I started walking in the morning from Towne pass. Looking back down from a bit up the hill:
And the initial climb to the ridge looks like this:
Pretty straightforward. I gained the ridge relatively quickly, and realized that this is a very non-secret wreck: it's more or less visible right as you crest the ridge:
Click on the photo. It's at the center, below and to the right of Panamint Butte, the peak in the center. Big. Still takes a bit of work to get to. Need to walk around the Dolomite Canyon drainage, summitting the Towne BM in the process. It's a ridge walk. In 1977 the NPS surveyed this ridge as the boundary of the then-new Death Valley National monument.
The rock formations and Dolomite canyon are cool.
As you round the heads of Dolomite Canyon, you get a different angle on the crash site
I've been looking at it with binoculars, and found another big chunk of metal in the same drainage, but FAR downstream. In the above photo, look below the leftmost bump on the same ridge that holds the main wreck. Looks too far away to be part of the same plane. But an old trip report says something about a big fuel tank found far below the main site, so maybe that IS it.
Eventually I crested Towne BM
Here the ridge gets a few trees and yuccas
Then I dropped towards the wreck. Cool terrain
This is a VERY non-secret wreck. On the shoulder next to that bump, just above the crash site is a big ammo case. Has a register and some emergency food and water (that I topped off).
And then I was at the site.
Unlike most of the others, I don't think anything was pulled out by anybody ever.
Tons of stuff here. I'm not including all the photos here, but they're on my server. Lots of parts, engines, etc, etc
From the main site, you could see much more debris in the canyon below:
I was doing ok on time, so I headed down there. Lots of stuff
Lots more on my server. Eventually I declared victory, and headed back up the steep and very loose scree slope.
Found a pissed-off rattler on the way back, which was the most exciting wildlife I saw all day. There was some sheep poop around, so they're out there. Glad to have finally seen this one!
