Anyone been up Telephone Canyon?

[VintageDUG]

Planning a trip to DVNP with my granddaughter next month.  We want to explore the Tucki Mine area and the Martin Crossing cabin, so I wanted to check if anyone has been up Telephone Canyon since the roads reopened recently.  I'm trying to decide which Jeep to bring.  I can get pretty much anywhere in my heavily modified JK, but we are bringing my micro camper to use as a base camp at Stovepipe Wells, so I would rather use my mostly stock JL Rubicon.  Anyway, just curious of the conditions.  We are also headed up Lemoigne Canyon so she can see the cabins and mines, but we already had the Rubicon all the way to the wilderness boundary when we hunting for the wagon.

[Brice]

I drove the length of the Tucki mine road last year and it was fine (in a lifted 4runner).  There are a couple of small dryfalls to climb up but they aren't too bad.

I can tell you that as of last week, the junction with Emigrant road has been recently bulldozed to a level that looked sedan passable as I drove by, but I don't know how far they would have continued that up the canyon.

[VintageDUG]

We got a good look at the start last week when we drove past. I'm just wondering how far they ran that bulldozer and how the upper section is after the big storms. I'm leaning towards using the Rubicon since it tows the camper so much better. If we get into a tight spot we can always return with the JK this fall.

[VintageDUG]

We went to the Martin Crossing cabin and to the Tucki mine today. That operator on the bulldozer was a pro. I would drive almost anything with good tires all the way to Tucki. The spur to the wilderness boundary and the road to Martin Crossing was steep and loose, it hasn't had maintenance in decades. We got up it no problem with a mostly stock Rubicon, aired down to 15 and using 4lo. The boundary sign has fallen down and is easy to miss. It marks the start of your hike. The road down to Martin Crossing is sketchy steep for a short minute and then lets up. You can see the famous sign and the cabin pretty much the entire way.

[MojaveGeek]

If you have a pic of the sign, I would like to see how it has weathered.   Here is a photo from 2012



and just a year later



It was weathering fast.

I assume you noticed the error?   At least one, I sort of recall another but I don't see it now.

I wonder what is the story behind it.

[MojaveGeek]

Here's a photo which may have been from 2022, all the original lettering gone, from Starbuck's site.  So actually probably looks like that today?

[VintageDUG]

Maybe a little more bird poop on it than Starbucks pic?

[MojaveGeek]

Well we know where the birds hang out there. It is so strange to find a sign like that in the middle of nowhere.

How are the cabins at the mine? 20 years ago one of them was in good enough shape that we sat in it to eat lunch, but I think I heard it has weathered poorly? The Martin cabin was obviously nice once, but certainly not a place I'd spend any time in now.

[VintageDUG]

Well we know where the birds hang out there.  It is so strange to find a sign like that in the middle of nowhere.

How are the cabins at the mine?  20 years ago one of them was in good enough shape that we sat in it to eat lunch, but I think I heard it has weathered poorly?  The Martin cabin was obviously nice once, but certainly not a place I'd spend any time in now.

Both cabins are trashed and probably won't be standing too much longer.