Just finished our first week long trip in the Eagle on our 08 Frontier. (Link to pics at bottom, they look best at full screen) Dropped into Death Valley from the north off of NV266 on Sunday 5/23. Drove into Cucomungo Canyon which was signed closed due to a washout. Decided to check it out anyway and it was in great shape, had just been graded. Incredible fields of lupine throughout the entire canyon. Spent the night near the bottom of the canyon and then drove to the Eureka dunes. Hiked the dunes and actually heard them "sing" (more of a low pitched moan actually).
Headed south into Dedeckera Canyon and Steele Pass. Made it up the first step no problem but got hung up on the second. There is a steep, slick piece of bedrock that your right front tire climbs and it pushed our left rear bumper down to the ground and stopped us. Backed off a bit and did 20 minutes of shovel work then made it no problem. The rest was a tight squeeze but with my wife spotting we made it through with no damage. Dropped down into Saline Valley and camped at the Upper Warm Springs. Had a great soak and watched as thousands of bats appeared after sunset and skimmed the tub we were in to get water.
Next morning after another great soak and hot shower we headed south on the Saline Valley road. Many miles of hideous washboard took us up out of the valley to the Hunter Mountain road. Climbed east through pinyon and joshua trees and were able to replenish our cooler with snow then dropped down into Hidden Valley. It was windy but we camped in a little protected side valley with many wildflowers.
Wednesday we continued north through Hidden Valley to Teakettle Junction. Took the requisite pictures then headed south to the race track. It was dry so we hiked out onto the playa to see the wandering rocks. We had been warned not to try Lippincott but were inspired by the recent report of the 2wd Toyota that climbed it. What the hell, if they could go up it we could certainly go down! Turned out to be a non-event, it must be in as good a shape as it ever gets. We moved a few rocks in one steep loose section but overall did much less road work than we did in Steele Pass. Got back down to Saline and retraced our path south to Hunter. Went west this time and drove out to the 190 and thence to Lone Pine.
Spent Thursday sightseeing the area, mostly Manzanar and rock climbed in the Alabama Hills on Friday. Drove to LA Sat morning for a wedding then home to Reno on Sunday. Great trip and we had absolutely had no problem with our truck or camper. Looking forward to many more trips in our Eagle. We took lots of pics and I'll try to get some posted soon.
Pics at: http://dvtrip.shutterfly.com/pictures/9#9
Headed south into Dedeckera Canyon and Steele Pass. Made it up the first step no problem but got hung up on the second. There is a steep, slick piece of bedrock that your right front tire climbs and it pushed our left rear bumper down to the ground and stopped us. Backed off a bit and did 20 minutes of shovel work then made it no problem. The rest was a tight squeeze but with my wife spotting we made it through with no damage. Dropped down into Saline Valley and camped at the Upper Warm Springs. Had a great soak and watched as thousands of bats appeared after sunset and skimmed the tub we were in to get water.
Next morning after another great soak and hot shower we headed south on the Saline Valley road. Many miles of hideous washboard took us up out of the valley to the Hunter Mountain road. Climbed east through pinyon and joshua trees and were able to replenish our cooler with snow then dropped down into Hidden Valley. It was windy but we camped in a little protected side valley with many wildflowers.
Wednesday we continued north through Hidden Valley to Teakettle Junction. Took the requisite pictures then headed south to the race track. It was dry so we hiked out onto the playa to see the wandering rocks. We had been warned not to try Lippincott but were inspired by the recent report of the 2wd Toyota that climbed it. What the hell, if they could go up it we could certainly go down! Turned out to be a non-event, it must be in as good a shape as it ever gets. We moved a few rocks in one steep loose section but overall did much less road work than we did in Steele Pass. Got back down to Saline and retraced our path south to Hunter. Went west this time and drove out to the 190 and thence to Lone Pine.
Spent Thursday sightseeing the area, mostly Manzanar and rock climbed in the Alabama Hills on Friday. Drove to LA Sat morning for a wedding then home to Reno on Sunday. Great trip and we had absolutely had no problem with our truck or camper. Looking forward to many more trips in our Eagle. We took lots of pics and I'll try to get some posted soon.
Pics at: http://dvtrip.shutterfly.com/pictures/9#9
