Death Valley Panamint Tour 20121110-11 Report

[troyboy162]

lots to write and pics to put up so I will work on this over a few days....

What a crazy trip! I appreciated everyone being patient with my mechanical issues and lack of solid planning in the week prior to the event. In a nut shell...there was way too much to see in such a small time. DV is big and exploration is warranted almost on every square inch. The trips initial intent was a loop of the Pananmint range. That quickly became a tour of the western slops only and ended up not even putting a dent in that narrowed focus.

Thursday night bonus round:
-Abandoned Airforce base/ prison
This place was awesome! The entire base is there and open to exploration. You really could spend a whole day there, but we raced through the highlights in a couple hours. The base was converted to a prison before being abandoned and it very intact. There is very little spray paint and buildings remain in fairly good condition with a few exceptions. Nothing really wild was uncovered in the time we had but I think with another trip there will be cool finds here.
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Friday:
-Ridecrest scouting
Headed in RIdgecrest to take a look at a few mines for scouting purposes. This all proved to be for nothing since they were all bat gated even far from town, but a bad day mine exploring is still a great day.
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UE's finest...Mike and Dave
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-Trona pinnacles
Right before sundown we made it to the famous Trona Pinnacles. It is the weirdest place I have ever seen. It dosnt take much imagination to feel like you are on another planet.
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-Camping spot change
The camp spot proved to be incorrect. The old 4x4 trail listed on topo maps is closed and long since washed away. Not to mention the winds were howling up that canyon. So we took a chance on nearby Pleasent Canyon and it was a hit. We camped near a waterfall and were completely protected from the insane winds. I suspect we had a donkey visit as something bumped into my truck three times and woke me up in the middle of the night... Or was it the Panamint bear????

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Saturday:

-Ballarat Ghost town
Pretty interesting place with alot of mine artifacts and a few origanel buildings. The town store is a strange museum of sorts with a very friendly care taker. From the few shelves, it looks like it ceased being a real store sometime in the mid 80's. I added a bottle to his collection in there to mark our visit.
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-Goyer canyon/Mengle pass
The canyon is beautiful with a reminders of the mining history sprinkled here and there until you reach the Coors mine. The underground working were a disappointment but the ruins and equipment left in place make up for it. After we hit up the Manson ranch. Its still a little creepy to be there but with the main cabin in ruin it didnt give a uneasy feeling. Mengle pass has been washed out quite a bit. I was happy to be on 35's and double locked before we made a quick trip to see the Russel camp and take in the stripped butte (much more impressive in person then I guessed)
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Pictures dont do the colors in this justice.
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This guy was laughing at the overbuilt jeeps taking horrible lines.
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Sunday:
-Spur of the moment
Woke up at the Spur of the Moment mine. This mine is not often visited and has a great tram system still in place. The underground workings are not extensive, but the hike and views along the way were breathtaking.
http://i723.photobucket.com/albums/ww234/troyboy162/20121112_Death_Valley/dewathvalley088.jpg
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long unedited helmet cam test footage.
camera test (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho_QRcjafLw&feature=youtu.be#)

[Good Times]

cool!! the thought that you need 35's to be comfortable to pass Mengle really makes me want to go back. has it changed that much over the years?

can't wait for the pix!

[troyboy162]

Its just the last rain that messed it up. It has a small rock garden now. There are hard trails in PV that the PVD guys run. Bring your trailer :)
-23 Skidoo
As expected the mines in this areas are completely closed, the town has no visible remains. The crown glory however is still a massive sight to see in a age where most mine relics have been stolen for decoration or scrap value. The 15 Stamp mill is on a scale that I do not think is found anywhere else. The odd number stamp units are giant and must have been really state of the art in their day.
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[Crinale]

how did Sean's truck with only rear locker and 33's handle that section? Was the double locked and 35s just a comfort thing or a necessity?

Edit: Nevermind, I just read the other post highlighting Sean's engine issues. Sucks. What about JD's truck? did he drive through there or did he hitch a ride?

[troyboy162]

Just comfort really and ease timewise since we could cruise right through it and not risk breaks. Its a small tough section. I really wouldn't want a smaller truck on it so far away from home.

[Seanz0rz]

awesome pictures! hope JD and Mike got some more!

sad i missed it! I just didn't want to use a tow strap all weekend.

[Jaydee914]

Kevin, that was the only piece that I didn't do. And I did get a few other shots. I'll upload them when I get a chance - hopefully during lunch tomorrow.
Overall, it was a really fun trip. The highlight was probably the hike up the mountain Sunday morning to the mine. Great time, and it was actually good to get out of the truck for a bit to stretch our legs.

[OpenTrackRacer]

It was a great trip and we had a terrific time. There are tons of stuff to see in Panamint Valley and we barely scratched the surface.

We'll have lots and lots of pictures to share in the coming weeks on our web page and Facebook page.

Mike

[Seanz0rz]

I am really interested in the old base/prison! I'd like to spend a couple of weeks exploring around out there!

[Bob98SR5]

yeah that base looks cool! how far was it from the road?

[Seanz0rz]

[REDACTED]

[troyboy162]

Its not open to the public...its just not well posted

[Crinale]

Its not open to the public...its just not well posted

so it's open as long as you don't get caught? :thumbup:

[troyboy162]

Ok, normally no direct links are given to places visited and enough info is shown so that fellow explorers can find these places with a little reading between the lines. Aka ridgecrest and trona mean 395 and the pic given includes the dome...easy peasy. I pm'd sean the info since he was interested.

Now we are Google linked to that base. Looters, law enforcement (federal and local) are all that much closer to understanding this base has become a destination with increasing traffic. If you go and find a big no trespassing sign or locked gate after years of not having one, well... it shouldn't be surprising. Half the reason we went is because Jim leaked the exact location and that's the beginning of the end for anything in the desert.

[Bob98SR5]

troy,

i deleted my post

[troyboy162]

Thanks for understanding guys. My own practices have tightened down quite a bit when I found out the BLM was monitoring mine exploring forums. They were researching activity to move the more popular mines up on the list of closures. I'm sure all sorts of agencies use google.

[Seanz0rz]

I understand completely. I try to limit posting about certain camp sites for two reasons: I don't want them to become popular, and I don't want to be ambushed in the middle of the night.

[Crinale]

Thanks for understanding guys. My own practices have tightened down quite a bit when I found out the BLM was monitoring mine exploring forums. They were researching activity to move the more popular mines up on the list of closures. I'm sure all sorts of agencies use google.


That's so lame >.< oh well, just means we gotta get out there sooner rather than later..

[OpenTrackRacer]

Almost forgot! All the pictures are now up!

http://www.undergroundexplorers.com/pv1-1.htm

http://www.undergroundexplorers.com/pv1-2.htm

http://www.undergroundexplorers.com/pv1-3.htm

http://www.undergroundexplorers.com/pv1-4.htm

Share and enjoy!

Mike

[Crinale]

awesome pics! thanks for sharing! I'm so sad I didn't go now, those looked like pretty nice mines

[Bob98SR5]

man these pics are so freakin' cool! your website is awesome too

[troyboy162]

The base mentioned in this report has now been posted with federal no trespassing signs as of early this year. Its a neat place but not worth it anymore.

[Seanz0rz]

Bummer on that. We almost stopped on our way up to Bishop.