Death Valley Off-Road Adventures

OOOOOOOOHHHHHH!
A Foldable Two Step-Step Stool! Where did you find that!!?????

My girlfriend hates the single step I carry. Complains everytime she has to use it. I need one of those!

Oh, glad you had a nice trip, nice pics you posted. The stool is what got my jimmies goin'.

 

You can find them on Amazon. About $80 but they have others.

 

Very pricey...I've been using this two step Rubbermaid since 2009.

https://www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-4...d=1710997395&sprefix=two+step+,aps,194&sr=8-8

 

I have a taper/painter’s stool which is an adjustable platform. Personally, much better because it’s stable, you can stand with both feet, good sized, and folds flat. Less than $30.

 

Ha ha, they are great
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09TPVRNPZ?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

Having adjustable legs is huge. Even if the ground is uneven the platform is always level.

 

What I like is that it's a small platform you could hold a dance party on. OK. Maybe not but you can have two feet on it which is unlike the step where if you can get half your foot on the platform, you're lucky.

 

One thing I miss about having a Gheti in the bed instead of fridge locked in the cab is that I could put it below my tailgate and use it as a step.

 

AluBox with plywood attached to lid. can be used as step. first out, last in.


box contains coffee service

box works as table



tailgate not that far off pavement anyway

 

Figures! The single step was under $20, so.... oh well.

 

tailgate at 31.5 inch from pavement...don't really need a step up

 

Enjoyed a few days in and around the park...

Here's my "road status" update:

1. Traffic is flowing on Saline Valley Alt Rd from the highway to Lee Flat despite nominal closure. (I came in on Santa Rosa which is open, but was told the SV closure was really just for South Pass / Hunter Mtn, and I didn't try those. In any case, plenty of folks enjoying the Lee Flat area.)
2. Some of the road closure signage is out of date -- check the online map. (I'm talking about "no thru route" warning signs, not actual closures or barriers, which I didn't encounter.)
3. The online map shows some open side-roads roads as closed -- check for postage signage.
4. The back road to Cerro Gordo is still snowed in. Fought my way up to the switchbacks, but pushing further would have been a slog at best, and would have torn up the berms on the shelf segments... so I just hiked the last half-mile. No tire tracks and at least 2' of slush in the shade, so I'd give this one another week or two--even downhill.

Spent one night with a friend... camped in a pit mine trying to get out of the wind, and we still fucking froze to death.



My, that's a big one...



How did this pass code inspection... they forgot to hammer in the nails!!!



When I was screwing around in here, an F-35 hovered down over the tailings pile right outside the mine, then did a sick 360 with full afterburner. Or at least that's what it sounded like -- in any case, a terrifying amount of deafening thunder to hear when you are standing in a hollowed-out mountain.



I didn't give up without a fight. But this fucking snow didn't get the memo... it's MARCH--turn the fuck back into water so we can wantonly spray you on our lawns, you stubborn pile of shit.



Would have been a beautiful drive down -- and two hours faster! But... not worth the carnage.


EDIT: HOLY SHIT, look what my camera saw!!!

I guess my eyes technically saw it too, but couldn't make it out. Obviously not a good photo, but wow, what a delightful find on the photo reel!

 

If you have a GFC or Vagabond, a step makes sense. Same for accessing a roof top tent when folding it up.

 

Same spot almost. End of February 2018. Those are 38's. lol

 

agree. one of my gear box can serve as step. but 31 inch is not very tall for me. if i had taller tires and more lift i'd need a step.

 

Your new rig?

 

Nice!

I'm just on 33s, but I was still surprised how difficult it was to punch through the slush. I've crawled through thicker snow without even breaking out the cables, but this stuff was an absolute slog.

I suspect I'd have needed to winch the entire way up the switchbacks, just to keep off the berms and avoid trashing the road. A dozen or two pulls at least, unless somehow the front tires started grabbing better in the shade.

"But I could have done it, if I wanted," is what I'll keep telling myself.

Have I ever even used a winch? No. But don't worry, I have a snorkel.

Perhaps the best part is how we had spent all morning marveling at the beautiful snow-crusted peaks, and never once even imagined that snow would block our travel. Even as I was untangling the cables on my knees in the mud... "No worries, dear, we're almost there!"

 

Nope. That's my buddies @Tacoma1192 My rigs parked behind his. We spent the better part of 2 hours taking turns breaking trail. Like rev limiter pinned in 4lo dual locked to go 50 feet breaking trail. It was a memorable trip.

 

Spent a couple of days - for the first time in more than a year - in the park. Oh, how I've missed it.

Lake Manley from Dante's Peak just before sunrise...

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A colorful hill after a serpentine hike.

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This is the latest in the year that I think I've ever visited, and it was colorful!

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Into a few canyons...

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To a couple of seldom-visited mines...

.

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That sounds lovely.
4Runner still?