Outdoor Adventure USA

Product Spotlight

Tonights product spotlight is on a book titled "Leave only footprints" written by Conor Knighton

Amazon Link and Amazon Price. $10.19

The book is about the author's quest to visit all the National Parks and document his adventure.

Excerpt from Amazon website:

"In Leave Only Footprints, Knighton shares informative and entertaining dispatches from what turned out to be the road trip of a lifetime. Whether he's waking up early for a naked scrub in a historic bathhouse in Arkansas or staying up late to stargaze along our loneliest highway in Nevada, Knighton weaves together the type of stories you're not likely to find in any guidebook. Through his unique lens, America the Beautiful becomes America the Captivating, the Hilarious, and the Inspiring. Along the way, he identifies the threads that tie these wildly different places together—and that tie us to nature—and reveals how his trip ended up changing his views on everything from God and love to politics and technology.

Filled with fascinating tidbits about our parks' past and reflections on their fragile future, this book is both a celebration of and a passionate case for the natural wonders that all Americans share."

This destination net is going to be a little different from our usually OAUSA destination nets. Because our group focuses on the outdoors most if not all of our destination nets are for areas accessible only by 4X4. The majority of this destination net is for 2 wheel drive vehicles with a small portion that is 4X4. It also started out as a destination net but morphed into a road trip net. I hope you like it.

So Why Trona?

To most of us that off-road, Trona is a meeting place where a group arranges to meet, gas up, and get any last minute supplies before heading to Death Valley, Mingle Pass, Panamint Mountain Range, or the other mirrored of off-road trails in the area.

In my case, it started when a friend (Gene) arranged for us to meet one of his ex neighbors who moved to Trona when they retired. Gene visited his ex neighbor a few times and they rode ATV's around the area.

Gene, knowing a few of us off-roaders, thought it would be fun to arrange a trip to Trona and have his friend show us the area.
After we set a date, Gene call his friend to schedule it. It turned out his ex neighbor had moved to Oregon. But the friend said to contact his ex neighbor and he would be more than happy to show us the area. Which happened. I will say the people we met in Trona were gracious and very accommodating.

The plan was for our four vehicles to leave the Orange County area, visit the Town of Randsburg and meet up with our host, see some sites, eat lunch, see some more sites, have dinner and then camp in our hosts backyard. Then the next day head to Bishop for Breakfast via Ballarate Ghost Town, Panamint Springs Resort, and Father Crowley Point (Star Wars Canyon).

As with a lot of our off-road plans they change, two of the vehicles canceled and that left us with two vehicles and only four people. so our host let us sleep on his living room floor instead of the backyard.

As it turns out we were in for a treat because our host connected with another friend and his wife who were in town for a High School reunion. Both had grown up in Trona.


A Little Trona History

Excerpt for Desert Times:

"In the late 1880’s the mining industry set up around the Searles Dry Lake area to mine borax; Trona was officially established in 1913 as a self-contained company town operated by its resident mining company to house employees who were paid in company scrip instead of cash. The company also built a library, a scrip-accepting grocery store, a school, basic housing and minimal recreation facilities. The Trona Railroad was built in 1913-14 to provide the town with rail connection to the Southern Pacific Railroad (now called Union Pacific Railroad) lines at Searles; the railway is still in operation today.

Trona’s most notable boom occurred during World War I when Trona was the only reliable American source of potash (an element used in the making of gun powder); Trona also served as a headquarters and base of operations for the Trona Railway which is a short-line railroad.

Trona is a seismically active area which was heavily damaged by the 2019 Ridgecrest Earthquake; the community is located in the Eastern California Shear Zone which is a seismically active zone that accommodates approximately 25% of the fault movement between the Pacific and North American Plates."

The Potash Wars of 1910 and the arrest of Wyatt Earp

S. Wallace Austin – January 26, 1929

The recent death of Wyatt Earp ( January 13, 1929) recalls to mind the part he played in the claim jumping expedition to Searles Lake in October 1910. At the time I was Acting Receiver for the California Trona Company and was in charge of a group of placer mining claims covering some 40,000 acres. The party had been organized at Los Angeles by Henry E. Lee, an Oakland attorney and probably was the best equipped gang of claim jumpers ever assembled in the west. It consisted of three complete crews of surveyors, the necessary helpers and laborers and about 20 armed guards or gunmen under the command of Wyatt Berry Stapp.

The party of 44 in number, arrived at Searles Lake in seven touring cars and established a camp at the abandoned town of “Slate Range City” about eight miles southeast of the company’s headquarters. On the morning following their arrival we saw some of the surveyors across the lake and our foreman road over and ordered them off the property but they paid no attention to his protest an proceeded to do a very thorough job or surveying and staking.
As I considered it necessary to make some show of force in protecting our claims, I visited the enemy’s camp at sunrise the next day with our whole force of five men who were armed with all the weapons they could collect. It was a very critical moment when we jumped from our wagon and walked up in front of the mess house where the raiders were assembled for breakfast. I stood in the center with my boys on either side of me. There was a shout and men came running from all directions and fearing there might be trouble.

I started right off to explain to the surveyors present that I had only come over to give notice that I was officially and legally in possession of the claims and that they were trespassers.

Before I got very far a tall man with iron grey hair and a mustache pushed his way to the front and in a loud voice demanded why I had come into their camp with armed men. At the same time he grabbed hold of my shotgun held by the boy on my left and attempted to take it away from him. At this attack upon us I drew an automatic and ordered him to let go. He did so and then ran to a building nearby saying “I’ll fix you.” Before he could secure a rifle, however, the cooler headed members of the party surrounded him and calmed him down. Also, you may be sure every effort was made to prevent a fight, as, in spite of our bold being, we were pretty badly scared.

Just as things seemed to have quieted down, one of the excited jumpers accidentally discharged a gun. No one was hurt but, it was a very tense moment for all of us. Having failed to dislodge the enemy the following day I called for a US Marshall and when he arrive the claim jumpers were all arrested and sent home including “Wyatt Berry Stapp”, none other than the famous Marshall Wyatt Stapp Earp.

Randsburg

Our first stop was the small town of Randsburg.

In 1896, Randsburg was called Rand Camp and was a combination of several old mining camps. Randsburg is considered a living ghost town

Randsburg and Red Mountain sprang from old mining camps. In 1896, Randsburg was called Rand Camp, and Red Mountain was originally called Osdick. Johannesburg was established in 1896 as the planned service community for the mining camps. It was the only Rand area town laid out with straight streets and right-angle intersections. All three towns still retain remnants of the past and have been able to maintain their unique ambiance through their efforts to renovate and preserve their history. California Historical Landmark number 938, the Rand Mining District signed October 12, 1958 is located in Randsburg and there is also a Museum that is open weekends and long weekend holidays, 10:00 AM to 5 PM.

Trona Pinnacles

From Wikipedia:
"The Trona Pinnacles are an unusual geological feature in the California Desert National Conservation Area.[1] The landscape consists of more than 500 tufa spires (porous rock formed as a deposit when springs interact with other bodies of water), some as high as 140 ft (43 m), rising from the bed of the Searles Lake (dry) basin. The pinnacles vary in size and shape from short and squat to tall and thin, and are composed primarily of calcium carbonate (tufa). They now sit isolated and slowly crumbling away near the south end of the valley, surrounded by many square miles of flat, dried mud and with stark mountain ranges at either side."

Pre-Covid over 30 film projects are shot in the Pinnacles including TV shows. movies, and car commercials such as Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Disney's Dinosaur, The Gate II: Trespassers, Lost in Space, and Planet of the Apes.

Trona Pinnacles are located north of highway 395 adjacent to Trona Road. The entrance is just east of the Trona Road and highway 178 junction.

Entrance Sign at the turnoff of highway 178/Trona Road
Pinnacles
The Pinnacles
The Eagle

Pictures and Discussion

From the Pinnacles we drove through the Town of Trona, took a left onto a dirt road that ended at a rock waterfall accessible by 4X4. I wish my pictures did this justice but they don't. According to our host this is just one of seven waterfalls that our upstream from this one. I also wish I had gotten a copy of a video of the waterfall and the massive amount of water cascading down it. We also learned that there have been a couple of weddings here. Wooden platform were built for the wedding party and guests the spring weddings. Platforms were removed afterword. I'm sure a spring wedding with all the wildflowers and desert beauty made for a beautiful wedding.

Rock out crop around waterfall, waterfall on right.

Waterfall
One of the pockets formed in rock by water.
Size perspective.
From Trona we traveled east toward on the Trona Wildrose Road (TW Road) toward Panamint Valley. Just before the TW Road starts up grade up the mountain is a flat area to the left that is full of water after it rains. If you are luck and it's dry you can turn left and find the target and arrow outlined in rocks. See below picture.

If you look to the north toward the mountain you will see an old shelf road that was used by the 29 Mule team wagons carrying borax from Death Valley.


Aerial View of Target Area
Heading east from the Target/Arrow up the grade there is a turnout at the top of the hill. From the turnout (blue circle) you can see the Panamint Valley. If you look closely at the red circle, the area is void of vegetation. According to our host the area outlined in read was a Chinese Camp. The camp was responsible for pushing the 29 Mule Team up the hill and help breaking the Team when descending the grade.

The next stop on our tour is Ballarat Ghost Town.
This is Tex Watson's Power Wagon from Manson Clan fame.


Instead of heading back to the Trona Wildrose Road use the dirt road heading north directly from Ballarat which parallels the Trona Wildrose Road. Most of the the year this road is suitable for a 2 wheel vehicle. Check with the Ballarat host about dirt road conditions. Along this road you will find a mailbox where you can mail your letters to ET. And across the road from the mailbox you will find the ET landing area.
The above dirt road connects with the Trona Wildrose Road just before the left turn to Panamint Valley Road. Take Panamint Valley road to Panamint Springs Resort where there is a gas station, restaurant, and restrooms.
From Panamint Resort head west toward Lone Pine stoping at Father Crawley Point.
If you time it right from Father Crawley Point you can watch jet planes fly through the canyon below you.
From Father Crawley Point, end your tip in Lone Pine.

Please check in -

John - KN6VL

Bruce - KD6GCO

A friend of mine, Tom Llewellyn (KN6IED), likes to go there for the dark skies to do some astrophotography. Here are some that he did of the Trona Pinnacles. Seven photos stacked, Nikon D750, Sigma 14mm 1.8, 1600ISO, f/2.8, 15sec. Single image, Nikon D750, Sigma 14mm 1.8, ISO 1600, f/2.8, 15 sec.

Please check in David - AK6DH.

Please check in WD6USA.

Check in please - Thanks - Bernie

Just wanted to say that when I attempted to come here to the Net Preview page by clicking on Net Preview, it kept taking me to last week's net, but once I went down to the bottom of the Home page and clicked on the "Blue link" to here, I then got sent here, and now the Net Preview button sends me here.