ROFs Do Death Valley 2019
- Thread starter moto-treks
- Start date
moto-treks
On the road
(If you missed the day 1 post you can read it here)
The next morning I awoke to the smell of fresh coffee. Tino, who must be an early riser, had a pot of coffee brewing; he treated us to fresh coffee and Baileys every morning during the trip. I informed the group that since we were two days ahead of schedule we could take a side trip and head into Middle Park before arriving at the ghost town of Ballarat.
The road up South Park Canyon gained elevation pretty quickly as it snaked up the mountain side. It seemed like every corner provided breathtaking views of Panamint Valley.
4 1/2 miles later your reach Stone and Briggs Cabin. These two cabins are well maintain and would make a great place to spend the night - if they are available. We met two gentlemen staying in Briggs cabin. They had been coming up here for years and filled us in on some of the trivia of the area.
They also assured us that Chicken Rock was much easier than a few years ago due to someone “working” on the obstacle. Oh, and the timber bridge across the ravine had been replaced so no worries with that either.
The next morning I awoke to the smell of fresh coffee. Tino, who must be an early riser, had a pot of coffee brewing; he treated us to fresh coffee and Baileys every morning during the trip. I informed the group that since we were two days ahead of schedule we could take a side trip and head into Middle Park before arriving at the ghost town of Ballarat.
The road up South Park Canyon gained elevation pretty quickly as it snaked up the mountain side. It seemed like every corner provided breathtaking views of Panamint Valley.
4 1/2 miles later your reach Stone and Briggs Cabin. These two cabins are well maintain and would make a great place to spend the night - if they are available. We met two gentlemen staying in Briggs cabin. They had been coming up here for years and filled us in on some of the trivia of the area.
Stone Cabin
They also assured us that Chicken Rock was much easier than a few years ago due to someone “working” on the obstacle. Oh, and the timber bridge across the ravine had been replaced so no worries with that either.
moto-treks
On the road
When I first read about the Pleasant Canyon loop trail it talked about starting from Pleasant Valley which means traveling in the opposite direction from our path. After that group navigated Chicken Rock they mentioned travel up that section of the trail would be more difficult. I’ve always preferred to navigate up obstacles than down so I was glad we were starting from South Park Canyon. This was especially true with traversing the narrow shelf road to Chicken Rock. Traveling up the shelf road puts the driver side closest to the drop-off so not only do you get a nice view down the canyon but you can see how close your tires are to the edge. Had we come the other way one would need to cling to the uphill side of the road and hope the passenger tire doesn’t slip off the side.
I had Phil do the spotting for me and when I returned he had already completed the obstacle. Next up was Ace.
Followed by Tino
With all safe and sound and the adrenaline pumping we continued up the trail to Middle Park.
I had Phil do the spotting for me and when I returned he had already completed the obstacle. Next up was Ace.
Followed by Tino
With all safe and sound and the adrenaline pumping we continued up the trail to Middle Park.
moto-treks
On the road
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moto-treks
On the road
This TR will be on hold while I spend the next few months on Baja.