Russ Chung

I was in AzJeep4Me's group. Our group included LadyBug, ob1jeeper, Curly, Nelson Avery, Saltman, Scramblin_Jim and myself. Our first stop was at the Brooklyn Basin site. Curly has already posted pictures of some of the pictographs in the area. Here are some pictures of the Brooklyn Basin ruins. Archeologists estimate that the Brooklyn Basin ruins once consisted of about 300 rooms: There were pottery shards throughout the site. This one was unusually colorful: We also explored the Brooklyn Mine. Here are some buildings we found near the mine: (continued)

I have been known to drive my Jeep in rain, and sometimes it ends up getting muddy. But that's OK; as Scramblin_Jim said, it washes off.

Happy Birthday!!

January 15th, 2013: JOHNSON VALLEY, CA: In the ongoing effort to Save the Johnson Valley OHV area, a new campaign has emerged to raise national awareness regarding the expansion of the 29 Palms Marine base onto public lands. Volunteers have created a petition on the White House.gov site (http://petitions.whitehouse.gov) with the hope of receiving formal recognition from the White House regarding The Johnson Valley OHV area. The White House has committed to responding to any petition that receives 25,000 or more signatures within a 30 day time frame. The petition specifically requests the White House to deny any request by the 29 Palms Marine Base to withdraw land from The Johnson Valley OHV area and use it for base expansion purposes. The title of the petition specifically requests the White House to: “Save the Johnson Valley OHV Area. Be fiscally responsible. Stop 29 Palms Marine base expansion. Keep public lands open.” This petition will need roughly 1,000 signatures a day to be eligible to receive a response from a White House representative. "We have made great strides forward in our fight to Save the Johnson Valley OHV Area” said Jeff Knoll, Off Road Business Association (ORBA) representative. “There was an amendment passed by Congress and signed into law by the President last month that requires the Marines to further investigate the economic impact the loss of this public land would have on multiple communities, but we need to do more", Knoll explains. The amendment's passing grants some reprieve from the Marine’s expansion initiative, however, it does not stop the expansion. In fact, the Secretary of the Navy is expected to release a formal Record of Decision any day announcing the Marines desire to move forward with existing expansion plans. The Marines current preferred plan means expanding the world's largest Marine Base by 160,000 acres, roughly the size of Singapore, and the public would lose over 100,000 acres of public land forever. Those opposed to base expansion argue that the expansion will cost tax payers millions and will have a negative financial impact on surrounding communities in the high desert. “We are hoping with this petition to raise the level of national discussion on this issue.” Said Dave Cole, founder of the King of The Hammers, a popular and growing motorsport event held annually in Johnson Valley. “1,000 signatures a day is an aggressive goal, but we’ve already submitted more than 22,000 letters directly to the Marines opposing base expansion, so we are confident we have the voices to make it happen. They just need to make themselves heard.” The petition has from January 15th to February 14th to gain the necessary signatures required to receive a formal response. The full petition is available at https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/save-johnson-valley-ohv-area-be-fiscally-responsible-stop-29-palms-marine-base-expansion-keep-public/5r0C7Xw4 The petition will be searchable once it has reached 150 signatures. To learn more about the efforts to Save Johnson Valley, please visit: www.savejohnsonvalley.org https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/save-johnson-valley-ohv-area-be-fiscally-responsible-stop-29-palms-marine-base-expansion-keep-public/5r0C7Xw4 Short Link: http://tinyurl.com/b6chknq If you don’t have an account, you will be required to sign up and you will get a confirmation email before you can sign.

Happy Birthday, Diane!

Jim, I plan to attend Russ

Jim, I can't make any weekends in January, but Thu/Fri Jan 24/25 are OK. Russ

I'd like to join you but it's my last day before I head back to SoCal on Monday, and my daughter and I made plans. I hope to join you on some other runs in the New Year.

I want to be in the group with the most cookies!

I became a believer in oil analysis when I was a maintenance officer in the U.S. Army. I am using prepaid sample kits that I have purchased from Amsoil and then I mail the samples to their nearest lab, which is in Salt Lake City. They send me the results via e-mail. I can also review and retrieve the results from the web. The usual turn around time is three or four business days. At Sam White's recommendation, I have also tried the oil analysis service from Empire Cat in Mesa. Both services are comparable, but I have stayed with the Amsoil service because they perform more tests for the same price and I like the convenience of having the results available on the web. I started using oil analysis in February 2010 when I had 140,000 miles on my Jeep. The Jeep is my daily driver; I now have slightly over 220,000 miles on my Jeep, and over the last 80,000 miles I have taken 27 oil samples. There are three things that I look for in an engine oil analysis report: 1) the amount of wear metals in the oil sample, 2) the amount of contaminants such as dirt, water, antifreeze, etc. in the oil sample, and 3) whether the oil is "worn out" as indicated by the amount of the remaining additives, oxidation, viscosity, etc. By looking at #2 and #3, I can determine whether I need to change the oil, but the most benefit comes from taking regular samples and looking for abnormal trends in the amount of wear metals. This gives me early warning of possible trouble with the internal parts of my engine. To illustrate how I use the reports, I have attached a copy of my latest oil analysis report. The report shows the samples from the past 12 months so it is easy to see trends. 1. Notice that in Jan 2012, sample #19 showed that the base number (the amount of additives remaining) was getting low, and the oxidation and nitration was getting high. The wear and the contaminants were OK. I interpreted those results to mean that the oil was “wearing out”, so I changed the oil and filter, even though they only had 6,500 miles on them (I usually get about 9,000 miles before the results suggest that I need to change the oil) and then I immediately took another sample (#20) to establish what fresh oil should look like. 2. In February 2012, I did a lot of desert wheeling in Anza-Borrego, the Mojave Road, and the Off-Road Passport Calico Run and I missed taking another sample until March 24, 2012, when I had gone 6,340 miles since the January oil change. I was alarmed when the results of sample #21 came back because the Iron, Aluminum and the Viscosity readings were unexpectly high. When I got the results via e-mail, I was on a business trip to New York City, so I could not change the oil until I returned home on April 21. 3. After I changed the oil, I immediately took another sample (#22) and since it was fresh oil, all of the readings were OK. 4. The next sample (#23) was taken in late June and I got the results on July 6, 2012. Again, the results caused me to worry because the Iron, Chromium, Aluminum and Viscosity readings were high even though I only had 4,500 miles on the oil. I changed the oil and filter on July 10, but I did not take a sample of the fresh oil. 5. In August, 2012, I went to the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, and when I returned, I took a sample with 4,000 miles since the last oil change and I was relieved to find that everything was normal (sample #24). 6. By September 22, 2012, I had driven 7,100 miles since the last oil change, and since I was about to leave for Baja, I decided to change the oil instead of waiting the usual 9,000 miles. I had been using Mobil 1 High Mileage 10W-30, but I decided to switch to 10W-40 because I was getting some annoying tappet noise. I took a sample (#25) so that I could establish a new baseline. (That’s why the viscosity reading jumped up). 7. Since then, I have taken two more samples (#26 & #27) and I have driven 6,500 miles since the last change. The readings are within the normal range, and I expect to change my oil and filter when I reach 9,000 miles since the last change (222,000 miles on the vehicle). I suspect that the high aluminum readings in samples #21 & #23 were due to piston wear. I don’t know why the wear has seemed to stop; I don’t think that switching to heavier oil would make a difference, but I’m glad that it has stopped. 2005TJ-E-S-015800-Sev0.pdf

Happy B-Day!!!

Home for the Holidays!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcmfCXwAFs4 Behind the scenes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zppuoI3q2Zg

Last year, I was driving my daughter's Jeep down the Alaska Highway at about 100 kph when the TPMS warning light came on. We usually run at 32 psi, and the light comes on at 29 psi. The warning system on her GC Laredo doesn't indicate which tire is low; I walked around the Jeep and everything looked OK, so I took out the tire pressure gauge and found that the pressure was OK in all except the right rear tire. Upon further investigation, I heard a soft hissing sound and I found a nail in the tire. I took out the nail, plugged the tire, aired it back up and continued on my way home. I consider myself lucky that I was driving my daughter's WK. If I had been driving my TJ I probably would not have noticed the low tire pressure and continued driving until I ruined the tire.

David, The Park Service usually closes the road to the charcoal kilns after the first snow and doesn't reopen it until the snow melts in late March/early April. You can check the Morning Report on the DVNP website to see the status of the roads. http://www.nps.gov/deva/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&pageid=439529 This is a picture of the road to the Charcoal Kilns taken on March 22, 2010, a few days after the Park Service reopened the road: The road to Skidoo usually remains open unless there is a temporary closure due to a washout. Here are pictures of Sam White enroute to Skidoo and the Skidoo Mill. These pictures were taken on February 22, 2010: The road to Jail Cyn/Corona Mine is outside of the park (it's on BLM land) so it is not covered by the Death Valley Morning Report. It's at a lower elevation, so I don't think that it would be likely to be closed due to snow. I don't have any pictures of the mine, but this is the mill just below the mine. It was taken on March 22, 2010, and there is no snow in sight. Russ

I can think of four places within Death Valley National Park where you take a shower: 1. & 2. You can purchase swimming pool/shower passes at Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells Resorts which admit you to their swimming pools and shower facilities. Last year, the passes cost $5 at Furnace Creek and $4 at Stovepipe Wells. Here is a picture of Sam White and Don Pryor cooling off at Furnace Creek after a hot, dusty day on the trails in 2008: 3. The Panamint Springs Resort has shower facilities which are included in the camping fee. 4. The Saline Valley Warm Springs has an open air shower (and also has clothing optional hot tubs). There is no charge for use of those facilities: 5. Finally, there is a tub, but no shower at the spring in Warm Springs Canyon between Death Valley and Butte Valley. I remember seeing a picture of Diane (dzJeepChic) at that hot spring, but I can't find it now. Maybe Diane or George can post the link.

In March 2008, samwhite, Savage Sun (aka Don Pryor) and I accompanied Irv Kanode on what was originally supposed to be a "pre-run" for a Death Valley expedition, but Irv had just learned that his employer was "downsizing" and he and his wife were planning to relocate to the east coast. Therefore, Irv was determined to "see it all" in one week. Sam and Don dropped out after three days, but I joined Irv on the second day and stayed with him for the rest of the run. Here's a link to his trip report. Irv mentions our 15 minute visit to the Racetrack; I remember our visit to Ubehebe Crater was even shorter, we drove up to the parking area, got out of our Jeeps, snapped a few pictures of the crater, and got back in our Jeeps and drove on! http://deathvalleyinaweek.com/

Diane, 1. Don't plan to take your PRIUS through the Rubicon trail yet! Even though the Little Sluice boulders have been reduced in size, the Rubicon is still a black diamond trail. This video was taken after the work was done on the Little Sluice. At 1:25 in the video, the narrator states "Any stock vehicle, or even a vehicle up to 33" tires would have a hard time through this". IMHO, by closing the bypass and forcing the traffic through the Little Sluice, those of us who used to use the bypass will now find that the trail is MORE difficult. The only people who will be disappointed are those who have built extreme rock buggies. If those folks remove their 42" tires and replace them with 31s, they will have just as much "fun". 2. I have not heard of any recent effort to close the Dusy-Ershim. It gets much less traffic than the Rubicon and the club that has adopted the trail has done a lot of work to reduce the damage from wheeled vehicles. I don't know how many people use the Dusy-Ershim, but at the Water Board hearing in 2009, the estimate was that 25,000 people use the Rubicon each year. My guess is that the Dusy gets one-tenth the usage of the Rubicon. Here's a picture of a corduroy road on the Dusy-Ershim: http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Dusy%202010-Sep/PICT0035.jpg 3. The current problem is that the enviros have gone to court to challenge the El Dorado NF MVUM. They claim that 42 routes which cross meadows cause damage to those meadows. The District Court Judge agreed with them. Here's a link: http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/eldorado/home/?cid=STELPRDB5362046 Russ

Those of you in other parts of the country may not be familiar with the efforts by the enviro-Nazis to close the trails in California to motorized vehicles. Their current strategy is to complain to the State Water Board that motorized vehicles cause water pollution and therefore, the trails should be closed. On April 23, 2009, the Central Valley Regional Water Board, which has jurisdiction over the portion of the Rubicon Trail that lies west of the Lake Tahoe Basin, held a hearing in Rancho Cordova to decide whether to issue an order which would close the Rubicon Trail. Over 500 off-road supporters, including ZJ Woody and myself attended the hearing. The Water Board staff presented a report which "confirmed that the Rubicon Jeep Trail is a source of water quality impacts to waters of the state". A copy of that report is attached. Look through the report to see how much effort was put into proving that the traffic on the Rubicon Trail was causing water pollution. At the hearing, the Forest Service testified that the Rubicon Trail was the responsibility of El Dorado County because it is a county road. El Dorado County said that the portion of the trail that is on federal land is classified as an "unmaintained county road" and they were not responsible for maintaining it. In spite of the disagreement over who was responsible for maintaining the Rubicon Trail, the Water Board issued a Cleanup and Abatement Order (CAO) and gave the two parties 18 months (until 1 October 2010) in which to come up with a plan to clean up the trail. Following the April 2009 hearing, El Dorado County and the U.S. Forest Service have agreed on who is responsible for various parts of the trail and they have developed a plan to clean up the trail. Part of the agreement between El Dorado County and the Forest Service is that motorized vehicles will only be allowed within 50 feet of the centerline of the Rubicon Trail and all bypasses will be closed. This requirement is being closely monitored by the environmental groups that have been working to close the trail to motorized vehicles. In order to close the bypass around the Little Sluice, it is first necessary to "reduce the rocks in the Little Sluice", otherwise none of us (including Number 7 and theksmith) would be able to get through the trail without damage. Here is a link to an earlier discussion and a trail report on the Little Sluice: http://offroadpassport.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1697 rubicon_trail_cao_att.pdf

Here is a copy of the October 1, 2012 statement from El Dorado County Supervisor Jack Sweeney explaining the action "to reduce the rocks in the Little Sluice": Written by James R. "Jack" Sweeney. To All and please share and forward: A few years ago, large rocks were pushed and pulled into the Little Sluice by persons that wanted to create a challenging course in spite of the fact it was on a public road. Usage in that area has created many problems that have had bad effects on the environment. Efforts to resolve those effects have included an effort to close the whole trail. Efforts to educate users and to resolve the problem appear not to have been successful as the problems persist. The clean up and abatement order (CAO) issued by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board April 23, 2009 cited concerns regarding the contamination in the area and required it be re-mediated. On January 26, 2010 the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors held a five-hour long hearing that resulted in a motion that specifically contained the direction to "reduce the rocks in Little Sluice". (See agenda item 25 legis # 10-0049). With this action and the CAO in place the Forest Service indicated a concern regarding the county's authority to undertake all but the simplest of remediation and maintenance to satisfy the CAO. The county determined to clean up the legalities by applying for an easement from the Forest Service and that easement was granted and accepted on August 14, 2012. Part of the easement process was the settlement of the appeals filed in objection to the easement. During that process the reduction of the rocks in Little Sluice was brought as being necessary to obtain agreement to remove certain appeals and it was confirmed that we would fulfill the direction of January 26, 2010. The county is not going to turn the Little Sluice into a paved trail! We must eliminate the hazard rocks so that a nearly stock four wheel drive can maneuver its way through the area without being overturned and without causing environmental damage. We will be adding some of the shot rock from the adit in an effort to avoid soil disturbance. We cannot leave the Little Sluice in its present condition and avoid closure of the Rubicon Trail! We appreciate everyone's assistance and observation of good rules of the trail. May we all try to keep this trail available to all users. -- Thanks, Supervisor James R. "Jack" Sweeney Supervisor, District III El Dorado County Board of Supervisors 530-621-5652 530-622-3645 Assistant: Karen Feathers

Sam's trip report was very thorough and I can't think of anything to add. Here are some of my pics from the trip. Click on the picture to launch the slideshow.

Congratulations!!

When I was in Alaska, my Garmin GPS showed the shortest route from Haines, AK to Juneau, AK was down the Inside Passage. It didn't say anything about being aboard a ferry boat (the Alaska ferry routes are part of the federal highway system).

Happy B-Day!!

Superior has two series of axle shafts. The "Discovery" series are made in China to "Superior specs". They have a 10 year warranty. The "Evolution" series are made in the USA. They have a lifetime warranty. The Discovery series part numbers start with the letter "DC" ie., DC6055 The Evolution series part number start with the letter "PA" ie., PA6055

1. 95 ZJs never had a 4-cyl. They either came with a 4.0 L I-6 or a 5.2 L V-8. 2. The reason George complains about his crawl ratio is that his 4-cyl doesn't have as much low end torque as a 6-cyl and he has big tires. I have a 4.0 L 6-cyl, NV 241OR with a 4:1 ratio, 4.11 axle ratio, a six speed NSG 370 manual transmission and 33 in. tires. That gives me a 78:1 crawl ratio in first gear and I can cruise at 2300 rpm in top gear at highway speed. With that combination, I don't have any complaints with rock crawling or highway performance. 3. Here's a link to info about the input gears: http://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/np_nvg_input_gears.htm