Goler Wash/Barker Ranch/DV Spring 12

[Christopher Thwaites]

So will you be joining us or is it that you just couldn't wait? Great shots.

 

[Ford_6L_E350]

Phil,

Since the road from Ballarat through Mengel Pass is variable, how about some words on the road conditions and degree of difficulty?

Mike

 

[pjpvi]

Chris,

I just had a somewhat last minute opportunity to drive out to Vegas on business last week, get some mtn bike riding in at Coyote Springs (fun time for sure), make it into Butte Valley Saturday evening and back to the Bay Area by Sunday night. Kind of a whirl wind tour. Still up in the air if I'll be able to join you guys. My business is picking up in Vegas though, so more excuses to drive out there. It is certainly less expensive to take SWA then pay for diesel though, but not near as fun!

Mike,

Mengel Pass wasn't bad at all. I'll post up the video as soon as I can condense it and publish to youtube. I did take my hoop steps off so I wouldn't smack any boulders (thanks again to Badger for his "quick release" idea, I use it all the time). The one climb in Goler Canyon was of course a decent for me. People had stacked a lot of rocks up at the bottom of the climb which "settled" when my pig van went down them. I don't think any of our 4x4 vans would have trouble making it up this section. Maybe send the guy with the lockers first incase you need to use him as a winch point, but honestly it shouldn't be a problem.

Phil

 

[macmcintire]

Phil:

Let me know next time you are in Las Vegas, with or without your rig. Maybe we can do some exploring of the area together.

Mac

 

[pjpvi]

Will do Mac.

Phil

 

[Bigfoot-THOR]

Well I'm interested in the area but the timing won't work out for me this trip, as I will be in Europe (work trip) immediately before, so not enough time to drive the rig down there.

 

[pjpvi]

Here's my video from last weekend. There were songs I added, but youtube strips off copyrighted songs, so it's now 13 minutes of silence. (edit .. interesting though that if you play the video in the forum window that the music is there. I keep learning ...)

[youtube:11zan2vb]

Phil

 

[BroncoHauler-SMB]

Nice job Phil.

I must be on the same telepathic wavelength as you, because I heard music in my head as I watched the video.


Herb

 

[macmcintire]

Here's my video from last weekend. There were songs I added, but youtube strips off copyrighted songs, so it's now 13 minutes of silence. (edit .. interesting though that if you play the video in the forum window that the music is there. I keep learning ...)

[youtube:6e55be55]

Phil

Great video. Three questions:

1) How long did the 13 minute drive actually take?

2) How many new scratches do you have in the sides of your rig?

3) Were there any parts of that run that you think could not be made in a lifted, 2W SMB with a locking differential?

Bonus question: It looks like you ran from East to West. Does the difficultly of the run make any difference going West to East?

 

[charlie56]

Wow
Less than 14 minutes from the Cabins to Ballart, now thats quick!
I saw you on the road before you left, you had that rig looking great, nice and shiny.
Thanks for sharing.

 

[Bigfoot-THOR]

YouTube link isn't working for me....

 

[pjpvi]

1) How long did the 13 minute drive actually take?

2) How many new scratches do you have in the sides of your rig?

3) Were there any parts of that run that you think could not be made in a lifted, 2W SMB with a locking differential?

Bonus question: It looks like you ran from East to West. Does the difficultly of the run make any difference going West to East?

1) Roughly 2 hours. Could have easily made it into an all day trip if I slowed down to explore more, but was working to get home that evening.
2) Hard to tell amongst all the old scratches.
3) Going east to west, no problem in lifted 2wd with lockers. Going west to east only problem area would be just inside the entrance to the canyon. If you are with another 4wd, just have them go up first in case you need a little assistance up the climb. After the one spot, it would be smooth sailing.

Bonus: see answer #3.

I saw you on the road before you left, you had that rig looking great, nice and shiny.

I haven't washed the van in probably 6 months. Sure it was me?

YouTube link isn't working for me....

Bummer. Not sure how to help you.

 

[Bigfoot-THOR]

[quote:cm19j24q]YouTube link isn't working for me....

Bummer. Not sure how to help you.[/quote:cm19j24q]

Weird, working now.

Do you have any GPS tracks or coordinates?

 

[yvrr]

Thanks Phil...I can see how you got back to the Bay Area on the same day now!

 

[charlie56]

After our Sortee I plan on joining this group on Monday and Tuesday for a little rockhounding. (The organizer is a Geologist) Let me know if anyone else is interested.


Hello fellow mineral collectors/mine explorers/desert lovers

The date is set for my annual desert mine trip. I’d like to leave Friday, March 30 in the afternoon. The plan as of now, is to drive Hwy 99, cross over the Tehachapi’s and end up somewhere in the Mojave for the night. Wake up the next day and head over to the Argus Mountains to explore a number of cool mines. There’s a mine cabin there maintained by volunteers that can act as base camp if the group likes, or we can set up camp further down in the flats. I also plan on exploring the Santa Rosa mine located about 1 hour northwest of the Argus Mtns. I’ll probably head home Wednesday or Thursday, April 4 or 5. I plan on taking 395 home, and if there’s time may stop at the Reward Mine to do some mineral collecting (lots of blue rock and galena). I’m not aware of any hot springs near the Argus Mtns, but there are two on the way home up 395. Of course, no one is obligated to follow my plans/schedule. Feel free to pop in and out as you like.

A couple house keeping and health and safety issues. Mines are dangerous and I evaluate each one before and during exploration. For every one I go in there are four I don’t go in. I have driven 2 hours to a mine only to decide not to go into any of the underground workings. Hanta virus is always a possibility and I take it very serious. We always wear dust masks and wash our hands after exploring. See: http://www.cdph.ca.gov/HealthInfo/disco ... avirus.pdf. We use rope to descend inclined shafts, but do not descend vertical shafts. We don’t enter bad air zones. Bike helmets make good hardhats – you’ll want something that straps to your head. Hard hats flop around too much.

I like to collect underground, but on some of these mines I have collected some pretty amazing specimens on the dumps, so lots of picking around for those that don’t like to go underground.

The camping is very primitive. I sleep in the back of my truck with my youngest son. The oldest sleeps in a tent. No water. No bathrooms. Fires every night for cooking, ambience, and pyrotechnics, so if you can bring a little fire wood it would be appreciated. This is a pseudo-family event (my friend brings his two children also), so I ask you keep the mind altering substances on the down-low. As geologic law prescribes, I will have a beer or two…. I don’t want the group to get to big, so please keep the guest numbers low.

 

[macmcintire]

Bummer! I would like to join in on this mine exploration but I will be in Death Valley with Chris and his his bunch of folks at a meet-up there. "How can you be in two places at once when you're not anywhere at all?" (Bonus points if you can identify the source of that quote. No fair using the Internet.)

 

[Christopher Thwaites]

Yogi Berra or Marylin Monroe are my guesses!

 

[macmcintire]

Yogi Berra or Marylin Monroe are my guesses!

Good guess. Not even close! You would have had to have been involved or aware of the counter-culture of the late 60's to know this one. Now you can look it up on the Internet.

 

[Christopher Thwaites]

Got drafted in 66, Married in 68. I missed most of the "fun".
By the way.......The Goler Wash/DV trip is still on. So far I have 4 vans coming in from the west via Ballarat/Goler wash on Sat. mar. 31st.

 

[macmcintire]

Got drafted in 66, Married in 68. I missed most of the "fun".
By the way.......The Goler Wash/DV trip is still on. So far I have 4 vans coming in from the west via Ballarat/Goler wash on Sat. mar. 31st.

If I am well enough I will try to join up with you early Monday morning. Sadly, because of my vertigo it's hard to plan anything for sure. Interestingly, my vertigo started in Death Valley in March 2008. I've been spinning ever since. I'm hoping the spinning will subside long enough so I make this trip.