Desertcrawler Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 Ok, planning is over, and everyones packed up and getting ready to hit the road (or should be). Looks like it might be a bit more exciting than originally planned, there is a call for SNOW in the Mountains on Saturday. Think about us when we are crossing Hunter Pass on Sunday. That will probably be the highest point of the trip. I debated on whether to put chains in -- decided against it. I am going to pack a warm hat and gloves though! Here is a link to the Death Valley Morning Report. http://www.dvnha.org/morning_report/Morning.pdf Which lists current weather conditions and closures each day. We will be carrying SPOT devices, which if they work will broadcast our location every 10 minutes, as well as trying to use APRS via the "Wheres Chuck" link. I believe our two expert Hams, Gary and Brian, are going to attempt some radio conversation using their HF bands over the campfires in the evening -- with luck we will be able to provide a trip report. Post up trip reports and updates on this thread. I am going to be leaving the Bay around 2pm, which should put me in to Big Pine around Midnight this evening. Any trip members needing to reach me through Friday at 9am can do so on my cell phone 650-208-1175 -- after that we enter the "dead zone"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LCPDX Posted April 10, 2009 Report Share Posted April 10, 2009 Hey Folks, Had a great drive up HWY 95 from Vegas this afternoon... One note of interest is a roadside military surplus vendor in the town of Beatty on 95 (2 hrs N. of Vegas). They have the usual ammo boxes and such but the highlight are these military grade storage boxes that resemble the pricey Pelican cases. I scored 3' x 4' plastic box with a rubber gasket for $20.00. I just saw a Pelican version of this at a Sporting Goods store for $249.00! Am finally at the Big Pine Motel, nice spot. I see Brian's orange Disco in the car park and there is a white grey market Rangie too. TimLCPDX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LCPDX Posted April 10, 2009 Report Share Posted April 10, 2009 Hey Folks, Had a great drive up HWY 95 from Vegas this afternoon... One note of interest is a roadside military surplus vendor in the town of Beatty on 95 (2 hrs N. of Vegas). They have the usual ammo boxes and such but the highlight are these military grade storage boxes that resemble the pricey Pelican cases. I scored 3' x 4' plastic box with a rubber gasket for $20.00. I just saw a Pelican version of this at a Sporting Goods store for $249.00! Am finally at the Big Pine Motel, nice spot. I see Brian's orange Disco in the car park and there is a white grey market Rangie too. TimLCPDX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandRonB Posted April 10, 2009 Report Share Posted April 10, 2009 Hey Folks, Had a great drive up HWY 95 from Vegas this afternoon... One note of interest is a roadside military surplus vendor in the town of Beatty on 95 (2 hrs N. of Vegas). They have the usual ammo boxes and such but the highlight are these military grade storage boxes that resemble the pricey Pelican cases. I scored 3' x 4' plastic box with a rubber gasket for $20.00. I just saw a Pelican version of this at a Sporting Goods store for $249.00! Am finally at the Big Pine Motel, nice spot. I see Brian's orange Disco in the car park and there is a white grey market Rangie too. TimLCPDX Aaah u scored on the military grade storage boxes @ that price! If you are going to be in the Oregon trip and still have time to swing buy and get another 3'x4' for me, I would appreceite it. $20 what a steal. I'll cover your cocktail drinks (trail made) + $20 cost when we meet @ the Oregon trip this year. Otherwise no worries - means a diversion for me next time I visit family members in Las Vegas. Have a safe trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandRonB Posted April 10, 2009 Report Share Posted April 10, 2009 We will be carrying SPOT devices, which if they work will broadcast our location every 10 minutes, as well as trying to use APRS via the "Wheres Chuck" link. Chuck, You are spot on with the SPOT ; received your initial test early this week. And also received you test message this morning from NCLR SPOT3 device. You are at Big Pine. Message reads: This is the NCLR SPOT3 device. Everything is fine, just testing or letting you know.... ESN:0-7414797 Latitude:37.1633 Longitude:-118.289 Nearest Location:not known Distance:not known Time:04/10/2009 14:25:26 (GMT) http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=37.1633,-118.289&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1 Very cool! As a suggestion, you might want to tell us in this post/forum who will be using NCLR SPOT3 and NCLR SPOT4 device, so we know in case you guys get seperated and an emergency. Also may I suggest that for the "Help" signal or button, use a message format to include comm device (cell phone might but never know); here's what I use: "We are struck or had a break down. Please send for help ASAP. Cell # xxx xxx xxxx or CB7 or Ham xxx.xxxx". (note SPOT will add a line for your GPS location). SPOT is great for checking in, sending help or 911 as it was designed, but don't expect too much from tracking (this service was a recently add from SPOT last year) especially if your convoy is driving fast. Have a safe trip, and SPOT us a message as you guys settle down or check-in @ your camp site each nite (which tell us you guys are ok). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCRover Posted April 10, 2009 Report Share Posted April 10, 2009 Tracking is working fine. You can check there track here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandRonB Posted April 11, 2009 Report Share Posted April 11, 2009 Thanks Gary for the tracking link! Also received a "checking-in" message from NCLR SPOT3; looks drove from Big Pines and settled in on this spot (no pun intended) tonight = see pic. What's for dinner? Only is Chuck can reply Have another safe trip on Day 2 guys if you are reading this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HMBRover Posted April 13, 2009 Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 Just a quick post to let everyone know we completed the trip successfully. No carnage, no breakdown and lots of dusty trails with a few tough spots to make it interesting. We had 8 trucks at one point. Jamie and Aimee departed yesterday for San Diego. The rest of the group dispersed this morning: Randy and Nathan to the south and Chuck, Tim, Jay and Barry to the north. We're at Furnace Creek visitor center posting this and plan to stay a couple nights before heading east for New Mexico. Gary, sorry the HF ham contact didn't work out. I was able to get on Friday night in time to meet our 6:00 PM schedule but didn't hear you. There was some kind of net on 7185? The other two nights we were into camp late so was unable to set up in time. Glad Spot is working. I'm going to keep one of the Spots for the remainder of our travels and have it on when we move. I'll be sending Gary pictures and track maps when we reach New Mexico this weekend. I'm sure others will also post pics. Stay tuned to the story of "NCLR to the rescue!" It was a great trip! Many thanks to Chuck for planning and leading it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco2Guy Posted April 13, 2009 Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 Glad to hear all is well with the trip and everyone had a good time. I have popcorn ready for the "NCLR To The Rescue" story... I'm sure Lil Crawler will have another great trip report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandRonB Posted April 13, 2009 Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 Glad Spot is working. I'm going to keep one of the Spots for the remainder of our travels and have it on when we move. I'll be sending Gary pictures and track maps when we reach New Mexico this weekend. I'm sure others will also post pics. Stay tuned to the story of "NCLR to the rescue!" It was a great trip! Many thanks to Chuck for planning and leading it. Good to hear another successfull trip; you might want to ask Chuck for the user ID and password for your particular SPOT unit in case you want to change the receiver/distribution list for "Checking-In" and "Help". I'd be glad to be on both list for you; will keep an eye on my email and phone for your check-ins or help. As for help, I can certainly can help call the local sheriff or ranger, and share your GPS location. Also you can email me set of instructions and which of your family members should be call next. Tell Nancy I said hello, and have a safe trip the rest of the way and back! Will talk more about Oregon also. Look forward to this trip again this year. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCRover Posted April 14, 2009 Report Share Posted April 14, 2009 Glad to hear all was good on the trip. I only tried HAM Friday night also as my noise level is S9 here at home. I did hear the same net you did, but very week. I received your spot message from furnace creek, so SPOT is still working fine. I'll look for your message and post any pictures you send. Have a good trip to NM and beyond! Just a quick post to let everyone know we completed the trip successfully. No carnage, no breakdown and lots of dusty trails with a few tough spots to make it interesting. We had 8 trucks at one point. Jamie and Aimee departed yesterday for San Diego. The rest of the group dispersed this morning: Randy and Nathan to the south and Chuck, Tim, Jay and Barry to the north. We're at Furnace Creek visitor center posting this and plan to stay a couple nights before heading east for New Mexico. Gary, sorry the HF ham contact didn't work out. I was able to get on Friday night in time to meet our 6:00 PM schedule but didn't hear you. There was some kind of net on 7185? The other two nights we were into camp late so was unable to set up in time. Glad Spot is working. I'm going to keep one of the Spots for the remainder of our travels and have it on when we move. I'll be sending Gary pictures and track maps when we reach New Mexico this weekend. I'm sure others will also post pics. Stay tuned to the story of "NCLR to the rescue!" It was a great trip! Many thanks to Chuck for planning and leading it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desertcrawler Posted April 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2009 Here is preliminary trip report -- no pix yet... Day 0- We pulled out of the Bay Area at about 2pm. Hit some bad traffic on way out, but then once we headed towards Stockton and 88 things got easier. Until about 7000 feet, when mandatory chain control was in effect. Saw a Toyota FJ that rolled a few miles ahead of us at a gas station near Kit Carson pass. Drove rest of way, fairly uneventful, and pulled into Big Pine about 12:30 in the morning. Saw Land Rovers in the parking lot, and settled into the Big Pine Motel for a good sleep. Place was small, but nice and clean. Day 1 - Grouped everyone up and left down Death Valley Road heading towards Eureka Dunes about 9.15. At this point, it was 7 of us (Me, Barry, Jay, Brian, Jaime, Nathan and Tim). It started snowing! Got some great pix. Dropped down into Eureka Valley, snow stopped, t-shirt weather again. Ran out onto the dunes (at least some of us) then headed to Dedekera canyon for lunch. Obstacles weren't too challenging. After lunch, we found the Marble Bath at top of Steele Pass and dropped off our marbles. Headed down Steele and made it to camp in the Warm Springs. Suprise! After seeing no-one on Steele Pass except a lone jogger, we hit what looked like a small city. Found a good, remote camp site down at the Lower Springs. Listened to the burros braying all night long, and kept looking for Randy who said he'dd be in that night. Saw a campfire in the distance -- turned out it was Randy who set up camp on the trail on the way in. Had enough time to soak in the tubs. No pix of that though! Day 2 - Woke up, soaked again, and headed out towards Lippencott. Pretty scary climb, but made it up with no problems. Got some good pix at the Racetrack of moving rocks. Saw another Rover from San Jose-- left a brochure cause they were out hiking. Hung teakettles at Teakettle junction. Got a bit lost coming over Hunter Pass, but recovered quickly. Lots of dust -- almost ran into a group of wild steers. Saw plenty of burros too. Went to Minnietta cabin, but flag was flying and it was occupied. Drove further up the pass and stopped at an old mine entrance. Easter Bunny came that night. Did a little mine exploring too...Once again, kept getting woken up by those darn burros. Day 3 - Got going late around 9. Jaime and his wife left group to head home. Stopped in Ballarat to pay homage to Seldom Seen Slim. Drove up Goler, Tim's rig was overheating a bit so we went slow. Stopped at Manson's cabin for lunch. Scared a few in the party by hiding in the bathroom where they caught him and making spooky sounds. Then drove to Geologist Cabin -- flag was flying. Saw someone waving frantically. Turned out that someone in a Chevy 2WD got stuck way down in a side canyon. They'd spent 4 hours walking back to the cabin. We found room at Stella's Cabin, set up there, then it was the Rover Rescue Patrol. Found him way down the trail where the Lost Mormon mine was. Winched him backwards, then got him straightened out and headed back home. When he stopped by camp, he donated$160 to the club! Boy was he glad we were in the area! Made pot luck, chased lizards, and gazed at stars before finally turning in. Day 4 -- Hit trail at 8:30. Nathan and Randy headed South towards LA and returned via Goler. We headed out via the Warm Springs Talc Mine. Everyone aired up and pretty much disbanded at Stovepipe Wells. We drove long day -- made it back to home at about midnight. Anyway, that is the story. I'm going to start posting pix (or lilCrawler will) with more text. Overall, good trip, no breakage, lots of excitement, and some good country to head back to. I think next time I'd like to go hang out for 2 or 3 days in Striped Butte Valley and explore a few of those roads that seem to lead someplace interesting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandRonB Posted April 14, 2009 Report Share Posted April 14, 2009 Saw someone waving frantically. Turned out that someone in a Chevy 2WD got stuck way down in a side canyon. They'd spent 4 hours walking back to the cabin... ...then it was the Rover Rescue Patrol. Found him way down the trail where the Lost Mormon mine was. Winched him backwards, then got him straightened out and headed back home. When he stopped by camp, he donated$160 to the club! Boy was he glad we were in the area! Made pot luck, chased lizards, and gazed at stars before finally turning in Awesome! Great to hear Rover to the Rescue stories! And donation to the club. A good twist to the story would be to take the $160 to Vegas, and hit the Jackpot slot, or take home the new Ranger Rover as grand price on the slots. Nah... potential problem - then we would have to fight within the club who gets to drive it. Just glad you guys helped out and got home safely! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLOHybrid Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 I want to thank again Chuck & family for hosting this wonderful excursion and enjoyed meeting new faces I can't wait for another... it took Randy & myself only and hour and 5 minutes to get to Ballarat before hitting the pavement back to civilisation I realised this when I got to Ridgecrest and said to myself aah! civilisation and now I can buy something if I want! weird!Here is my entire picture 116 pics (that look better if you click on slideshow) selection before my camera's battery failed.. perhaps we should put these in an official trip photo gallery? Thanks again. Nathan http://easterescapetodeathvalley09.shutterfly.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCRover Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 If you can send me the pic's (email or CD) I can upload them to the NCLR website in a separate album for the trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandRonB Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 Great photos Nathan! Nice line-up; looks like snowing there?http://easterescapetodeathvalley09.shutterfly.com/377 Nice view on this one; great RRC screen saver!http://easterescapetodeathvalley09.shutterfly.com/316 Desert flowers blooming; nice.http://easterescapetodeathvalley09.shutterfly.com/323 Did you make a dash ahead of the crowd to get those vehicle in motion shots like this: http://easterescapetodeathvalley09.shutterfly.com/300 Very cool! I want to thank again Chuck & family for hosting this wonderful excursion and enjoyed meeting new faces I can't wait for another... it took Randy & myself only and hour and 5 minutes to get to Ballarat before hitting the pavement back to civilisation I realised this when I got to Ridgecrest and said to myself aah! civilisation and now I can buy something if I want! weird!Here is my entire picture 116 pics (that look better if you click on slideshow) selection before my camera's battery failed.. perhaps we should put these in an official trip photo gallery? Thanks again. Nathan http://easterescapetodeathvalley09.shutterfly.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco2Guy Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 Just watched the entire slide show. Man, looks like it was another great trip. Way to go Chuck!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HMBRover Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 Man, it's just great having a high visibility truck. We left DVNP Tuesday AM due to the weather. We were going south on Bad Water Road and in the distance I saw an F-18 about 200 ft off the deck coming straight at us. I flashed my lights at him a few times a few seconds before he went roaring by. A few minutes later he came back! North to south this time still at 200 ft and just smokin'. We pulled into a parking area to check out some ruins and were parked perpendicular to the road and here he came again!! Just as he went screaming by he snapped a 90 degree roll. Wow, what a show! Made my whole day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco2Guy Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 Now that would have been an awesome sight to see. Were you able to feel the heat of the engines with him flying that low? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HMBRover Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 Here are the tracks from our four days:1: Track Day 1 - Big Pine to Hot Springs2: Track Day 2 - Hot Springs to Minetta Mine3: Track Day 3 - Minetta Mine to Stella's Cabin4: Track Day 4 - Stella's Cabin to Furnace Creek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandRonB Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 We were going south on Bad Water Road and in the distance I saw an F-18 about 200 ft off the deck coming straight at us. I flashed my lights at him a few times a few seconds before he went roaring by. A few minutes later he came back! North to south this time still at 200 ft and just smokin'... he came again!! Just as he went screaming by he snapped a 90 degree roll. Wow, what a show! Made my whole day. Nice! Growing in a military family and living @ Alameda Naval Air Station back in the 70s to early 80s (of course, now no longer an active base) - what you described brings up childhood memories for me. Sure made my day back then (not for my brother who found it annoying). Did you get any pictures? Probably too fast. The pilot must have spotted your Tangier Orange truck easily. Probably admiring your truck as well. Cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLOHybrid Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 Great photos Nathan! Nice line-up; looks like snowing there?http://easterescapetodeathvalley09.shutterfly.com/377 Nice view on this one; great RRC screen saver!http://easterescapetodeathvalley09.shutterfly.com/316 Desert flowers blooming; nice.http://easterescapetodeathvalley09.shutterfly.com/323 Did you make a dash ahead of the crowd to get those vehicle in motion shots like this: UUh! no let's just say we were @ a different pace than some others!Ron you have to GET for your RR Bilstein 7100 reservoir shocks they absolutely rock on my LWB! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HMBRover Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 Here are a few of my pictures including the route maps:http://www.pbase.com/brhunt/dv09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLOHybrid Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 Here are a few of my pictures including the route maps:http://www.pbase.com/brhunt/dv09 Brian these are great pics but how are you finding the time to post these shouldn't you be in a Kayak by now? Nathan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HMBRover Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 Brian these are great pics but how are you finding the time to post these shouldn't you be in a Kayak by now?Nathan. We had a really easy day yesterday. Two motels back-to-back and lots of time to play. I-40 was closed between Flagstaff and Winslow due to dust storm for about 7 hours. We went north and looped back to Winslow via a reservation dirt road - aren't Land Rovers wonderful! In Winslow we visited the La Posada Hotel, the last of the classic Fred Harvey railroad hotels (http://www.laposada.org/) and the "Corner" immortalized in the 1970's Eagles song. Fun is where you find it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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