| November 25th 2006 |
The only things in camp that didn’t freeze solid were in the fridge!! I slept warmly in the back of the truck and have a great setup, but the camp outside was hard to deal with. All of our water was frozen, and my propane didn’t want to work in the cold. I should have stayed in bed! Once on the road, we went into Death Valley NP and visited the famous race course. The rocks here have trail behind them and there is a lot of speculation as to why this occurs. Some speculate that this happens when rains and high winds combine. However it happens, it was cool to see.
We explored more of the park and exited over Hunter Mountain to the same camp. We really cleaned up the fuel wood around camp because there was so much dead and down piñon pine. We had a roaring fire on this night to combat the cold. Uwe made up a batch of his famous Feuerzangenbowle. It started as red wine simmered with orange slices and spices. Then some sugar cones were soaked with spiced rum and lit on fire over the mix. They lowly melted into the brew. After more simmering, the drink was served hot. It was unlike anything I’ve ever had and I drank 3 glasses before I lost count! I hope I can get the recipe from Uwe. :)
I don’t know when I finally crawled into bed, but it was cold…
Uwe's day 2 route using OziExplorer
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November 26th 2006
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After another morning of ice-breaking, we left for Panamint Springs, Panamint Valley, and the old ghost town of Ballarat. There was one small store that we stopped and looked at. From there it was up Goler Wash. This road used to be a 3+ rated trail, but for some reason the state came in and graded the whole thing. Regardless, it was a gorgeous canyon to drive up. We passed the old Newman Mine and then went on up to the abandoned Barker Ranch. This ranch was the hideout for Charles Manson until his final days when he was apprehended there. Sitting on the porch was surreal, he must have sat right there where I was countless times.
We continued up through Mengel Pass and Butte Valley and to the Geology Cabin in the park. This was real close to unset and the landscape was transforming in front of us with all the colors coming out of the rocks. Awesome landscape.
We continued into Death Valley proper and then out to pavement. Most of the group left, but a few of us stayed to camp at Little Dumont Dunes. Closer to sea level the temps were very moderate and this was the most relaxed camp with a small fire and no worries about freezing to death! Uwe's day 3 route using OziExplorer
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November 27th 2006
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The next morning, Uwe & Srisuda, Al, and myself went south and checked out the new visitor center at the Mohave National Preserve at Kelso. Once I got to interstate 40, I left and headed back to Phoenix.
Final Thoughts
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