Welcome to the Official SoCal BS/ Shenanigans, Tundras and What’s Happening Thread

It’s a lot of fun to camp next to Brooklyn Mine which is on BLM land.

 

Yeah I did mean around lol thanks!

 

I will look that up!!

 

And just for camping on this trip not shooting.

 

Just kidding, we are doing death valley now lol. We've never been there so we have no idea what to see.

 

Congrates on the new addition McFly!

 

Is it possible ( or a good idea) to go from Trona pinnacles to Death valley on just dirt? If so does anyone know how and would like to share with me their wisdom??

 

Yes, it's actually a wonderful idea. There are a couple of routes through the Panamint Mountains that you could use.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASdWMRZL5UU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24cALOVaD8U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czFS0RcnmN8

 

This map is a wonderful tool to bring with you and illustrates most of the available routes in the Panamint and Death Valleys:

Death Valley National Park Recreation Map

The Maturango Museum in Ridgecrest also has a number of good books to look at and is a good place to stop by on your way to Death Valley.

 

Good lookin' out, Dirk!

 

We go from Trona to Ballarat. Then from Ballarat to Mengel Pass. You can stop by Barker Ranch where Charles Manson was caught. Not much there but a couple dilapidated cabins. Mengel Pass has a couple of challenging spots but very doable. Might need a little spotting in a few spots, depending on your experience. Once you pass Mengel Pass, it's all easy from there. You get on Butte Valley which will take you to Bad Water Rd, the main road. Or you can take West Side Rd, which is a flat high speed dirt road. Personally, I love crawling, and there isn't much of it anywhere in DV. So the little we get from Mengel Pass is always my favorite part.

 

You didn't stop by Briggs Cabin?

 

Is that on the Briggs Camp Trail? No, as much as I wanted to run that trail, we never had time.

 

Here's @831Tun running down Mengel. There's a few spots like this.
https://youtu.be/Vsjc7oJM-Cc

And some pics if you want to get an idea of what it looks like. Everything up to the pic of the giant crater is from Ballarat to Mengel and Butte Valley. You'll see lots of burros and donkey shit everywhere.
https://www.tundras.com/threads/joonbugs-build.8860/page-29#post-568585

 

It's along South Park Canyon; southeast of Ballarat. There's also this sign on the eastern side of the trail:

 

Damn, I love this forum....

 

It will be a solo trip. Should I reconsider? I'll have non issue spotting my lady through any thing technical. How worried should I be with body damage with no sliders.

 

Thanks Andy

 

I went through Panamint to Death Valley alone. It would definitely be better to go with a few friends but as long as you have a lot of extra water you should be fine. I managed not to crumple my rocker panels going through Mengel Pass (barely). Drive very slowly through the rockier sections and you'll probably be fine.

 

Oh man, that’s a tough one. I’d say moderate chance of damage. 99% of it you won’t need sliders, but there are about 3 or 4 spots where you’ll probably be wishing you had some. With really good spotting and a good line you might be able to physically get through without damage but it would be really stressful. I personally would do it if I didn’t have sliders but only because I know where the bad parts are and because I’m stupid. I don’t think I would recommend it to someone going for the first time.

 

Hmmm, ok. I've been doing rocky trails and such for some time but it was in a shorter wheel base.

 

Is Coyote Canyon the same as mengel?

 

Lol. You have an RCSB!!!

 

Mengel is a mountain pass; Goler Wash is the trail you would take to get there.

 

Regular Cab = Best Cab

 

Green top is geologists cabin
Yellow is Coyote Canyon
Blue is Goler wash??

 

Red is mengel??
BTW thank you all for your help...

 

I wouldn't use Google Maps to find your way around out there.

 

Orange is Goler Wash Rd. Comes from Wingate Rd which is the only rd from Ballarat.
Yellow is Coyote Canyon Rd.
Green is where it gets rough and Mengel is in there towards the end.

 

What Dirk said. Very high chance of getting lost without gps.