We left LA some time after 8 PM on Thursday, March 17th, after we had loaded up the truck with camping supplies, and food and were now prepared. The only stop we made along the way was to fuel up somewhere after getting on the 15 fwy, thinking I would have a chance to refuel in Trona, a dusty town that serves as a gateway to the Panamint Valley. It was a good thing I decided to bring both the 5 gallon gas jerry cans, and this proved to be a critical part of being prepared for else. It turns out that both gas stations were closed as we drove through Trona late at night, so we figured with a little over a half tank remaining, and the 10 gallons of fuel as reserved, we still had enough mule juice to run the trails for both days we had planned. No worries. We got to the ghost town of Ballarat at some time right past midnight. Ballarat, which except for a small general store, only ruins remain of the historic mining town, serves as the anchor point for running these trails, the upper elevations of which are within Death Valley National Park.
You have the choice to ascend Pleasant Canyon, and descend back down to Ballarat through South Park Canyon, the option we took on our first trip 2 years ago. To change the experience we decided to run it by ascending South Park canyon, and descending Pleasant canyon.
We started the morning with our usual breakfast consisting of warm cooked oatmeal, and scrambled eggs, and a tasty cup of coffee. Afterward we packed our camping gear and headed out of Ballarat around 10 AM and were forecast ed great weather, and plenty of sun on tap for the day. About 4 miles out of Ballarat, we started the ascend for a few miles on a steep but grated road that begins to narrow dramatically, and the shelf route with steep drop offs demands the driver's attention at all times. I had the transmission in 4 low, with the center lock engaged, and rear automatic locker doing its thing. A few miles in, the trail changes topography as it takes you through a narrow canyon filled with cacti plants clinging to the jagged canyon fault wall rocks. Here the things you have to be on on the look out for are large sized rocks that give you options on how drive through those obstacles. Fun, stuff for those prepared.
Before you begin climbing another shelf narrow cliff section of the trail, you encounter the famous Briggs Camp, and the boulder-sitting Thorndike Camp. These cabins are part of the adopt a cabin program of Death Valley National Park, which make the cabins available for travelers on a first come first serve basis, and are free of charge. Briggs cabin is amazing, and it is a must stop point of interest along the trail. If you see a flag raised it means it is occupied, and up to you to ask if you could take a peek. Nobody was staying there when we passed through, so we were free to lounge around for a bit, take some pics and stretch the legs out before driving trough what I feel is the most technical pass along this loop trail.
As soon as you drive past these 2 popular cabins, the trail begins another cliff side ascend, trough a series of narrow switchbacks offering no turn around spots for 1.5 to 2 miles.
Immediately after crossing the narrow log bridge you are greeted by “Chicken Rock” a downward tilting rock that requires utmost attention and a bit of strategy on how you expect to cross through the section to continue your journey. Since we were driving the land cruiser, a wide, and long wheel based platform, we decided to stay close to the outside edge as much as we could and then change direction after straddling the rock so the truck could come closer to the cliff wall once again.
“I think you should get out of the truck, from the other side” We were no more than 30 yards past chicken rock, when I feel the front tire loose ground and go into what felt like a ditch, immediately I put the brakes on and stop the rig. Kevin, co piloting gets out of the car to assess the situation. Once he comes over my side, I see a concerned look in his face, does a quick survey and says “ I think you should see for yourself, get out of the truck from the other side.” As soon as I heard those words I knew this could not be good. I get out of the car and see what precarious situation we were in. the truck was close to toppling over a 3 to 5 foot cliff. The front control arm was resting on the ground, driver's side front tire resting on the air, and the driver's side rear tire was an inch or two over the rock wall. One thing was clear, we had come dangerously close to flopping the vehicle, or worse, flipping. First time ever in my experience. We tried to stay calm, assess our situation, take stock of my recovery gear kit, and decided it was better to play it safe and ask for some help to the 2 guys that were staying at the rock cabin a half mile or so back down the trail. Jack and John were willing to help, and so we jumped in the back of the jeep and back up the trail towards my truck we went. We reach the bridge, and at that point we all get out of the Jeep and I spotted Jack, the driver of the Jeep, on getting past Chicken rock, I had a feeling that Jack was also feeling the butterflies in his stomach as he makes it through. Ha ha. Both the guys had been making comments how challenging it must have felt to drive such as wide vehicle through there, but honestly the land cruiser makes good work out of most of these passes. You just have to be alert at all times, and I paid the price by getting distracted where I did.
We all had our own ideas of how to tackle my vehicle's recovery, some with a certain risk I was not willing to try. Kevin and I decided to build a supporting rock wall, to provide some traction for the front tire to grip on and back out the truck at a straight angle, much like how we were when we got ourselves in this predicament. This is a good time to talk about how important it is to carry a good recovery kit when venturing off payment and away from possible help. I had chains, recovery straps, a front mounted winch, tree strap, clevis, gloves, and the versatile high-lift jack. All were within reach, except for the high-lift jack which was mounted on the driver's side and locked. It would require getting to it from the driver's side but all of us felt it was too risky approaching it because were not sure if the truck would roll and our lives were too important to risk. The idea was for me to climb the rack, unbolt the jack, and drop it to the ground, while the guys would grab on to my feet, in preparation to jerk me off the rack in case the truck would start to roll. I was not comfortable with this idea either. Jack and John had a crusty farm jack mounted to the front bumper of their jeep, but you could tell it had not been used in years, and once we managed to break the lock securing it, we realized how seized it was, thus it was of no use. So I winch the front of the truck to a rock wall using the winch cable and my tow strap, (Unfortunately I could not get the chain to hook through the winch hook and the clevis would not fit the small chain link) Kevin and I went to work and for about an hour we gathered rocks large and small and started building the support wall for the front tire to grip on. An hour's worth and a cold beer break in between, we got it to the point were we felt it was time to give our plan a try.
Jack hooked his winch to a rear recovery point on my truck, but the plan was for me to put the truck on reverse and drive myself out, and being secured with the winch from behind was to serve only as an emergency to hold my truck in place in case the truck would try to go front or get squarely along the way. I had already removed the tension from my own winch to about 6 feet, but still stayed connected just in case things would turn for the worse, at least I would have a chance to secure the front of the truck.
Luckily the recovery worked as originally planned without any issues. As it was, I managed to back out on my own. We moved the truck to a safe place, and we all were driven to the bro hand shakes, high fives and hugs. I had offered Jack and John 5 gallons of fuel for their assistance being that they also had reached the cabin with little fuel as they drove through Trona late at night and had missed the opportunity to refuel (more on this later.)
It was at that point when we see a red jeep coming down South park and soon after wards got to our location and stopped to say hello and ask if we needed help. We fill them in to our predicament, and recovery efforts, and made small chat with them. The elderly couple were on vacation and were touring a couple of the national parks around Utah, and now Death Vally. They were clearly on a rented jeep which the Jeep looked like It had some modifications to tackle some descent trails. I was busy trying to pack everything back together, assist Jack and John with refueling their jeep with the gas siphon hose etc. when I see the couple get back on their jeep say their good buys and good luck wishes and off they went to meet Chicken Rock. At this point something was telling me that I maybe should have warned them about the line I would suggest they take when getting through chicken rock, but Jack or John went over to see them get through it and perhaps offer some help. I didn't know the lady was driving, and the gentleman was doing the spotting. However, moments later I hear the engine rev louder, loud screams and at which point I get up to see what I was fearing, the jeep was severely off camber and on its way to flopping on its side, or worse, going over the cliff. Thank God the jeep only flopped, and stayed on the trail. The other option was too serious to contemplate and God only knows what faith the nice lady would have faced had it happened. I don't know why the Jeep lost control, and how it went down, the only concern at this point was to make sure the driver was safe. Kevin managed to open the driver's door and assist the woman out of the jeep. Kevin says by the time he got to her she was resting on the passenger's side and face staring down over the window and down the cliff. She was terrified. She get's help getting out of the vehicle and minus i'm sure a couple of bruises and a life scare, she was ok.
Another shot of the Jeep.
We all suggested to the couple that they walk back down to Briggs Cabin and wait for some help that was to come after we got within cell phone or (CB radio range) some good miles into the trail and possible having to come all the way back down Ballarat. At that point we noticed a Jeep Rubicon and a modified Suzuki Samurai coming up the grade.
I was hoping that party was versed in recovery techniques and offer some valuable assistance. I didn't feel our recovery experience and my reading about recovery techniques online prepared me to take a recovery leadership role right about now. I knew there were 2 options. One was much better than the second. The first was to prop the Jeep back on its wheels. The second would be to push it over the cliff (as others in the group had mentioned) so others could get through the trail. I argued that getting the Jeep back on its right side was the only way to go and that it was possible since I had seen videos and read about it of having been done. Sure enough when the other party got to the scene of the accident, the 2 more experienced drivers surveyed the situation, I suggested that maybe we could drag the fallen jeep on the side down a ways where there was more leg room to get at it from the side and try pushing it up as long as there was enough room for us to move out of the way in case it wouldn't stay up and start coming back down and flipping. The driver of the Jeep Unlimited Rubicon placed his vehicle close to the edge, and winched the fallen vehicle at such an angle that he successfully managed to get the fallen jeep to a place where we had a change to lifting back up.
It took everybody's effort 3 times, and on the third time, the Jeep came up and stayed up. This was the high point of the trip.
A team effort that goes to show how people come together as good samaritans in times of need. In those 3 to 4 hours that passed since we had gotten stuck, my buddy and I had received assistance, and we had the opportunity to pass some of that Karma on to the elderly couple.
What a good feeling that was. We also knew the goatee d, and salt and pepper haired driver of the Jeep Unlimited Rubicon would step up and finish the recovery project from there. He offered to reverse back down the section, turn around and reverse back up so he could tow the red Jeep back down the canyon to what I would assume would be Ballarat. What a nice guy and family that brought a nice ending to this part of the story. I didn't get this gentleman's name, but thanks again, and I learned much about recovery techniques from you that day. Cheers.
The clock was pushing a quarter till 4 by now. We still had some ground to cover so we said our good byes and got back on the road at a nice pace. The sun was still shining bright. It was still a great day to be out on the trail. We got to South Park Valley and admired the mountains surrounding a green valley where a lone burro was grazing, and enjoying the day. At this point there are a series of side trails that take you to different directions and former mine ruins. Kevin and I had an off road book for following directions, a GPS in hand but were tracking to the books trail directions. Still, we somehow missed the part of the trail that would take us over Roger's Pass, (the way we had ran this trail the first time,) so we ended up on the short cut, which was a steeper and more technical pass along the ridge of the Panamints.
At one point we reached over 6800 feet of elevation, and there was still some spots of snow and ice along the pine tree filled range. I took my time going at pace, and letting the mule do it's thing on 4 low and both lockers engaged. Except for a couple of tricky off camber sections, it was a fun passage down into Panamint Valley. We had reached upper Pleasant Canyon, and were passing through old cabins and side trails that took you to historic mines along the way (Radcliff Mine and World Beater Mine for example.)
With plenty of sunlight left, I suggested we Stop at Clair Camp, set up camp and call it a day. We both agreed that we had had enough excitement for a day and could use the remaining day light to take our time setting up the tents, starting a nice fire and prep our tri tip meat and corn that was to be our nice dinner. Yes,we had a bottle or 2 of “two buck chuck” red wine to complement our grilled tri tip.
Burning a bomb fire when allowed, is Kevin's most favorite camping activity and he worked on doing just that as he made sure to bring plenty of firewood from home. We ate well, relieved the day's adventure, had a couple more laughs about “you better get off from the other side” suggestion when we got stuck, and then decided to retire back to our tents, exhausted but grateful how things had turned out. The moon was shining bright and adding a nice light over the mountains and deep canyon. I did set up the tent's rain fly just in case we got rain, and to add extra shelter from the strong winds that were to come late in the evening, ad they did. So strong that it managed to wake us up and give us an opportunity to guess how soon after the tents would sway seconds after you would hear what it appeared to be a whistle as the wind would funnel through and up the narrow canyon intensifying into gusts of wind.
Things were good, the stakes were staked down fine and I managed to got back to sleep for a couple more hours. We woke up around 7 to a crisp, and chilly morning. Soon we were back in action heating up water to make some coffee and oatmeal, I got to work on cooking the rest of the eggs and soon we were enjoying a cup of good coffee with milk, oatmeal with fresh fruit, and scrambled eggs. Who says you have to rough it when you go camping? Not if you are prepared, and that we are whenever Kevin and I go camping. Soon after we drain the remaining 5 gallons of gas into the truck, put the spare tire on the roof rack (The spare tire carrier suffered some casualty I need to check as the arm is appeared to becoming loose at the point where it bolts onto the frame.) loaded everything up as secured as we could and got back on the trail around 10 AM.
We got back to Trona with the hopes of refueling the truck so we could drive back the 25 miles to Ballarat and enter Goler Wash/Mengel Pass trail. However that was not to be because both gas stations had out of order stickers on their gas pumps. I managed to get the truth about the out of order stickers from the second gas station attendant who said that it costs them about 40 grand to refill their gas tanks and I have the feeling it would take them a while to recover the costs given the relatively low traffic activity that happens in that boring town. Very disappointingly we drove out of town thinking about our options and we decided it was too risky to attempt to drive the second part of our leg, risking running out of gas in the process. Thus we got back on the road and d welled on our options. Once we back on the 15 freeway and closer to home we both felt too tired to attempt another trail run and decided to come back to my place and finish the day with a barbecue dinner at home and watch the pics from our latest adventure. And with that we wrapped up yet another successful back roads trip in a beautiful part of our state.
you can view more pics here:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v228/bohemianjsr/Off%20Road%20Trips/2011%20Death%20Valley/#!cpZZ1QQtppZZ16
