Death Valley, Titus, Lippincott, Harry Wade - Mini Trip Report

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perrobravo

perrobravo

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10 Year
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Location
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Was in Death Valley this weekend and noticed all kinds of misinformation about trail status...so thought I'd share what I saw in hopes of helping anyone who might be heading there soon.

Day 1:


Titus Canyon

Trail was in great condition. Relatively easy. Scenic as expected. Saw no one on the trail short of a couple hikers near the lot at the end.

1Titus.jpg


2Titus.jpg



Day 2:


Teakettle Junction

Took the required picture of Teakettle Junction before continuing on to Racetrack. The trail was wide open. No obstacles other than dust and washboards.

3teakettle.jpg



Lippincott


Good advice from this sign.

4Lippincott.jpg



Steep, rocky, and narrow...at least for a 100 series filled with wife and kids.

5Lippincott.jpg



Not a good place to text and drive...

6Lippincott.jpg



Unbeatable vistas, almost enough to take your eyes off the trail.

7Lippincott.jpg



Crossed a few "streams" (was hoping for a bit more water) on the way back out and went through a couple rocky patches. In all, very doable.

8Saline.jpg



And...a poser shot while airing up back at 190. Just off camera is a sign saying Saline Valley Road is closed. Not so!

9Saline.jpg



Day 3

Headed out of Death Valley on Harry Wade Road to the south. Wide open and easily traversed at relatively high speeds...a great alternative to the pavement, IMO. There were a few sandy bits toward the end, but nothing major. Went so fast, I didn't even take pictures.

Enjoy!
 
:cheers:

nice pics!
 
Excellent Man! I NEED to get out there. I think maybe November of next year. Thanks for not ruining your photos with some stupid (c) watermark that is becoming increasingly common here. :cheers:
 
Nice pics. Thanks for sharing. Post more if you have them! I'm hoping to hit up death valley next year on my way to the grand canyon. Looks like this is a good time of year to go.

Love the way your 100 sits. What size wheels/tires you running? Any lift?

Thanks! :cheers:
 
SIZZLE said:
Nice pics. Thanks for sharing. Post more if you have them! I'm hoping to hit up death valley next year on my way to the grand canyon. Looks like this is a good time of year to go.

Love the way your 100 sits. What size wheels/tires you running? Any lift?

Thanks! :cheers:
Click to expand...

Thanks! DV is a lot of fun.

I'm running 275/70/18s, roughly a 33" tire and an OME 2" lift. The truck sits at ~20.75 in the front and ~22.5 in the rear measured from the center of the hub to the fender. I've been meaning to crank the torsion bars a bit more...
 
A few more pictures...

A quick side trip to Beatty and Rhyolite on the way to Titus Canyon. Saw a couple mines up on the hill, so went to check them out.

11Rhyolite.jpg



Had lunch in an old mining town along Titus and realized I'd forgotten to bring chairs.

15Titus.jpg



Along Tucki Mine Road there's a natural arch worth checking out (on foot). Had the place to ourselves. Other than a couple ravens, we didn't see a soul.

12Tucki.jpg



Passed a million Joshua trees on the way to Racetrack.

13Racetrack.jpg



Racetrack and one of the racers.

14racetrack.jpg



There was one corner on Lippincott that required a 3 point turn. This is it. The picture doesn't show how tight this was, but it was tight enough that I got out to have a look and take a picture.

16Lippincott.jpg



Panorama shot of the dunes. Thanks, iOS 6!

17Dunes.jpg



Coyotes were everywhere. This one looked friendly enough, but I decided against adopting him as a pet.

18newpet.jpg
 
perrobravo said:
Thanks! DV is a lot of fun.

I'm running 275/70/18s, roughly a 33" tire and an OME 2" lift. The truck sits at ~20.75 in the front and ~22.5 in the rear measured from the center of the hub to the fender. I've been meaning to crank the torsion bars a bit more...
Click to expand...

Looks great, like the old military style. Thanks!
 
Brentbba said:
How's that 3 point turn with a small M101CDN trailer? Doable?
Click to expand...

Hmmmm. Not sure I'd risk it. There were corners where my back wheel was in/very close to the washed out, apex of the turn even though my front fender was hugging the cliff wall.

Obviously conditions, vehicles, driver skill, life insurance coverage, etc. could make this advice irrelevant. YMMV.
 
Nice time of the year to go.

The DVNP people have a facebook page with road conditions, with pictures posted by a Ranger. So at least it has legit pictures of the actual road.
 
Very nice! We just got back from a very similar trip - Beatty/Titus Canyon/Cottonwood-Marble Canyons/Racetrack/Lippincott Rd./Saline Valley. Great time of year to be out in DV.

P1170523.webp
P1170523.webp
 
It looks like the last picture was of Titus canyon were the water gets half way up the walls.Titus is very easy trip over rocky road in any vehicle with clearance in two wheel drive.Also did echo canyon,cotton wood canyon ,marble canyon,wood canyon.Next year plan on doing a bunch more.
 
my first trip through Titus canyon was in a rental car :doh: :o

several years later I did it again - in another rental car :o - well, granted, it was a Jimmy :rolleyes:
 
Brentbba said:
Just returned from DV. ALL the tea kettles are GONE from the junction! GONE!
Click to expand...

Really? That's a bummer. They'll come back eventually...but it sucks that some asshat feels the need to do stupid s*** sometimes.

Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD
 
Of all the times I've been to Tea Kettle Junction I've never seen the same # of tea kettles there. Sometimes, just as Brentbba witnessed, I've also been there and seen it completely devoid of any tea kettles.

Almost as mysterious as the moving rocks on the Racetrack... :confused:
 
I was told the Park Service takes the Kettles. For waht reason I don't know, maybe just to show they are "in control".
 
Staff in National Parks, Monuments, forests and BLM have a directive to remove non native and non historical objects from lands under their control. Many old structures and and markers have been pulled in an effort to stop future similar types of displays, and to limit what they called "Attractive nuisances!"

We noticed this a couple of years ago in the Sierra's where many old structures have been removed. According to the Bridgeport Ranger station staff, this is to protect the public and keep areas free of man-made objects...BS

Doug
 
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