Installment #1:
My step-son and I just got this old heap of a Samurai up and running a few months earlier. Taken on as a father-son project, he'd put in some sweat and tears working side-by-side with me, and receive one slightly tarnished Tin Top to use to go back and forth to high school (provided he keeps his grades up and respects his Mom and I). As a side benefit, he'd step away from the dammed X-box for a minute, and learn something mechanical like how to lighten a hose clamp, benchpress a 5 speed trans into location, and how to drop and inspect a fuel tank, and how to drill holes and mount a set of seats. Let's not forget the front and rear brake job... I didn't
Like this story, the Sami is a short project turned long, we finished it up before Thanksgiving. The deal is, his Mom and I get to use my Samurai to take out to the desert once in a while. As it turns out, our kids (combined family, both from previous marriages) were to spend most of the holidays with their respective other parents. So we planned a 7-day trip to Death Valley. New to offroading, I modified a 4x4-type roof rack, outfitted it with a highlift jack, shovel, spare, and 5 gallon fuel cell that I had salvaged from on old race car, and a pair of off road lights, real handy in winter when days are short. We would be by ourselves, and I wanted to be 'self sufficient' should something not go according to plan.
We live in Napa, the tow down to Death Valley is about 11 hours, which we made with only one little incident. The magnetic lights pigtail got caught up in the wheels, ground away, shorting out the brake and tail lamps. Did you know that a Toyota Sienna mini-van WILL NOT let you put it in gear if you have a blown brake light fuse? me either...
So we camp out at Panamint Springs campground, and head out for adventure the following morning. My gal is
really into hiking these days, and we set our sights on Darwin Falls. Instead of pulling into the trail head dirt parking lot, I continue up the jeep trail. (I picked up a great book on Death Valley SUV and Jeep trails). Turns out, we can go up the canyon, park at a springs and abandoned mine, and hike down onto the top of Darwin Falls. The trail turns to nothing more than a game trail, which turns to cross country, which turns to boulder hopping, which turns to me turning an angle and twisting my knee. The three really loud pops tell me a couple things 1) my 50 year old body isn't what it once was, and 2) this ain't no ordinary knee strain. My gal gives me 3 advil, and I hobble back over boulders, up a 45 degree 75 yard long dry wash, game trail, trail, back 2 miles to the Sami parked at China Springs.
My knee hurts, but with ice and advil, I figure my hiking is limited but off roading opportunities are almost limitless! I scope out a 108 mile loop for the following day, that includes Hunter Moutain, Teakettle Jct, the Devil's Racetrack, and the infamous Lippencott Mine Rd.. We pack the tent, bags, and food in the Sami so if the mood strikes us, we can camp along the way and make it a two-day side trip.
Our route takes us east of Panamint Springs, out Saline Valley Road, over 6000 ft elev. Hunter Mountain and a side excursion to see an abandoned log cabin for lunch. Pinion pines everywhere, this was once a cattle ranch. And you thought Death Valley was sage brush and sand... Back on the trail, down the north side of hunter mountain past a little snow, even though it was comfortable 60degrees. Across Hidden Valley, and out to Teakettle Junction. I'm not sure how or why, but this T in the road has 30 to 40 teakettles hanging from the signpost, signed by folks from all over the world. I knew about this place, had a tea kettle to bring, but darned if I didn't forget it back home
A couple of pictures, then off for the Devil's Race Track before we loose good picture taking sun. My Gal is a writer/photographer, so pictures are important to her. Me, I like to savor the view, take in all in, the motor on. It's a good mix. We get out to the Race Track, a dry playa where rocks are said to mysteriously move, over time, leaving odd skid marks behind them. Researchers are pretty sure this phenomenon is simply the result of the playa getting flooded, and the wind sloooowly moving the rocks through the muddy bed over days or weeks. When the playa dries out, the 'tracks' remain dried in the sand-stone like once mud surface. Or maybe the Demons come out to bowl on Tuesday nights... I'll let you be the judge
After the get through with our walk and of course, pictures, I hobble, she walks, back to the dirt parking lot. I notice the same older couple, still working with a spare and jack. I ask about them, as this is a couple hours in on dirt, they tell us blow out a tire on the washboard road, and their spare doesn't have any air. Apparently when you buy a Lexus SUV, they expect you to check it once in a while. Who knew? I lend a hand, an empty my bootleg-converted freon tank, now 100psi air tank, into their full-size spare, and get them back on the road. I feel like such a boyscout. At the same time, I hope I don't latter come to regret the good sam gesture, and need that air for myself. After all, we still have the Lippencott grade to tackle and who knows what else beyond that!
Lippencott: We have a snack and wait for the glaring sun to set over the mountain range to the west. There is a pretty foreboding sign at the top, advising 'experienced 4x4 drivers only, no servvices, you're on your own' Everything but a skull and crossbones. A buddy from work advised, 'go from the racetrack side
down Lippencott, it's easier'. You can check it out on youtube, but the video I watched doesn't do it justice. if you are afraid of heights, sections of the single-track road, where it's washed out and repaired, WILL take your breath away. On the other hand, a Sami is narrow, 'how bad can it be?' I ask myself. Turns out not bad at all, but I've been known to 4 wheel VW buses in snow and ice, for fun. We head down, stair steps and loose stuff, narrow, a steep revine that would spoil your day is you slipped over the side, but not a bad road. I wouldn't advise it if your 4x4 isn't in tip-top shape, you are a confident driver, and your not at least carrying a shovel. !00 yards down the canyon, and a set of headlights appear in my rearview. What? NO! I'll be dog-goned, it's the 60year old couple in the Lexus SUV, following our ragged but sturdy Sami down Lippencott Mine Road!!! Fully expecting them to back up at anytime, they persist. Either misguided, foolish, stupid or adventurous, they are not turning back.
The road gets worse, steep ravine to one side, cliff raising on the other, switchback ahead, and no way to back up, we inch our way down the mountain. I thing it drops 2500ft in 8 miles or so. Certainly not rock crawling by any stretch of the imagination, but not a trail I'd take a Lexus SUV down.. unless I stole it, maybe, haha! We stop after clearing each rough area of road, to make sure our friends don't get high centered or drop off a wheel and get stuck. About 3 miles in, we stop to both pull the covers off out lights, and to talk to these folks, make sure they know "We've go their backs', or, their fronts, as it were. Eyes as big as saucers, paper map of the entire state of California in hand, they go on to tell me about their Garmin Nuvi GPS recognizes this as a road, but they had no idea it would be like this! I guess they missed the sign up top, the one without the skull and crossbones
Anyhow, they can't thank us enough for being their guardian angles, love the offroad lights, and appreciate our efforts to assist. Again. They seem nice enough. I guide them the rest of the way down, pointing out the tricky spots, we talk again at the bottom. They would really like to get back to Panamint Springs, for some hot food and a cold beer, a shower, a camp spot. My gal and I talked, and that sounded good to us as well, so I lead the way, two more hours back to Saline Valley, past the turn for Darwin, Father Crowley Point, and to Panamint Springs for pizza and beers, and our campground.
Turns out, these were some real nice folks, whom (we learned over dinner" had both backpacked the entire Pacific Crest trail, Mexico to Canada... as Sierra Club members, they've not done much offroading. Reeeeaaaaaaly?
