2022-02-17, 10:31 PM
Racetrack Valley road is somewhat variable in terms of driving. I have driven it in a rental sedan 2x. I would do so again but i'd rather have decent clearance. But everyone needs to see the Racetrack, and go down Corridor or up Ubehebe Peak.
Last time I drove it there was a ton of fresh gravel from some flash flood washout. This was a bit of a problem for me, because without real HC I frequently had to try to keep one wheel on the center strip, but it was all loose gravel, rounded canyon bottom stuff, and I did not have much traction. Also that road often has pretty high berms and is narrow so I could not really turn around. White knuckle driving. I correctly assumed with gravity on my side it would be no problem getting out, and I was right. It's slow though - I'd guess an hour from the end of the pavement.
Corridor is an interesting area because the strata have been uplifted to the point of being almost vertical. So the canyon follows the softer strata, which have eroded out - hence the locally straight sections, with the harder rock dryfalls in between. The corridor is the most extreme of these eroded out strata.
Last time I drove it there was a ton of fresh gravel from some flash flood washout. This was a bit of a problem for me, because without real HC I frequently had to try to keep one wheel on the center strip, but it was all loose gravel, rounded canyon bottom stuff, and I did not have much traction. Also that road often has pretty high berms and is narrow so I could not really turn around. White knuckle driving. I correctly assumed with gravity on my side it would be no problem getting out, and I was right. It's slow though - I'd guess an hour from the end of the pavement.
Corridor is an interesting area because the strata have been uplifted to the point of being almost vertical. So the canyon follows the softer strata, which have eroded out - hence the locally straight sections, with the harder rock dryfalls in between. The corridor is the most extreme of these eroded out strata.