Death Valley...END OF MARCH, 2019/Planning (2 Viewers)

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ewillis

ewillis

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Oct 11, 2013
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Dante's Inferno, CA
Thinking of hitting DV for a few days. Never been and looking for some mild trails as I'll have two young kids along. Anyone have must see suggestions or want to roll?
Titus Canyon made the list...EDIT: looks like titus canyon road is currently closed
Saline valley/hot springs on the itinerary
Furnace Creek
Darwin falls
 
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Narrowing it down....
Day one: Arrive at roughly noon and set up camp at Stovepipe Wells. No reservations 190 campsites.
Hike Mosaic Canyon and head to Mesquite Flats sand dunes, then back to camp.
 
Im interested. Im off march 28-31. How many days are you planning? I havent done trails or camped at DV. Hopefully someone experienced can join as well.
 
ARB777 said:
Im interested. Im off march 28-31. How many days are you planning? I havent done trails or camped at DV. Hopefully someone experienced can join as well.
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Looking to do 3 nights...
 
Is it ok if me and a couple more rigs join you guys? Im going with my wife, toddler and possibly my dad. My friend and his wife with his stock taco. And another 80 on 37's, possibly couple as well.
 
ARB777 said:
Is it ok if me and a couple more rigs join you guys? Im going with my wife, toddler and possibly my dad. My friend and his wife with his stock taco. And another 80 on 37's, possibly couple as well.
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Yes absolutely. I'm personally just looking to do some sightseeing for my first trip out there and with 2 young kids that don't exactly "love" extended challenging dirt roads, rock crawling, deathly shelf roads, and dispersed camping :). I'm not going out there this time for that and looking to minimize risk of broken parts. Still gathering data on what I'd like to see, where to camp, which routes to take while out there on day 2 and 3. All that might not align with your group's goals or anyone else wanting to come along, so don't feel obligated to. Not sure of what your goals are for the trip, but it's always more fun with others IMO. Any areas you'd like to check off the bucket list or suggested routes?
 
Same goals as you. I have a toddler so i have to keep it kid friendly as well.

So far, im for sure doing this trip and my friend that has a stock taco. I might bring my other cruiser depending if my cousin will join us with his family.

Day one for us will most likely be march 29 friday. We will set up camp and explore areas near camp. Stovepipe wells correct?

Is racetrack playa on your list?
 
ARB777 said:
Same goals as you. I have a toddler so i have to keep it kid friendly as well.

So far, im for sure doing this trip and my friend that has a stock taco. I might bring my other cruiser depending if my cousin will join us with his family.

Day one for us will most likely be march 29 friday. We will set up camp and explore areas near camp. Stovepipe wells correct?

Is racetrack playa on your list?
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Yeah I'd like to see the racetrack. Only thing from what I can tell is it's a 27 mile long heavy washboard drive to get there. Lippencott trail to Saline valley is right there by the race track, but it's a goat trail with sheer drop-offs and I'm a bit chicken to take that trail with the kids and with all the recent weather. We could do race track day 2 and then find a 2nd destination from there to explore/camp.
 
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ewillis said:
Yeah I'd like to see the racetrack. Only thing from what I can tell is it's a long heavy washboard drive to get there. Lippencott trail to Saline valley is right there by the race track, but it's a goat trail with sheer drop-offs and I'm a bit chicken to take that trail with the kids and with all the recent weather. We could do race track day 2 and then find a 2nd destination from there to explore/camp.
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Sounds good to me. Til what day are you planning to stay there? Our last day would have to be Sunday unfortunately. I work Monday.
 
ARB777 said:
Sounds good to me. Til what day are you planning to stay there? Our last day would have to be Sunday unfortunately. I work Monday.
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DANG IT! I looked at the wrong calendar...I'm actually off starting the 25th :bang: I thought it was the following week!. I'll update thread title to reflect accurate dates. Can your day 1 be 28th? I can head out 27th and meet up with you on 28th at Stovepipe? Or if you need 29th to be your first day, I can head out 26th and reverse course to end up at stovepipe on 29th and check out the mosaic canyon with you guys on our way out.
 
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I actually think I can do 28th thursday as day 1 but have to double check with my crew. If I end up still having a crew by then.lol. My friend with a taco wont make it. Anyhow, Im dead set at doing this trip so whatever happens, we'll make it work.
 
Need to consider fuel. I have a 24 gal aux tank, but refueling at one of these spots will be necessary if you don't have extra fuel capacity...Stovepipe Wells, Furnance Creek, Panamint Springs (outside the park and the Valley,but on the way from Lone Pine).
 
AS OF YESTERDAY, MANY CLOSURES DUE TO STORM DAMAGE...
Road Conditions

Road conditions were most recently updated on 3/6/19. There are no estimated opening dates for closed roads.Paved/Frontcountry Roads:
  • Scotty's Castle Road/North Highway:
    • CLOSED into Grapevine Canyon (Bonnie Claire Road) since October 2015 due to flood damage. No access to Scotty's Castle or NV-267. This does NOT affect access to Ubehebe Crater, Racetrack Road, or Big Pine Road.
    • OPEN from Hwy 190 north to Ubehebe Crater Road. Use caution due to flash flood debris, mileposts 2-31 (basically the whole road).
  • Ubehebe Crater Road: OPEN. Flood debris has been cleared.
  • Dantes View Road: OPEN. Use caution due to flash flood debris from milepost 0 to 7.
  • Beatty Cutoff Road: OPEN. Use caution due to flash flood debris from milepost 2 to 7.
  • Emigrant Canyon Road: CLOSED due to snow and ice.
  • Lower Wildrose Road: CLOSED due to snow and ice.
  • Upper Wildrose Road & Emigrant Canyon Road: CLOSED due to snow and ice.
  • Badwater Road: CLOSED due to storm damage. The NPS road crew started removing flood debris off the road on March 6.
  • Artists Drive: CLOSED, no access due to Badwater Road closure
Unpaved/Backcountry Roads:
The standard conditions of backcountry roads vary from 2wd to extreme 4x4 routes. Many roads are very remote and road conditions can change without notice. For the most up to date backcountry road information and conditions, please visit Death Valley Road Conditions on Facebook.
  • Mosaic Canyon Road: CLOSED until 6/30/19 due to road construction.
  • Westside Road: CLOSED due to storm damage
  • Big Pine / Death Valley Road: CLOSED
  • Titus Canyon Road: CLOSED due to storm damage
  • South Pass and North Pass into Saline Valley: CLOSED due to recent storms.
  • Eureka Valley Road: CLOSED
  • Cottonwood-Marble Road: CLOSED due to storm damage
  • Mustard Canyon: CLOSED due to storm damage
  • 20 Mule Team Canyon Road: CLOSED due to storm damage
  • Salt Creek Road: CLOSED due to storm damage
  • Natural Bridge Road: CLOSED, no access due to Badwater Road closure
  • Devils Golf Course: CLOSED, no access due to Badwater Road closure
 
Hopefully the debris will be removed within a week or so and some trails will open up. We'll have to keep monitoring, but 10 day forecast looks dry.
 
ewillis said:
Hopefully the debris will be removed within a week or so and some trails will open up. We'll have to keep monitoring, but 10 day forecast looks dry.
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We have a couple more weeks to go. Im hopeful most of the trails will be open. Also hoping for a nice super bloom by then.
 
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