Saline Valley / Eureka Valley

[Lighthawk]

EPISODE I: Getting out of town

After a week of storm and (DVNP) mis-information, we decided to leave the day after Christmas to get out to Saline Hot Springs. It was to be Susan's first visit. I had been there via North Pass and also traveled over Steele Pass some years ago driving a stock Chevy Tahoe. We had cut our teeth on cold weather camping over Thanksgiving, so weren't worried about being warm & dry. It was the DV report that North and South Pass were closed that was troubling.

We didn't leave until 4pm after spending Christmas day entertaining our various offspring. So it was a quick three hours to Bridgeport to visit Travertine HS. Leaving town was a real bear, with CalTrans declaring chain controls over the I-80 Donner Summit, causing thousands of drivers to be stranded in bumper to bumper. It was drizzling, and there was no snow on the road. Go figure. I kept thinking ahead to those lonely dirt roads I would soon relax upon.

Bridgeport valley was blanketed in snow, a rare event these days. We spent the night on a spur road off the Travertine HS access, near a huge vintage Alaskan mounted on a big Dodge. It was beautiful and sunny on Monday morning.

We gassed up at Lone Pine and headed east towards South Pass. The typical 'Road Closed' sign was there, knocked down and run over. We aired down and enjoyed the ride through Lee Flat.

Gene had reposted something from DV.org about someone who said they drove out on Sunday and commented that they could have done it in the Studebaker. I have to agree. It was pretty easy, though you could see 6-12" erosion cuts from the recent rains. We continued down Grapevine Cyn, onto the alluvial fan. Soon a pair of headlights appeared in the mirrors. This guy was going pretty fast. I decided to push it and stay ahead until we got to Salt Pond. We were hitting washboards at 40mph, but this guy was still catching us!

I decided to pull over. Then I saw it was a FWC, with a gas can on the roof: SunMan. Sure enough, he stopped and we intro'd all around and said we would see him at the springs. Or so I thought. As I pulled out, I still had my window open to hear, "ching, chang, chang". WTF? A quick check around discovered a missing bolt on my airbag mount. Dang! If I hadn't stopped for Sonny, I probably would have torn the 'bag into the wheel or worse. By remarkable coincidence I had put some carriage bolts into my truck that happened to be exactly what I needed for the repair. I stole a nut off my new gas can carrier, which also fit. 30 mins later we were hustling down the road to find the turnoff in the dark for the springs.

The Bat Sculpture

more to follow in the next installment

 

[Lighthawk]

EPISODE II: Saline Warm Springs

After arriving at the Lower Warm Spring, we pitched camp up on some bare ground near the Burro Spring where SunMan was set up. A blue half barrel was continuously filled with warm water from a source above and every night the burros would come by for a drink. It was also a great spot to splash some warm water on your face in the morning.

The springs are very well tended. The resident host, Lizard Lee was on vacation, but a couple was filling the role. We donated an old 10mm climbing rope and got a tour of the machine shop (compressor, drill press, tire repair, welding, etc.)

Facilities include a kitchen sink, shower, bathtub, picnic tables, fire rings, two hot spring pools and a koi pond complete with mown lawn. The place is well loved. What a contrast to the somewhat stark Saline Valley, bounded by the Inyo's to the west and the Last Chance Range to the east. Everyone we met was friendly and helpful. Time moves slow there. It would be easy to lose a week or more staying there. We walked up to the Middle Springs, passing Peace Mountain along the way.

Look closely and you can see SunMan walking down off the summit. I didn't even know he was there when I took the shot.

Just one of the many artifacts laying about.

The morning view was spectacular, looking towards the Inyo Range.

With official reports of both North and South Pass being closed we didn't see crowds. There were a variety of vehicles around, even a Subaru Forester.

We saw a raptor our first morning, but I really didn't get a shot of him. We think it might have been a Northern Harrier. There were also doves, blackbirds, crows, ravens and some desert wrens. I even saw a robin.

Desert Wren

Other fauna include the burro population. They came by in the evenings and were around in the mornings too.
They will let you pet them, but are looking for handouts.

Wonder if they get a gov't pension?

Susan loves all animals and has no fear.

Sonny seemed to know something about the jets flying by from time to time.

I figured I had 50 miles of play to do side trips so we headed out to see the Salt Pond environs.
We walked out to the crusty shore, looking for birds. It was very underpopulated, but we did see some mallards and a big raptor (possibly another harrier) a few shorebirds. Looking at the tram towers and the immense scale of the landscape helped us appreciate the 1920's salt mining challenges.

We visited the Saline Dunes on our way back. Near the Salt Pond we explored some mining remnants adjacent to the road, but could not divine their purpose. A fellow came by in his restored 1960 Range Rover to pitch camp with his young daughter. Pretty cool set up, but later when the windstorm came that night, we worried about how they would do.

The dunes were spectacular at sunset.

I love the interplay of light among the forms.

Susan at the dunes.

We noticed dust storms kicking around the dunes and the east shore of the lake, but thought it might lay down.
Wrong. Returning to the Lower Spring we decided to move up to a flatter (but more exposed) site. We popped the top and got ready for dinner. Suddenly the winds accelerated to ~40mph and I ran out to secure our table & chairs. It got so windy I even strapped the stepladder to the rig. The winds were coming at the camper from 90 degrees, which was bad. I tried to open the door and it ripped out of my hand and slammed open, shattering the back door window. It was so windy we could not work on it and clamped a towel between the door and the screen door.

I walked down to check on Sunny down below. Winds were considerably less at his site, so with his permission, we moved down to join him. I'm not sure we could have taken down the top during the worst of the winds. We parked side by side with Sunny and rode out the storm. Each vehicle was stocked with enough alcohol, so things weren't terribly grim. At one point I went out briefly and shown the light into the night for Susan to see. It was an amazing amalgam of dust and debris that filled the eyes and mouth. We wondered about some of the tenting folks and how they could even make dinner. Around 11pm it dropped to a dull roar and we went out to the springs. We were the only ones and the pools were filled with sand and leaves. The wind block of the creosote brush was effective at protecting us, so long as we stayed low in the water.

The next morning everything was normal. I made a patch out of newspaper and duct tape (later reinforced with cardboard compliments of Gene's camp). We were made whole and ready to continue over Steele Pass (EPISODE III).

 

[generubin]

Andy and Susan, fantastic pictures as usual. It was nice meeting you guys, Russell and Sunny at Saline. Too bad the wind prevented us from jamming at the Lower Springs fire.

Here is a video from the night you guys left: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=489642842438#!/video/video.php?v=489364667438


And one more here: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=489642842438

Hopefully those links work. Too bad Bob and the others didn't make Saline.

Gene

 

[Dughlas Stiubhart]

Great pics, Lighthawk. And thanks for the report!

 

[chnlisle]

Excellent report Andy. Thanks

 

[ski3pin]

Good to see so many wanderers out on a grand adventure! Lighthawk, thanks for the great photos and trip report. We are looking forward to the next installment. Gene, thanks for the links to the Saline jam. Oh so cold fingers, but very nice. Lonesome Fiddle Blues is still one of my favorites. Thanks again!

 

[Lighthawk]

Andy and Susan, fantastic pictures as usual. It was nice meeting you guys, Russell and Sunny at Saline. Too bad the wind prevented us from jamming at the Lower Springs fire.

Here is a video from the night you guys left: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=489642842438#!/video/video.php?v=489364667438


And one more here: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=489642842438

Hopefully those links work. Too bad Bob and the others didn't make Saline.

Gene


Great music, Gene & crew! Cold fingers don't stop dedicated musicians, huh? We watched both vids and enjoyed them, especially after just being there.
Hope to catch y'all out there again sometime for some live jams.

Andy & Susan

 

[SunMan]

Superb photos Andy. Looking forward to the next installment, in particular the shots you must have gotten at the Dunes. That night shot of Bat Rock is rad! It was a real pleasure to meet you and Susan, hope to cross paths again some time.

Gene,
It was also a pleasure to meet you, Anne and your posse. I too was bummed we didn't get t catch a jam sesh.

Russell,
Also good to see you again! Bummed I missed Camelracer and Deltarat too, that would have been all time to have all you cats together in one gathering!

 

[craig333]

Great trip report. Kinda making me wish I'd just jumped up and gone.

 

[Lighthawk]

Great trip report. Kinda making me wish I'd just jumped up and gone.

Getting out of town has been the hardest part for us on our last few trips. It's been cold, wet and discouraging, but then we get to the East Side and suddenly everything is ok. Well, except for shearing a few bolts, a broken window and the usual varieties of problem solving

 

[Lighthawk]

EPISODE III: Steele Pass

Our stay at the Lower Spring was all too nice. I started referring to it as Land of the Lotus Eaters, but the siren song of Steele Pass was calling to us. On Thursday we pulled down the tops and joined with SunMan for a run over the pass.

First stop was Palm Spring to visit with Gene and friends. We got to admire his new shell from Jay. Good friendly folks, who apparently play some fine tunes.

Gene and Ann checking out Sunny's rig

Gene gave us some info about a side canyon with petroglyphs; a future exploration. We think we located the pullout on the way up the pass. Suni found a sign.

After a particularly tight stretch we encountered an odd caravan of rigs. There was several jeeps, one was towing a trailer(!) and a F350 crew cab, which seemed impossible later. But our mission was to continue up the pass. SunMan had a 1913 map in a book and I had my GPS topo on my Droid phone. Together we agreed upon a likely turnout to locate the infamous Blue Marble Bathtub. Sure enough, there it was, complete with pink flamingo.

What's the Red Bull for, Suni?

Perhaps the Red Bull is for Steele Pass. Funny how your memory can trick you. I drove a stock Chevy Tahoe up Steele Pass ten years ago. I remember walking it first and thinking I could make each section, so we did it. Later the descent into Saline Valley had many more boulders to dodge then today, but overall it seemed do-able. That's my recollection. But that's not accurate to what I experienced this time.

Entering Dedeckera Canyon

SunMan led the way in style, running each section with me spotting, then switching. I don't think you can change leaders once you enter the gullet.

Love the attitude here.

More of same section

There were numerous scrape marks on the wall about a foot and a half from SunMan's FWC

Funny how you can sit there and s l o w l y work your way down over gnarly terrain, yet avoid banging metal on stone. Good lines and a helpful spotter. Thanks Suni!

After six or seven technical sections we popped out. Sunset was coming fast and the Eureka Dunes were lit for another fifteen minutes. Time to take some photos!!

Looking back towards Steele Pass

Once again as we watched SunMan drive away I heard the sound, 'ching, chang, chang.' Oh no, another failure with the Ride-Rites. Sure enough, I crawled under and the opposite side was missing a bolt. At first I thought the nuts had come loose, but Suni suggested maybe the bolts were sheared and I agree. Since it takes deflating the bags to feed in a new bolt, the old bolt missing seems to indicate it probably was broken. We scavenged for the other bolt I had, while waiting for Suni to figure out I had dropped out.

Susan jacked the truck while I deflated the 'bag and set up to install the new bolt. I used the time waiting for Sunni to set up tripod and take photos of the spectacular scenery. Kind of glad we stopped there, really. Suni came back and was very helpful with the repair. He's got grade 8 aircraft bolts on his 'bags, but carries his old bolts as spares. Thanks SunMan! We finished the repair quickly and moved down the pass to the dunes and the campground. One other party was there, tenting in the cold 30F temps.

There is one more leg to this story, but it will have to wait for EPISODE IV: Eureka Dunes to Big Pine

 

[generubin]

Great pictures Andy. I remember being along Steel Pass when the rangers had Hummer H1's. They made it through the narrows but had to put two wheels on the side wall and drive through at about a 30 degree angle.

Later I'll post the most perfect condition, green, obsidian arrow head I found almost at the top of Eureka Dunes. It was very windy and as I walked along, the arrow head became uncovered.

I'm ready to head back to Saline tomorrow! Today, for fun, Anne and I drove a few miles into the mountains behind Ojai up Hwy 33 and landed in an amazing snow storm. We got through just before the roads were closed so we had most of the mountains to ourselves. Pics below.

 

[camelracer]

Great pictures Andy. I wish I could have joined you and Suni but Deltarat and I needed to be home by thursday and the weather was looking iffy.

After Russel left us monday morning Bob and I went up to the kilns and found the parking lot snowed in. We then went to Aguereberry point for lunch and then down to Stovepipe Wells. The ranger there marked up a map with closed roads which pretty much covered everything but the highways. We spent the night at Texas Springs - no generators but too many people.

Tuesday we did some tourists stuff including a tour of Ryolite. We then headed out of DV to Goler near Randsburg. The plan was to explore the El Pasos the next day but we got pounded with wind that night and it was raining when we woke up in the morning. Instead of slogging through the mud we cut the trip short and headed home.

 

[Marc]

U guys and gals are killing me with these pics ... Boy, did I miss out. Looks like a great time was had by all.

marc

 

[Lighthawk]

Ok, final installment: Eureka Dunes to Big Pine. Time to wrap up this trip report, but I've got a few more eye candy shots to share.

-------------

In our last installment, our intrepid travelers (SunMan and Lighthawk) had crossed Steele Pass with yet another broken bolt on the air bags. The morning after broke bright and clear with no wind. Ahhh. Time for a walk about to see what these dunes were about. No singing was heard

We walked up the virgin sand, marring the surface with our footprints. The same flat footed (french technique) used by snow climbers worked well to walk up the sand. Even the route finding was similar to snow.

Halfway up a small flock of Horned Larks came through. I didn't get a good enough shot to share, but they have a mask of black with strong yellow face. They moved as a group almost like quail, but were about the size of a small robin.

It was fun coming down

I decided to dump in the 5 gal. I had been carrying in my CARB approved container and spilled about six or eight oz. of gas down the side of my vehicle. Geez! Gotta be a better way!

The drive out over the Inyo's via Big Pine / Eureka Road was very snowy. We were sure North Pass was not the way to go!

Five days after the storm that closed North Pass

And finally we returned to Owens Valley with the Sierra Palisades in full winter dress. I admired Mt. Sill 14,153', Guardian of the Valley (Swiss Arete visible right skyline) and South Palisade Pk.; both routes I've climbed, but have never observed from this perspective. A fine ending to a great loop from Lone Pine to Big Pine via South Pass > Saline Valley > Steele Pass > Eureka Dunes > Big Pine.

 

[chnlisle]

Andy,
You really need to set up a Photo Workshop for the rest of us. Beautiful pix and a great eye.

 

[Dughlas Stiubhart]

And finally we returned to Owens Valley with the Sierra Palisades in full winter dress. I admired Mt. Sill 14,153', Guardian of the Valley (Swiss Arete visible right skyline) and South Palisade Pk.; both routes I've climbed, but have never observed from this perspective.

Ah, Mount Sill with snow, very nice, Lighthawk! I too have been up the Swiss Arete and South Pal, two of CA's 14ers.

 

[SunMan]

Really great shots Andy, you've got skills

I saw you guys coming down the NW side of the dunes as I was leaving.

And what a beautiful drive it was to Big Pine through the snow covered Joshua Trees. I also stopped and took some shots of the North Pass, I assume you noticed the fresh tracks where somebody went around, I wonder how far they made it? Anyway, good fun, great trip, outstanding pics.

 

[DirtyDog]

Excellent report and photos! Sorry i couldn't join you guys...... Boy I tell ya it's just been all around COLD this year. We've been in deep freeze up here for some time.

 

[Lighthawk]

Ah, Mount Sill with snow, very nice, Lighthawk! I too have been up the Swiss Arete and South Pal, two of CA's 14ers.

Very cool, Stew. Gotta love that High Sierra granite! So many peaks, and not enough time. I try to do a sierra classic every summer. Norman Clyde is one of my heroes.