And now I am even more envious!(nm)

Posted by Fedora from ppp-71.col.cableone.net on October 15, 2000 at 19:33:49:

In Reply to: Adventure to Death Valley posted by MK on October 15, 2000 at 18:17:26:

: Here is my report of our expedition. Pictures to follow. Hopefully today.

: Yes, I have survived. The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated. I have been to Death Valley and lived to tell. Four men, two trucks and one fedora ventured into the desolate desert valley of death for fun and adventure. Not on a computer, TV or theatre screen, but the real thing. There were guns, campfires and mine shafts.

: We departed long before dawn. Stopped in Mojave for breakfast, to refuel and pick up our last provisions. Near Olancha we left the highway for a road less traveled.

: Our first stop: The Lee Mines. Above ground it is barley noticeable, but beneath the earth it is a catacomb of rock and timbre braces. A pitch-dark labyrinth with tunnels and shafts going in every direction. No sooner then we entered the mine, we were met by a swarm of bats. We went up and down ladders and even crawled on our bellies at times. Some of the passages had caved in forcing us to turn back and try another. Every so often an eerie beam of light peeked down from airshafts. We found old cans and boxes circa 50-60's that had been discarded by the miners. Also an old makeshift drug lab that was obviously used by the Nazis after the mine had been abandoned. Well… it could have been Nazis J

: Returning to the surface we had lunch and set out for Saline Valley road. Now, it is a road I suppose, but a "washboard" is a more accurate definition. Lesser vehicles would have rattled every screw and bolt out down to the frame.

: The turn off to the Lippincott Lead Mine road has an old faded sign posted warning drivers to beware: Only 4X4 vehicles with high clearance. The road is not maintained. Proceed at your own risk. This is really an understatement. This trail makes the previous road look like a four-lane highway. It is a road cut into the side of the mountain. Time and erosion has made it very, very narrow and pot holed. On one side you have rock and the other the cliff. This is not a road for amateurs. To err would bring grave consequences. The going was slow and sometimes painful. Most of the time was spent in first gear. We scraped frames, axles and oil pans. Sometimes stalling having to back down and trying again. For those of you who have been on the Indy ride at Disneyland, the ride compares about as close as those fiberglass dime horsy rides in front of a supermarket to a real bucking rodeo horse. It wasn't just two minutes either. It was a long hard hour to the top, but the Land Cruiser and 4-Runner performed admirably and arrived intact.

: The Lippincott Lead Mine was worth the effort. The best mines are usually the ones hardiest to reach. We set up camp and roasted weenies on the fire for our chilidogs. When night fell we geared up for the mine. We entered the mouth of the mine that enters horizontally and explored the various tunnels. We came to a vertical shaft with wooden ladders descending down into the abyss. Each ladder would take you to the next platform 10-20 feet below. Now, when I say platform, this is not something you can jump up and down on with plenty of room. These were a few precarious wooden planks between the walls of the shaft with a few wedges pried in, which seemed to defy gravity. Sometimes you had to really stretch to get your foot into just the right place. We spaced ourselves so that we had a couple of levels between us. There was good reason for this: Now and again we would inadvertently send rubble tumbling down below. If you heard rocks coming from the guy above you, there was time to move. More then once the top of my fedora filled up with gravel (good argument for wide brims). On the way down we saw the carcasses of rabbits and other critters and wondered what caused thier death. We hoped not to share their destiny. We had descended about 200 feet into the bowls of the earth when we reached the bottom. There was a letter that went something like: For those who make it down here. “This shaft was mined in 1965 by Phil Lippincott and Ray (somebody) in search of better lead ore.” Also there was a letter from some guys who came down in the 70’s. I too had been there before and found the letter I had written. Too my surprise, I found a business card I had left. It had a date on it of 10-15-90. It was almost ten years to the day! We wrote a new letter about our current expedition and I left another card with the new date 10-7-2000. Having finished we started our cautious climb back. Reaching the night air we were thankful to return in one piece and had a drink to celebrate our adventure. Ian and I slept under the stars on our cots. The other cherries slept in a tent J.

: As I bedded down for the night, I un-holster my gun and placed it under my sleeping bag beneath my head. My fedora now looked like the movie hat from all the action. I laid down and saw stars in the night sky that one never sees in the city. The low burning fire was crackling and the smell of wood burning was soothing. I smiled quietly to myself with that content satisfied feeling of being on adventure…………no words.

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: : Here is my report of our expedition. Pictures to follow. Hopefully today.

: : Yes, I have survived. The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated. I have been to Death Valley and lived to tell. Four men, two trucks and one fedora ventured into the desolate desert valley of death for fun and adventure. Not on a computer, TV or theatre screen, but the real thing. There were guns, campfires and mine shafts.

: : We departed long before dawn. Stopped in Mojave for breakfast, to refuel and pick up our last provisions. Near Olancha we left the highway for a road less traveled.

: : Our first stop: The Lee Mines. Above ground it is barley noticeable, but beneath the earth it is a catacomb of rock and timbre braces.  A pitch-dark labyrinth with tunnels and shafts going in every direction. No sooner then we entered the mine, we were met by a swarm of bats. We went up and down ladders and even crawled on our bellies at times. Some of the passages had caved in forcing us to turn back and try another. Every so often an eerie beam of light peeked down from airshafts.  We found old cans and boxes circa 50-60's that had been discarded by the miners. Also an old makeshift drug lab that was obviously used by the Nazis after the mine had been abandoned.  Well… it could have been Nazis J

: : Returning to the surface we had lunch and set out for Saline Valley road. Now, it is a road I suppose, but a "washboard" is a more accurate definition. Lesser vehicles would have rattled every screw and bolt out down to the frame.

: : The turn off to the Lippincott Lead Mine road has an old faded sign posted warning drivers to beware: Only 4X4 vehicles with high clearance. The road is not maintained. Proceed at your own risk. This is really an understatement. This trail makes the previous road look like a four-lane highway. It is a road cut into the side of the mountain. Time and erosion has made it very, very narrow and pot holed. On one side you have rock and the other the cliff. This is not a road for amateurs. To err would bring grave consequences. The going was slow and sometimes painful.  Most of the time was spent in first gear. We scraped frames, axles and oil pans. Sometimes stalling having to back down and trying again. For those of you who have been on the Indy ride at Disneyland, the ride compares about as close as those fiberglass dime horsy rides in front of a supermarket to a real bucking rodeo horse. It wasn't just two minutes either. It was a long hard hour to the top, but the Land Cruiser and 4-Runner performed admirably and arrived intact.

: : The Lippincott Lead Mine was worth the effort.  The best mines are usually the ones hardiest to reach. We set up camp and roasted weenies on the fire for our chilidogs. When night fell we geared up for the mine. We entered the mouth of the mine that enters horizontally and explored the various tunnels. We came to a vertical shaft with wooden ladders descending down into the abyss. Each ladder would take you to the next platform 10-20 feet below. Now, when I say platform, this is not something you can jump up and down on with plenty of room. These were a few precarious wooden planks between the walls of the shaft with a few wedges pried in, which seemed to defy gravity. Sometimes you had to really stretch to get your foot into just the right place. We spaced ourselves so that we had a couple of levels between us. There was good reason for this: Now and again we would inadvertently send rubble tumbling down below. If you heard rocks coming from the guy above you, there was time to move. More then once the top of my fedora filled up with gravel (good argument for wide brims). On the way down we saw the carcasses of rabbits and other critters and wondered what caused thier death. We hoped not to share their destiny. We had descended about 200 feet into the bowls of the earth when we reached the bottom. There was a letter that went something like: For those who make it down here. “This shaft was mined in 1965 by Phil Lippincott and Ray (somebody) in search of better lead ore.” Also there was a letter from some guys who came down in the 70’s. I too had been there before and found the letter I had written. Too my surprise, I found a business card I had left. It had a date on it of 10-15-90. It was almost ten years to the day! We wrote a new letter about our current expedition and I left another card with the new date 10-7-2000. Having finished we started our cautious climb back. Reaching the night air we were thankful to return in one piece and had a drink to celebrate our adventure. Ian and I slept under the stars on our cots. The other cherries slept in a tent J.

: : As I bedded down for the night, I un-holster my gun and placed it under my sleeping bag beneath my head. My fedora now looked like the movie hat from all the action. I laid down and saw stars in the night sky that one never sees in the city. The low burning fire was crackling and the smell of wood burning was soothing. I smiled quietly to myself with that content satisfied feeling of being on adventure…………no words.

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