California by Range Rover

An hour from LA, Hungry Valley state park is the place to test your 4x4 mettle

The name 'State Vehicular Recreation Area' makes Hungry Valley state park sound awfully dull and a little too regulated. You will be pleased to know that instead it's a 19,000-acre 4x4 playground where you pay five dollars and spend the day off-roading 'til you can off-road no more. It's marvellous.

Do what she says in situations like this

A bit of background on Hungry Valley first. Originally home to the Tataviam tribe of Native Americans, it was later used as a homestead location to encourage migration to the west coast. But the valley is a barren place, not really suited to developing settlements. Hence what was Honey Valley became known as Hungry Valley. The homesteads were wiped out by drought in the 30s and in the following decades the valley was known for lawlessness of every kind; the vast, ungoverned, unmanaged space was infamous for drugs, guns, gangs and nearly everything else imaginable. California State Parks began buying up the land in 1978 and Hungry Valley was classified as a State Vehicular Recreation Area (we'll use SVRA from now on) in 1980.

Tackling Hungry Valley solo would be rather daunting as a first off-road experience. Yes, the trails are marked out and graded, plus there are park wardens and a central Tarmac road. Still, the size and complexity of the park is overwhelming at first. Even with a Hungry Valley expert alongside we still managed to lose ourselves on occasion.

Range Rover Sport in actual off-roading shocker

Said expert is Daphne Greene, a fountain of knowledge on both the park and off-roading. She's the woman you see in the lead image navigating me up what appeared an insurmountable ridge. As guides for learning the off-road craft I couldn't have asked for anyone better. Not only was she the first woman to compete in the Camel Trophy back in the 90s, she's also a coach on Land Rover USA's off-road experiences. Oh, and she was Deputy Director of the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division under Schwarzenegger for seven years. She knows Hungry Valley like no one else. She's an exceptionally talented off-roadist. You also get the impression she doesn't take any, er, rubbish from anyone.

First mistake? Keeping hands fixed on the wheel. D'oh. In contrast to circuit driving where crossing arms is OK, Daphne says it's a no-no when off-road. Firstly, you don't want to go through a pothole or similar with arms overextended and often the tiniest steering inputs are required to keep you on course; this is obviously far easier to do with your hands always at 10 and two. So there is much wheel shuffling as we go through the first trail.

About those small adjustments...

Left-foot braking is also really beneficial in the dirt. Not only do you get on the brakes quicker it allows to keep the revs up but the car stable if you're climbing. Without a conventional handbrake the middle pedal is being pressed a lot when perched somewhere on a trail. Usually quite hard actually.

We were using a Range Rover Sport for the day in Hungry Valley. The Sport has become known recently of course for its on-road (and track) exploits but is still superbly capable off the highway. Interestingly we were in the V6 petrol car not sold in the UK; it's the same 340hp 3.0-litre supercharged engine used in the F-Type so the sound is initially surprising when you expect a rumbly V8 diesel. Of course its peak torque of 332lb ft is considerably down on the 461lb ft of the 5.0 V8 and the 516lb ft of the V8 diesel also but never did the SCV6 feel overawed by Hungry Valley's myriad challenges.

With California suffering from a severe drought currently the trails are even dustier than usual. The Sport's Terrain Response does a terrific job of adapting the 4x4 tech to the conditions as we go from sandy paths to rockier climbs. The separate rock climb mode makes you feel like a real pro, locking the Range Rover into low range and raising the air suspension to its highest. Of course the Sport has its reputation as an urban princess but there's certainly no doubting its off-road ability. What it managed to achieve on road Michelins was incredible, especially given the oaf driving it.

The face of a man with a clenched bottom

We can't have covered much more than about 20 per cent of Hungry Valley's routes during the day but it was an absolute blast. I'd previously been a little dismissive of off-roading actually; it's going to sound hackneyed to those of you who regularly do it but I was sceptical as to how exciting or challenging driving around in dirt so slowly could be. Of course I was wrong. Hugely wrong. The same thing we love about driving on track, racing or driving quickly on road are there in abundance. It requires real precision and accuracy, awareness, feel for the car's behaviour, conservation of tyres and a bit of bravery sometimes too. That same feeling of elation when you achieve something you thought impossible is certainly still there too. It's simply brilliant fun.

Finally, for anyone convinced that the Range Rover Sport is just a footballer's plaything, you really must try one. On the road, in town and lost somewhere in an SVRA it was tremendous. Huge thanks to Daphne for showing how it really should be done as well. She reckons Oceana Dunes is even better. Return trip in a V8?

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oldtimer2

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