LA(and AZ and SD too) ExPo Death Valley Trip

[MuddyMudskipper]

How are the conditions on Mengel pass?

Sunny with dribbling water. Made for an easy enjoyable run.

 

[p1michaud]

Trip report

Keep the pictures coming!

When you go out with the ExPo crew, you are in good hands. Glad to hear that no one was hurt with the "exploding" rad!

Cheers,
P

 

[Fergie]

As a note, the Sat phone was indispensible.

I found a site that rents them for $75.00 a week, plus minutes. This would be a good option for those of us that don't want to spend the $$$ for a personal one.

 

[Robthebrit]

Here are some pics, I still haven't gone through all of them, more will follow.

www.robanddenise.com/travels/dvnp

Rob

 

[viatierra]

1Leg was to the right in his vehicle, and ViaTierra to the left, and they can attest to the magnificent explosion (consequently heard by the rest of the group over 1/2 a mile away).

Oh man! It was like a slow-motion dream where you can see doom happening but you just can't move quickly enough to stop it. Things felt all wrong when suddenly Gavin's Jeep simply erupted in scalding fluid and chucks of plastic.

If we never hear from Jerry again, I'm certian it will be because some goons from the FCC will have picked up him up. Talking on the 2m at the wrong place at exactly the wrong time... Sorry buddy, good luck.

Gavin did a GREAT job of keep his cool & perspective. He had a nasty failure that really couldn't be handled on the trail. I don't know the milage, but we were WAY off the pavement over some tricky terrain. It was obvious that the rescue team was committing to a LOOOOONG and SLOOOOOW day. Gavin clearly had a few stressors to sort out.

Now, that's just half the story... Any word on how Adam is doing?

 

[Ryanmb21]

Here are some pics, I still haven't gone through all of them, more will follow.

www.robanddenise.com/travels/dvnp

Rob

You are great photog, I enjoyed the pics, i want to go!

 

[ujoint]

Great pics Rob!!

 

[Fergie]

Oh man! It was like a slow-motion dream where you can see doom happening but you just can't move quickly enough to stop it. Things felt all wrong when suddenly Gavin's Jeep simply erupted in scalding fluid and chucks of plastic.

If we never hear from Jerry again, I'm certian it will be because some goons from the FCC will have picked up him up. Talking on the 2m at the wrong place at exactly the wrong time... Sorry buddy, good luck.

Gavin did a GREAT job of keep his cool & perspective. He had a nasty failure that really couldn't be handled on the trail. I don't know the milage, but we were WAY off the pavement over some tricky terrain. It was obvious that the rescue team was committing to a LOOOOONG and SLOOOOOW day. Gavin clearly had a few stressors to sort out.

Now, that's just half the story... Any word on how Adam is doing?

I had it easy. My wife is the real trooper. She kept her calm, and stayed with Wesel123 and wife, and made phone calls to wreckers all day Saturday. She made some good decisions with the info she had, and we'd still be in DV if it wasnt for her effort, all while 4 months pregnant!

Hopefully Adam chimes in, or Trevor for that matter, as his failure was a bit more than mine was.

Oh, and you notice the first thing I did when it all went down....


A nice frosty brew. Makes all the difference in the world, and a good samich helps too.

 

[MuddyMudskipper]

As I said when we were out there, I am very glad that you weren't under the hood when the Jeep Geyser popped or we would have had a situation that dwarfed a mere mechanical failure.

 

[Mc Taco]

Gavin, I'm glad to hear that you and Tiff made it home safely. Here's to a new trip soon.

Adam, I hope that you're back safely as well. Much too short a time with all of you. Looking forward to spending time with y'all around a campfire soon.

 

[FourByLand]

We ended up getting home around 10:30 Monday night and Just want to say what an amazing trip with even more amazing people.

The Margarita's and the quality of people couldn't be beat!

Pics to follow.

:camping:

 

[Mc Taco]

Got home by 1730 and unloaded and showered by 1900. Dinner and a movie with Amber by 2030. (Cloverfield. Great movie BTW) Pics to come soon.

Wonderful trip. Great new friends. Ideas for future trips already in the works. Thank you Trevor for all of your logistics and organizational skills. Adam, Thank you for your focus and direction on the first afternoon. Dave and Nori, thanks for the sweet lines on Lippencott. I'll follow your lead anytime! Louis and Lindsay, and Richard, thanks for having such cool looking Discos. I felt like I was in my own Rover commercial when you guys were in view. James and Beth, Greg and Christine, Justin and Miles, Jerry, and Rob, thanks for letting pick your brains about RTTs, 2meter radios, fuel cans, kitchen set ups and more. I really appreciate the input for making a more capable rig. Every trip should be a trial run for the next one.

 

[1leg]

If we never hear from Jerry again, I'm certian it will be because some goons from the FCC will have picked up him up. Talking on the 2m at the wrong place at exactly the wrong time... Sorry buddy, good luck.

No goons yet! :xxrotflma

 

[Gear]

Home safe. Had an Incredible time. A big Thanks to Trevor for putting this trip together. With that said I am going to use photographs to tell the story.

Baja JK

Trona Pinacles

Panamint Springs Campground

Miles enjoying the canyon views!

Photo stop

D90 and the Mog

The convoy

The descent

D90 blown fuse fix(headlights). Trevor nicely done.

 

[Gear]

Teakettle Junction

Jerry(1leg) at The Racetrack

Greg(ViaTierra) and Christine

Trevor showing off his lunch cooking skills. Man I could really go for one of those sandwiches right NOW.

Louis(FourByLand) dropping into Saline Valley

Saline Valley

James(Redline) Saline Valley Hot Springs

The fire ring with library in the background

Morning View!

And Yes, I had a part fail on my Jeep. The license plate bracket broke off. Looks like a warranty issue.