Attention: HITW and Echo Cyn in great shape!

[DAW89446]

Though ancient history and not indicative of DVNP these days, I submit this:

In 2007, when I was still living in Big Pine, a friend and I ventured up to Steel Pass, each driving our own Toyota Tacoma TRD's. I was doing some reconnaissance and photography for my Steel Pass page on my website. We turned up that road that branches off at Steel Pass summit and up onto the slope of the Last Chance Range. There were no signs or obstacles indicating a closed road, and I had taken that road several times previously in the past. Just before the end of the road, we dropped our tailgates for a rather off camber lunch with a view.



While eating and chatting, both of us caught sight of a white vehicle down at the junction. It stopped and stayed there a long time. I scoped out the vehicle with my binoculars, but it was too far to make it out, other than it was a white pickup. Both of us had a hunch that it was a DVNP ranger and he was scoping us out as well. After quite a while longer, he continued on his way down toward Marble Bath and beyond into Saline Valley.

In time, I added photos of that trip to my web page on Steel Pass. In a short time, I received an email from the park service - I think I recall that it was from Charlie Callahan - asking me to remove those photos, as well as those taken at the dry falls in a side canyon draining into Eureka Valley; as these two roads were no longer legal to drive on.