These photos were taken on May 6, 2001 while Tom B. and I camped atop White Top Mountain. We drove nearly one-hundred miles off road from Ubehebe Crater to the top of White Top Mountain and the head of the Bighorn Gorge, then past The Racetrack, down treacherous Lippencott Road and on through the Saline Valley, lush Grapevine Canyon, then over Santa Rosa Hills to Hwy. 190
Here I am at the famous Teakettle Junction, where visitors often leave behind coffee pots, teakettles, etc. Note the fake electrical outlet.
Head of Bighorn Gorge, a steep, plunging gorge. Dropping down through Pinon Pines, then through Joshua Trees and finally a series of precipitous dry falls and fascinating narrows. This hike is NOT for the faint of heart or out-of-shape hiker.
WOW! May means wildflowers, few more brilliantly colored than these.
The famous Racetrack. The lines across the sand were made by stones moved across the dry lake bed by high winds and rain-slicked surface. Cottonwood Mountain Range in background.
I should have believed the sign! What a heart stopping, life threatening, falling down stretch. The rock strewn road dropped from about 4,100' elevation to about 2,460' elevation in about three miles of washed out road, several hundred foot drops, extremely narrow roadway (I thought my tires were going to slip over a few times), and cut banks, which threatened to scrape paint.
I used 4x4, low, and first gear nearly all the way down. Pictures cannot possibly convey the serious nature of this road.
On the road to the Racetrack and Ubehebe Peak.
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