padu 354 Posted January 4 May 27, 2023 After finishing section 5, we stopped at Death Valley's Racetrack Playa (the famous and "mysterious" sliding rocks) for snacks. We knew section 6 wouldn't be the cakewalk that five was, but we were ready. The beginning of section 6 continues on Racetrack Valley Road for a short while, less than a mile, then it turns right for Lippincott Pass. The pass, which is really just a downhill, is part of the expert section for Section 6. The very first posted sign warns fellow travelers that there's no towing service for vehicles that venture down the pass, so proceed at your own risk. The road is rocky. In the beginning, it's small rocks, and the terrain, albeit sinuous, is easy to navigate. There's some exposure, so hug the mountain side if you don't like heights. As you start going down, the slope gets steeper, the rocks bigger and looser, forming steps of about 1 ft. in places that require some courage and momentum to overcome the steps. With some skills, though, any bike can pass. As you approach the bottom of the pass, the rocks get bigger, and the rain causes some big ruts. Line selection becomes a prime discipline. At times, we had to navigate very off-camber tracks to avoid the deep ruts. The challenge of this pass is not that it is super technical, but it is average technical for miles and miles. You will get exhausted if you're not in shape or your body position is not top-notch. Once you reach the bottom of the valley, there is not really anything challenging. You will find rocky roads and some sand, but nothing too gnarly. We ran out of water as we started climbing up and out of the valley. It was a scorching day, and Lippincott used much of our energy. It's a good thing we crossed a small stream and were carrying water filtration systems. The water didn't taste good, but it didn't kill us. We reached Cerro Gordo Rd., at the bottom of the mountain. The BDR website warned us of "deep sand" or something similar. We were a bit confused because we were not in a valley, and sand in that place would be misplaced. We were both right; it was not deep sand but deep, small, loose rocks. They were almost white, which made a very beautiful and peculiar white road, and yes, they were deep and it rides like deep sand. There are several bifurcations on the road, but they all follow the same direction and eventually merge ahead. Around the half point going uphill, the rocks become bigger, and traction improves. Very quickly, we were at the summit, where the Cerro Gordo mine is located. Unfortunately, there was an event that day - a marathon coming from the other side of the mountain with runners crossing the finish line at the mine; talk about craziness... We started our descent towards Owens Valley and Lone Pine. We were rewarded with the most amazing views of the snow-covered Sierras and the entire valley beneath us. The sky was deep blue and visibility was great. The descent is easy, but attention is required. The road is slippery, and there is a lot of traffic from regular cars, jeeps, side-by-sides, and even buses. We arrived in Lone Pine, a very quaint and charming town at the foot of Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the continental USA at 14,505 feet (4,421 m). There, we met with another rider who would be joining the expedition the next day and followed the trip to Alabama Hills, a campground site on the road to Mount Whitney. The place is just stunning with its weird rock formations and the most amazing views of the sharp snow peaks towering up upon us. The only problem was that the sun was setting, and the place was packed with campers. We rode around for a good part of the hour and decided to camp in a place that wasn't really a designated camping site. We were exhausted, so nobody had trouble sleeping in our tents after a good steak dinner and some fireballs. We were hoping to finish the CABDR the next day... 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wallycycle 5 Posted January 20 Excellent videos. I admire your skill and courage in taking a 500 lb motorcycle down Lippencott and up the hard way to Cerro Gordo. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
padu 354 Posted January 21 21 hours ago, wallycycle said: Excellent videos. I admire your skill and courage in taking a 500 lb motorcycle down Lippencott and up the hard way to Cerro Gordo. Some call skills, some call courage, and some other call dumbness. 😂 It's probably somewhere in between all of those Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wallycycle 5 Posted January 21 Dumbness; I might have applied that to your video showing the "drop-fest" on the Cross-Over road from Valle de Trinidad to Mex 1/San Vincente.😀 I definitely would have turned around when seeing the carnage 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
