Reconnoitering in the Great Basin & Eastern Sierra By 4x4

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.

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. As of this writing, North Eureka Valley Road north of this point was 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.

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.

If and when Inyo County repairs this road to passenger car standards, this page will disappear. If the county does not repair the road or abandons it, then I will create a 4x4 trail page on this route.

The photos below should give you an idea of what to expect on North Eureka Road in the Willow Wash drainage.

This photo was taken just north of the head of Willow Wash, above the damaged areas of the road. Photo taken February 10, 2005.	This photos, and the next three photos, show the damaged area within a mile of each other along the upper portion of Willow Wash.

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.	This photo was taken in 2003 at the confluence of Willow Wash and Cucomungo Canyon.

Page Revised: 08/14/2006