4x4 eastern
sierra nevada great basin 4wd north eureka road
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RECONNOITERING
IN THE EASTERN SIERRA NEVADA & GREAT BASIN
BY
4-WHEEL-DRIVE
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North
Eureka Road as of 2/11/05
Or
As It Could Be At Any Time
North Eureka Road
travels between the Big Pine-Death Valley road in northern Eureka
Valley to CA168 in southern Fish Lake Valley, covering a distance of
a little over 21 miles. The road is signed and maintained by Inyo
County, California.
North Eureka Road is
often closed due to periodic washouts during the summer flashfloods,
or in springtime due to heavy snowmelt. The mountains surrounding
Willow Wash are extremely steep and convoluted, which channel water
at high speed into the volute and funnel of the main wash channel.
Cucomungo Canyon, which drains the Sylvania Mountains, taps into high
country snows of the forested mountain range. It is generally at this
confluence of the two canyons that most damage to the road occurs.
This discussion centers
mainly on the portion of North Eureka Valley Road south of its
junction with the Horsethief Canyon 4x4 trail. North Eureka Valley
Road is generally kept in good shape and suitable for all vehicles,
including passenger cars.
At the time of this
writing (February 2005), North Eureka Valley Road was closed due to
heavy flooding in a 2½ mile section between the confluence of
Willow Wash and Cucomungo Canyon and the summit at the south end of
Fish Lake Valley. Most of this damage was caused heavy flashflooding
during the summer of 2004, with additional and severe damage caused
during heavy winter storms in December, 2004 and January 2005.
After such destruction
to the road, it will likely be quite some time before Inyo County can
focus on the road through the canyon, although off-road enthusiasts
may establish a route through. If you choose to tackle North Eureka
Road as a return to Eureka Valley, I'd advise you have a suitable
4x4, as the route will be difficult
to extreme.
Or completely impassable.
The photos below should
give you an idea of what to expect on North Eureka Road in the Willow
Wash drainage.
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This
photo was taken just north of the head of Willow Wash, above the
damaged areas of the road. Photo taken February 10, 2005.
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This
photos, and the next three photos, show the damaged area within a
mile of each other along the upper portion of Willow Wash.
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The
vertical walls of the wash are six to seven feet in height. When
this photo was taken, at least one 4x4 had used the channel
bottom as part of their path from Eureka Valley northward.
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This
photo was taken in 2003 at the confluence of Willow Wash and
Cucomungo Canyon. It was impossible to cross at this time. When
this photo was shot, a mix of rain and snow was falling.
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Date
Created: 2005
Page Revised: 08/24/2010