Death Valley 2016 Trip report

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So more on the story of the cabin. At least informally it's known as Berman's Cabin. I had been researching potential day hikes that we could do either in Dedeckera Canyon or near Steel Pass and came across a couple of references to a double murder that occurred in Saline Springs 30 years ago. When I dug into that story a little more I found this interesting article: A 1986 Double Murder Cold Case in the Mojave Desert Is Finally Unraveling. From there I spent some time on Google Maps and got a pretty good idea where the cabin was probably located. I marked the coordinates in my MotionX app and @Cruiserdrew and I spotted in on the way into the Springs and then hiked back to it the next day.
 
Cruiserdrew said:
Yep.. IFS and Saline washboard are not a good mix. 100 series beware! Spresso had to bail at this exact spot a couple of years ago.

Strangely, the Taco guy was not in a particularly rough spot. In fact, it was pretty benign. I'd like to know the story.

We were there around 10/24-10/26 time frame.
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FWIW the 100 Series in a more stock IFS configuration than Spresso's holds up very well to Saline washboard and its like. We have thousands of miles behind ours on wash board, Saline Valley included. However it might be I drive slightly less aggressively than Dan :rolleyes:
 
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rusty_tlc said:
FWIW the 100 Series in a more stock IFS configuration than Spresso's holds up very well to Saline washboard and its like. We have thousands of miles behind ours on wash board, Saline Valley included. However it might be I drive slightly less aggressively than Dan :rolleyes:
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Blah, blah blah, my 100 series rocks, blah...:D

LOL. The bait was for Spresso but whatever. He actually broke his REAR suspension right there. Had to retire for repairs back in the real world.
 
Cruiserdrew said:
Blah, blah blah, my 100 series rocks, blah...:D

LOL. The bait was for Spresso but whatever. He actually broke his REAR suspension right there. Had to retire for repairs back in the real world.
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I remember that man. That was far out. Right when we turn back onto Saline Valley road to head down towards Lippincott.
 
so yeah, we head out of the Springs after Tom made us killer Fried Eggs and bacon sando's, and were followed by two guys in a huge 80 with like a triple slide out rear rack contraption holding all kinds of fun toys, and they hang with us all the way Up to the Racetrack area.

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It's relatively warm here, about a solid 80 degrees, hardly any wind, but reasonable. By no means is it "Death Valley hawt" or fry an egg on the curb hot, but you know it could get there in a couple of hours.
We mosey our way thru the incline up to the start of the Lippincott grade and come across a fellow in a 2WD Hybrid Ford Escape, with all of it's belongings laid out in the dirt on the rocks toward the edge of the road.
It's not on a flat section, it's not on a wide section either, it's basically right where you don't want to be when someone else comes along.

When I first saw it, Drew was already on the radio giving us the heads up, so we all stayed back in case this guy needed to get around us somehow. I thought we were just going to change a tire and be on our way, but no..it was stuck.

He jammed that thing right on a big rock and was high centered with wheels spinning.
It was about this time that Drew got out and hiked up there and asked him whats up.
 
Cruiserdrew said:
Blah, blah blah, my 100 series rocks, blah...:D

LOL. The bait was for Spresso but whatever. He actually broke his REAR suspension right there. Had to retire for repairs back in the real world.
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Well in that case :flipoff2:
Death Valley will definitely find the weak spots in a rig. I had a conversation with some of my rock crawler buddies a while back and the consensus was that DV is actually harder on a truck than Rubicon or Fordyce.
 
Breakage:

Steve: Broken front shackle hanger, loose u-bolts
Pablo: Battery box, alternator, fusible link
Cruiserdrew: Gear oil seep between front housing and 3rd member, Front pan hard bushing resulting in death wobble, rear tire carrier spring pin sheared off
Tom: Clean, I think, but he has death wobble too under braking which may be pan hard bushings
Onur: Required complete rebuild of transmission, transfer case, front and rear suspension bushings<<<really!
Greg: He's stock, so nothing broke!

Anything else?

For an easy trip, that's a lot of broken parts!
 
Cruiserdrew said:
Breakage:

Steve: Broken front shackle hanger, loose u-bolts
Pablo: Battery box, alternator, fusible link
Cruiserdrew: Gear oil seep between front housing and 3rd member, Front pan hard bushing resulting in death wobble, rear tire carrier spring pin sheared off
Tom: Clean, I think, but he has death wobble too under braking which may be pan hard bushings
Onur: Required complete rebuild of transmission, transfer case, front and rear suspension bushings<<<really!
Greg: He's stock, so nothing broke!

Anything else?

For an easy trip, that's a lot of broken parts!
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And my rear axle housing!
 
So back to Hans, stuck in his Ford Escape on Lippencott. Anyone get pics?

I have no pics but he was turtled on the rear suspension. Stuck fast. And he was pathetically jacking it up with the factory inadequate jack, and placing "very small rocks" under the tires. I felt sorry for him when we came up the grade and he was stuck, alone, blocking the trail, needing a clue. I hope he did ok after we got him turned around. He seemed like a nice guy.

It's only day 3.
 
And we arrive at the Racetrack.
A really cool place that has these rocks that mysteriously slide around whenever it gets wet apparently.

Some royal jackass drove out there and now we'll probably see his marks for a decade, but regardless, very cool.
We had lunch here and hiked quite a bit. The best rocks are to the far side and as you are walking in, look to your far right.

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The pair of Swiss dude on a Trans-Pacific trip take off from here to go on a pretty cool hike.
You can find them on Instagram at: @expeditionnotes

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