Date: Tue, 30 Mar 1999 02:14:00 EST
Reply-To: SyncroHead@AOL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jim Davis <SyncroHead@AOL.COM>
Subject: Syncro Weekend, Death Valley Report (Very Long!)
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
A Syncro Hello to all!
This past weekend a few other Syncronauts and I had a great time doing a
"mini-Syncro Safari" in Death Valley. I'd like to thank Steve & JoAnn Wacker
(Chad too), and Mark & Ann Drillock for making the small get-together great!
I've personally met about a dozen fellow Syncronauts now (4-wheeled with most
of them) and I can honestly say that I haven't met one I didn't like. Each
one has been a genuine treat.
This little event started off in Panamint Springs campground with the Davis'
(my son Matthew and I) and the Wackers (Steve, JoAnn and JoAnn's son Chad)
Wednesday evening (3-24-99) with socializing around the campfire and talking
about the treks to come. We created a "plan" and here's what we did:
Thursday, 3-25-99:
We drove southwest into the Panamint Range. Along the way it atarted to
sprinkle a bit, then a bit more. By the time we reached our first
destination, the historic Wildrose Charcoal Kilns it was snowing. Light at
first, then lots of really big flakes! We had traveled from about 1900 ft
elevation at Panamint Springs to about 7,100 ft at the charcoal kilns.
Elevation changes like this were to become frequent in the days ahead. These
kilns were used by mining operations to convert wood to charcoal as early as
1877 and still stand today almost exactly as they did over 100 years ago.
Charcoal was then hauled over 25 miles to the other side of Panamint Valley to
be used in the Modoc Mine smelter. Although not a 4WD road, the trek was
scenic and rain and snow sure cut down the trail dust! We returned to camp
for lunch where it was sunny again.
In the afternoon we decided on a hike and a little exploring in Darwin Canyon.
The bottom of Darwin canyon is a broad dry wash with a little vegetation here
and there - a typical desert wash. As we made our way up the wash, less than
a mile, the creek becomes visable and the vegetation more dense. The end of
the trip is a real treat at the cool and shady Darwin Falls. The dryness just
several hundred steps back had been replaced by water, trees, moss and
coolness! No one could have suspected this dramatic change.
After the hike, we explored a few mining ruins and I did a "Stupid Stuck"!!
Steve had pointed out a road up a dirt hill and wondered aloud about driving
up it. I decided it didn't look too tough and there were some more mining
remnants at the top, so I decided to have a go at the 1/4 mile road. The
first 80% of the way was no trouble at all, but then...... I decided that the
last bit of trail might be too rocky & steep and I was at a spot just wide
enough to turn around. I stopped the Syncro and sent Matthew ahead to check
the trail. This "semi-flat" spot was so steep that I didn't dare take my foot
of the brake and trust the gears & parking brake! Matthew reported no place
to turn around at the top, so I decided to make my U-turn where I was. Upon
turning, I found that I was sliding sideways down the hill more adeptly that I
was turning. I got stopped sideways with a large sharp rock poised, ready to
eat my Syncro's side panel. At this point my van was at least steady and I
could get out to survey the situation. Steve made the trek up the hill on
foot and we began to strategize about getting unstuck. After much thought and
a trip to Steve's van, we used 2 come-alongs, 30' of chain, 30' of cable, a
Hi-Lift jack, a few other odds and ends, about 2 hours, and bashed off the top
of the bad rock with a hammer! I felt a sense of satisfaction when I got to
drive over the remains of that bad rock! This was a "Stupid Stuck" because I
should have known better and scouted the route on foot before charging up the
hill! Luckily we made it back to camp without injury or vehicle damage just
as darkness fell.
Friday, 3-26-99:
We began Friday's 157 mile trek at Panamint Springs again, and headed west,
then north across the Santa Rosa hills up to 6,100 feet, then down into Saline
Valley. From there, it was east up into the Ubehebe mountains. Here's where
we got our first taste of 4-wheeling on this trip. It was a semi-rough trail,
but only required scouting ahead once. The Syncros took it in stride and we
emerged at the summit to find a sign on the east end of the trail. The sign
was littered with notes about the trail being impassable and to turn back!
Having just come through this trail, we could tell it had obviously been
repaired and was indeed passable by Syncros! What lay at this east end of the
trail is a strange place indeed. Called "The Racetrack", it is a dry lakebed
about 4 miles long and 2 miles wide. The surface of the lakebed is so flat
that I'd be surprised if any one spot was more than a few inches above or
below any other spot. This surface is dried mud that has formed a mosaic of
tile-like pieces shaped in squares, pentagons, and hexagons, all about 2"
across. There must be billions of these little tile-like pieces! Now for the
interesting part about the Racetrack.... rocks that move! Yep. Rocks that
have fallen off the cliffs at the end of the lake on to the lakebed move
across the lake while no one is watching. We can see their trails streaking
across the lakebed for hundreds of feet! The leading theory is that when the
temperature is cold, and there is just enough rain to make the mud slick (not
too much t make it gooey), that very hard winds actually push the rocks!
Cool!
The remainder of the day was a retrace of our path back to Panamint Springs,
and then over Townes Pass and down into Furnace Creek. We really gave our old
('86 and '87) Syncros a workout on this day. Here's a look at our elevation
pattern:
Location Elevation (feet)
Panamint Springs 1,980
Saline Valley Jct 4,950
Jackass Pass 6,105
Lippencott Jct 2,310
Racetrack 3,630
Lippencott Jct 2,310
Jackass Pass 6,105
Saline Valley Jct 4,950
Panamint Springs 1,980
Panamint Valley 1,320
Towne Pass 5,115
Stovepipe Wells 0
Furnace Creek -165
This is an accumulated ascent of over 13,000 feet in just 58 miles!
After dinner in Furnace Creek campground Friday evening, we were joined Mark
and Ann Drillock and their 87 Syncro Westy with it's "new" 5 cylinder engine.
Their 5 cylinder engine was installed by Detlev Hanschke and sure didn't sound
like a Vanagon! We'd have to wait till tomorrow to see how it performed
though.
Saturday, 3-27-99:
Saturday we traveled north & east out of Furnace Creek to a 4x4 trail & places
called Chloride City and Chloride Cliffs. On the way we met a Death Valley
traveler who looked at the Syncros and said that he doubted if we could make
it. It turned out to be a very easy route, barely needing 4WD. Everyone
underestimates our Syncros! The Chloride sites in the hills above Death
Valley were interesting, having a lot of abandoned mines, and old mining
remnants. We explored into a few of the more secure looking mines and found
several quartz veins and crystaline patches in the mines. I couldn't help but
think of what must have compelled miners to dig these holes out in the desert
- what a life! The lure of riches must have been very compelling! From the
top of Chloride Cliffs we could see three mountain ranges to the west.
Nearest (about 35 miles away), across Death Valley is the brown colored
Panamint Range. Behind the Panamints and across Saline Valley were the nearly
black colored Inyo Mountains (about 65 miles away), and finally, about 90
miles away across Owens Valley, in the distance was the jagged wall of the
snow covered Sierras surrounding the 14,495 peak of Mt. Whitney.
From the Chloride area we traveled east into Nevada and then back west again
on the Titus Canyon trail. At first "paved" with awful washboard this trail
was spectacular. Depending on recent storms this route is sometimes 4x4 only,
but not this day, it was easily done by 2WD vehicles. Luckily there was only
one other truck and a few bicycles on the trail with our three Syncros. We
stopped for lunch near an old townsite called Leadfield which "boomed" only
for 6 months in 1926/27. There we checked out another mine and then treked
down the lower portion of the canyon. This lower portion of Titus Canyon is
really what the whole trip was about. The canyon narrows, narrows, and
narrows, until all that's left is just the gravel creekbed and the towering
rocks of the canyon walls on each side. This portion of the canyon is about
20-30 feet wide and the rock walls on each side are vertical slabs of stone
50-300 feet high. The wash winds its way in S shaped curves back and forth,
back and forth for nearly a mile snaking its way toward Death Valley, then
suddenly the shady canyon walls give way to the brilliant sun filling the
valley and we're out! If you visit Death Valley, you've got to drive through
Titus Canyon!
From there it was back to Furnace Creek, where on the way Mark got to show
Steve and I how easily he could pass us with his newly powered 5 cylinder
Syncro! Then, dinner, campfire, and socializing with fellow Syncronauts.
Sunday, 3-28-99:
Nothing much to say here. We packed up and headed south, out of the Valley of
Death. We stopped along the way to see features like Devil's Golf Course, and
Badwater at 282 feet below sea level, the lowest land in the Western
Hemisphere.
Thanks much to Wackers and Drillocks for joining in a good time and
transforming a mere "weekend" into a memorable event. No breakdowns, no
crashes, no injuries - lots of good Syncro fun!
If you haven't thought about attending the Syncro Safari, Yellowstone '99, you
should think about it. It promises to be the biggest and best Syncro event
ever!
See: <A HREF="http://members.aol.com/syncrohead/SyncroSafari.html">
http://members.aol.com/syncrohead/SyncroSafari.html</A> and follow the link
to the Yellowstone event.
Regards,
Jim Davis
| 
