2025-01-27, 09:04 PM
Smooth sailing into the Ibex area. I was very concerned about road conditions since videos and TRs from 2-3 yeras ago say the road to where I wanted to camp and start my hike was completely gone. My concerns were unfounded because like many other DVNP roads a bulldozer has been here in the last 12-18 months. That is one positive from Hillary, roads that were garbage prior to the storm and were being ignored, got love after the storm. If you've been in Telephone Canyon or Lemogine, you know what I'm taking about. Headed over to Rob Roy to see the dump truck, and though there were zero signs of vehicle tracks, there were old dozer tracks. The spur road I needed to get close was washed out and not repaired. I started to hike it, tripped and destroyed my phone case. It did it's job though and the phone is in perfect condition. I shot some pics from a distance and decided to try and get to camp. On the return trip I found a Rotopax water can that wasn't there before. A quick check in the rear of my Jeep showed my can was missing and my gas can was barely hanging on. I dumped the 3 gallons of fuel into my gas tank and now the empty fuel can and full water can are in the Jeep with me. It was a 2wd super highway most of the way to my campsite. The dozer quit just before I got to the cabin. I had lunch and then explored everything in the area. I grabbed some binoculars and scouted the route to the old mine road. About 1.2 - 1.5 miles across the desert. It's not flat and I think it will suck worse than I thought. The old mine road is clearly visable climbing into the hills and looks like it will be easier than that first section. From there I only have what I can see on Google Earth. My whole route is just under 3 miles each way. There's 11-1200 feet of gain going in, not counting all the up and down in the first mile or so. It was cloudy when I got here, then the sun peaked out while I was exploring, now the night sky is full of stars. Its cold, but I'm prepared for it.