Prayn4surf

well Im not going anywhere that following weekend. So maybe we do some hoodrat shit locally

 

No cracks club goes in search of more cracks

 

Thanks for choosing one of our Summit bumpers. Looks great on your truck!

Relentless Fabrication
www.relentlessfabrication.com

 

I added some L Tracks today. I figured more tie downs are more better

 

So about two years ago @Tombiology70 and I had started talking about a trip to Death Valley. We missed eachother on quite a few trips due to work and scheduling, but it looked like I was gonna be able to link up with him and just barely fit it in with a week packed with work obligations.

So once we had the dates I got super excited and he was game with what ever I planned. We asked a few peeps if they wanted to roll, and kept the group small because finding camping spots for large groups in DV means you're at the shittiest group camp spots with RV’s. @AY_ARONTRD said he wanted to roll and asked if @Donjuan could roll too, so it was set. I was a bit ambitious in planning, but I think the route I mapped out for the group was pretty solid, and it left room to add some things that people may have wanted to see. All in all it was 540 miles of dirt and road in the park. In the end we drove about 700 miles in the park.

Prepping my truck proved a but stressful as last summers rock gardens and long trips took its toll on parts, and I found my LBJ’s were toast the day before I left to a tradeshow that would leave me no time to seek out new ones. Luckily toyota of escondido had a set on hand and i swapped em out in time for an alignment as planned. I have a feeling the racetrack would have claimed them. Those were the roughest washboards on the trip.
So with the truck finally dialed we packed up for an early departure to meet up with everyone in Baker. Once there we all gassed up and headed to the trail head which I thought was a paved road and probably made everyone second guess my routeing skills lol. But it was a super cool drive into the park and was probably the softest dirt we found. It definitely got us prepped for the scenery we were going to encounter.




Once we aired up we were in badwater basin and were about to drive through one of the lowest points on earth where the elevation goes into the negatives. It got the name from the mules on the mule trains refusing to drink the water cause of the salt, hence badwater.



From there we stopped at Artist Drive, super touristy, but super worth it!





Our plan was to stay at Stovepipe Wells campground, so we could cruise to Mosaic Canyon in the morning, but then we saw the campsite and said f that. The ranger had some good suggestions and we opted for Marble Canyon instead. It offered good views and more privacy.



From there we headed to at least see the first slots of Marble Canyon, and then head towards Mosaic. Both canyons were worth a look, and this was just proof that everywhere we were going to go could have 4 days dedicated to that specific area.









Mosaic Canyon was a cluster of people by the time we got up there, but worth it







On the way out apparently someone in our group drove rather quickly down the short dirt road and hit a large rock, to a very unfortunate outcome. We were stoked that the issue was resolved enough for Javier to keep along the route with us, because it would have sucked to see him dip out so quickly. We ended up driving out to Rhyolite to meet up with @TacoPharm who was randomly in the park, and after checking it out, headed to Beaty for lunch and to really asses Javier’s truck.









From there we gassed up and headed to Titus Canyon. It is and was one of the most dramatic desert trails Ive been on. The mountain valley you climb and drop into before the canyon is super dramatic with awesome colors and a stunning landscape to say the least.







We stoped at the Mining town of Leadfield, that was a total hoax, and dude convinced lots of people to buys shares, and move there, to find no gold what so ever. Pretty amazing.









The canyon itself was massive. It made some of the canyons Ive been in by San Diego look pitiful. I was constantly sticking my head out of the truck to be able to see the top of the canyon walls. The walls were filled with bends and turns of rock layers crushed and twisted over centuries of pressure. Ive never geeked out on geology, but it was hard not to in DV.









Of course we stopped to look at the Petroglyphs as well, but no big horn sitings.



From there we aired up and headed to Ubehebe crater.



Then to pray for camping as the sun was setting and we were about three hours behind schedule. It worked out though because they say the best time to veiw the crater is in the evening late afternoon.



The soil immediately changed around the crater to black crushed lava rock. It was super cool to see all the different soil colors throughout the park. A quick stop and we aired down and began looking for camping in the dark. It did not happen fast and we ended up at Tea Kettle Junction 23 ish miles from the Crater lol. I knew we were in a valley but had no idea what it looked like and prayed for no wind, which we luckily escaped the high desert winds. But we woke up to this.









Javier said his goodbyes as he had to get his truck looked at professionally and he had to be in San Jose for work monday. So he had a long day ahead of him. We headed straight to the racetrack after a leisurely morning because the day before took it out of us.

The race track was a trip, unfortunately we didnt see any tracks from the rocks, as it takes special conditions for them to form, and the rain and wind erased them. We did see plenty of footprints from some asshole who walked in it when it was wet, please don't be that guy/girl people. Still pretty cool color contrasts.







Our route had us going through Lipencott Pass down to Saline Valley and towards Lee Flats. Lipencott was fun, not as hard as some say, and from pictures Ive seen there is more erosion and more rocky than in previous years on the one challenging section, but not difficult. The switchbacks are very steep though.











On the way to Lee Flats there is a massive Joshua tree forest that pictures dont do justice. It goes forever. Plus going from a desert basin, to snow and what I think was Pinyon Pines, to Joshua Trees, pretty cool.







We gassed up in Panamint and then headed toward Goler Canyon.

 

Goler Canyon was the most challenging road, but still nothing our trucks couldnt do, and rocks are always a good time.



We heard from a group of locals that there were 20 jeeps camping at the cabins by the Stripped butte, our destination, so I made the call lets get to Barker Ranch, aka “The Manson Family Ranch”, and if no ones there lets claim it for the night. Not really the place I wanted to camp because of its history, but it proved an awesome place to stay with the best sunset of the trip. Plus it allowed us to have time to relax after a long day.













Waking up the next morning we headed to the Butte, and the road became tons of fun, and we passed a wild burro.




I didnt get out to take pics of the rock gardens, and Im glad I didnt because we found the Jeeps. 16 to be exact, and getting spotted through the first rock garden, our last. The Butte was as epic as I thought it would be, but we didnt have much time to hang out, and having to be back in San Diego that night we kept moving.





Eventually we found ourselves by the road we came in on, aired up, and headed home.

 

So bad ass! The crater does look epic, glad ya'll were a little behind schedule to catch it when you did.

 

Again, so fucking cool! Thanks for sharing the pics and taking the time to write in between

 

yeah we almost missed the crater by like 15 min of sun. I was pretty concerned about finding a place close to the road to camp for Javier, cause we found out later the rock bent his steering rack. Glad he made it back to Irvine safe, and then he drove to San ho...super gnarls lol

 

Damn, I'm pretty sure you have to cut the bolts or pull the motor to replace that if it wasn't just the inner tie rod.

 

He ended up taking his truck in that next morning And got a new rack.

 

Yeah what @AY_ARONTRD said. They put a whole new rack in. Dont know whats required for a third gen, at least my first gen is right there, but its a lot of work for sure. Super bummed for him. But he got to run Titus and make it to the Junction. Im pretty sure he had a blast. Im still laughing thinking of his chica rush the puppy dog screaming I love you to the dog haha

 

That looks like a really fun trip! All sorts of spots that are on my photography bucket list!

 

Everywhere you look is waiting to be photographed.

 

Valley of the Moon yesterday

This is where you got "stuck" when you forgot the truck has to be in gear to go forward.

 

wait... you went through without sliders!?

How can I build a reputation for VOM having difficult obstacles that only me and da homies can conquer, only one of us will break a CV, and #proeagle for the Gram!?

 

LOL - I guess it happens to everybody at some point.

 

No, I parked for VOM then after we went to the north side of the Freeway and I boiled the shocks a bit.

 

“Oh im not in gear bahahah”