Last weekend, to ring in the New Year, our 4-door Wrangler had some dusty fun. A three day, 854 mile road trip which included salt flats, living ghost towns, dry river washes, abandoned mines.......and did i mention a water crossing or two?
To start, the Jeep was one half of a two-truck, 5 passenger caravan that was very similar to a trip taken one year earlier. The plan was to travel from Los Angeles to Death Valley National Park, and celebrate the dawn of 2008. This time though, we took a more scenic and remote route, that included 131 miles of unpaved trails and backroads.
Day One - Randsburg and the Grass Valley Trail
After a quick loading of gear in the driveway and coffee in the cupholders, we were on our way up to Randsburg, CA. Randsburg is considered a living ghost town, and really, it is. The gold mines are still active, and the center of town has absolutely no pre-fab or amusement park feeling about it. We were lucky to get into the amazing White House Saloon, order bowls of chili, and leave before the waves and waves of green-sticker bikes and quads filled the town.
Within a hour, we were at the start of the Grass Valley trail. The Grass Valley trail is long (50.6 miles) and mostly easygoing, but there are a couple of short sections where a high-clearance 4WD was needed due to tight canyons and chunks o' granite. The Jeep did well. I was surprised how well it rode at speed on the rutted and slightly rocky road surfaces (even with the tires not aired down). The steering felt tight when dodging Joshuas on the sandy stuff, and it handled the chunky stuff with no problems. The last 20 miles of the trail were softer, but entirely made up of whoop-de-do's.....now normally, in a short wheelbase vehicle, these can get real old, real quick. With the longer wheelbase of this truck, the front/back motion was more subdued, more like a slow roll. Nobody got sick, and by sundown we were back on pavement and heading north to our lodging in Lone Pine, CA.
Day Two - Saline Valley Road
Woke up in Lone Pine, filled-up in Big Pine, and jumped onto Saline Valley Road. This mostly dirt road is even longer (91.4 miles), but MUCH more scenic and historic. The road surface is OK for 2WD high-clearance vehicles, but at the higher elevations snow and ice could require chains. This trail was technically easier to manage than Grass Valley, but twice as long and more remote. No 7-11's, no gas, no nuthin'.....for miles and miles.........Ah, nature.
As the day before, the Jeep handled it all with ease....The ride included gorgeous views, sand dunes, abandoned mines, and salt flats. Now mind you, this wasn't a torture test. The daytime temp wasn't 120 - it went from freezing to the mid 70's. The one thing that we noticed along this trek is how detailed the Nav system's map was. Saline Valley Rd. was on the map, as well as every track running off of it. When in doubt of a missed turn, we were able to cross check our displayed GPS coordinates to the ones listed in our guide book.........Ah, technology.
Day Three - Darwin Falls
After camping at Panamint Springs for the night, we loaded up for our trip home. Loading and unloading - now this is when it gets tricky. Nobody liked the soft top. Unzipping the sides to pull the back window out of the way got to be a real pain. We ended up putting more gear in the other truck just to make things easier. I understand the idea of a Wrangler is to have the freedom of the open top and all that.....but in my opinion, the removable hardtop (with the flip-up rear glass) is the way to go.
On the way out, we were able to take Old Toll Rd along the Darwin Canyon Wash and park for a quick hike up to Darwin Falls. (Water in Death Valley?) This surface was easygoing and very short compared to the last two trails, but honestly, that was fine with me.
Off-road, the Jeep it was a pleasure for everybody riding in it, I preferred the longer wheelbase, and the detail of the Nav maps were a plus. On-road, I felt the V-6 was underpowered up a grade, but was pleasantly surprised it averaged 18.14 mpg over the whole trip.
I was happy with our Wrangler, but when it comes to loading and unloading gear via the soft top - like a mule, It seemed bit a stubborn.
John Adolph, Video Production Specialist @ 10,480 miles
Day One - Randsburg and the Grass Valley Trail
After a quick loading of gear in the driveway and coffee in the cupholders, we were on our way up to Randsburg, CA. Randsburg is considered a living ghost town, and really, it is. The gold mines are still active, and the center of town has absolutely no pre-fab or amusement park feeling about it. We were lucky to get into the amazing White House Saloon, order bowls of chili, and leave before the waves and waves of green-sticker bikes and quads filled the town.
Within a hour, we were at the start of the Grass Valley trail. The Grass Valley trail is long (50.6 miles) and mostly easygoing, but there are a couple of short sections where a high-clearance 4WD was needed due to tight canyons and chunks o' granite. The Jeep did well. I was surprised how well it rode at speed on the rutted and slightly rocky road surfaces (even with the tires not aired down). The steering felt tight when dodging Joshuas on the sandy stuff, and it handled the chunky stuff with no problems. The last 20 miles of the trail were softer, but entirely made up of whoop-de-do's.....now normally, in a short wheelbase vehicle, these can get real old, real quick. With the longer wheelbase of this truck, the front/back motion was more subdued, more like a slow roll. Nobody got sick, and by sundown we were back on pavement and heading north to our lodging in Lone Pine, CA.
Day Two - Saline Valley Road
Woke up in Lone Pine, filled-up in Big Pine, and jumped onto Saline Valley Road. This mostly dirt road is even longer (91.4 miles), but MUCH more scenic and historic. The road surface is OK for 2WD high-clearance vehicles, but at the higher elevations snow and ice could require chains. This trail was technically easier to manage than Grass Valley, but twice as long and more remote. No 7-11's, no gas, no nuthin'.....for miles and miles.........Ah, nature.
As the day before, the Jeep handled it all with ease....The ride included gorgeous views, sand dunes, abandoned mines, and salt flats. Now mind you, this wasn't a torture test. The daytime temp wasn't 120 - it went from freezing to the mid 70's. The one thing that we noticed along this trek is how detailed the Nav system's map was. Saline Valley Rd. was on the map, as well as every track running off of it. When in doubt of a missed turn, we were able to cross check our displayed GPS coordinates to the ones listed in our guide book.........Ah, technology.
Day Three - Darwin Falls
After camping at Panamint Springs for the night, we loaded up for our trip home. Loading and unloading - now this is when it gets tricky. Nobody liked the soft top. Unzipping the sides to pull the back window out of the way got to be a real pain. We ended up putting more gear in the other truck just to make things easier. I understand the idea of a Wrangler is to have the freedom of the open top and all that.....but in my opinion, the removable hardtop (with the flip-up rear glass) is the way to go.
On the way out, we were able to take Old Toll Rd along the Darwin Canyon Wash and park for a quick hike up to Darwin Falls. (Water in Death Valley?) This surface was easygoing and very short compared to the last two trails, but honestly, that was fine with me.
Off-road, the Jeep it was a pleasure for everybody riding in it, I preferred the longer wheelbase, and the detail of the Nav maps were a plus. On-road, I felt the V-6 was underpowered up a grade, but was pleasantly surprised it averaged 18.14 mpg over the whole trip.
I was happy with our Wrangler, but when it comes to loading and unloading gear via the soft top - like a mule, It seemed bit a stubborn.
John Adolph, Video Production Specialist @ 10,480 miles
daytona_500 says:
07:08 PM, 01/ 7/08
Nice pictures!
opfreak says:
07:15 PM, 01/ 7/08
for once, the jeep is in its perfect home. probably one of the few suv's, i would have considered doing this in.
you should have stolen the compass as well and compared
estreka says:
07:54 PM, 01/ 7/08
Excellent trip. I must say I'm envious.
skierx420 says:
09:56 AM, 01/ 8/08
Yes! The Jeep Gets DIRTY! I agree that the hard top is the way to go. The only bad thing is that the hard top is also not easy to remove either, its kind of heavy. I would by both tops if I could. Keep the hard top on most of the time and only put the soft top on for summertime fun only.
mopar424 says:
10:17 AM, 01/ 8/08
I agree, the dual top option would have been beneficial (allowing you to stow the fabric top under the hardtop). The main picture for this post is awesome, good job.
thebigal says:
11:33 AM, 01/ 8/08
'bout time the Jeep got used as Jeep should be...
dadoftay says:
04:42 PM, 01/10/08
Great article! A good look at the true use of a vehicle with likes/dislikes, a little personal opinion and mpg stats. Sounds like you guys had a nice trip too.