Terry's 7th Annual Death Valley Trip

Terry Johnson did a great job as trail master, and the run we made with him on his his 7th annual trip was a lot of fun wheeling. We made some new friends, and enjoyed the company of a very pleasant, easygoing group with similar interests in exploring new country.

For the original trip announcement, click here.

We hope to have a quicktime video up of some of the trail challenges. Check back here.

I was only able to go along on the first day of the run. It sounds like I missed out on a great second day. Here's what Terry had to say in an email:

The whole event went off better then I could have imagined. Everyone seemed to have a good time. I thought the group that attended was outstanding. I met alot of interesting folks. Thanks for all your help and support.

On Sunday I debated whether to try Titus Canyon or not because of the rain. We decided to try it if the gate was open. When we got there the gate was still open so we preceded on. (Later in the day we found out the trail had been closed shortly after we started the trail.) The skies were dark and cloudy, the trail was a bit gooey but the trail was still beautiful. The trail was just under the snow line so all the peaks around us had a fresh powdering of snow. The light rain continued all the way through the canyon. We stopped several times for pictures along the way to Leadfield. After a short stop at Leadfield we stopped to see the petroglyphs as well. Later on in the tight canyon walls we took some group photos in front of a wall with mud splattered 30 - 40 ft above our heads from a flash flood.

On the way to Racetrack Valley we stopped at the Ubehebe Crater and Teakettle Junction. We took a break at the Racetrack for lunch and took time for pictures and to hike out to the grandstand. The descent down Lippincott Mine Road was white knuckled for some but overall was pretty easy. The sun came out for us to offer some great views of Saline Valley. As we headed for Grapevine Canyon the skies darkened and began to rain again.

Just as we headed up the incline over the top of Grapevine we saw a fantastic full rainbow. Near the top the trail was muddy and our views were obscured by thick fog. The rain began to change over to sleet. The conditions worsened when you could only see a few feet in front of your vehicle. As we descended out of the clouds our visibilty improved immensely. Shortly after we reached pavement. We stopped to say goodbye to our new found friends and headed out to the highway basking in the afterglow of a great trip.

The group:

Roger Brown - Santa Clara, CA, '85 Toyota 4Runner

Kammy Burleson - Fair Oaks, CA & Steve Gardiner - Anaheim, CA, '90 Isuzu Amigo SX

Garrett Dunwoody - '99 Dodge Cummins XCab

Shane Hook - Santa Barbara,CA, '84 Toyota XCab

Terry Johnson - Pleasanton, CA, '89 Toyota XCab

Rick & Suzette Laffranchi - Ripon, CA, '91 Jeep YJ

Ben Lee - Monterey Park, CA, '85 Toyota 4Runner

Brett,Gloria,Christina,Melissa McDonald - Lawndale, CA, '97 Jeep XJ

Erik Mighells - San Jose, CA, '96 Jeep XJ

Jaime Phillips - Las Vegas, NV, '89 Toyota 4Runner

Leonel & Ami Quinteros - San Francisco, CA, '89 Toyota XCab

Manny & Sandi Rivera - San Jose, CA, '93 Jeep YJ

Jim & Misa Siemons - Concord, CA, '86 Jeep CJ7

Stucky Family(Tim,Bob,Mom) - Kingsburg, CA, '88 Toyota 4Runner

Brian Sullivan - Palo Alto, CA, '85 Toyota 4Runner

Kim Walsh - '85 Toyota 4Runner

Don West - Santa Clara, CA, '94 Toyota Std Cab

Wes - Santa Barbara, CA, '91 Toyota Std Cab

Hogan Whittall - San Jose, CA, '98 Jeep XJ

Len & Steve Wilcox - Fresno, CA, '95 Jeep ZJ

For a nice collection of photos, visit Shane Hook's page.

Related Links

Our trip up Goler Canyon

A trip up the Lippincott Mine Road

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