Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

1 Palm I N Spr. y o '\I po. \, \, M ~"l T S. H W y 3 9 5 N • 30 1. By-Pass to Death Valley 2. Salt Tram 3. Hunter Mt.-San Lucas Cyn. Jet. 4. Dawin Falls During the late '70s silver ore began to wane and zinc was discovered in 1879. With zinc unimponant, the town lay stagnant for many yean. A few hardy and stubborn souls poked in the' thin and elusive ore veins and eeked out a bare living. In 1906 the Great Western Ore and Reduction Company arrived and knowing what to do with zinc, a minor boom staned. A tramway was built in 1907 and it moved 50 tons per day. This was not effective so a new Leschen aerial tram· way was completed in 1915. It was panly dismantled in 1959. Most of it now lays in a dump in Nevada. The new tram was 29.560 feet long. Some of the towen still stand and up one narrow side canyon an ore bucket swings on ill rusting cable. 1956 is the year Cerro Gordo's life came to an e.nd according to the historians. Through the yean 700 claims were filed on the bill. The minen punched more than 59 miles of tunnel into the mountain. If the bill could be X·ra,ed, it would appear to be a honeycomb. As we pulled up to the center of town we met colorful Barbara Smith. one of the owners. We had an inter· esting chat covering the past and even the future of her town. Barbara gave us permission to ride out to the Morn· ing Star Mine, 1.5 miles to the south. The view from here, down the moun· tain and out across the Owens Valley to the Sierras, is almost unreal. Back in town we checked out the hotel, poked around Beaudry's smelter and some machinery dumps. These dumps would be a collector's paradise. Back on the bikes we bid goodbye to Barbara, saying we'd see her again in a couple of days. We retraced our route back down San Lucas Canyon and ar· rived in Darwin tired and a bit dUlly. It was the end of an interesting and nOltaIgic day, The Deltt ~ dawned b . ht and cool. A~~ were on the :!es and headed for the hot springs in the bottom of Saline Valley. This turned into a 122-mile round trip and the temperature reached a very warm 95°. We retraced our previous day's route for 19 miles, turned right at the White Talc Road and headed up to Hunter Mountain. At the junction of the Hunt· er Mountain Road and the Saline Valley Road go left and stan down Grapevine Canyon. The sign here is also gone. With so many missing signs I wonder if it's vandals or the BLM. From the top of Grapevine Canyon it's a 4800 foot drop in the next 24 miles. It was on this tri P we had to carry extra fuel for my panner's 560. His pack was full of camera gear. so with a gallon on my front fender strapped to the number plate and one in my knap· sack, I was a tad uncomfonable. I don't recommend carrying fuel in this manner but Areo hasn't seen fit to sell gas in the area. The ride down Grape· vine Canyon was super. marred only by what seemed like tons of burro muffins on the road. We saw about 15 burros on this trip. mostly down by the dry lake. After clearing the canyon plus a few miles we reach the road going east into Death Valley. Called the "by-pass." it is seldom used. Its condition will tell you why. I got rid of the gas on the fender. The 560 drank it all. I was counting on at least !l0 miles per gallon. Later we figured it was getting 24. Continuing nonh and east we headed for the dry lake 14 miles ahead. On its edge you'll see the remnants of the 'Saline Valley Salt Tram. Here you are at the lowest part of the ride and are at about 1000 feet in elevation. Looking almost due south you see some of the towen as they go up Daisy Canyon. I'll cover the history of the tram later as we rode to its sum· mit station on the last day. From where the tram croaed the road. continue nonh 2.6 miles to the south road going to the hot springs. This junction is easy to miss. With just a pipe as a marker, mileages are a prime IDlponance. A good odometer is very helpful. After the right turn, the next 7.8 miles were rutted and dusty but fun. Don't try it if it's muddy; 4X4s are known to have gotten stuck. On reaching the spring, the water and the shade were a welcome sight. The skinny dipping young lady wasn't bad either. The hot spring is one of nature's anomalies. Here in this parched land. to find a spring is a real treat. But in this canyon there are three. The fiTSt is Lower Warm Spring, up the road .7 miles is Palm Spring. Then, 2 plus miles is Upper Warm Spring. Most use Lower Warm Spring due to the abundant shade. The pools have been cement lined and are super. We rode past and on up to Palm Spring and its two pools which were lined beautifully with cement and rocks by a motorcycle group. They did a SlIperb job. The only bum· mer is that there is no shade, only two very small palm trees. We returned to Lower Warm Spring, met a scooter rider camping there and were invited for a soak. It was worth every mile of the ride. Later with regrets we left, vowing to return another day. The people we met here were wonderful. If you go please bring you good mannen, leave guns at home. and take only your trash when you leave. Sounds fair. doesn't it? We added the last gallon of fuel I'd carried and when we finally returned to Darwin the !l6O had only a quaner of an inch left in the tank. Figure your gas consumption very close on this trip. On the way out we used what is called the Painted Rock Road (Warm Springs Road on most maps). From the spring it's 2.5 miles to a fork, go right. Then head west 4.5 miles to the main road. Tum left and head south. This route is 5.2 miles funher than the one used going in. On the way back we stopped in lower Grapevine Canyon and laid in the shade for awhile to give our poor buns a welcome rest. This was the longest one day trip we've made. The 122 miles with the heat, rough road and such it seemed twice as far. I had estimated this ride at 121.8, missing it by only .2 of a mile. Maybe riding. around the muffms made the difference. Darwin was a welcome sight and after a couple of gimlets I was ready for the next day. The photographer was happy and rested after an hour's nap. The third ride was over to the once famous town of Lookout and its also famous Modoc Mines. We used the same route as the Darwin Falls ride but continued an extra 2.4 miles out to Highway 190. We turned right and went 5.6 miles to the Panamint Valley Road. Turn right again and proceed 7.6 miles to a sign on the right reading Minietta Mine. This last 11.2 miles is on pavement. Traffic is usually ~ry light. We didn't see any "bean" but it's best to be legal. At the sign turn right for another !l.6 miles. The road coming in on the left is the famous "Shotgun Road" built by Remi Nadeau. Go right, then bearing left head up a newly graded road. Don't let the newness fool you; it's very soft and super rocky. Go three miles and in the narrow canyon you'll come to a three fork junction. Take the left road. Follow it around the hill and in 1.7 miles you come to Lookout. Along the way notice the rock walls holding up the road. What a wonderful piece of workmanship. Lookout was founded about 1875 with the discovery of the Modoc Mine. At one time it was owned by Senator George Hearst, the father of William Randolph Hearst of newspaper fame. • t r f The "Shotgun Road" you passed and used pans of was built to supply Look· out. Twenty miles north of Trona after dropping out of the Slate Range the road follows the base of the Argus Mountains. For the next 20 miles it runs almost in a straight line. The kilns in Wildrose Canyon across the Panamint Valley were built in 1877 to supply charcoal for Lookout's smelten. In 188!l the Minnietta Mine was the area's "glory hole." It lasted until 1918. It appean now to be back in operation on a limited scale. The view from Lookout Mountain is awesome, !l6O degrees of high mountains and deep valleys. Round trip on this ride is 64.6 miles. You can return to Highway 190 by using the road on the west side of the Ash Hills. But be prepared for rocks, hub deep sand and plain crud for eight miles. I'm not into S&M so we returned by the same route used coming in. Back at Darwin, we loaded up all our gear and hit a motel in Lone Pine to clean up a bit and panake of a filet dinner at Margie·s. My panner said it sure beats the chili beans and triskets. The next morning we were up at the crack of dawn, bulked up on pancakes, then trailered the bikes south to Keeler on the eastern edge of Owens Dry Lake. The town founded in 1881 as Hawley, its name was changed to Keeler after 1885 when the Carson and Colorado Railroad set up shop. Keeler was the superintendent of the railroad. The railroad really made the town and when it left in 1960, Keeler slowly died. The old station is ~till standing but in a state of slow decay. We parked alongside the old station and prepared for our last ride. On this trip we are going to ascend 'the infamous "Yellow Grade" to Cerro Gordo. The original stan of the road is a mile or so to the nonh but is now in disrepair and impassable. Cross Highway 1!l6 and stan up the road signed Cerro Gordo Road. From here it's a 4500 foot climb in the next 7.6 miles. Shonly after leaving Keeler you pass on the right the ruins of the Four Metals Mining Company smelter. Ride over and take a look. Continuing up, think what a ride this must have been in a wooden wagon. The heavily laden wagons had to have steel skids chained to their wheels to avoid runaways when coming down. About halfway up you pass the tram coming down from the Morning Star Mine we visited the fint day. When we reached Cerro Gordo we met Jack Smith, the other owner. After discussing road conditions and more area history we took off for the Salt Tram Summit Station. 7.5 miles to the north. The fiTSt 1.5 miles is very rocky and slick in places. Watch the edge, for it's a long way down. Soon we drop into what bas been referred to by other writeIl as a "tranquil valley."It's a steep canyon with about a 500 foot drop. The way down is not had but going up the other side is a terror. You'll find a loose, rocky, rutted, tree· branches· hanging - across-the-road. many-tree-lirnbs-about·face-high, crummy road. On the 185 it was a low gear, red lined pull, with a couple of tank s1appen thrown in. The 560 rooster tailed a few spots, pitching rocks clear back to Kern County. Both of us agree that this section is not a ride for a novice. Once on top it's a super ride along the crest of the Inyos out to the sum· mit station. During this pan you pass the highest .point of the ride, an elevation of some 9200 feet. Soon the station pops into view. As we climbed off the bikes a cold and chilly wind came up. As we viewed the ruins, much food for thought was given to the toughness of the old timen who came and fought to exist here. The summen are blistering hot. Saline Valley is maybe the hottest

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