Death Valley Off-Road Adventures

Well the first difficulty is finding the road in.


What? You don't see it? Well it's right THERE! Keep the pole on the left, house on the right.

I do remember thinking sections would be harder going up due to loose dirt and small rocks. Slow and easy on the gas would be the mode with a bumpy ride. More annoying than challenging. Sorry, I didn't take any pics of these sections, I was more interested in getting through them.

I would say the easiest in & out to the Salt Tram is Cerro Gordo. Personally I think there is plenty to enjoy to go up Cerro Gordo and out Swansea. If Swansea was the only route in and out, I'd still go.

BTW, Some suggest looking for the "Welcome to Swansea" sign. It too is in the posted pic, but I know where to look. Basically I think when you see the sign it will only confirm you are on the road.

 

Pics from last year

 

When I did it way back when (which we now know the conditions were probably quite a bit different than now) the traverse from Cerro Gordo was definitely shorter and faster. Given it appears that road is in even better condition now than it was when I did it I'm guessing that is still certainly true.

I did not on the other hand ever feel particularly unsafe on the way up from Swansea. It was just long with a few very rough patches. I had no traction or clearance problems in a stock 4WD '92 Pickup. My opinion could be very different if I was headed down from Swansea though - everything always looks a lot more scary going down.

The shelf sections on the traverse from Cerro Gordo are certainly much higher pucker factor regardless of what direction you do them. As you mentioned though this can be a good thing as it keeps out the riff-raff

 

Venturing to places in Canyonlands and Southwest Colorado would have been very intimidating without sewing my teeth in Death Valley.

 

Reports of F/A-18E crash below Father Crowley Point today. Early reports are flight into terrain just below the viewpoint. Viewpoint presently closed. Media reports are saying some visitors at the point sustained minor injuries according to a NPS spokesperson. As usual all early reporting is potentially full of errors...

 

That’s unfortunate to hear. Did the crew eject safely?

 

No idea, SAR was dispatched from China Lake and no reports yet via the Navy about condition of pilot. From the very little I know about ejecting the likelihood of safely ejecting seems low in such a situation but boy do I sure hope I'm wrong!

Some sources are saying injuries in the parking lot were minor burn injuries and the aircraft impacted the cliff directly below the viewpoint. Presumably there were a lot of witnesses given all the aviation photographers that camp out all day there. Again, happened just a few hours ago and early reporting often not reliable.

 

A single-seat F/A-18E Super Hornet based at Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif., crashed on Wednesday morning, and the status of the pilot is unknown, Navy officials have told USNI News.

“At approximately 10 a.m. PST, an F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to the ‘Vigilantes’ of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 151 based at Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif., crashed east of Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Calif.,” read a statement from spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Lydia Bock provided to USNI News.
“Search and rescue personnel are on scene and the status of the pilot is currently unknown. The cause of the crash is currently under investigation.”

A rescue team from the base and local officials are on the scene of the crash, Bock told USNI News.

VFA-151 is part of Carrier Air Wing 9 which returned to California earlier this year after completing a deployment aboard USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74).

The following is the complete July 31, 2019 statement on the crash.

At approximately 10 a.m. PST, a F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to the ‘Vigilantes’ of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 151 based at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California, crashed east of Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California.

Search and rescue personnel are on scene and the status of the pilot is currently unknown. The cause of the crash is currently under investigation.

 

Not good

 

Modern ejection seats are amazing. But if no one saw the chute, doesn’t bode well for the pilot

 

Sucks, hopefully he was able to eject safely.

 

Fingers crossed.

 

Supposedly a photo of the aircraft prior to impact (looks to be of it entering the top of the canyon) and of the impact area below the viewpoint. Photographer appears to have been located at the head of the canyon a bit further west of the viewpoint along CA-190 (this is one of the popular spots for photographers). Impact appears to be further out on the point from the paved parking lot right along where a lot of photographers station themselves. Given the smoke coming from the terrain I wonder if the injuries on site were minor burns from a post impact fireball. Another site had made an unsourced claim the injuries were minor burns. Sucks all around.

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It does suck.

 

Ugh, that really sucks, so sad.

 

In a way, the fact so many may have pictures might serve to help investigators find out what happened.

 

I just shot from that spot a couple of months ago.

 

I was coming back South through Owens Valley today. Heard a few military jets early in the Inyos. Never saw them. Very sad. Not the first time this has happened in the vicinity. Think the last one was an F-16 over Owens Lake with the pilot safely ejecting.

 

Reports this morning on NPR said the pilot is still missing. From the looks of the crash site pic I don't think they aren't going to find him. Since observers were close enough to be injured one of them should have reported seeing an ejection.

 

It was strangely quiet in the Owens Valley over the last week. My son and I were camping just north of Bishop and maybe heard 4-5 jets the entire time. It's sad to hear they cannot find the pilot, I was hoping for some good news after reading about this last night.