A tease until I get home.
Pappy's Death Valley Adventure
- Thread starter pappy
- Start date
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A tease until I get home.
Dumpolina
SILVER Star
Wow. Thanks for picture. I have always wanted to see Death Valley. More pics, please.
Cruiserdrew
On the way there
Lots of tea kettles just now. Will be there next week. Subscribing!
Damn. Wish I was closer. 
alia176
SILVER Star
Say what?
Cruiserdrew
On the way there
Cruiserdrew
On the way there
Wish I could Andy. Not in the books unfortunately.
Thank you for the generous offer though!
All right - I will bite - what's with all the tea kettles?
- Thread starter
- #12
- Thread starter
- #13
Well, here we go. Eight nights in the desert. Six of those nights were in Death Valley NP.
I came in from I-40, and drove through the Mojave National Preserve on Kel-Baker road. First night camp was made after sunset near Goffs, CA. It was a typical boonie camp.
From there I headed to the Park. First stop, Saratoga Spring. I love water in the desert, so this place rocks. Can't camp here, so I hung out for a few hours until sunset to take some pictures.
Camp was made nearby off Ibex Rd. One mile up the road was a Sprinter, so I continued up another mile and camped.
I came in from I-40, and drove through the Mojave National Preserve on Kel-Baker road. First night camp was made after sunset near Goffs, CA. It was a typical boonie camp.
From there I headed to the Park. First stop, Saratoga Spring. I love water in the desert, so this place rocks. Can't camp here, so I hung out for a few hours until sunset to take some pictures.
Camp was made nearby off Ibex Rd. One mile up the road was a Sprinter, so I continued up another mile and camped.
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- Thread starter
- #14
The next day I went up the Harry Wade Rd, crossing the Amargosa River twice. The first crossing was just below Saratoga Spring, while the second crossing was further up. First crossing.
The second crossing was very sloppy.
Westside Road was closed, so I drove to Furnace Creek to check in, ask about road conditions, and sit in the shade a bit. Park information were pretty worthless, and not really knowledgeable about anything out of the usual tourist stops. From the visitor's center I went up to the ghost town of Chloride. This was a new place to me. Trail in was uneventful, except for one spot that had me a little tippy with the RTT. I spent the night on Chloride Cliffs with a great view of Death Valley and the Grapevine Mountains.
The second crossing was very sloppy.
Westside Road was closed, so I drove to Furnace Creek to check in, ask about road conditions, and sit in the shade a bit. Park information were pretty worthless, and not really knowledgeable about anything out of the usual tourist stops. From the visitor's center I went up to the ghost town of Chloride. This was a new place to me. Trail in was uneventful, except for one spot that had me a little tippy with the RTT. I spent the night on Chloride Cliffs with a great view of Death Valley and the Grapevine Mountains.
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- Thread starter
- #15
The next day I drove out north to Beatty,NV for a splash of gas. Fuel in California was stupid money, and the price at Furnace Creek was almost a dollar more. Price in Baker, CA off I-15.
After grabbing fuel, and a sandwich, I decided to be a tourist and drove down Titus Canyon. I made the usual stop at Leadville to poke around the ruins.
After hitting tarmac from Titus I wanted to head up to Eureka Valley and stay at the dunes. Of course the Park information person told me that "pretty much everything is open," but the road up was closed. So I did the next best thing and went to the Racetrack. I drove all the way to the end where there is designated camping and there was nobody there. Yipee! After awhile this guy drives up in a Kia minivan with Quebec plates, and he decides to camp on top of me. Really? All that space and he's out my door. Anyways, I'm nice (shocking) and decided not to be the "ugly American." I asked him if he was a French Canadian, and in very broken English he told me he was a French guy from France.
I crashed a little after sunset … and woke up to the French guy, three Jeeps, four Baja VW bugs, and another guy. Ugh. I'm outta there.
After grabbing fuel, and a sandwich, I decided to be a tourist and drove down Titus Canyon. I made the usual stop at Leadville to poke around the ruins.
After hitting tarmac from Titus I wanted to head up to Eureka Valley and stay at the dunes. Of course the Park information person told me that "pretty much everything is open," but the road up was closed. So I did the next best thing and went to the Racetrack. I drove all the way to the end where there is designated camping and there was nobody there. Yipee! After awhile this guy drives up in a Kia minivan with Quebec plates, and he decides to camp on top of me. Really? All that space and he's out my door. Anyways, I'm nice (shocking) and decided not to be the "ugly American." I asked him if he was a French Canadian, and in very broken English he told me he was a French guy from France.
I crashed a little after sunset … and woke up to the French guy, three Jeeps, four Baja VW bugs, and another guy. Ugh. I'm outta there.
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- Thread starter
- #16
So, back down the Racetrack road to Teakettle Junction.
Then up Hidden Valley where I take a trail into the Panamint Mountains and find an exceptional camp at 6900 ft on a ridge looking down into Death Valley.
Of course, there are plants. And I like taking pictures of plants. Joshua tree.
Grizzly bear cactus.
Then up Hidden Valley where I take a trail into the Panamint Mountains and find an exceptional camp at 6900 ft on a ridge looking down into Death Valley.
Of course, there are plants. And I like taking pictures of plants. Joshua tree.
Grizzly bear cactus.
- Thread starter
- #17
The next morning I descend back to Hidden Valley, and drive up the trail to Hunter Mountain. Damn that trail is steep. As in 15% steep. But also remote and scenic. After hitting pavement I decide to take the short hike up to Darwin Falls. I haven't been there in several decades, and I don't remember all the cattails below the falls. I need to dig out my old pics and look.
From there, the steep grade from Panamint Springs to Stovepipe Wells. Then up Cottonwood Canyon. The road to the mouth of the canyon was as washboard as I remember. The canyon trails were no problem. Just high clearance. Even had a Jeep JK come up after I made camp, so it couldn't be too hard.
Marble Canyon.
Junction sign.
Marble Canyon Mars-scape.
From there, the steep grade from Panamint Springs to Stovepipe Wells. Then up Cottonwood Canyon. The road to the mouth of the canyon was as washboard as I remember. The canyon trails were no problem. Just high clearance. Even had a Jeep JK come up after I made camp, so it couldn't be too hard.
Marble Canyon.
Junction sign.
Marble Canyon Mars-scape.
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- Thread starter
- #18
Well, it's time to start heading south. I was meeting a buddy in Shoshone on Monday so I needed to stage close. So, back down to Furnace Creek for my connection fix, then over to Greenwater Valley. I asked about Greenwater Valley at the Visitor Center and aside from it was little visited, that was all they knew. I also asked them about Deadman Pass road, and they were clueless. How could I not pass up driving to Deadman Pass?
Camp on the pass.
The next morning was trying to dx why my solar panel was not working. Turns out one of the sides was DOA. The panel was rewired in the field so the good side was on the controller and shazam, I have power. From there it was a tootle to the highway, and Shoshone.
Park boundary? What park boundary? Where was the usual grandiose sign? No barb wire. No cattle guard. Nothing except a spoon hanging from a scratched piece of steel.
Camp on the pass.
The next morning was trying to dx why my solar panel was not working. Turns out one of the sides was DOA. The panel was rewired in the field so the good side was on the controller and shazam, I have power. From there it was a tootle to the highway, and Shoshone.
Park boundary? What park boundary? Where was the usual grandiose sign? No barb wire. No cattle guard. Nothing except a spoon hanging from a scratched piece of steel.
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alia176
SILVER Star
Nice report Pappy, don't know how you can recall all of the details so well!
I was *loosely* thinking of heading to Saline valley over thanksgiving but damn that 16 hour one way drive is not appetizing.
I was *loosely* thinking of heading to Saline valley over thanksgiving but damn that 16 hour one way drive is not appetizing.
- Thread starter
- #20
So my conclusion? The typical visitor to our National Parks suck. But, I also came to the conclusion that was a good thing. They arrive in the Park. Grab the visitor guide. And start to create this check list of where to go. They then race through the Park from one attraction to another as fast as they can, just so they can take it all in. All the while driving at the speed of light, passing little ol' me doing 45mph on deflated tires, as they blast to their next destination.
Why is this good? It leaves more room for folks like us that want the solitude. I'm glad they are insecure and need the comfort, and security, of camping in a parking lot. The desert, after all, is an evil place. Right?
Oh, forgot one story. After I made camp in Marble Canyon, right before sunset, I had this JK drive up the canyon. I figured there were two choices here. 1) they were going to camp at the narrows and hike the canyon in the morning. Or, 2) they were one of those folks I suggested above needing to check off the destination. Which one do you think they were? I'll give you a clue. After sunset, they drove out, and I had the canyon to myself. Bless them.
Why is this good? It leaves more room for folks like us that want the solitude. I'm glad they are insecure and need the comfort, and security, of camping in a parking lot. The desert, after all, is an evil place. Right?
Oh, forgot one story. After I made camp in Marble Canyon, right before sunset, I had this JK drive up the canyon. I figured there were two choices here. 1) they were going to camp at the narrows and hike the canyon in the morning. Or, 2) they were one of those folks I suggested above needing to check off the destination. Which one do you think they were? I'll give you a clue. After sunset, they drove out, and I had the canyon to myself. Bless them.
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