Steel Pass; Being First
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
After deciding to cut short our visit to Eureka Dunes we got back in our Xterra 4x4 and started climbing toward Dedeckera Canyon and the Steel Pass, aiming to make camp in one of the natural hot springs in Saline Valley. Although we were following a "road" we knew from visiting years ago that this was a very remote part of Death Valley and one of the toughest roads in the park.
As the route wound around Eureka Dunes it changed from a graded dirt-and-gravel road to a rutted dirt road. As we traveled further the ruts started filling in with sand. Soon the sand was so deep it was unclear how far down solid ground lay. In places a fine layer of dark gray sand covered the beige sand, leading us to wonder how many days had passed since anyone drove this route.
As we climbed up the alluvial fan of Dedeckera Canyon solid ground reappeared beneath our wheels. The canyon narrowed into a series of switchbacks, with walls 20' apart and over 100' high. In most places the canyon bottom was gravel and small boulders, but in a few narrow pinch points -- some barely more than 5' wide -- we had to climb over small rocky ledges.
Here's our approach to one of the narrow sections. You can see the series of ledges we have to traverse:
A little bit of scouting was necessary to pick the best line. Then... alley-oop! Up and over the rocks with nary a scratch.
Compared to what the Xterra is capable of even in stock form, these rocks are a 7 or 8 on a scale of 1-10.
The canyon quickly opened up into the Steel Pass above, and the road smoothed out. "Smooth" is a relative term, of course, as the road was still dirt with loose gravel and small boulders. Here's us going climbing toward the top of Steel Pass:
As we rose past 5,000' elevation we crossed patches of snow on the trail. You can see tiny patches in the picture above; there were much bigger patches where the trail lay in deep shade. The snow across the trail showed no tracks. Since the snow fell two nights earlier, that meant we were the first to pass this way for at least 2 days if not longer.
There's always a special feeling that comes from doing something first. Being the first to experience something. Being the pioneer who discovered it. When it comes to places, though, there's virtually nowhere on the surface of the earth today a person can claim being the first to experience. Certainly anyone following an established trail, like I did today, knows they're not first. But having "first tracks" gave me a small bit of satisfaction. A tiny taste of what it's like to discover the undiscovered.
After deciding to cut short our visit to Eureka Dunes we got back in our Xterra 4x4 and started climbing toward Dedeckera Canyon and the Steel Pass, aiming to make camp in one of the natural hot springs in Saline Valley. Although we were following a "road" we knew from visiting years ago that this was a very remote part of Death Valley and one of the toughest roads in the park.
As the route wound around Eureka Dunes it changed from a graded dirt-and-gravel road to a rutted dirt road. As we traveled further the ruts started filling in with sand. Soon the sand was so deep it was unclear how far down solid ground lay. In places a fine layer of dark gray sand covered the beige sand, leading us to wonder how many days had passed since anyone drove this route.
As we climbed up the alluvial fan of Dedeckera Canyon solid ground reappeared beneath our wheels. The canyon narrowed into a series of switchbacks, with walls 20' apart and over 100' high. In most places the canyon bottom was gravel and small boulders, but in a few narrow pinch points -- some barely more than 5' wide -- we had to climb over small rocky ledges.
Here's our approach to one of the narrow sections. You can see the series of ledges we have to traverse:
A little bit of scouting was necessary to pick the best line. Then... alley-oop! Up and over the rocks with nary a scratch.
Compared to what the Xterra is capable of even in stock form, these rocks are a 7 or 8 on a scale of 1-10.
The canyon quickly opened up into the Steel Pass above, and the road smoothed out. "Smooth" is a relative term, of course, as the road was still dirt with loose gravel and small boulders. Here's us going climbing toward the top of Steel Pass:
As we rose past 5,000' elevation we crossed patches of snow on the trail. You can see tiny patches in the picture above; there were much bigger patches where the trail lay in deep shade. The snow across the trail showed no tracks. Since the snow fell two nights earlier, that meant we were the first to pass this way for at least 2 days if not longer.
There's always a special feeling that comes from doing something first. Being the first to experience something. Being the pioneer who discovered it. When it comes to places, though, there's virtually nowhere on the surface of the earth today a person can claim being the first to experience. Certainly anyone following an established trail, like I did today, knows they're not first. But having "first tracks" gave me a small bit of satisfaction. A tiny taste of what it's like to discover the undiscovered.