Driver topples historic Death Valley tower while using it to get vehicle unstuck

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

picture:
https://s.hdnux.com/photos/01/37/42/77/25047027/3/720x0.webp

A 113-year-old wooden tram tower in Death Valley was knocked over when a driver attached a winch to it in an attempt to pull their vehicle out of a patch of deep mud, the National Park Service said Monday.

A Park Service news release said the historic tower near the Saline Valley lake bed was toppled sometime between April 1 and April 24. Tire tracks found at the scene led rangers to believe that a driver who had become mired after entering the lake bed from a road pulled the tower’s concrete footings out of the ground while getting their vehicle unstuck.

“I have hiked along sections of this tramway, and am amazed by the tenacity it took to build,” Mike Reynolds, an executive with the Park Service, said in the release. “I hope the person responsible for this damage will contact us so we can discuss restitution.”

The tower is part of the Saline Valley Salt Tram, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The release said that the Saline Valley Salt Company built the 13-mile aerial tram in 1911 and used it to transport salt between Saline Valley and Owens Valley. The tram climbed more than 7,000 feet and reached vertical grades of up to 40 degrees, the release said.

https://www.sfgate.com/california-parks/article/driver-topples-historic-death-valley-tram-tower-19457558.php

[underpants]

1. Boy a red letter day for that guy. 🙄

[LakeArenal]

2. People are selfish pricks sometimes.

[GreenWave]

3. So they have no idea who did it.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

4. nope.

[miyazaki]

5. The workers used to ride that thing.

?20211227203354

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

6. nice boots.

[ProfessorGAC]

8. The Pair Worn By The Guy Second From The Right...

...look like the ones the gold rush panners wore.
Both boots were the same so it took a long time to break them in.
Sounds uncomfortable as heck!

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

9. no left, right foot? ouch!!

[ProfessorGAC]

11. That's What I Said! Ouch!

They talked about them in an episode of "What History Forgot".
The Gold Rush expert was wearing a pair. They looked very odd.

[2naSalit]

14. Well...

One thing I know from living in the wilds of the west is that even when you get a nice pair of handmade boots that have left and right, they still cause some discomfort while breaking them in. What a lot of folks, around here, do is put the boots on with no socks, brand new, and go walk out into the river or lake and get them drenched, then wear them until they're dry. After that, perfect fit.

Many people are saying...

[ProfessorGAC]

16. I'll Trust You

Except when working in scale-up & process development (when dinosaurs roamed) I've never owned a pair of boots.
So, what would I know?

[2naSalit]

17. Their function...

Is primarily to resemble hooves because that's what you need to walk around anywhere that isn't paved or graded. Kind of essential, actually. I've had several pair but have been relying on hiking boots more because of where I end up going to hike, boot boots won't do.

[lpbk2713]

7. Just a wild guess.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

10. probably wasn't a Tesla

[getagrip_already]

12. No winch on a tesla....

And it couldn't have gotten that far on its own anyway.

Poor little wannabe truck isn't meant for off road transit, unless it's a manicured lawn of a garden party.

[John1956PA]

13. I suspect planned vandalism.

How coincidental it was for the miring spot to be located within wench-reach of the tower. Also, I think that the wench hook was placed relatively high on the tower. Had it been hooked as low as possible, there probably would not have been enough force applied to the tower to dislodged it.

[2naSalit]

15. People do the stoopidest shit...

In the National Parks these days, it really sucks.