Saline Salt Tram Inyo Mtns California

[teotwaki]

After frantically loading up gear, my daughter and I drove up early Friday afternoon to Lone Pine and stayed overnight. Early Saturday morning the adventure started here:

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/3838/jess044ag3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/7756/jess046bu4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

and soon we were winding our way through washes and canyons with my daughter driving the first 17 miles. Her first time at the wheel for offroading and she did great!

two thumbs up :smiley_drive:
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/2087/jess045xc6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[teotwaki]

winding through the canyons

http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/3483/jimscamera053jp1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/3246/scamera054fq6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

our first sighting of some of the massive towers of the Saline Salt Tramway!!

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/9414/jimscamera059bd5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[teotwaki]

a lot of snow over by Mt.Whitney

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/9214/scamera063zu0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

and a little for us

http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/2779/scamera062ej4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Owens Dry Lake

http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/2047/jess051pq7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

How could we get lost?

http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/504/jimscamera065gh0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[teotwaki]

How could we resist the detour to the Burgess Mine that we saw on the GPS? It was time for lunch anyhow and what a scenic spot!

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/9042/scamera074ya1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

and having lunch gave my daughter lots of energy!

http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/3073/jess141qb7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

interesting graffiti says we were not the first to drop in

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/9161/jimscamera087op7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[teotwaki]

After 17 miles of fun wheeling through mud, rocks and snow we reached the tram keeper's cabin to stay Saturday night.

http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/9995/jimscamera099ru8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

But first we just had to explore the tram's highest transfer station

Left
http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/1222/jimscamera118nd9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Middle
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/1104/scamera119jf2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Right
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/1536/scamera120qx8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[teotwaki]

interior shots of the transfer station

http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/4125/scamera1591xs3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/5923/scamera1611ss9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

the year they started pouring the foundation
http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/6338/jimscamera127sh4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[teotwaki]

The cabin is roughly at 8500' and has stunning views of the Owens valley and the Sierras. It has had a lot of restoration work done and a lot to go. Sure beat a tent!

spacious deck
http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/9340/scamera1251gu2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

good for naps before sunset
http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/5194/jimscamera1361ds5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

one of 5 rooms
http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/4256/jimscamera1341wu0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

"kitchen" area with a view
http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/5169/jimscamera135qp8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[teotwaki]

We made dinner by lantern light and turned in by 9PM. After breakfast we repacked everything and were on our way towards Cerro Gordo. Now it was my turn to drive. A funny thing happened along the way; the only car we saw the whole time was coming from the opposite direction and it was a silver 4unner like mine!

After another 7 miles of interesting trail we came to the official end of the mountain road even though we had a ways to go

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/9105/jimscamera168pb4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

We spotted the Cerro Gordo ghost town but elected to bypass it

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/9315/jimscamera166vn8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

saw this bucket WAYYYYY up high

can you see it against the sky in the upper left area towards the peak?
http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/6339/jimscamera196lm1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

close up
http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/7673/jimscamera197ez3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

and saw this too
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/3325/scamera169cx2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[teotwaki]

What the heck is this? The Desert Militia? Terrorists?
http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/9880/jimscamera174ed6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/5266/scamera192pg5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/9066/jimscamera1831rn5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Shhhhh! We don't want to be caught
http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/1312/scamera1891cf7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[teotwaki]

Just Google "Stark Industries" who seems to be in the middle of this evil plot

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/286/jimscamera180qr5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/6322/jimscamera179go5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/736/scamera181dk7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[teotwaki]

Trail's end at Keeler

http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/8104/jimscamera198xc6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/8025/jimscamera199sw8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/5234/jimscamera201oz2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


Hint about the "terrorists" here http://www.ironmanmovie.com/

Hope that you enjoyed riding along with us!

Jim

[teotwaki]

missed adding these in



http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/841/scamera078jj5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/6905/jimscamera094jz7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Darren]

Real nice set of pictures and thanks for putting up so many. It looks like it was a good trip. I assume you needed a reservation for the cabin? The weapon area sure is a bit peculiar looking to say the least. Interesting.

Edit: Okay, I didn't follow that this was part of a movie set.

[teotwaki]

Real nice set of pictures and thanks for putting up so many. It looks like it was a good trip. I assume you needed a reservation for the cabin? The weapon area sure is a bit peculiar looking to say the least. Interesting.

The cabin is first come first served. It was a joint restoration effort between the BLM and volunteers.

The "weapons" are all part of a movie set for yet another comic book hero named "Iron Man".

[kcowyo]

Nice trip and kudos for getting the kiddo involved.

I traveled some of that same area last November for the first time. Definitely some fun trails and random stuff to see. The views from the Salt Tram and the cabin were amazing.

Cool photos and nice looking 4th Gen.
:campfire:

[teotwaki]

Google "Iron Man Trailer" and in the short film you can spot the desert movie set that we discovered

http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/ironman/

[neliconcept]

lol should have exposed them saying, we should be in the movie, or we will say you are terrorists, lols

nice pics man, very awesome!!!

[robert j. yates]

Nice post...that trip is also one that is on my short list.

Your post also reminds me of how my daughter was my co-pilot for many years. She is off to college now and we only see each other 3-4 times a year but I have some great memories of her tagging along with me on my many explorations. I finally bought a Jeep XJ just for her on her 16th birthday and put a mild build on it for her high school graduation present. Hopefully once she is out of college, we can find more time to run some trails together as she still has the Jeep. Thanx for sharing and enjoy your kid while you can...they grow up so damn fast.

[teotwaki]

lol should have exposed them saying, we should be in the movie, or we will say you are terrorists, lols

nice pics man, very awesome!!!

When we took the photos we broke them to one of the fan sites run by a pretty nice guy

http://screenrant.com/archives/iron-man-desert-set-photos-626.html


Did not seem to upset the movie folks if they even noticed. :)

[teotwaki]

Nice post...that trip is also one that is on my short list.

Your post also reminds me of how my daughter was my co-pilot for many years. She is off to college now and we only see each other 3-4 times a year but I have some great memories of her tagging along with me on my many explorations. I finally bought a Jeep XJ just for her on her 16th birthday and put a mild build on it for her high school graduation present. Hopefully once she is out of college, we can find more time to run some trails together as she still has the Jeep. Thanx for sharing and enjoy your kid while you can...they grow up so damn fast.

My daughter is now 21 and I am slowly letting her slip away to lead her own life as she is in her last year of college. Sigh. Very proud of her though.

[ETAV8R]

Okay I'm reviving these old threads. Those pics are awesome. I have to ask if you get nervous about going out alone (1 vehicle)? How difficult is this road? And I know it has been quite a while since Ironman was filmed there, did you see anyone associated with the fake weapons? Anything with the "stark industries" would be quite a keepsake. Whats the story with that ghost town? Looks like some people still reside there-untouched and upkept.
:wings:

[teotwaki]

Okay I'm reviving these old threads. Those pics are awesome. I have to ask if you get nervous about going out alone (1 vehicle)? How difficult is this road? And I know it has been quite a while since Ironman was filmed there, did you see anyone associated with the fake weapons? Anything with the "stark industries" would be quite a keepsake. Whats the story with that ghost town? Looks like some people still reside there-untouched and upkept.
:wings:

I am pretty confident in my vehicle and I researched heavily before going in order to be informed about the road. I have a good set of tools and skills. I also have SPOT and there is partial cell phone coverage. Worst case would be a long hike out unless some sort of injuries were a factor.

The road difficulty? Experience and skills are a factor. Coming from Cerro Gordo you'll have some narrow sections (still safe) and some rutted & loose uphill sections that a 2WD with locker can't get up so 4WD is a must. Modest clearance is good and more is mo' betta'.

Coming from Swansea there will be a rough, exposed, rutted rocky uphill section but I have to tell you, my daughter took it on very well and it was her first time driving offroad.

Ironman: We took only pictures and no one was there except for down the road a ways was a dozing security guy in a truck. We did get the pictures published on some fan sites though.

Thanks for the compliments on the pictures. In the various planning and report threads you'll find lots of links to the history and area.

[Skidoo]

When we came through in Fall 2008, no sign at all of the movie set. There are people living in Cerro Gordo, you should call ahead if you want the tour.

[modelbuilder]

When we came through in Fall 2008, no sign at all of the movie set. There are people living in Cerro Gordo, you should call ahead if you want the tour.

They are not giving tours until they finish some kind of legal thing they are going through.

The only sign of the movie set is a collapsed section of a hillside where they used explosives for a scene in a movie.


.

[Explorer 1]

I was up there a week ago and thought you might like to view some video of the rougher parts coming down the Swansea Trail.

Thanks for sharing your great photos,

Fred
Explorer 1

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q41/fredsjeep/Papoose%20Flats%20June%202010/th_SaltTramtheroaddown.jpg (http://s133.photobucket.com/albums/q41/fredsjeep/Papoose%20Flats%20June%202010/?action=view&current=SaltTramtheroaddown.mp4)

[teotwaki]

I was up there a week ago and thought you might like to view some video of the rougher parts coming down the Swansea Trail.

Thanks for sharing your great photos,

Fred
Explorer 1


Fred!

I enjoyed that video so much! Thank you for the great addition to this trip thread. I wish I had some videos like that. :)