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Ballarat to Tecopa

  • Ptk
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3 years 5 months ago #1152 by Ptk
Ptk created the topic: Ballarat to Tecopa
Recently decided to do a short road trip to Tecopa via Ballarat, Goler Wash, Butte Valley and Warm Springs Road.
Over the past 10 years I’ve visited the area several times in various types of SUV’s, usually rental 4WD’s and usually with a friend/copilot.
This time I went solo in my own stock 2015 Jeep Sahara.
The intent of the trip was to reacquaint myself with Ballarat and Barker Ranch, cross the Mengel Pass, camp at the base of the Stripped Butte and hike to its peak the next morning.
Then off to Tecopa to soak in the tubs at Delights.

Ballarat.
This was my first visit to Ballarat in 4 or 5 years.
As stated in previous posts Rocky is gone and there’s a new caretaker in place.
The new guy was very friendly and well versed in the history of the area.
We had a pleasant conversation about the state of Ballarat, the history of the 1849 Manly trip and more.
The town itself looked a little more organized than I remember.
A lot less “stuff” laying around.
The Trading Post was definitely more organized than previous visits.
After an hour or so I started the journey into Goler Wash.

Goler Wash.
My last visit to Goler took place in March 2012.
I was in a rented Jeep Patriot that was no match for the “waterfall/rock step” obstacle part way into the canyon.
I parked the Patriot and hiked to Barker.
It was a cold and wet day in March, but walking vs. driving allowed for a better perspective and appreciation of the natural beauty in the area.
On this trip the 2012 “waterfall” had been graded over and made easily passable.
The Sahara crossed it with ease in 2WD.
The remaining road to Barker was in good shape and an easy ride.
The canyons were majestic and beautiful.
I didn’t stop at the Keystone Mine, but the surrounding area looked much cleaner than previous visits.
The abandoned heavy equipment was gone as well as all manner of rusted vehicles and mining materials.
There’s still some junk lying around, but not what was seen previously.
In 2012 I did walk to the mine and did a little exploring.
On the steps adjacent to what appeared to be the main building are names and handprints in the cement, dated 1963.
I wonder if any of those guys are still with us?

Barker Ranch.
After following an ambiguous NPS sign I reached Barker Ranch.
While I never saw the Ranch prior to the 2009 fire and I didn’t have a qualified benchmark, the place looked worse for wear.
Even the NPS sign telling about the Ranch was damaged and non-readable.
The location of Barker is in a beautiful spot.
In its day, prior to the Manson era, it must have been a wonderful place.
Unfortunately it’s dark history has tarnished it forever.
The main house itself has been reduced to a crumbling foundation.
A few animal shelters are still in place but in disrepair.
One of the galvanized sheet metal panels would creak woefully whenever the wind moved it, adding to the negative aura that surrounds the place.
The only building still remotely intact is the railroad tie bunkhouse and that is missing doors and windows.
The bunkhouse has been mentioned in many books written about the Manson family.
This is where the now deceased Paul Crockett, a WW2 Air Force veteran turned gold prospector, eventually becoming a spiritual advisor lived while mining in Goler Canyon.
Paul managed to deprogram a few Manson followers and hijack them out of the family.
The bunk house was also the exact place where Paul managed to outsmart Manson and one his most devout followers Tex Watson, possibly saving his own life in the process.
As I stood in the building trying to imagine those events taking place I felt a chill and the presence of not being alone.
Perhaps the spirit of Paul Crockett, the old gold miner who survived 52 combat missions over the Pacific, still wanders Goler Canyon, searching for the mother-load hoping to strike it big in the afterlife.
Time to leave.
Off to Mengel Pass and Butte Valley.

Road to Mengel Pass.
The road to Mengel pass ranged from ok to rough riding.
A big issue was, what I dubbed “tributary roads” that formed a junction where I had to make a choice.
Turn right or turn left, go up or go down.
I usually took the road which looked the best and on two occasions this was not the right choice.
In both cases I found myself at a dead end or facing what I considered a non-navigatable situation.
For awhile even worried that I may be lost.
Just for kicks I resorted to the Jeeps Navigation system, an accessory I rarely use.
Low and behold it did show the road up Goler and across Butte Valley.
No names, no markings, just a thick line on the screen.
I decided to fly by instrument vs. Intuition and as long as I stayed on the thick line I was ok.

As I headed toward the pass I often hit rough sections of road.
Large rocks and boulders, half buried and virtually non-movable.
In these cases I’d stop, walk ahead and scout the area, and, if the road got better ahead, move forward.
The closer I got to the pass the rougher sections of road were becoming more frequent.
It was getting late, and from what I’ve learned from decades of bumming around, when in situations like this, always arrive at your final destination before dark.
Not knowing what the road was like ahead I considered setting up camp early or even turning back.
Not wanting to screw up my schedule I moved very slowly across the rough sections, stopping when necessary to walk ahead and check conditions.
I didn’t want to keep moving blindly forward, possibly getting stuck in a position I couldn’t get out of.
Usually my foot scouting showed an alternation of trail conditions, bad then good, good then bad, etc.
I moved slowly up the trail and finally spotted a familiar landmark, Carl Mengel’s grave, with Stripped Butte in the distance.
I still had about 90 minutes of sunlight, so making it to the base of the Butte seemed reasonable as long as I could navigate solo over the pass.

Mengel’s Grave
I stopped briefly at the gravesite, a lonely but solemn place.
I noticed a lot of coins scattered about, and assuming this was a sign of respect, emptied my pockets and placed about $.47 on the marker.
I don’t know the history of Carl Mengel or the circumstances of his death.
His cabin still stands just beyond the pass and is in pretty nice condition.
I’ve been told his wife lived there, alone, long after his death.
She must have been a strong and unique woman.

Mengel Pass.
Knowingly, the toughest part of this trip would be making it across Mengel Pass without getting stuck and without imposing serious damage to the vehicle.
I learned this several times trying to cross the pass from the opposite direction always in Hertz type, rented SUV’s.
Like the Jeep Patriot on Goler Wash, a rented RAV 4 was no match for Mengel Pass, at least with me behind the wheel.
Fortunately when crossing the pass from Goler Wash vs. Butte Valley a fundamental law of nature comes into play.
It’s easier to drive down an incline vs. driving up the same incline.
In the absence of a spotter some dead reckoning was required.
Also I lot of luck.
The Jeep made it down the pass quickly and efficiently.
There were a couple of minor bottoming outs, but no damage.
Off to Stripped Butte.

Stripped Butte.
I wanted to stop at the Geologists Cabin just to check it out.
The American flag was flying indicating that it was occupied so I gave it a pass.
My first experience at the cabin, years ago, cured my desire to ever spend the night there.
As I entered the cabin and looked around, there was a BIG snake coiled on one of the shelves, probably waiting for a luckless mouse to pass by.
Not a Rattler but big and scary.
After a few minutes the snake dropped to the floor and quickly exited the open door.
Considering the snake episode as well as the recent Hantavirus concerns I’d rather avoid spending the night in any DV structure.

I drove down the valley until I spotted seldom used road that took me behind Stripped Butte.
The road ended at a small clearing, the perfect camping spot.
Rather than pitch the tent I decided to sleep in the back of the Jeep.
I set the camp up and ate ate a hearty diner of canned tuna, crackers, Fig Newtons and Pringle’s.
At dusk, set up a lawn chair to do some star gazing.
After dark the star show was spectacular, better than anything I’ve seen since I left the Finger Lakes area of NYS in the early 1970’s.
A few satellites and possibly the Space Station were clearly visible.
I complimented the evening with a pint of Jack Daniels, drank in the style of Fast Eddie Felson, straight from the bottle, “...no ice, no glass...“

A bit of humor.
While a Jeep Wrangler is capable of climbing telephone poles it is fairly inhospitable as a bedroom.
With the seats collapsed there is a wide gap created that makes finding a comfortable position pretty tough.
After much tossing and turning I found myself continuing to stargaze through the back window.
At one viewing I noticed a stationary blinking red light.
After a few more minutes I decided to take a better look.
I unlocked the door went outside, and low and behold the light was gone.
Returned to the Jeep locked the door and the light returned.
Maybe a real UFO?
After a while of watching the light only to have it disappear when I went outside, I had a moment of clarity.
When I locked the doors the Jeep’s security system armed itself with a flashing red indicator light.
I was seeing the reflection of the blinking light on the rear window.
When the Jeep was unlocked the flashing stopped.
Another UFO sighting debunked.

By dawn I was wide awake.
Maybe got three hours of sleep that night.
I packed up the Jeep and prepared to climb to the top of the Butte.
I did a little research and was advised that hiking from the back of the Butte was fast and easy and that once I reached the top I’d find an old aluminum milk container with a guest register.
From the ground the incline looked simple.
I guesstimated that the whole climb and return would take no more than three hours.
I armed myself with a camera, some binoculars, a bottle of water and the single page of Hunter Thompson’s best written work “Midnight on the Coast Highway”.
If you’re an HST fan you’ve most likely read this.
If not you can catch it on YouTube, narrated by Johnny Depp.
Definitely worth a listen.

The first quarter of the way up the Butte was simple.
The toughest part was avoiding the burrow poop.
(and regardless of the so called burrow round up there are still hundreds of them in Butte Valley)
Up to the halfway point it got tougher and I had to stop a few times to catch my breath and recalculate the route.
At three quarters up it was obvious that this hike couldn’t be made walking erect but most likely on all fours.
Even then, when walking on a rocky surface, with a great pair of broken in American Made Herman Survivors there was enough loose gravel that meant every step forward included one half step back.
I decided to descend back a look for an easier path.
I didn’t find one.
Even with the few items I was carrying the hike was exceptionally difficult and I gave up.
Visiting the top of Stripped Butte will take more thorough research and will have to wait.
Hopefully not forever.

Warm Springs Road.
Somewhat disappointed, I left the Butte and headed to Warm Springs Road.
By now the heavy lifting was over.
The road had some bad spots but was very passable.
I stopped at the talc mines and did some exploring.
The buildings are fairly well preserved and there clean spring water freely flowing from the mountains.
The area is very fertile with lots of greenery and flowers.
Even a few pools of fresh water can be found.
There was also what appeared to be corrals with bales of hay in them.
I assumed these were intended to house the NPS captured burrows.
Your tax dollars at work.
Mountain sheep are a common sight around the mines.
On this trip I witnessed two single sightings as well a group of five of these beautiful, majestic beasts.
Seeing these animals kind of made up for the aborted attempt to climb Stripped Butte.

After leaving the mines on Warm Springs Road the wilderness portion of the trip is pretty much over.
By the time reached the West Side Road I passed two incoming cars, the only vehicles I passed since Ballarat.

Shoshone.
Once back on paved roads the Jeep seemed to have problems regaining its footings, but did return to normal shortly.
Stopped at the Crow Bar in Shoshone and had a great lunch, the first real meal in almost two days.
I planned on returning that evening to drink with the locals but the Crow Bar currently closes at 6:00 PM.
Maybe collateral damage from Covid.

I left Shoshone and headed to Tecopa.
At the intersection of 178 and 127 noticed a middle aged couple hitchhiking.
They weren’t your typical backpacking type so, for the first time in decades, gave them a ride.
The fuel pump in their car went south and they needed to get to Parumph..
Dropped them in town and took the opportunity to find a self service car wash and clean the layers of dust off the Sahara.
A clean Jeep is a happy Jeep.
After the cleaning the only damage I could find was the addition of some shallow “Death Valley racing stripes on the fender flares.
No dents, no dings, just some shallow scratches.
I’ll put some wax on fenders to camouflage the damage, wait a few weeks to “ notice them” and maybe I can blame my wife for putting bags of grocery’s on the fenders.
It worked before it might work again.

Tecopa.
Got to Delights in Tecopa late afternoon.
I’ve been to Delights many times and enjoyed the visits.
According to my hitchhiking guests ownership of Delights is still in the same family but being run by different family members.
No idea if this is true or not, but there are some visible changes from my last visit two years ago.
The place seemed cleaner.
New artwork in the tub enclosures.
A great new swimming pool.
In addition to the cabins there are newer trailers you can book.
Pricing has changed too but IMHO still a bargain.
Spent a lot of time soaking and made up for the sleepless previous night.
Left Delights in the AM and went to the Date Ranch Bakery for breakfast.
The line was out the door so I opted to return to the Crow Bar.
Had another great meal.

Baker.
Left Shoshone and headed back to the congestion of Southern California via Baker and I-15.
Baker is the small desert gas stop noted for the worlds largest thermometer,
an episode of Strange Inheritances, Alien Jerky and extensive reference in the classic book “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”.
On to Orange County, then, within the next few weeks back to Northern Illinois.

Conclusion.
To conclude the trip was great.
The Sahara was transformed from a garage queen to a road warrior.
A lot of people don’t like Jeeps for a lot of reasons.
While you won’t win any races with a Wrangler, nor will you have the best handling, smoothest ride or quietest cabin, this one handled Death Valley without any problems.
It performed like a champ.

A few final words of unsolicited opinions and advice.
It’s recognized that most reading this will forget more about DV and 4WD trail driving than I’ll ever know.
You guys need to read no further if so chosen.

For those of you thinking about taking a trip through DV for the first time, do serious research.

I’d start with googling “The Death Valley Germans”.
It’s tells the true and tragic story of a German tourist family who attempted to cross Butte Valley in the middle of summer 1996, without adequate knowledge or planning.
The results were catastrophic.

A great source for info Is YouTube.
There’s tons of great videos out there specific to the route you take.
A picture is worth a thousand words.

Make sure your vehicle is capable of the trip.
I’d suggest equal to or better than my Wrangler.
While I’m sure that there’s a lot of people who’ve ventured deep into the valley with all kinds of vehicles, I wouldn’t take the chance.
Best bet may be renting a Rubicon from Farabee’s.
This isn’t a plug, but they have capable vehicles and a tracking system
If you get in trouble they’ll come and get you.
They are expensive to rent but if you do the arithmetic they might be a bargain.

I prefer traveling alone but it’s obviously smarter to have a companion for copiloting and assistance if you need it.

I’d not travel June through September.
Too hot.

Obviously adequate supplies, food and water.

I’d bring a good pair of hiking shoes for casual hikes or if you have to walk any distance for any reason.

I’d avoid bringing pets.

I’d bring a backpack capable of carrying enough food and water if you have to or want to walk for a while.

Some basic tools, a good jack and a shovel are good ideas.
A large plastic hammer would be very helpful removing stuck aluminum wheels from wheel hubs if you get a flat.

One item I took a chance with was tires.
I took the trip on OE All Terrain Tires.
They worked ok but better Off Road Tires would have been a lot smarter.
Do some tire research.

Make sure your own health and strength are up to the task.
Getting sick or hurt out there could be a big problem.

I could go on but you get the point.

Other than that if you are well planned and well prepared go for it.
Once again, quoting the late great Doctor HST ...buy the ticket, take the ride...
The following user(s) said Thank You: kayaker77

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