Southern Expidition update

[sailor]

More Playa stuff. This is what happens when it gets wet. We got stuck. Badly. I started it by driving into a soft area at high speed getting mildly stuck. I did the right thing though, and didnt spinn up the muck but shut it down and aired down to 15 lbs and managed to back out. Lance, also extracted himself but came around in front of me with the idea of providing a tow- Bad idea. He was totally mired in goo who's composition can only be described as 1 part earth, 1part glue and 1 part poo. It coated the tires perfectly destroying all traction. I managed to get within 90 feet of lances' back bumper before I lost traction. I reeled out 60 feet of Warn 9500 and added my kinetic strap but was still 10 feet short. Fortunatley, Lance had his recovery kit with him and after rummaging around in the monstrous pile of s*** in his truck came up with a 50 foot length of clothesline! I tied this piece of crap to my strap and managed to pull Lance 6 feet before the clothesline broke. This was a mixed blessing, after some blue language, I let out the winch again and was able to re tie the rope and thus we recovered LanceCruiser for the second time on this odyssey. As I was pulling, his tires were turning freely, supplying no traction at all. I shudder to think what would have happened had we not gotten out, in the middle of that huge lake with darkness falling!

 

[sailor]

we booked it off the Playa and sped to Reno..

 

[Glenn-BJ74]

looking for adventure, what ever comes your way.
more, more, more ....

 

[bj70_guy]

 

[AJAEbj42]

Great story!

 

[sailor]

Hoping Lance will chime in with his stuff and fill in the blanks! Relax- not even half way through here!

 

[kim]

I suspect lance may still be unpacking.

 

[sailor]

LOL! It was truly stunning how much s*** he had in there! He had a 12 volt vaccuum fer chrissakes!

 

[ForealBoreal]

And I thought my MOM packed lots. Lance you made my mom look like an alpinist with the amount of **** that you packed!
Cool trip boys, I need to go on one of those in the future. Summers just around the bend!

 

[sailor]

I forgot to mention the 'dust devils'- mini cyclones that tore across the Playa- really quite striking but the photos dont do justice to it We rolled through Reno, stopping at staples to dump my camera's memory card on to a USB stick. Then we went to Wal Mart. Lance seemed noticeably giddy to be back in his happy place. I amused myself by trying to find the famous 'People of Wal Mart' Collected some supplies and an extra blanket and pillow because I am getting to be an old fart and need my comforts. Went for Mexican dinner and Rolled down US 395 into California again to the town of Walker, where there is a nice rest stop at the end of a quiet street with a rest room but no hot water. Had a warm night and did some housecleaning to remove the Black Rock Desert gumbo. Off down the 395 on a crisp morning. As an aside- US 395 is my favourite road. From Tahoe to Barstow it is nestled between two mountain ranges and boasts spectacular, varied scenery. I always enjoy this stretch and suggest anyone travels it in daylight to enjoy the scenic effect. We stopped to see Mono Lake, the first shot doesn't quite show all of the graffiti on the barrier from all of the travellers. We then went to view the Mono Lake Tufa, which are calcite mounds that were created by natural springs that were under water before Mono Lake's level was lowered to supply L.A. with water. We found that the snow helped clean the Black Rock mud off of our trucks and shoes with a little 'moon walking'. Gave a young couple a ride to their car- they had to share my passenger seat as there was no way Lance could re-arrange all of his crap to accomodate even one guest!

 

[sailor]

The Ranger (Jim) at Mono Lake came out and gave us some excellent info despite the fact his station was closed for the season- Typical of the folks we encountered on the trip- very friendly and helpful. Carrying on down the 395 after Lunch at Nicelys restaurant in Lee Vining Ca. Highly reccommended for excelent service and great chow. Stopped to take in the Owens Valley and Mt. Tom at 13,652 feet. Awesome and spectacular alpine scenery.

 

[sailor]

Got to Bishop Ca. and hit the carwash to get the last of the Black Rock muck off. We were concerned about the high salt content in the mud. Bought some firewood and a great National Geographic map of Death Valley. Lance spied his first true California Cougar (human variety) I chatted with her a bit as I filled my sun shower but was unable to hook Lance up- He might even have given up a Wal Mart visit....

All stocked up and somewhat clean we headed to Big Pine and the north entrance to Death Valley....

 

[sailor]

I was pretty stoked to make it to the valley and it is always a milestone to see the first cactus and palm tree! Popped my first beer to celebrate! Our first stop was Eureka Dunes- a National Monument and the largest dunes in North America at over 680 feet tall with it's own unique, protected plant species. We found a campsite next to 2 Tundras belonging to 2 guys from Bishop who shared their campfire and local knowledge. The mountains had multi coloured strata shot through them. We hiked up one of the lesser dunes- Good excuse for a few more beers says I! Rained at night.

 

[sailor]

We left the dunes early heading for Steel Pass, the north entrance to the Saline Valley- part of Death Valley National Park. Great scenic drive with a bit of rock crawling

 

[kim]

Cool stuff!

We travelled through from the other direction, Vegas through Pahrump and into death valley and then up the direction you are coming from. Up and down from 6000 ft to 0 and back up again....

Great to see the photos

 

[sailor]

more from this area with;
1) Steel Pass
2) The Saline Valley
3) Saline Valley wild burro

 

[Fantom]

Nice trip, I'm surprised you managed to see anything with all the walmart and diner stops
Looks like a successful adventure: you went, saw a bunch of cool stuff, and came back!
So what I learned from this is that Lance really has no idea what to bring camping (so he takes everything from home), he gets stuck at the worst times, and needs to go to WMA (WalMart Anonymous) meetings.
and I don't even want to know about the donkey.

 

[sailor]

HA! Lance made me promise not to reveal what transpired between him and the wild burro! But then he hasn't been on yet to present his side of things. Come to think of it there was a lot of hee-hawing going on at night...

 

[Fantom]

like I said....didn't want to know! poor, poor animal.

 

[sailor]

We followed the dirt road down the valley until the Warm Springs oasis rose from the desert. Felt a bit like T.E. Lawrence. A wonderful warm shower and soak in the hot tub is a good excuse for a few beers. Met a guy with a 50 foot Beneteau sailboat with electronics issues- Can I write off the trip now? Also met 3 guys from the TLCA LA County Trail Crew. Awesome trucks, A built FZJ 80, a mint 40 and a Jeep Rubicon- Cool guys who gave us some good ideas .Once again the 81s were quite the attraction. The hot springs is fed from a central springs with a complex system of subterranean pipes carrying water to various pools, showers etc. It was built up over many years by volunteers and is truly a cool place that time forgot. Total sausage fest- not a female to be seen (human, that is) we just missed the annual co ed naked baseball game. Probably a good idea in retrospect as I know there is no way I could suck in my gut for 9 innings!