Descending Lippincott Road

by Joe Schofield

Title

Descending Lippincott Road

Artist

Joe Schofield

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

A remote corner of Death Valley.
A view of Saline Valley from Lippincott Road, approximately half-way down the mountain from "The Racetrack". Lippincott Mine Road starts atop the Nelson Range, descending 11 miles to the valley floor and ending at Saline Valley Road. This shot was taken in March, 2011. It was a wet winter for California, and an abundance of snow can be seen on the Sierras. Despite gathering abundant information about my journey and driving a sturdy 4x4, I really had NO business making the descent solo.
🙀👇🏼 For more information on the road: 👇🏼 🙀

From DANGEROUS ROADS.org.,
Lippincott Mine Road : Tucked away in Eastern California, within the Death Valley National Park, the road is very challenging. Be aware that this area is seriously back-country. Be prepared for any kind of emergency, and bring extra water. There are no guardrails, and there is the constant threat of a steep fall if you’re not careful — at times, there’s just a foot or two of gravelly space to navigate. You’ll be driving around or over some large rocks that could break your vehicle, and if that doesn’t do it, the park’s intense heat could if you’re making the climb into Death Valley during the hotter months. There’s no towing service, no water source, no road signs and no cell reception. The climb gets very serious; this is slow, low-range work. There are washouts, most of which have been repaired with rocks, and in places you'll only have a foot or so between your outside tire and a disaster. The drop gets hairy, too.-- hundreds of feet, not straight down, but not enough of a slope to matter -- a mistake would be fatal. There's an additional problem: if there's a breeze in the canyon, it will be coming from behind you, which, coupled with the low-range hard climb, can cause overheating. Watch your temperature gauge. The road is very steep, narrow, and winding with cliff edge washouts. Uphill traffic has right of way. Lower part has very narrow section that is difficult for wide vehicles. This road is insanely dangerous. Steep drop offs on the driver side the whole time make for quite the pucker factor. It seems like the road has started to wash out in many spots making for a very narrow ride. Unless you’re in a high clearance vehicle stay away. And even then don’t go. This road is very hard to negotiate except by 4 x 4. Bring pick axe, shovel, some boards for ramps, lots of water, spare tires, and survival gear. This is one of the most challenging and exciting 4WD roads in Death Valley.

Uploaded

July 8th, 2022

Statistics

Viewed 1,709 Times  -  Last Visitor from New York, NY on 04/23/2024 at 6:57 AM

Colors

Embed

Share

Sales Sheet

Tags