Well I just got back home from Tahoe, California, for what was supposed to be an annual vacation and a trip up the Rubicon. But, truth be known, I spent a ridiculous amount of time up there on my cell phone and behind my laptop computer… working. Without a doubt, it would seem that the things designed to make your life more convenient and allow you to take more vacations only succeed in making it easier for your clients to get a hold of you anytime they want and make it easier for you to work more often.

Need I say, the Rubicon didn’t happen and much to my chagrin, I didn’t get to do any wheeling up there at all this year. But, on the up side of things, I did get to spend some good quality time with my family (when I wasn’t working) and we did get to do a lot of day hikes in and around the Desolation Wilderness as well as in Alpine County. And, unlike previous years, we decided to bring our dog Tessa along with us this time around and, as I’m sure you can imagine, she absolutely loved to hike and discovered that she loves to swim.

Anyway, I’m back home and I guess it’s back to the grind for me (lol!!) but if you want to see some pics from our trip, click on the link below.

>> Tahoe Trip 2006 Pics

Unfortunately, the time has finally come to say good bye to the 40th Annual Moab Easter Jeep Safari. Truly, this has been one of the best vacations and wheeling trips I’ve ever had and to be completely honest, I’d have to say that it was because of all the great people I got to meet and hang out with all week long.

I really like to personally thank David, Brian and Kyle Johnson of Northridge4×4 for inviting to all their trail events and for helping me to fix my Jeep. I’d also like to thank Mike Denton, Jr. of Superior Axle & Gear for his generous hospitality and the use of his condo to repair my Jeep and Steve Kramer of Full-Traction Suspension for displaying my Jeep at the show, for all his great help and for dinner the night before. There are actually a bunch of other guys I’d like to thank but don’t know how to spell their names like Oren, Joel, Jay, Kellen and a few others that I unfortuately forgot what their names were. Hopefully, this won’t be the last time I see and/or get to wheel with you guys.

Eddie

Man, am I ever beat! Got up at the crack of dawn this morning, got ready, took my Jeep to get washed and then headed down to the Moab Equestrian Center to help Full-Traction Suspension setup and…. put my Jeep on display. Yup, you heard right, my little Jeep got the privilege of being one of Full-Traction’s show Jeeps.

Although my Jeep was still busted, the show had plenty of manufacturers and vendors selling their goods and I was fortunate enough to pick-up the parts I needed to repair my Jeep from the Six States Booth. To their credit, they could have easily taken advantage of my situation and shafted me but, these guys were totally cool and sold me what I needed at a fair price. Kudos to Six States.

As far as the rest of the show goes, it was pretty cool but small and my family and I checked out the whole thing in about an hour. Maybe the best part about it for me was that I got a chance to talk to a bunch of manufacturers face to face like Lewis from Rock Hard 4×4 Parts, Ron from Alloy USA, Steve from Off Road Only and a whole host of other guys too.

Anyway, I’ve gotta run and get back to working on my Jeep so that I can drive it back home in the morning.

It’s about 1 am and we just got back to our room from a hell of a long day. To start off, I spent the better part of the morning working on my Jeep in the parking lot of Motel 6 getting it ready and making some adjustments for the trail. Unloading the gas out of my jerry cans and adjusting my SwayLOC’s to a tighter setting was easy enough but yanking the coil spacers out of my front end was a little more difficult than I had originally thought especially since I only had a bottle jack to work with. Anyway, I’m glad I decided to do this because come about noon, I got a call from David at Northridge4×4 inviting us to make a run up to the Golden Crack with the guys from Full Traction, Superior Axle, theJeepoutfitter.com and a few neighbors they met at their condos. Most of the rigs consisted of hooked up TJ’s but we did also have an XJ, YJ buggy, a way cool Sammy, Nissan Hard Body and much to my surprise…. a little Libby joining us for the day.

Now I’ll be honest, this was my first time on this trail and the only thing I knew about it was what I had read in books. In a nutshell, this trail was supposed to be real pretty, have lots of slick rock, was rated “difficult”, required lockers front and rear and let me tell you, they weren’t kidding. The scenery and vista points along the Gold Bar Rim Trail are simply out of this world. As far as some of the slick rock faces I had to climb and drop down goes, let me just say that I’m still not sure how my Jeep was able to do it without taking a dump on its side or end over end. More than any other trail I have been on, I found myself pushing the limits of what I thought was possible and, on the very last obstacle of the day…. I was a bit heavy on the gas and ended up blowing my pinion yoke, shredding my U-joint straps, doing some good damage to the U-joint itself and inflicted a host of other miscellaneous damage to my rear end. Oh well, if you aren’t breaking something, you’re not trying hard enough, right? Fortunately for me, it was the last obstacle and I was able to hobble back into town in front wheel drive.

Contrary to what you might think, this break of mine wasn’t the reason we got back in so late. Pulling the rear drive shaft took minutes to do and we should have been able to make it back to town before dark. So, what was it that got us standing around in the cold till midnight…. well, remember that little Libby I mentioned earlier? Much to my surprise, the driver of that thing was able to work it through most of the trail but ultimately grenaded his differental on the exact same obstacle as me.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not really complaining about what happend as I had a great time and waiting around allowed me the opportunity to get to know a lot of these guys better. Anyway, I’m going to bed now but you can see more pics of the trip by clicking on the link below:

>>Click Here to See More Pics

Today, the family and I wanted to take a break from all the crowds, traffic jams on the trail and do something a little different. So, we decided to head north just a few minutes out of town and check out Arches National Monument.

While most of our day was spent checking out really cool rock formations like Balancing Rock, hiking through Park Avenue and up to Delicate Arch, we did manage to do a little off-roading too on the only trail in the park that takes you up to Tower Arch and The Eye of the Whale Arch. It’s not a difficult trail but I’m sure it would offer a stock height Jeep a challenge or two. Anyway, there really is so much to see and do in this incredible park and if you’re ever in the area, I would highly recommend you making a stop here.

Whew - what a day!! We just got back from running the Green Day Trail in Area BFE as a part of the Rock3 event sponsored by Superior Axle & Gear, Full-Traction Suspension and Toyo Tires and… I am embarrassed to say that the only thing green about the trail was me. Now, I’ve been wheeling for quite some time now and on trails that I though were thought but this was one of the toughest I’ve personally run to date. Along the way, several guys experienced breaks including a busted radiator hose, broken axle, busted drive shaft and brake line and this was supposed to be the easier of the two trails you could have run for the day (Helldorado being the other). Fortunately, I did come out of it in one piece and I certainly learned a lot on it but one thing I’m gonna have to do for sure before the next run is empty out my gas cans, yank the front coil spacers I have in now and set my SwayLOC links to a tighter setting. And, if I had a place to ditch my roof rack, hard top and doors, I would do that too. All I know is that I really need to get some of the excess weight off the top of my Jeep and bring the center of gravity down a little lower. If I don’t, I’m sure to dump my Jeep on one of the many off camber sections that seem to be so prevalent up here. One thing I can say for sure is that I don’t think I could have done this trail without my new Full-Traction Long Arm kit which by the way performed like a champ!!

On a side note, I would like to thank the owners of Area BFE for providing such a great place to play for all and for free, David Johnson of Northridge4×4 for inviting me to the event and Mike Denton Jr. of Superior Axle & Gear for providing lunch for the day and for the cool T-shirt

>> Click Here to See More Pics of the Trip

It’s Sunday night and we’re finally in Moab, Utah. To make things a little more interesting, my family and I decided to make a detour yesterday, headed east on the I-40 and stayed in Williams, Arizona for the night so that we could make a quick stop over at the Grand Canyon in the morning. Although I had been to Grand Canyon several times before and my wife had actually river rafted through it as a kid, this was the first time for my son and the first time for all of us as a family. And, what can I say, everytime I go there, I am always stupified by the enormous scale of the thing. Certainly, photos do it no justice and even looking at it in person, it can sometimes feels like some kind of movie prop. After this visit, I think we’re going to plan another visit in the near future so that we can hike down into it.

On a side note, I would like to thank Mark Stephens for contacting me by email and letting me know that he saw our Jeep over at the Grand Canyon main overlook. Turns out he’s an avid Jeeper that loves photography as well and if you get a chance, I would encourage you to visit his website: www.markdstephens.com

On our way out to visit the in-laws for Thanksgiving this year, my family and I decided to take a quick detour and do a little exploring around the Ibex Springs/Mines Area in Death Valley National Park. Located in the southern most corner of Death Valley, this area is located just north of Baker and easily accessible from Highway 127.

Leaving the pavement at Harry Wade road, we made our way over to Saratoga Springs and then turned east making our way over to the Ibex Sand Dunes. I should mention that there is a sign at this point indicating that “deep sand” is ahead and that a high clearance 4×4 vehicle is recommended. And, although this road is anything but difficult, I certainly wouldn’t drive a Honda Accord over it. Anyway, when we got to the dunes, we discovered that direct access to them was closed off and if you want to see them up close and personal, you’d have to hike about a mile from the road to get to them. No big deal to me but time wasn’t on our side that day so we decided to continue on to the spring and mines.

Now, where the road leading up to this point was nothing worth writing home to, the stretch of road leading to Ibex Spring/Mines was another story altogether. Thanks to the abundant rains we received last year, this trail was severely rutted and washed out in multiple locations along the way. In fact, the very first washout you will come across is large enough and challenging enough that I’m quite sure it would keep most visitors from venturing any further. However, this is probably the most difficult obstacle you will come across (unless you’re in a Jeep and then it’s nothing more than a speed bump) and if you are so inclined to traverse it, the rest of the way is easy by comparison.

From what I’ve read, the mines in this area were established back in 1882 and silver, lead bearing ore and then finally talc was extensively mined on and off until the 1970’s. During this time, the Lost Buthane Mining Company established a small mining town next to Ibex Springs itself and much of the structures still stand there today in deteriorating but otherwise good shape. The parking area of this ghost town has several plaques erected containing information about the area and a metal enclosed stand opens up to reveal a registry that you can sign. This area is surprisingly lush with tall grasses and palms and if you take a short walk up the hill behind the homes, you should be able to find a small wooded shed that houses a water filled well.

Due to the lack of daylight, we decided to make this ghost town our last stop for the day and just spent our time exploring the miscellaneous cabins and surrounding area until the sun went down. But, you can be sure that we will be back again.

I swear, it never fails. Once again, as we headed out to Anza Borrego on this trip, mother nature decided to get us a little wet…. make that soaking wet and it didn’t let up until about mid-day!! Okay, I just had to get that off my chest.

Unlike our previous trip a few weeks back, we decided to look for a better and less crowded location to camp and see all the wildflowers blooming in Anza Borrego. Well, after doing a little research online, I found that a small area just off S-2 and south of highway 78 called supposed to be heavily in bloom right now and so that’s where we decided to start our trip.

Smugglers Canyon
After a leisurely breakfast at the IHOP in Temecula, we filled up our gas tanks, picked up some last minute provisions and then headed off for Anza Borrego. To get away from the hordes of people we saw just a couple of weeks before, we decided to steer clear of all the obvious tourist traps (just about anything in and around Borrego Springs) and headed down the S-2 towards the southwestern edge of the park.

Our first destination was going to be Smugglers Canyon which is right off the S-2. There is a hiking trail here that heads north towards Whale Peak and goes to a site where Indian pictographs can be found. I think it’s safe to say that we would have done the hike if not for the fact that we got stuck at mouth of the canyon with cameras in hand, mesmerized by the explosion of color.

Carrizo Badlands Overlook
Leaving Smugglers Canyon, we continued south until we reached the Carrizo Badlands Overlook. The view from this vista point really is a sight to see but as an added bonus, all the Ocotillos in the immediate area were in bloom too. From here, we backtracked just a few hundred feet up the S-2 and then turned off onto Canyon sin Nombre.

The landscape in Canyon sin Nombre was relatively dry and harsh compared to what we just left. In some areas, the walls of the canyon exposed uplifted and folded sedimentary layers but for the most part, they were made of mud and riddled with slots just itching to be explored.

Carrizo Creek - Vehicle Recovery
Out of Canyon sin Nombre, we proceeded east up Carrizo Creek and planned to have lunch at the old Carrizo Stage Station Site. I say planned because on the way there, we encountered a small group of trucks, two of which had gotten very stuck in deep mud. Thanks to all the rain we had earlier in the day, the trail had become a sticky and gooey marsh with a deceivingly dry surface crust on top. Need I say, my family and I decided to spend the next hour or so helping to dig and winch them out. We never did make it to the old Carrizo Stage Site but we sure did have a lot of fun helping out where we could.

Carrizo Badlands - Camp Site
After our recovery work was done, our daylight was quickly fading so we decided to head back a bit to dryer ground and setup camp for the night. As always, we feasted that night on some super delicious filet mignon that Yvonne prepared for us, YUM!!

The next morning, we packed up early and then decided to hike and explore the many slot canyons immediately around us. There weren’t nearly the amount of wildflowers that we saw the previous day but there were still quite a few around and even more of something a little less pretty… caterpillars!! Actually, there were tons of these bugger and to describe them more accurately, they were huge! By 9:00 am, we were back at out rigs, loaded up our gear and were on our way again to our next destination, the Slot.

The Slot
On our way out, we headed north up Vallecito Wash (instead of backtracking up Canyon sin Nombre) which ultimately hooks up to S-2. Once on S-2, we headed north and then headed east on HWY 78. Just passed Borrego Springs Road, we turned left onto Buttes Pass Road and made our way to the Slot.

Of all the places to visit and explore in Anza Borrego, the Slot is one of my more favorite stops. Very easy to get to and relatively close to town, the Slot is like a dissection through the landscape, slow cut open by time and water. If you’re claustrophobic or on the fat side, I wouldn’t recommend this hike.

Pumpkin Patch
Leaving the Slot, we headed up Buttes Pass which eventually becomes The Cut Across Trail and headed to the final destination on our trip, the Pumpkin Patch. Our plan was to stay on this easy but annoying trail (basically a motorcycle route with a ton of whoops on it) until we reached Basin Wash, but somewhere along the line, we took a wrong turn, got very lost, followed some old motorcycle tracks, made our way over some very difficult terrain (I’m still amazed that a Sportsmobile 4×4 van could follow me through all of it) and then found ourselves on the wrong side of a boundary fence… Argh!! With some effort, we did manage to find a route around the fence that ultimately hooked back up to the Banks Wash route and then the Pumpkin Patch.

In the end, all I can say is what a let down. I had never been to the Pumpkin Patch before and that’s the only reason why we went. Had I known it was going to be just a small patch of a few rocks, I would have spent more time taking pics of my Jeep flexing out on the trail we just came on instead of worrying about daylight. Oh well, you live and learn and now I can say I’ve been to the Pumpkin Patch.

With the day quickly waning, we headed out of Anza Borrego State Park on Tule Wash. This wash hooked up to HWY 86 over by the Salton Sea and will take you north to I-10 or south to I-8.

Now, I’ve been coming out to Death Valley National Park, CA since I was a kid and over the last 10 years, I’ve been coming out on a more regular and frequent basis. During this time, I have never… and I mean never, seen this place look so amazingly beautiful. Due to all the rains we’ve been having this year, Death Valley has become a completely different park covered in greenery, wildflowers and water just about everywhere you look. Unfortunately, this may be a once in a lifetime experience and if it is, I am certainly glad that I got a chance to see and experience it for myself.

Saratoga Springs
Starting from the southern border, my family, friends and I decided to begin our expedition by breaking off Highway 127 before the small town of Shoshone and headed up into Death Valley by way of the well traveled and easy graded dirt road known as Harry Wade Road. Aside from our desire to get off the pavement sooner than later, we had planned to make our first stop at Saratoga Springs which is only about 10 miles off the highway.

Saratoga Springs is home to three all-year ponds and home to one the several varieties of Pupfish. Apparently, these ponds are also a seasonal habitat for a multitude of migratory birds. As we made our approach to the springs, the road leading to it progressively got wetter, stickier and eventually turned into a deep soup of chocolate pudding about a mile from the parking area. By the looks of things, several SUV had attempted to make the crossing but got bogged down, backed out, parked their vehicles and then its occupants hiked the rest of the way in. After accessing the situation, we decided to give it a go and with a little effort, we made our way through the muck without incident. Once at the parking area, you will still have to hike in about half a mile to reach the ponds. This oasis in the desert really is a odd gem in an otherwise harsh environment and it was especially beautiful this year with the addition of all the lovely desert wildflowers surrounding it. After spending a couple of hours hiking around Saratoga Springs, checking out the thousands of Pupfish, frogs and wildflowers, we decided to make our way to our next destination, the Armagosa River.

Armagosa River
Back on Harry Wade Road, we continued to make our way up north into the valley floor and about 17 miles later, we reached our next destination for this trip, the point where Harry Wade Road crosses the Armagosa River. So why was this particular point of such a keen interest to us? Well, it is in my opinion one of the best places to see the explosion of desert wildflowers (particularly the Desert Sunflower) in Death Valley. Unlike the display at Jubilee Pass and Ashford Mills area that was being touted as the best viewing area online and in the news, the Armagosa River area was little known to most and saw only two other vehicles the entire time we were there (as opposed to the hundreds if not thousands at the other locations). Standing at the edge of the flowing river and looking north, we were treated to a sea of golden wildflowers as far as the eye could see. I truly feel fortunate to have seen this amazing display and would be surprised if I ever saw it again. With the day waning, we decided to pack up our things and high tail it to Johnson Canyon which was our final destination of the day and where we would setup camp.

Hungry Bills Ranch
Making our way further north, we eventually hooked up to the 178, made our way past all the tourists and then turned back off the pavement on to West Side Road. Much like Harry Wade Road, this is a well maintained graded dirt road and you really can make good time on it. Johnson Canyon Road was only about 17 miles north of where we started and we got there in no time at all. This was a good thing as the drive up the Panamint Range is easy but very rough and slow going. To cover a short 10 mile distance, it probably took us easily over an hour, maybe two to reach the end. As you make your way up, be sure to look back ever now and then to take in the awesome view of the valley floor below. Towards the end of Johnson Canyon, the road became heavily rutted with a good size stream cutting though it and it was pretty much impassible to all but the most capable rigs. This last length of trail was a lot of fun and easy for my Jeep but I was blown away that my friends highly modified Sportsmobile 4×4 Van was able to keep up and without any signs of struggling. By the time we reached our campsite, the sun had already set behind the mountains. That night, we ate Brazilian style fillet mignon and then went to sleep to the sound of water rushing and frog croaking.

The next morning, we made sandwiches, packed up our Camelbacks, laced up our boots and set off for a 4 mile round trip hike up Johnson Canyon and to our destination for the day, Hungry Bills Ranch. Originally settled by Swiss farmers who grew fruits and vegetables for the gold miners at Panamint City just 10 miles to the west, the land was eventually homesteaded by a man from Shoshone named Hungry Bill. Anyway, on this day, the weather service was predicting a high of 95°F on the valley floor but due to the high altitude, I don’t think it ever got more than 75°F all day and thank God for it too. The well traveled foot trail up to Hungry Bills Ranch is beautiful with the 9,636 foot Sentinel Peak in the foreground, but it is also rugged and moderately strenuous with multiple water crossings (be prepared to get your feet very wet) along the way. Some of the sights you will see along the way is an old grinding wheel, sections of irragation channel, automobile parts, bits and pieces of farm equipment (please leave everything in place and DO NOT take any souvenirs) and orchards with a few trees still bearing fruit. However, one of the most interesting things we saw was a long and segmented stone wall leading all the way up to the ranch.

With the exception of a couple of stone ruins and stone wall encompassing a better part of the ranch, little remains at Hungry Bills Ranch. Much to my surprise, quite a few of the fruit trees here were still alive and budding. I also notices a lot of large animal droppings most likely from wild burros feeding on the fine grasses in the semi-enclosed and cleared field left behind. Within the ruins, you should see remnants of an old cast iron stove, wash bucket and even some farm tools. Again, please leave everything in places.

After a pleasant lunch and a nap on some boulders while we let our socks and shoes dry, we made our way back to camp and to dinner.

Bad Water
The following morning and last day in Death Valley, we packed up camp early and headed back down into the sweltering heat. Back at West End Road, we headed north until it hooked back up to the 178 and then headed south to Bad Water.

Bad water sits at 279.8 feet below sea level and is the lowest place accessible by vehicle in the western hemisphere. The area immediately adjacent to the parking area is filled with small pools of spring fed water year round but on most years, the salt flats to the west are completely dry, hard as a rock, white as snow and in some spots, uniquely sculpted. On a few of my visits to this area, the salt flats were covered with about an inch of water and you could walk out for what seemed like miles in it. However, for the very first time in my life, this place was completely full with knee deep water! It would seem that the bottom of Death Valley had become a Lake Death Valley with people kayaking on it. In all my years of visiting this wonderful place, this was by far the most stunning and unusual sight I had ever seen.

Darwin Falls
Leaving Bad Water, we headed north again, hooked up to the 190, gassed up at Furnace Creek, passed Stovepipe Wells and then made our way over the Panamint Range. Just on the opposite side of the Panamint Valley, we turned off on to a small dirt road and made our way to the last destination for the trip, Darwin Falls.

Of all our stops, this was maybe the most disappointing. Getting to the year round falls itself requires a short and easy 1 mile hike but at least when we were there, the trail was muddy from heavy foot traffic and there were just tons of people everywhere… Not exactly my idea of fun.

Leaving Darwin Falls, we headed back to the Panamint Valley and then headed south to Ridgecrest. After a pleasant dinner at a local Mexican joint, we headed on home.

In all my years of visiting this incredible place we call Death Valley, I think it’s fair to say that this was by far the very best trip I had ever experienced. I absolutely love this place and I’m always blown away by the life it has and the life it gives to me.

If you have any questions about my trip and/or about Death Valley in general, please feel free to contact me by email.