Death Valley Off-Road Adventures

Strange. I always read the map to say that it is in the park. But maybe the boundary shown isn't the park boundary? Blue/green are mine; blue is driving, green is the hike.

 

You’re right, I just meant that not all of Surprise Canyon is in the Park so the videos approaching P City from the West could have been shot outside the Park. If he’s got video over the remains of the town then agreed that’s a no-no; I haven’t watched them. I myself have only been in that area once, started hiking up around 3pm in winter and turned around at Brewery Springs before it got dark. A cold and icy trail in spots. I need to go back maybe later in Spring.

 

It was open after the first set of storms that washed out Cerro Gordo Rd the first time. I don’t know about now after the more recent set of storms that closed 190 and washed out Cerro Gordo Rd a second time.

 

Yeah, it was at the ruins. Like I said, given the general approach and reverence/wonderment he seems to have for places he explores, I'm happy to chalk it up to just not knowing. But I can't find any contact info for him, which is why I was asking if anyone here (who seem to have more connections than I do), might know.

 

reading post 6307 above, it appears sawbladeduller just drove it
i remember it being pretty tame last time thru october 2020

 

back up a few posts...#6307...last sunday i drove up the back way to cerro gordo and then down to keeler. it is/was drivable on that day. if there are upcoming monsoonal downpours, the route is clearly susceptible to wash outs, which could cause impassability in any section, especially on the downside to keeler. those folks in Cerro Gordo somehow expect to maintain a smoothly graded road bed such that a cement truck could drive up any day.....what?!!!!!. if i was asked for my opinion, and they have not asked...they know the history of Cerro Gordo, and are well aware that the burro is the sure footed beast of burden..and that the burro will pack a load of cement mix during times when modern man and his modern machines fail to perform to the expected levels of the current and future digitally monitored world. oh well.

 

In some of Brent's earlier videos he showed no hesitation for taking items from all over the Inyos. I think he's changed his tune in regards to that type of behavior but he still sometime acts like a young child with new toys.

No matter how great the new hotel is I'll never forgive the burning of the actual hotel just after it came under his watch and ownership.

 

Yeah, as I mentioned, I don't really know anything about him except the 3 videos I watched, all of which were newer. Bummer to hear about him taking stuff, and that there may have been foul play with the old hotel.

 

I think it's natural to experience rumors of foul play when it comes to disaster/tragedy. Even here in my town, we've had a couple of large fires and each has come with it's own speculation. No idea what the insurance company/fire investigators found but seems like once the news has had its day, we won't hear more more than "someone saw the roofer with a torch".

Taking stuff? I wish peeps would just leave it. I know it's been discussed here before but it's such a shame people cannot have that same sense of discovery.

 

Good to hear that. I’ll probably be leading with a friend following in a Tundra with a FWC on it…who still hasn’t forgotten the pin striping they got from following me last trip.

 

Unless you have further info than his YouTube videos, not sure what indications exist that point to foul play with the burning of the hotel.

He seems like a guy who got way in over his head and is now using YouTube revenue to help fund restoring ghost town. Is he perfect? No. But he has made a ton of progress and puts out enjoyable content.

But I have never met him. Maybe someone who has will chime in.

 

Well the hotel existed for almost 150 years without a fire and the fire that occurred happened after his arrival. There are many people, not just a few here on TW, who question the fire and how it happened.

AFAIK he is not the sole owner. He is part of a group of investors who bought the property and thus it seems weird they ask for so much free assistance. Yes he's way in over his head, yes he's excited to have this experience, and yes he's learned not to take things from around the area that are not within the boundaries of the Cerro Gordo property. On the last point, he makes sure to share with people that it's not ok to remove historical artifacts to ensure other's have the same excitement when visiting historical sites.

 

Freak accidents happen. Is there something deeper with the hotel? Certainly possible. But I don’t like the idea of throwing mud at someone’s name with minimal evidence (not on you).

But the town does seem cool. Look forward to a report from @turbodb if he makes it up there.

 

Do not attribute to malice that which is easily explained by incompetence…

Leaving a cheap lithium battery pack for a power tool charging in the hotel would be one of a thousand common explanations for a fire. Renovations often cause fires, even with people who should know better. They managed to burn down Notre-Dame after all…

 

While it's fun to guess whether someone, especially a new owner, burned something down we have to question motive. The motive for arson is profit via insurance 98% of the time. The other 2% it's to cover up a crime. In this case, AFAIK, the hotel WAS NOT insured. So strike that motive. The next motive is to cover up a crime. Did this guy kill someone trespassing and decide to cremate the body by burning down the hotel? Sure seems like that would draw a lot of attention to a huge remote area that has a backhoe on the property. Personally I would have just buried the body.

Plus the official fire investigation listed faulty electric as cause. lol

 

I've been

Saline Warm Springs & Cerro Gordo: Once is Enough – In Search of Overlooks #4

I'm sure I'll be through again at some point b/c I want to do the Swansea route to the top of the Salt Tram, and I'd probably want to go see Cerro once the renovations are "more done," just to see them... but I'm not all that enthralled by CG b/c it's not really a "free to explore and poke around" place. I do really look forward to hiking Panamint City though. Weather prevented that last winter/spring, but it's on my list again this year.

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Your adventures never cease to amaze. I’ve done a lot of driving, but man you take it to a whole new level.

 

This was posted on TripAdvisor by someone:

So today (Sept 28), I talked to Richard Farabee, owner of Farabee's Jeep Rental at Furnace Creek. He is actively checking out roads and trails to see what is passable (legally of course) for his guests. I asked for his permission to report what he found.

So far he had made it to Racetrack Playa in one of their Jeeps (before they recently declared it shut it down so its not legal to drive it any longer, fyi) but nevertheless, it has areas where no road is visible. Only 4x4 passable.

Lost Burro mine to Teakettle section on way to Hunter Mountain has no visible road any longer, it's gone. Good news though is that the bad sand section has filled in and hardened into clay.

Lippincott Rd/Pass is fortunately intact and passable with a few areas more tricky than usual. Toward bottom at Saline Valley end, it's a mess and quite rough. Figure much longer to do the road.

Echo Canyon and Hole in the Wall are hard closure with concrete barriers blocking.

Chloride City and hills around it are intact but the really steep hill climb/decend area is more exposed and higher pucker factor now. Also the back way in and out to Nevada from Chloride area was passable but watch for deep ruts across road that catch you off guard. Also, as of now you can't get to start of trail from Daylight Pass, you can only come in from Nevada side on the backcountry road.

Goler wash is still unknown at this point, but since it starts on private land it may not get reported accurately. In other words, NPS can't close it down, as there is private land up there, such as Meyer's Ranch. So you could get up there thinking it shows open, but it could be a mess, and Mengel Pass is beyond the private residence so it could be washed out. Richard may be checking the route this week and I'll report here if I hear from him.

Cottonwood Canyon trail, which is near Stovepipe Wells is a complete mess up further into narrow section. It's all closed now.

I hear that Cerro Gordo road is somewhat passable and up and over to the backside and out to Saline Valley where you could get back to 190 to avoid the closure to the west.

Richard says that he sees Cal Trans crews working like mad to open 190. Every machine they have has an operator in it.

Again, to be clear, this is a cross post from TripAdvisor. Not my information.

 

Good knowledge!

 

Thanks for posting, that’s a lot of closures. Got to ask what happens next? Will park service recreate the washed out back roads or permanently close them? Or allow 4WD clubs to come in to help restore the trails? Given damage to the main roads, I don’t expect the back roads to be high on their priority list anytime soon.
But then, I’m a pessimist