Lippincott Trail: BFG Sidewall puncture.

I got this gouge on the BFG sidewall while on the Lippincott trail in Death Valley NP.
It didn't lose air but I swapped it out with the spare for my 8 hour drive home.
Tread is already down to wear bars and I already have a new set on order, these tires have NEVER let me down.
We drove from the Racetrack down to Saline Valley and out the park.

 

Sidewall, eh? What tire pressure were you running?

 

I know I should’ve been running a lot lower but I was at 25 psi because I was on and off road throughout the day.

 

I did that trail last month at 10 PSI. Many of the trails we did out there had sharp rocks. My tires were fine but the rims took a lot of deep scratches.

 

Looking back at my DV trip I would say I was overconfident in my tires. I took the precautions of a spare, plug kit and air but I didn't expect the rocks to be quite as bad as they were. I did Lippencott a few weeks ago. Went in with Duratracs with about 10k miles on them and came out with Duratracks that look like they had been in a war zone. Most of the trip we were on dirt, aired down to 16 psi and didn't air back up for a few days when we looped back to Furnace Creek. I noticed how easy it is to flat two tires (NP service strongly recommends two spares). I noticed many sharp embedded rocks on the edge of the road often hiding behind small shrubs. Easy to hit with your front tire with no time to avoid hitting again with your rear tire. We did not have any flats but I can see how easy it is. Glad you didn't have to swap a tire on Lippincott.

 

I'm not sure you can necessarily blame it on the PSI. There are so many variables. It could have happened at any psi.

Are those the E load range? I seem to remember them coming in a C range as well, could be wrong tho.

 

They are the E. I also carry two spares. I have the original spare with the Goodyear Kevlar and another spare black steel wheel I ordered online. I run a used BFG KO2 with 5 32nd on that one.