DV Lippincott rd. and Saline Valley rd. 11/22-24

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mauka2makai

mauka2makai

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Nov 23, 2010
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14
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Location
SoCal
Had an opportunity to get away for a couple days so off to Death Valley I went. Came up from the south into Furnace Creek where I purchased my pass and headed off for Ubehebe Crater, The Racetrack, Homestake Camp, Lippincott rd., and south pass of Saline Valley rd. The weather was stable with no wind or rain, just chilly air. Managed to squeeze 802 miles in 45 hrs. and make it home in time to cook the turkey. Lippincott road is passable and not nearly as bad as I was prepared for. While I was airing up I smelled coolant...inspected my hoses and found the left hose that connects to the heater control valve worked its way nearly off and had sprayed coolant over the engine. Simple fix... could of been a lot worse if it happened up on the snowy pass. Must have been the temperature differential causing the silicone hose to work loose. Plan on changing both silicone's out for gates green now. I can't wait to make it back to Death Valley again, next time I'd like to spend a week or more just exploring. Enjoy the pics. :)


DV-Ubehebe-Teakettle Junction-The Racetrack-Homestake Camp

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Did that trip last February. Nice shots! Take a right at that rock pile to the warm springs, correct?
 
I camped in that exact spot a month ago. Nice rig and awesome setup you got there! :steer:
 
I have yet to make this trip. Thanks for the pics, it's very motivating. And X2 on the rig, very nice setup you have there.
 
That is awesome, thanks for sharing. We spent almost a week out there a couple years ago and absolutely loved it. So much to see out there. Can't wait to get back out there.
 
You put some windshield time in on that one!

We've done 2-4 off-road explore/camp trips to DV per year the past 4...and there's still more that I've not seen than have.

What a fantastic park to explore! And one of if not the best testing grounds for the rig! Someone, usually me :rolleyes:, has something rattle off or break away apart of all that washboard!
 
Thanks for sharing. I camped in that spot last January and plan on getting back out there hopefully in March 2012. The Racetrack is just spectacular.

Did you stop by Scotty's Castle on the way in?
 
We're thinking about heading out there during the holidays.. Nice pics and nicely set up 80!!
 
Saline Valley rd.

From the intersection of Lippincott and Saline Valley road to the 190 is a little over 30 miles if I remember correctly. It'll bring you from the desert floor to snowy peaks during the winter months. From around 1:30 to 4:30 I passed roughly 8 or 9 vehicles most looked like they were heading to the springs for Thanksgiving. None were expo vehicles and most were 2wd. It was crazy to see a full size 2wd Chevy van from the 80's 5 miles in from the 190 and nearly dark. The guy wanted to know if he was going the correct way to the springs and I said, Yes you have around 60 or so miles left and its going to be dark soon and there's also snow on the trail at the peak. It didn't seem to even phase him... must be some nice springs up there. Enjoy the rest of the pics. :)

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I traveled well equipt for two days with 10 gals of extra fuel, 20 gals of water, enough food for a week, my bug out bag, 2 bundles of fire wood, Spot satellite messenger, tools, and all my camping stuff. A satellite phone would have provided additional peace of mind as so would have traveling with another vehicle. At times it was so quiet and dark... it really gets your mind thinking. Next time I 'm bringing my wife and the boys even if they have school.
 
Thanks everyone for the kind words. Lots of washboard out there, so I aired down by half. I'd say it got down to the 20-30's at night, wish I brought my beenie. And like most of you I'm thinking, I wish I had more money for the mods and more time for the trails. Have fun out there.
 
Very nice. Thanks for sharing. Add this to my list of places to go visit in the 80.
 
When we were there South Pass was a whiteout. A senior couple were stuck up there alone for 20 hours until a group of LCs came by and pulled them out.
 
Awesome trip man, no doubt you put on the miles.

Funny, I was prepared for Lippincott to be much worse, and we ran it uphill in the rain. Also, coming north from the 190 while it was snowing/drizzling, I saw headlights coming down a hill in front of me (before the Hunter Mtn turnoff). I pulled over and sure enough, a toyota corolla came down the hill. (5th post down https://forum.ih8mud.com/ca-socal-80s/445187-death-valley-trip-report.html) They stopped and we chatted. They had a kid in the back seat. I felt fine rolling solo through dv, but not in a corolla! No thanks, no matter how good the hot springs are :) My parents use to take us kids crazy places in a vw van and a mazda hatchback and we survived, somehow. I guess you could say they had a higher tolerance for "unplanned" adventure.

Yeah, thats a little unnerving about the coolant hose. Washboard is unrelenting.

Thanks again for sharing and letting me relive last years adventure :)
B
 
I've seen a couple driving a Scion xA toward The Racetrack. They were already on their spare tire and they were still heading to The Racetrack with no thoughts of even thinking about turning around. I'm not sure if they made it.

I did see a Nissan Altima at The Racetrack before, though they were driving pretty slow. I passed them on the way in and saw them when I was leaving.

I've also seen a VW Jetta make it to Warm Springs. They were driving pretty slow also when I passed them. I bumped into them a couple hours later at camp.
 
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