Esprit de Four club here in San Jose, CA. Teh barker ranch was neat to see. Kinda wierd though. i could just picture tehm partying there and hanging out in the makeshift swimming pool. We visited a couple of community houses where you stay and make repairs and additions to better the place for the next visitor. Pretty cool idea.
We also visited an old borax mine up a really gnarly wash. I made it 2/3rd's of the way and finally had to stop at a steep shelf that some of the fully locked jeeps were having a hard time with. We went into the mine really far and up several levels, finally coming out at the top of the mountain on the other side. We were probably in there for over an hour before coming out. It was very cool. Once you got in it pretty far and up a level or two, it opened up into humongous caverns where there had been large deposits. The wives who didn't go were really pissed at us. They spent the whole time speculating about the things that might have happened to us and worried themselves into a frenzy when we didnt come right back out...... :cry:
We also visited an old borax mine up a really gnarly wash. I made it 2/3rd's of the way and finally had to stop at a steep shelf that some of the fully locked jeeps were having a hard time with. We went into the mine really far and up several levels, finally coming out at the top of the mountain on the other side. We were probably in there for over an hour before coming out. It was very cool. Once you got in it pretty far and up a level or two, it opened up into humongous caverns where there had been large deposits. The wives who didn't go were really pissed at us. They spent the whole time speculating about the things that might have happened to us and worried themselves into a frenzy when we didnt come right back out...... :cry:
