Death Valley Off-Road Adventures

Or we just get it loaded up on a trailer and take it to Browns recycling yard.

 

I’ve always liked this Buick that’s off the Lake Hill Rd (?) at the north end of Panamint Valley between 190 and the trailhead to the Panamint Dunes or Big Four Mine.

In 40 years that F150 will be similarly appealing. Leave it there for my grandkids to enjoy.

 

It's kind of a shitty situation. At some level, it belongs to someone. If you're gonna move it, let the SO or NPS know what your plan is. Or do it in the middle of the night

 

I almost added the "after we get permission from the relevant agencies" clause. lol

 

Well, I got to the bottom of Dedeckera with a few moments to spare before sunset... but with a storm blowing in, skies were mostly doom-and-gloom to the west, with hints of interesting color to the east. I wasn't holding out a lot of hope for a memorable sunset though.



And then I got lost, just like @sawbladeduller :

Stupid alluvial fans! Stupid geology! Stupid weather! Wish to hell I had read your most-timely post before setting out on this stupid adventure.



So I was swearing up a storm chasing dead-end after dead-end with no idea where to go, when a bit of color caught my eye to the west....



What the hell?



It's as if the lord had heard my cursing and shot some rays of sunshine right at me! He missed and hit clouds instead, but it was damn impressive to see for the whole minute it lasted.



Not a bad way to end the day. Well other than a 6-hour drive home of course. Oh and leaving a window down when I hit the sand near the dunes. Doh!

There was a single person camped at Eureka, he flagged me down to say hi -- the only human I saw between Saline Hot Springs and Stovepipe Wells on the way home. I told him my sob story about getting rained/snowed out of my stupid idea of driving up this one particular mountain, but he had me beat: This poor guy had a Whitney permit for a hike that was supposed to start that night!



-> <- Missed it by that much, folks!



Stopped for a few more photos in Trona.



Such a bizarre place.

 

Hey, I didn't mean to criticize the clothing-optional scene -- someday I hope to dip in myself, just maybe when it's less busy. What I meant is that I felt like a huge creep walking around fully clothed with a camera in my hand! Made a point of keeping it pointed in a safe direction with the safety cap on and my finger off the shutter.

According to the parks website, Dedeckera is easier North to South. That means climbing, not descending the steps. That sounds a lot harder to me. I would say South to North, from Saline to Eureka, is definitely the easier way to go.

 

You stopped in Trona? At night?

Although I will say, it’s definitely nicer at night. Can’t see the burnt out homes. Or gorgeous high school with a dirt football field.

 

Dude WTF is this place? And what all that black goopy shit ?

 

Im always on high alert when stopping for fuel in Trona after sundown..

 

Shit, news to me... I always thought it was a nice little mining community. Are there zombies at night?

I'm looking forward to golfing there someday, apparently they have a public course! Just need a set of golf clubs, and maybe to learn how to golf first.

 

They mine borax and other stuff. Place literally stinks. I hear the pay is pretty decent though. Gotta get quality workers that far out of society, I guess.

 

I’ll meet ya there. We can go search for zombies. And golf. Since I don’t golf, we’ll buy some clubs in Trona, I’m sure there’s a nice meth head with a great deal!!

Why not just fuel up in Ridgecrest?

 

I'd just be afraid that trying to do the right thing would bite you in the ass.

 

I don't go through Ridgecrest, would add additional time and distance..

 

But there’s a super Walmart lol… Makes sense though, never been on those side routes out to Trona, only ever taken the 395.

 

+1 I think south to north (down the steps) is easier. That's the direction I ran the first time I went through the canyon and I was glad I did. Having run it both directions a few times now, it's like anything else - it's not as hard as it looks. But it certainly looks (and feels) intimidating the first time.

Just remember to take it slow and you'll be fine.

 

Trona seems much better now than when I first passed through sometime in the eighties. There was no reliably open gas station then; now there’s what, two? But it’s heyday was a few decades earlier. I’ve read that the HS football team loved home games on the dirt field - the visitors, not so much.

 

Maybe not.

 

A bit off-topic, but we camped a few nights on Federal land outside Sedona Arizona last week, legally. We left two Harbor Freight chairs, two folding stools, our leveling blocks (just 2x6 lumber) and door mat and a milk crate to “reserve” our site during the day. Is that ”ghost camping”? I don’t think so … It was pretty remote. When we came back in the late afternoon, 8 hours later, the chairs and stools were gone. Luckily we kept two extra small Helinox chairs in the van for the rest of the trip. Another guy I talked to who camped a few miles away left a plastic crate with a cast iron Dutch oven inside it at his site, which was about 5 miles from ours … also taken. First time in 40+ years of camping at campgrounds and dispersed that I’ve ever had anything taken.

 

dan, I really like your photography, do you have a link to more of your work?