RESCUE NEEDED!! Anybody near Ridgecrest/395??

Thanks for posting. In the spirit of learning for me, and others, can I ask a few questions?

I'm interested in your assessment of the relative difficulty/treachery of the goler canyon road/mengel pass route vs. the one you ultimately stranded on the "suitcase mine" trail. Your description prior to the rollover didn't seem to make one seem all that much more treacherous than the other?

In various other places you talked about self-spotting by getting out and walking surveying a section before driving it. Did you do that on the final climb you ended rolling on before you drove it? If not, why not? Would that have helped?

In a couple places you mention being concerned that SAR would end up costing you out of pocket. Did the friendly CHP officer give you any more info on whether that was a legitimate fear or not?

 

I had heard of Goler and Mengel well before I checked them out for myself, so I had a good idea of what to expect in terms of difficulty.
Mengel lived up to its reputation. It's only about 100-200 yards, but combine the uphill aspect with the size and spacing of the boulders, and it was quite the challenge. Extremely careful line selection and wheel placement allowed me to get through without sliders, but I wouldn't really try it again without them.
Goler was a disappointment. The grader had just been through (as evidenced by the equipment tracks visible in the soft sand), and so all the fun had been scraped out of it. Even the dry falls were nothing more than shallow ramps. But the scenery was about the best I had on the trip (one must like geology in order to appreciate the scenery. The incredible folding of the rocks is impressive! Many faults through the area).
South Park Canyon I really didn't know what to expect, other than that it was difficult. It's not really comparable to Mengel, the two being in different leagues. But it was quite a challenge getting to where Suitcase branched off. The switchbacks alone were enough for some to have to do multi-point turns. The one bypass I took gave me the biggest challenge I've had yet: five or six attempts to get up the nearly 30% incline on a crumbly alluvial fan, with no option to turn around, and backing out would be damn near impossible. Once off the alluvial fan, the canyon was pretty, and challenging (tight, lots of dry falls). It looked like it was going to get tougher past the Suitcase branch, but I never got to find out -- I will this year, one way or another!
South Park Canyon is actually the southern leg of a loop trail that starts at Ballarat and heads up to Rogers Peak via Pleasant Canyon. I was taking it in reverse of the direction people normally travel it (typical of me). From my research, I would say the entire loop is not for the faint of heart, or for anything but a well-built rig; if South Park Canyon was any indication, my research was spot on. The only thing that makes the Butte Valley route difficult is Mengel -- it is otherwise a fairly easy trail with spectacular scenery and spectacular isolation. The loop through Rogers Peak is, from what I can discern both through research and my experience with South Park Canyon, tough going the whole way, and on par with Mengel in terms of difficulty (but for 100% of the route, not ~100 yards).
The Suitcase Mine spur was your classic mine spur trail: narrow, twisty, rocky, unmaintained, very loose, with sheer cliffs on one side and sheer dropoffs on another, and little room to maneuver. But it hugged the west-facing cliff overlooking the Panamint Valley, so the view was jaw-dropping. Traction was around 60%, with plenty of basketball-sized rocks strewn about just waiting for your tire to chuck them out. The particular spot I rolled was a particularly tight switchback, one that I should have done Austin Powers style.

I did on the uphill approach to my rollover spot, because the incline was so steep. But I did not survey the switchback where I actually rolled, because from the cab it looked rather tame. I don't think it would have helped: I rolled it not because of misjudging the line or the difficulty, but because I stupidly entered it wrong (I knew it at the time I was doing it), and then even more stupidly pushed through. I knew I should have stopped and multi-pointed it, but for some reason I still don't know or understand, I didn't. Stupid mistake is all, not a lack of reading the terrain.

No. I didn't ask, and he didn't say. I did mention about how I was concerned about the cost had the helicopter found me first, but he didn't respond in any manner indicating whether my concerns were valid or not.
I have read enough stories of people getting rescued by government agencies and getting billed for the rescue. This is usually the case when the rescue was avoidable in the first place (ignoring Road Closed signs, getting caught in a flash flood when all signs were apparent it was going to happen, driving the wrong vehicle in the wrong place, and an infinite number of other scenarios) -- I certainly felt this was the case for me. And I'm sure the great state of California would see it that way, too.

 

Thanks for the clarifications.

But sorry, "Austin Powers Style" ?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGiQOCX9UbM

 

Good read sir! Glad you made it out safe....Im glad there are still good people in this world

 

For those in SoCal, I plan on going to the weekly OC meet tomorrow (Friday) night, in case anyone wanted to see firsthand the damage. I'll even bring the two pistons with me (and the motor, unless I can get it out of the bed before then).

 

Huh. I never really looked at this.
Yep. That is precisely spot-on where it happened. I can see the wide, sweeping right turn where I first had data service, the steep climb from that to the switchback, and even the near-impossible short spur to the left. And of course the hella tight switchback that got me (where the map point is).
Yes, it's as hairy as the satellite imagery looks!

Btw- the anchor rock for my self-extraction is the light brown speck surrounded by slightly-darker brownness directly above the "56" in the latitude coordinates of the first image.

 

Fine account of an adventure. Good you got out with minimal damage all things considered.