2021-02-23, 11:38 PM
(2021-02-23, 11:24 AM)Candace66 Wrote: Off-topic, I chuckled when you mentioned the V-notch at Swansea. I was a bit underinformed about the road when I drove the loop in 2015, exiting via Swansea. I was in the upgraded Xterra so I made it through unscathed, but it was...exciting. According to my notes from that day, there's a bypass around that section, is that correct?
I drove past this sign facing the other direction shortly after that stretch. They're not kidding!
IMGP7151 by Candace66, on Flickr
Yes, the V-notch has a bypass. It's on the left heading up from highway 136 (north side of the V-notch). I've never been up the bypass, so not sure what it's like. Also, the rough stairsteps on the Swansea grade are getting quite a bit more nasty, undoubtedly because of folks with open differentials. I'd rather the V-notch not have the bypass, frankly, to act as a bit of a gatekeeper. If you can't make the V-notch, you won't make the stairsteps.
And yes, I find it odd that the difficulty sign is only from the Swansea direction. No sign anywhere else on the route.
David Bricker / SYR
DV Rat. Live upstate NY, play Death Valley, retiring to Hawaii. '95 Cherokee, barely.