After a night sleeping in the truck with the wind howling outside we woke to freezing gusts that tore at our clothes. We decided that coffee could wait and we would go a little way to warm the engine (and ourselves) while we checked out the road ahead. Lippincott Mine Road was only a few miles long. It would take us down to the valley and out to one of the main roads back into the center of the park. It looked so easy on the map.
We pulled up to the sign that said “4-wheel drive High clearance vehicles only.” With the bliss of the ignorant I said “That’s what we have. Let’s go take a look.” 100 meters further we had no way of turning around. We were committed!
Luckily it was all downhill and with judicial use of brakes and steering we were able to navigate the many super-pucker moments along the way. Washouts, narrows, and sheer drop offs were around every turn. To say that it was tense would be a major understatement. But we made it and came to an intersection with a much better road.
The Saline Valley Road ran north and south. North, over Jackass Pass was the shortest and looked to be the better option. It was for most of the 11 miles. We rolled across the desert floor with a relatively smooth ride. On the map, it was a long dash road vs the short dash road we had just descended. Long dash = harsh dirt road, short dash = 4x4 only!
We started gaining altitude and entered the cloud cover. Light misty snow was falling but nothing to worry about (yet). As we continued to gain altitude we encountered deeper and deeper snow. 4-wheel drive and good tires kept us going as we advanced up the pass. Only a couple more miles to go!
Sharp turns and the grade were easily navigated until we got stuck. So close to the road and yet so far. Out came the tire chains that went on easier than expected and we were making forward progress again. For a while. Then we were stuck again. Back down 15' and run at it with full throttle to bull our way through. Once, twice, a third time and we were through. We were to encounter many more deep sections like this but luckily the same technique got us through each one.
Finally to the top, only an hour and a half to cover to cover 2 miles, we began to relax. After traveling another couple of miles to convince ourselves that we were really out of harm's way we stopped and took off the chains. A park ranger passed in the opposite direction and waved to us. We laughed that he was going to put up the Road Closed sign.
We entered an amazing Joshua Tree forest that went on for as far as the eye could see. Losing altitude we also came out of the snow and into sunlight. Out came the map. We were looking for the best way back to civilization when the ranger pulled up next to us. He asked where were coming from and just stared at us blankly when we told him. He had turned back when he saw the snow deepening. My sister's joke was that Jackass Pass referred to the drivers not the animals. The ranger thought that was funny with an all knowing smile.
This showed that others had a sense of humor too. After what we had just been through we laughed out loud.
Make my day, tell a friend about this blog!
No comments:
Post a Comment