NorCal Land Rover Club trip to Death Valley April 2011

[spikemd]

more adventure...

Next stop was the Racetrack, something I have wanted to see for a long time. You will find rocks on a dried lakebed that have seemingly moved and left tracks. Many 'scientists' have tried to figure out how this phenomenum has happened over the years with no definitive answers yet. Pretty cool though.

I mus admit, this pic with the rock making multiple turns leaves me a bit skeptic...

Next up was Teakettle junction, appropriately named. We dropped off a group teakettle and wrote the group and date on the side. A great pic of the Sorenson's with Kai having fun.<br>

A couple of us ventured ahead to find a campsite for the night as it was starting to get dark. We were running a bit behind schedule and were'nt going to make it our original campsite. We came across a cool abandoned mine and were able to fit all the rigs in amongst some precarious open mine shafts. <br>

Overnight, we slept much better and were sheltered from the relentless wind.

 

[spikemd]

Easter Egg hunt

Sunday was Easter Sunday and the kids woke up to the Easter bunny hiding plenty of eggs in the desert! They had a great time searching for eggs amongst the cactus and joshua trees. It was a beautiful morning, perfect for a good Easter Egg hunt.

We packed up camp and headed off for more trails with beautiful views overlooking the valley. We came across an old cabin called appropriately 'Boxcar' cabin as it was simply a large rectangular cabin in the middle of nowhere. We then hit pavement for the first time in three days and took it into Panamint Springs.

We gassed up for $5.60 a gallon! The owners were drueling when they saw our group of Land Rovers pull in to refuel. We had lunch and then some of us took showers to wash away all the dirt. The best $3 spent in a long time.

We then headed out to Minnietta mine, only about 30 miles from Panamint Springs and our campsite for the next few days. Apparently our original destination cabin was occupied with some guys who were shooting off automatic weapons. No sense in stirring them up...

My P38 Range Rover had been doing well all day climbing thousands of feet and covering over 100 miles, but on the small climb of maybe 200 feet to the cabin, she decided to overheat again! I thought my trip was done at this point as coolant actually was spraying out of the reservoir tank cap.
I let her cool off while drinking an Arrogant Bastard Ale overlooking the valley. We filled her up with some more coolant and then decided to make the call in the morning as to whether or not we would continue.

We slept very well that night and woke up to DarthBeaver serving up egss with some corned beef and hash. It was a beautiful morning and the trails were going to be close to camp. We didn't have to pack everything up which was a nice change from each previous day. I decided to test the Rover again and stay another day.

A few other rigs (Range Rover Classic and Series with V8) had rolled in overnight to join us for the rest of the week. We headed out to explore some mines, the most notable being Defense Mine.

I kept a close eye on my temp gauge all morning and she seemed steady. We stopped at our first mine to take a look. Can't remember what it was called.

Very cool Series with a Chevy V8 stuffed under the hood. With the extra power of the V8, its amazing how capable these vehicles are. The rest of the truck was nicely restored.

 

[spikemd]

Defense Mine

We kept going up the trail until we hit our first decent obstacle. Everyone made it without difficulty, but Nathan, with his modified Range Rover Classic, was looking to test his vehicle and went up a waterfall that none of us would even consider.

He had 35 inch tires and if you look closely at the sides of the waterfall, his whole rig is essentially swallowed up. After a few tries and a bit of body damage, he made it up!

It was a technical trail that was moderately difficult. The lifted Discos didn't have much of a problem, but two of the LR3s that weren't as modified had some issues. They decided to turn around about half-way up the difficult section of the trail. I was contemplating turning around myself, but with some good spotting, the P38 made it to the top. I never would have attempted this trail without sliders and some protection underneath.

The Defense Mine itself is a spectacular site. It is one of the more stable mines in the area and worth exploring (if you can get your vehicle up there!). It has a few passages that eventuallly dead-end and ladders that take you up approx 7 stories to an exit up the hill. Since I was with Ella, we exlored the lower tunnels and let the rest of the group go up the ladders. They all had a great time and came back covered in dirt, but with big smiles on their faces.

Nathan in his RRC, continued to tackle everything he could find and actually drove the last bit of the broken down road to the entrance of the mine. There were huge boulders and no real trail, but somehow he made it up. Unfortunately, on his way down, he ran into some issues and major boulders. He eventually broke his passenger side CV joint and it took a few hours to get him off the mountain. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew headed back down the trail.

 

[spikemd]

great write up ...
always good to see parents getting the young ones out there early and having fun in the dirt.

Thanks. More pics are coming....

Yes, the NorCal Rover Club is a great group of folks and very family oriented. Lots of kids came along and really enjoyed the trip.

I just posted some pics of the giant desert Easter egg hunt we had on Easter morning for the kids. They had a blast.

 

[SCRover]

Man, you can't take Nathan anywhere without mayhem ensuing.

 

[spikemd]

Coming down from Defense Mine, I was behind a few rigs and then went over a decent size obstacle when my front passenger side tire buried as the rocks shifted. This left my drivers side rear tire perched in the air and my rear differential hung up on a rock. I couldn't go forward as my diff was stuck and couldn't go backward as I had no traction. Lee came to the rescue with some strategic rock placement and maneuvering that got me back on the trail. Next purchase - rear diff guard...

I wish I had taken some pics of the incident, but I was too focused on trying to get the Rover moving.

After Defense Mine was completed, we headed up another ridge to Lookout City. It was a spectacular view and apparently there were up to 30 buildings at the top of ridge around 1870 at the height of the mining industry. Pretty amazing history here. We stopped to admire the views and hike around. Ella enjoyed picking flowers and running around on the rocks.

On our way back down, we finally spotted a elusive burro on the top of a ridge in the distance. We had heard them
numerous times throughout the park, but hadn't seen one yet. At our first campground, we even woke up to
some fresh droppings around the tents. Apparently, the burros have been proliferating and becoming a
nuisance in the park. They can be quite noisy but generally avoid human contact.

When we got back to camp, Nathan finally hobbled in with his broken Rover. He quickly set to work fixing
the front axle. Or course, he had a spare... We all watched with beers in hand as he put the rig back
together.

Thankfully, my P38 Range Rover did great on the trails inching along in four-low with no overheating issues. We made it back to camp with only a few scrapes on the sliders and front axle guard.

The wind picked up in the evening and even blew over one of the large tents with someone inside! A few rushed over to help and adjustments were made to keep it firmly attached to the ground. We had dinner
and enjoyed some time by the fire. Ella fell asleep in my arms at the fire after roasting some
marshmallows. We then went to bed and slept well.

Tuesday morning, it was time to pack up the Range Rover and head back home. We had made a dent in our food, but probably could have stayed another 5 days with everything I brought. I would rather overpack, than underpack. I must reiterate how much more enjoyable camping is with the ARB freezer/fridge and not having to worry about ice and soggy food. My storage unit with fridge slide also was very convenient and provided a great platform above the tailgate when I put the stove. The marine starting/deep cycle battery I bought just before the trip performed great and can run the ARB for probably a few days without starting the vehicle. The battery on my Nikon was not so fortunate and finally died the previous evening, so I don't have any more pics of the trip.

After packing up, we headed out to Ballarat, an old 'ghost town' with one general store and a campground, more of just a parking lot. We bought a few sodas and said our good-byes to all the great folks in the club we met on the trip. Ella and I then headed out for the highway and our 400 mile trek home on quiet, smooth roads.

Ell had a blast and even cried the morning we left as she didn't want to go home. I am excited she enjoyed the trip so much as it was an incredible adventure. We will definitely be doing more trips with the NCLR crew.

It took me two days to clean all the gear and the truck. I found that one of the bumper bolts had loosened and fallen off as well as another bolt holding on the air suspension air drier unit. I found the radiator cap gasket was torn and might have lead to some of my overheating issues if I lost pressure. I have since replaced the fan clutch, waterpump and thermostat and may throw in a new radiator just for good measure.

Overall, the Rangie fared pretty well and got us home safely. I can't wait for the next overlanding trip.

 

[Funrover]

Just keeps getting better!

 

[PJPR01]

Fantastic pictures & trip report...how great to see a nice combo of vehicles and ages represented!

 

[Tim A]

awesome photos! thank you for posting.

 

[11b4v]

Great thread!

 

[jeff_wright]

Great read! Hoping to make it to Death Valley someday.

 

[Rot Box]

Great report!

Cool-I've seen lots of different Rovers here and there but never a P38 on the trail :bike_rider:

 

[wjb4000]

Thank you for the trip report. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and seeing your daughter enjoyed it also. When my wife and I have kids, I want to be able to do things like this with them. It warms my heart.

 

[spikemd]

Thanks. Yes, my daughter had a great time and there were plenty of other kids on the trip as well. They all had a great time together. I was amazed that she never really complained even with the 8 hours drive home.

One hurdle we had to get over was using the PETT toilet. She is potty trained but didn't want to use that toilet for a looong time even with an enclosure. Eventually, she used it and adjusted.

I have two younger boys as well (2.5 and 1) and thought taking the whole family would be a little too much to handle. Next time, I hope to bring my wife and boys along. I can't wait until they are older and can start helping me fix the trucks.