We had a great time camping at Stovepipe Wells, and we did three runs:
1. On Thursday, Brad and I went up Echo Canyon (FT43)
as far as the dry falls obstacle, which is about 12 miles up the road.
The obstacle is basically three rock ledges, and with more experienced people to help out, we might have tried it, but we turned around them. We didn’t explore the Inyo mine site, as we were running out of daylight.
2. On Friday, Dick Hoppe, Matt (from Lompoc) Brutosky, Brad and I went to Chloride City (FT 42), which was a fantastic, not too difficult run to some expansive views of Death Valley (Badwater to Stovepipe Wells and further north).
Dick is the only one who went up the last steep grade to Chloride Cliff.
He was happy to be able to finally use 4 Low. We also explored some mines that were in the area.
Then we kicked up a bunch of dust going down dirt roads across the desert and ended up in Beatty, where we had excellent BBQ for lunch. After lunch, we took an old railroad grade from Beatty to Rhyolite. There’s a ton of trails on the BLM land that’s in this area, and it would fun to explore it on the next trip.
3. On Saturday, the four of us did the Hunter Mountain Racetrack loop (FT39). Again, this was a not too difficult run, with the butt-puckering part being the narrow (no room to pass) shelf road descent of Lippincott Grade. More about that later. On the Hunter Mountain Road, we witnessed changes in climate zones as we ascended, starting with Joshua Trees, then Junipers, then Pinyon Pines (we think), then no trees at all. We walked on the Racetrack Playa, and saw the evidence of the rocks moving across the Playa.
Interesting fact; the Racetrack Playa is one of the flattest places on earth with a 2 inch elevation difference over probably 2-3 miles of length. Then lunch in a primitive campground a few miles to the south of the Racetrack, then the Lippincott Grade.
The road was rocky and slow going, but not too steep and totally doable. We were always worried about people coming up, as there is absolutely no room to pass, and a lot of backing up would have been required.
At one point, we saw a group of 9 vehicles coming up, and we were in the perfect and about only spot to pull over and wait for them to pass. It would have sucked had we met them further down the trail. Yay for good luck!
We ended the day blasting back down the smooth dirt road to the highway, and saw the most amazing cloud formation, lit up by the sunset.
Members: Check out the Club Members Page for pix and video. It’s worth a look!
This was a long day. We left just before the crack of 9am, and got back to camp at 6pm. Total trip length was about 160 miles. Well worth it!
If you’re going to Death Valley, and want any more info on these trails or the camping situation, please contact me.
Seven members of the Santa Barbara 4 wheel drive club hit the road last weekend for an early morning run for our November “Sunday Fun-day” run. After a short rally meet up we traveled up to the local Santa Barbara mountains where we met a couple more members and proceeded to traverse the West Camino Cielo Ridge Trail.
It was an absolutely beautiful Fall day with crystal clear skies. On the way across the ridge we were able to enjoy several challenging “off-shoots” that were new trails for some club members.
At the end of one of these “off-shoots” was a very steep, quite sketchy descent with deep, deep crevasse’s, large boulders and significant holes which could easily throw you into an off-camber pucker moment to remember.
After standing around pondering and scratching our heads for a while, a couple members after a few deep breaths decided to try it. After choosing their preferred lines, Bryan and Mike ended up making it down just fine.
With their experience, longer wheelbases and some skilled carefully planned driving they both navigated the steep rough descent.
After a couple more trails and some hill climbing,we all headed back to Santa Barbara by noon and enjoyed the rest of the gorgeous Fall day.
Club Members: Remember to check out the full image / video library from this trip within the Members Only section of our website. There you can see Mike and Bryan in action!
Mid -October on our scheduled Sunday-Fun-Day run, 8 members from the Santa Barbara 4 wheel drive club explored the Zaca Ridge trail near Figueroa Mountain in the Los Padres National Forest.
In July of this year the Lake Fire destroyed over 38,000 acres immediately in that area. The trail traverses along the top of Zaca Ridge with spectacular views of the San Rafael wilderness, Zaca Lake and the Santa Ynez valley.
The forestry trail leads out to a turn-around point approximately 60 minutes after leaving the pavement and travels directly through the burn scar and is a popular destination for trail runners, mountain bike enthusiasts and OHV lovers. It was stunning to see the devastation of one of our area’s most beautiful and scenic trails. It was also reassuring to notice that the burn area is already beginning to restore itself as well.
We were unable to take the side-shoot trail that leads down to the Davy Brown campground from the Zaca Ridge trail as it is closed because the Sunset Valley Rd leading back out to Happy Canyon is being completely refurbished so we proceeded back out to the Figueroa Mountain road and headed back to Los Olivos.
All in all it was an absolutely beautiful Fall day with amazing views and lots of peace and quiet in the backcountry.
The Big Bear area has always been a special spot for off-road exploration for people in Southern California. It’s a great place to get out of the summer heat of the deserts and “flat lands” that has a huge variety of trails to explore, some of which are very challenging. Our plan was to camp in an area that we’d scouted before – Brent was to arrive on Thursday and secure the camp, with Bryan S. and Dave T. arriving later in the day.
Arrival
Brent arrived around 1 PM on Thursday, only to discover that the campsite we had used for the past few years had been fenced off by the Forest Service. With no cell phone reception, he couldn’t alert the others arriving that day. Brent traveled a few miles in each direction to find an alternate site and eventually settled on the nearby Big Pine Flat Campground. Though not ideal, it would serve as a good meeting point.
Bryan and Dave arrived shortly after, and Bryan volunteered to scout for a new camp. Within minutes, Bryan radioed back that he had found a great spot. Brent and Dave packed up and headed over to meet him.
The spot Bryan found was perfect—a wide, relatively flat area under the pine trees with a single campfire ring and plenty of room for all 11 rigs expected for the weekend. The rest of the group arrived later that day or early Friday morning.
Camped in the trees
Friday
A beautiful sunny morning greeted us and after Breakfast Brent held a drivers meeting. The trail today was to include 3N69, or Gold Mountain as it’s more commonly known. This trail is rated as difficult with 6/10 for technical and reaches an elevation of 8,203ft with stunning views of Big Bear lake before dropping into Holcomb Valley. Due to the nature of the trail, Dave, Sebastien and Brad decided to leave their Toyota 4Runner, Nissan Xterra and Lexus GX470 at camp and hitch a ride in one of the 11 rigs, comprising mostly Jeeps of various models and a Gladiator and Tacoma.
On arrival at the staging area for Gold Mountain, Christina & Richard’s Jeep had an overheating issue so decided to go back to camp accompanied by Bobbie in her jeep. Joe and Lily hitched a ride for the rest of the day.
A high clearance 4WD with 4 low and lockers are definitely required for this trail and the first obstacle to overcome is the Gatekeeper. There is no bypass to this and it’s there to stop less capable vehicles attempting the trail. The trail lead for the day was Brent with Dick at the tail.
I’ve got to be honest, I’ve never attempted anything like this and was very apprehensive when looking at the rocks we needed to get over. After watching how the group worked together to get vehicles over the gatekeeper, particularly Dave’s non lifted Gladiator and Fernando’s Tacoma, it gave me the confidence to give it a go in my stock Rubicon 4xe with 33” tires.
The capability of these vehicles is incredible and with some expert spotting from Brent, we all made it comfortably over the Gatekeeper.
Fernando cleans the Gatekeeper in the Tacoma on 32’sDave & Otis start the Gatekeeper in the Gladiator
The next obstacle was one of the first waterfall obstacles. There are a couple of different routes here and most of us took the intermediate route with 1 to 2 foot ledges. The harder route has a high chance of rollover and the obstacles can vary from 3 to 5 feet.
Bryan and Chub Chub attempt a difficult line at the first obstacle
The second waterfall obstacle was more challenging and also had a couple of different lines to take. Brent and Jim tried the harder line on the left which had a 2 to 3 foot step to get up. The granite rock was pretty slick and the Jeeps were unable to get the traction needed to get over that particular obstacle. The line on the right was a little easier and all vehicles managed to get over without too much trouble.
Jim makes his attempt at the hard line Dave & Otis figure out the best line on the first obstacle
Next up was the Bone Garden, so called because it sounds like crushing bones as you drive over them. It was just like the scene in the original Terminator where the machines were driving over the skulls.
The final obstacle before lunch required a couple of the vehicles to use their winches to get over the rocks, mainly due to lack of traction. I don’t have a winch on my Jeep but, after seeing them in action, I think that’s something I will definitely consider as “next on the list”. Fernando had a winch on his Tacoma and he hooked it up to my Jeep to give him the little extra he needed to get over the obstacle. It really doesn’t take much, just a little help.
Fernando gets a tug up the second obstacle
We stopped for lunch at the top of the mountain and took in the scenery. We were fortunate that there was no traffic on the trail as it takes quite a bit of time to get over some of the obstacles.
After lunch we descended down through the Pine trees, across the Pacific Crest Trail into Holcomb Valley. It had been a pretty tiring day so we decided against the John Bull trail and headed back to camp.
After a good feed we sat around the campfire and looked back on the day’s activities. It was a really great day with some challenging obstacles, stunning scenery and a sense of accomplishment, not to mention some big grins.
Saturday
Another beautiful sunny day and after a short drivers meeting we headed out to White Mountain, led by Brent with Bryan at the tail. This time Dave, Sebastian and Brad were driving their 4runner, Xterra and GX470. The trail was anticipated to be a little easier than Friday’s, especially in the direction we were going, east to west (the “downhill” direction).
We started off climbing the trail to White Mountain off Holcomb Valley Road. It was rocky with some off-camber sections and shelf roads. The views into the Lucerne valley were stunning. Along the trail we saw a few motorcyclists having some difficulty descending one of the steep descents. One guy looked less experienced than the rest and he had a few tumbles. They managed to get down safely though.
Narrow shelf roads with beautiful views
We came to an intersection with an optional “challenge route” that takes the driver up and over the crest of White Mountain and down “Suicide Hill”. Most of the group decided to take the bypass and regroup at the bottom of Suicide Hill. Once the main group arrived at the meeting point, It was obvious where the name came from. Suicide Hill is a tall, steep hill with inclines in excess of 50 degrees, strewn with loose boulders and torn up from previous attempts to climb the hill in the uphill direction. The hillside has an off-camber section that is littered with the scraps and debris of previous casualties – pieces of running boards, bumpers, even a shattered windshield off in the bushes…
Navigating the treacherous boulders and loose soil of Suicide Hill (52º incline at points)
Fernando in his Tacoma, Dave in his Gladiator, Jim in his Jeep and Brad in the Lexus decided to take this route. Dialing it up to pucker factor 10, Fernando, Jim, and Dave (and Otis) successfully picked their way down the incredibly steep and loose hill. Unfortunately, during the descent Brad caught a bad line on the off-camber section and the Lexus slowly tipped forward and rolled onto its roof, thankfully stopping and not continuing down the hillside which would have been catastrophic. Fortunately Brad was ok with no cuts or bruises and that’s really all that matters.
When this sort of thing happens, it is a stark reminder of why it is so important to go on these kinds of trails in a group. The teamwork displayed to recover the Lexus was impressive.Dick, driving an old Willy’s flat fender Jeep, and Bryan returned to the top of Suicide Hill, directly above the stranded Lexus, to set up a winch team. Fernando and Brent devised a plan using a snatch block system wrapped around a large boulder at the side of the trail. This redirected the winch line 90º from Dick’s Jeep to the Lexus’s undercarriage. Dick’s Jeep was then connected to Bryan’s Jeep, which acted as an anchor. Both Jeeps “dug in” to stabilize themselves against the steep hill.
The recovery operation began by pulling the Lexus from its roof to its side. Next, they re-attached the winch line to another part of the Lexus to pull it back onto all four wheels. With the vehicle upright, Dick carefully lowered it down the hill in stages, with Brent standing on the running boards and steering the Lexus around obstacles. After every 80 feet of descent, the winch team had to reset. This involved chocking the Lexus with rocks, then Dick and Bryan moving down the hill to retrieve and redeploy their winch lines for another 80-foot descent.
This process was repeated several times until Dick’s winch line broke, causing the Lexus to careen down the hill toward the other club members watching from below. Fortunately, everyone had moved their vehicles out of the way in anticipation of such an event, preventing further damage. Brent managed to jump onto the rolling Lexus, dive into the driver’s seat, and engage the emergency brake, bringing the vehicle to a stop. Whew!
Brent and Fernando dash up the hill to assist
The next question, would it start? After giving the fluids time to settle, the plugs were removed and the engine fired to clear the oil from the cylinders. When the plugs were put back the engine was then started. For a few seconds it sounded like all was well but then shut down and that was that – apparently the engine had spun its bearings while briefly running upside down prior to the recovery. Brad was able to call a recovery company to come get it off the mountain later than evening.
After the 3-hour ordeal of recovering the Lexus, many of the vehicles continued down the trail to complete the original plan, arriving back at camp about an hour later than a couple of rigs that had taken a shortcut to head back early.
When everyone was back in camp, Christina and Bobbie organized a pot luck meal. The food was fantastic, and spirits were good despite the earlier unfortunate events. There was a surprising amount of laughter shared around the campfire that night – probably because of the intensity of what we had all experienced earlier that day.
Postscript: Sunday morning everyone headed out, and a few of us stayed back to make sure that AAA picked up the Lexus from the local fire station parking lot and took it to a shop in San Bernardino (down the hill). The good news is that as of this writing, it sounds like Brad’s insurance will cover the loss!
A few of us showed up Thursday to get our camps set up in preparation for the weekends activities. It was a little windy but we were still able to have a campfire. During the night and early morning we had more members come in to camp.
We had 13 vehicles on our Friday run. We went up Iron Canyon heading west as we have done in past years. One of the hills was long and fairly steep with loose shale near the top. Bryan K had drive shaft problems so he was running in 2wd with no front drive shaft. He lost traction about half way up and required rescue. Bryan S was able to get a strap on him and pulled him up the rest of the way.
It’s amazing how much traction that long wheelbase Gladiator has.
At this point the group split with some continuing up another hill and the rest going down the other side. This was the only experience with herding cats I had on the trip. Our GMRS radios worked great getting us back together.
We then went to the Walsh cabin at the top of the mountain. This cabin has a great view of the valley looking south toward Mojave but is held down by cables because of the wind. It was very windy while we were there but it was warm wind.
We then headed back down the hill toward Goler Wash. The trail to the wash was bumpy but not difficult. When we got into the wash we encountered a couple of waterfalls that we either had to go over or around.
Just before we got back to camp we went through the Narrows which is a narrow pass through a solid rock cliff. That night the wind stopped and we had a great campfire.
Saturday we had 19 vehicles head out toward Last Chance Canyon. At the trailhead we aired down and had a driver meeting.
Due to some rain earlier in the year the canyon had changed with a few more rocks added. The going was slow and we got to practice our rock stacking skills and towing capabilities. At the last meeting Kevin asked me whether an F250 could get through there and I thought it could. What Kevin didn’t know was that his automatic front hubs weren’t working. So a 1wd F250 can do it with a little help from your friends. Many thanks to Gary for turning Kim’s brand new Rubicon around in the canyon to do some winching.
After the canyon we headed headed to the Dutch Cleanser Mine to look at the snow caves. This mine was worked from 1919 to 1958 mining pumice for the Calsilco Corporation which was used in the manufacture of tooth paste, paint, insulating material and many other products.
Since we were running late we bypassed the Rock House and went down Bonanza Gulch to check out Bickel Camp. We then went across the valley on the on the easy road to Burrow Schmidts tunnel. A few people went through the tunnel to check out the view.
I was planning on going back to camp by way of Goler Wash but Jerry pointed out the approaching rain clouds so we headed back through Mesquite Canyon to the highway. We all made it back to camp before the rain started in time for dinner. Later a few of us sat around a campfire in the rain.
Sunday morning 6 vehicles headed up to Government Peak by way of the waterfalls. Kristina was the only one without lockers and required a little help on a couple of the obstacles. I give her credit for trying this difficult canyon.
Kerry blew out a rear tire on the big waterfall which took a while to change. Note to all – Make sure your jack works, fits under your axle and you have the correct lug nut wrench. Thank you Brian for the tows when needed. Another note to all – there are places where space is limited and slow speed control is required. A tow strap works and a kinetic rope sucks.
We reached the radio towers at the top of the mountain and admired the views.
The clouds were approaching from the west so we bypassed the Randsburg tour and headed back to camp on the easy road. We got into a little rain on the way but camp was dry and we were able to pack and air up before the rain came. The drive home was very wet in a couple of areas.
I want to thank all of you who participated for being prompt and obeying instructions. It made my job much easier. I hope we all learned a little about winching, towing and rock stacking. This is a good group and I hope to see you all next year.
