Thanksgiving weekend Phantom Crash pics

[Froggystyle]

As many of you know, we spent Thanksgiving weekend in the Mormon mountains about 70 miles Northeast of Las Vegas. The object was to drop off of the planet for a couple of days and go enjoy the back country with our new Rhino. What a great trip!
I have never been a fan of aimless playing, and playing in the dirt is no exception for me. I like a reason to go out, a reason to push a little bit harder and achieve a goal. Climbing Mt Whitney, rafting the Grand Canyon etc... you want to achieve something at the end of the day.
Wanting a "goal" I started searching for cool stuff to find out in the desert. I stumbled upon a website where a guy has put a lot of clues as to where downed planes are out in the desert, but no actual GPS coordinates or locations. Just clues.
So, we decided we were going to go out in the very rugged terrain of the Northern Mormon mountains and go find this downed bird. Story said it was an F-4 Phantom.
We started ordering imagery and USGS maps. I got the MapSource software for the GPS up and running too and started following the clues. Well off of a "Jeep Trail" on the map was an intermittent stream leading up into the valley we are suspecting the crash site.
Long story short, we roll up there in the Toterhome and unload the Rhino about 40 miles down a dirt road from where the stream takes off into the Mormons.
http://www.rhinoaddict.com/rhino_gal...1/DSC06155.JPG
We took off around 2:30, so the sun was waning quite a bit already. We drove though darkness for a while to get up to within a mile of the trailhead. The Union Pacific Railroad had other ideas though... There was the burliest gate you ever saw keeping us from heading up any further, and canyon walls on either side of it. If we had crossed the tracks, we would have been OK, but here is what happenned to a cow that figured that was a good idea...
http://www.rhinoaddict.com/rhino_gal...1/DSC06175.JPG

[Froggystyle]

So, we head back down the track a couple of miles until we can get under it through this drainage ditch (most were too short to even get the Rhino under)
http://www.rhinoaddict.com/rhino_gal...2/DSC06241.JPG
We woke up to find ourselves in a really beautiful little canyon. We had gone up as far as the Rhino would fit to find a flat sandy spot. Here's hoping there are no flash floods!
http://www.rhinoaddict.com/rhino_gal...2/DSC06165.JPG
Another pic of the first night's canyon...
http://www.rhinoaddict.com/rhino_gal...1/DSC06167.JPG
After loading up the camp and strapping the rucks to the roof we are loaded up and ready to go!
http://www.rhinoaddict.com/rhino_gal...1/DSC06173.JPG

[Froggystyle]

Once we saw it in daylight, we found a way through the wash and around the monster gate and headed about 11 miles up this wash to this spot... or there abouts. The terrain here was so steep that both front wheels are barely staying on the ground in this shot. Sorry for the bad camera angle and all, but Aud is standing straight up and down to give you some idea of the steepness. No roads around here!
http://www.rhinoaddict.com/rhino_gal...1/DSC06179.JPG
I had my suspicions as to where the crash site was, but no dillusions that we could climb straight up to it. The valley was surrounded by cliffs and unclimbable with a heavy ruck. Especially considering this was Aud's first backpacking trip. Here is a picture of the valley we stopped the Rhino in for the night from the campsite we hiked to that day. The Rhino is in the bottom of the valley at the end of the arrow, the actual F4 site was just over that cliff, but not down the other side of the hill. Invisible from the valley floor. Those cliffs are about 200 something feet high. The size of the Rhino should give a descent frame of reference.
http://www.rhinoaddict.com/rhino_gal...alley+copy.jpg
Here is a zoomed picture of the Rhino from the same spot...
http://www.rhinoaddict.com/rhino_gal...alley+Zoom.jpg
Behind me in this shot is the ridgeline we had to navigate around. You can see that the southern side of the ridge is not as steep as the northern side.
http://www.rhinoaddict.com/rhino_gal...with+crash.jpg

[Froggystyle]

Traversing around the ridgeline was the only way to get there. We had rope to get down the smaller cliffs, but no way to climb up them. Our plan was to traverse/boulder etc... around the 1 mile across valley on the back side... about 2 miles of hard hiking on an Alluvial Fan surface. Here is Audrey navigating a boulder obstacle. Lots of this going on...
http://www.rhinoaddict.com/rhino_gal...Traversing.jpg
And, after 4 hours of hiking, we came over a crack in the cliffs to find this valley! There is an entire F-4 Phantom splashed out all over this little crease. This doesn't turn up on a 1:24000 topo map either BTW because it is so shallow. I didn't know it was here, and nearly gave up on the hunt.
http://www.rhinoaddict.com/rhino_gal...Crash+site.jpg
Lots of parts to be found, here are some interesting ones...
http://www.rhinoaddict.com/rhino_gal...erburner+1.jpg
http://www.rhinoaddict.com/rhino_gal...erburner+2.jpg
http://www.rhinoaddict.com/rhino_gal...-1/F4+Wing.jpg
http://www.rhinoaddict.com/rhino_gal...stery+part.jpg
http://www.rhinoaddict.com/rhino_gal...ncer+valve.jpg
Once we had found the wreck, it was time to head back to the Rhino. For perspective, here is a shot from across the valley to our prior night's campsite...
http://www.rhinoaddict.com/rhino_gal...oss+Valley.jpg
And then we bagged ass and made it home! Great trip. We are going to have to go do a group one soon to somewhere less rugged. That was a bit of a challenge for most, including Izzy who is only just beginning to start listening to me again after we drove her so hard it trashed her paws. Poor thing...
http://www.rhinoaddict.com/rhino_gal...h+backpack.jpg
Gotta get her some booties that will stay on her this time.

[alfonzo]

WOW!!!! for not having a plan it looks like it turned out killer...VERY COOL!

[riverliver]

Sound like an awesome trip !

[gqchris]

What an awesome read Froggy! With the pics and narratives, I felt like I was there! Thanks for taking the time to journal the adventure!

[boatnam2]

cool trip and pics...

[Magic34]

Great story, thanks.
Question though... Isn't the reason for the Rhino is that you dont have to walk anywhere?
I dont walk to the mailbox, the Rhino takes me. :crossx:

[Wet Dream]

Very cool. What are the circumstances about the plane crash?