Death Valley Off-Road Adventures

I didn't

 

Weird, I didn't have to. Anyway, here's a free version:

https://web.archive.org/web/2025070...ey-national-park-car-fire-deaths-20421436.php

 

I want to say that SFGate lets your device (IP address?) read an article or two every month without hassling you.

 

• "Somewhere around Towne Pass, elevation 4,956 feet, the tractor trailer’s brakes started to squeal and sputter. Descending..."
• "By first light on June 19, the 18-wheeler was toast..."
• "Towne Pass, a crucial point along California State Route 190. The jutting roadway connects Stovepipe Wells (elevation: 10 feet) and Panamint Springs (1,926 feet), with a steep grade that often catches truckers and touring RV drivers off guard. The strenuous roads, combined with the already high temperatures, make brakes even more prone to overheating and fire than on average roads."
• "Many opt to try their luck on CA-190, like the unnamed driver on June 19 who was trying to get from Battle Mountain, Nevada to Long Beach."

Does this read to anyone else like the driver took a very ill-advised turn and drove up Emigrant Pass Road and caught fire around Nemo Canyon or heading back to 190 after turning around at Wood Canyon or Wildrose?

 

I installed a spam blocker long ago. But I did notice they ask for your email if you wanna subscribe to their notifications...just click on the X to get rid of it.

 

Not sure I see why this implies Emigrant Pass Road is involved? They only talk about the 190 and I think they are describing it correctly? Possible that just because I'm familiar with the place I'm making assumptions new readers might not. The phrasing is a bit confusing in that third bullet because it makes it sound like the grade is only 1,916 feet when of course it is the 4,956 feet of Towne Pass that is the real problem. Though of course they do mention Towne Pass's elevation earlier in the article.

The other thing a bit confusing is that the particular incident they are talking about happened in Panamint Valley, but still inside the National Park. So the truck was westbound and caught on fire near the bottom of the Towne Pass on the Panamint side. The photo in the article is of a truck in Panamint a bit before reaching the dry lake the 190 crosses at the bottom of the valley. Most of the rest of the incidents have been on the Stovepipe side of the pass (I think).

 

That post was 100% the result of me popping a couple of melatonin gummies last night and not drinking any caffeine this morning. I think that I somehow forgot where Towne Pass was, interpreted it as "that descent between Father Crowley Overlook and Panamint Springs," ignored the actual location and geography of the actual Towne Pass, and then thought "Father Crowley is below 5,000 feet and why would a semi going to Long Beach be descending towards Panamint?" Derp.