January 2013 .... friendly ranger stumbled across my campsite in Cottonwood Canyon in the middle of the night and asked me to obey Park rules.

I apologized, remedied the situation, and offered them a beer. Haven't broken a Park rule since then (that I know of).

The above comment from me was addressed to Beardilocks. Looks like while I was writing it, DAW was posting his near Steele Pass pix

DAW, do you have pix of that dryfall? I'm wondering if it is the same place I got to in the late 90s. Someone had scratched in "WATER" (maybe "WARTER"?) into the fall above a gravel filled pit. It was my suspicion over the years that this was the true "marble bath".

Another 2007 anecdote. About two weeks earlier than my photos in my post above, that same friend and I met a fellow forum member near the Lost Burro Mine. Our plans were to run the Lippincott and Steel Pass routes the following day. The day we met, we toured the Lost Burro, the stones at The Racetrack then made our camp at the Lippincott road sign at the very rim of Racetrack Valley. We had looked at the Homestake but no one was keen on it.

While preparing our meals, well after sundown but not quite yet dark, a DVNP truck with two men pulled up. They told us that we were really not in compliance with the rules of no camping in Racetrack Valley, except at the Homestake, but given we were right on the rim of the valley they let us slide.



You can see the shadow of the sign at the start of the decent on the Lippincott road at the right.



View from my camp the following morning.

(2023-12-29, 07:56 AM)MojaveGeek Wrote: DAW, do you have pix of that dryfall?  I'm wondering if it is the same place I got to in the late 90s.  Someone had scratched in "WATER" (maybe "WARTER"?) into the fall above a gravel filled pit.  It was my suspicion over the years that this was the true "marble bath".

Sorry, no. I took several photos of the trucks posed above the small fall and nothing more. We didn't stay long, maybe ten minutes max and I didn't notice anything like what you mentioned.

The coordinates are at: 36°59'57.29"N 117°39'9.84"W

It's a short walk from the Steel Pass road.

(2023-12-29, 08:36 AM)DAW89446 Wrote: The coordinates are at: 36°59'57.29"N 117°39'9.84"W

It's a short walk from the Steel Pass road.

Ah, I see. The place I was at was east of the road, and a longer drive on a questionable (though not marked "wilderness" at the time) track. Thanks