Death Valley Off-Road Adventures

Several places. Mostly for gas, water and whisky. Trona, Ridgecrest, Bishop, Baker, Furnace Creek and Beatty.

I read of DVNP road condition fb page that it's offically open.

 

Just curious, are the cabins available to the public? I would imagine at this time of year they make staying in DV much more palatable, instead of braving the cold winter nights out in a tent. Looks comfy. Looking to head out that way to do some exploring. Did you use a book or is this just secret knowledge? Any help would be welcomed. And LOVE the pics! Looks like you had a great month out there!

 

Thanks. Actually that shaft was headed up. Maybe to the Porter Mine?

 

Thank you!
Yes available to the public, first come/first served. I spent two weeks of the four in five different cabins. If not for the cabins I probably would of headed home with my tail between my legs after about two weeks of tent camping...

General rule with the cabins: Please bring a few supplies for stocking the cabin for the next visitors, whether it be canned food, unopened drinking water, cleaning products, firewood or beer. It's always respected if you leave the cabins better than you found them. If any work that may need doing is in clear need- please take on the responsability. And if you have room to haul any amount of trash that maybe someone not as respecful left, please do.
Max stay is four days.

No special knowledge, just overhear something here...something there... And investigating.. I'm also signed up with most of the local Death Valley forums:

http://forum.salinepreservation.org/
http://www.death-valley.net/forum/index.php
http://www.panamintvalley.com/forum/index.php

And spent alot of time on Google Earth.

Most of the cabins are on BLM land. The ones in DVNP are for the most part covered in vermin turds and some may consider in un-livable condition.

 

It's counterintuitive on the surface, but think about it....

Who is using the cabins out in the remote BLM land?
Who is using the primitive campsites surrounding Moab?

The pigs stay close to the highway and Starbucks. They assume that the NPS will come along and clean up their mess.
Doesn't the NPS have maid services?
Those who venture out have more respect for the land and those who follow them.

 

Not sure that Yosemite is any better.
One thing that is sad is that "the pigs" have forced vehicular closures of some areas, which deprives those with more limited mobility of being able to really enjoy the parks.
My wife can walk, but anything more strenuous than Carlsbad Caverns is a no-go. Even then, I probably walked twice the distance she did going back and forth checking things out while she rested.

So when a park is so packed that it's gridlocked, and the NPS decides to shut it down and force people to use shuttles, it really sours the experience.
Yellowstone has not done this, but near Mammoth, Red's Meadows (Devil's Postpile) has been shuttle-access only for many years, and I've heard the same has happened to major portions of Yosemite.

Back to the first post... looking at the description of the trails...
1 - "High Clearance"... Basically dirt/fire roads where a 5-lug would do the trick? Of course, I'd want some aggressive tires even on a 5-lug, just to fend off rocks.

2 - I'm assuming that they are leaning to the conservative side on their 4x4 recommendations? I remember going to a lot of these sites back in '74 after dad bought his K5, and we never did lock the transfer case into 4H... and I do remember roads I wouldn't want to take the 5-lug on.

 

No problem! After about two weeks I got kind of tired of taking pics. Didn't get that many pics of Saline Valley or the Argus Range... Kind of regretting it now.

But my photobucket has over 400 pics in it.

Regarding the shock. No doubt the hundreds of miles of washboarded road didn't help... But, It bottomed out. My fault. 10" shocks.
I did have 4" bumpstops, but I noticed after I did my axle relocate plates that the drivers side rear had less travel by an inch. Not sure why? I'd planned to switch out the 10" with my ome nitros which are shorter, but I didn't find the time. It is what it is. Gonna have to cough up the money for the shock relocation.

Over everything, I'm not very happy about the swingout. I was packed to the gills, so I had to run all the way to Bishop from Saline with my tire ratcheted three different ways to Sunday until I could figure out how to make room to fit that all in my bed. Hopefully they'll replace it.

The duratracs held up decent. Only used my locker twice. I was aired down 15-20psi most of the time. A rock in Mengal Pass slashed thru a layer of sidewall and did the scrap to my slider and the Argus Range gave me a sidewall puncture in the same tire with what looks like a cactus quill... But after all the punishment they took, I'm pretty impressed.

Notable things about the trip:
This time of year weather is fairly crappy , windy and cold. Possitive side is until I hit a main road or a tourist spot, I wouldn't see anyone for days. And all but one cabin I stayed at were empty when I arrived, and for the most part never saw a soul while staying in them.

I was able to see alot on my trip so give yourself plenty of time to visit. (That's one of biggest things I learned this trip.) 4-5 days if possible. And try to explore small areas of the park per trip.My national park map made DV seem small, but due to the conditions of most back country roads you may never be able to do over 10 mph.

Of course be over prepared; food, water and GAS. At least one full sized spare and plenty of plugs and rubber cement. SPOT or SAT phone or a 2M radio.

The largest, number one thing I'm happy I did was research, -To see what others have done that I might like to do-. I'll all for adventuring. But I spent hours and hours and gallons and gallons of gas driving around and seeing a whole lot of nothing while "Adventuring". I don't think I'll ever go to The Owl Head Mtns or Gold Valley again...Fyi.

 

Yes for the most part the map roads are marked that way so they don't end up with another batch of dead German Tourists. Sometimes they'll rock the beginnings of roads with baseball size rocks to discourage people from taking certain roads.

A five luger can get through 99% of DV with decent tires. Only roads I can think of at the moment that I've been on are that are 4x4 only; Goler Wash @ Mengal Pass, Pleasant Canyon, South Park Cyn, Lippincott, Echo Cyn north of Inyo Mine and Steal Pass going south.

 

Great pics, thanks for sharing. You hit Butte Valley right after we were there, I am willing to bet that is our flag we put up. We usually like to leave one at every cabin we visit.

We saw the same thing about the maps, the parts maked high clearance and 4wd only are a joke. Our last trip, there was one or 2 times we needed 4WD. Titan and racetrack are bumpy but could be done in a civic.

 

Thank you for posting the great pics.

I think I see some Tibetan Prayer Flags in Geologists cabin opposite the window. Are they still there? I hung those across the main window years ago and in any subsequent trip report they were gone. Figured someone took them. I hope they are still there.

You saw the ringtail at Briggs. LUCKY! I know one lives at Stone and my friend saw one at Briggs in basically the same spot you caught it. They are so neat. I know the info is out there but keeping the crap out of those special places is important. Not talking only of rodent droppings either. Human crap is just that-CRAP.

Sadly yes trails are closed all the time on the premise of protecting lands. We are losing so many that were accessible not so long ago. I can't believe there are shuttles to Reds Meadow. I camped there years ago and hiked from there to Rainbow Falls, up to Devils Postpile, and back to Reds.

Please PM those of us in the know if you have questions about certain locations and how to get there if you have not already found it on the web via searching. There are treasures to be protected out there. Also watch Sierra Club and the like and their actions. Fight to keep places open.

 

No, thank you. Doubt I'd have explored that area if not from some info from you and the D.E.R.P. crew.
Unfornately, no Tibetan flags.

Along the course, I traveled a-many-a-mile to see alot of things; a ring tail cat and a mountain sheep. Still need to see a Mt. Sheep and I'm set.

 

Ian, Great pics and awesome trip you had. I envy that much time you had spent in the area. Thanks for sharing the pics! I'm having to live vicariously these days!

 

amazing photos, makes me want to get back out there soon!

 

subd

 

I think the ringtail is far more rare than the bighorn. I headed up to Briggs this past Thanksgiving. A small group was down at Stone after we arrived and they were treated to a nighttime visit from the ringtail. On our way out I did see my first bighorn. What an epic gift nature brought.

 

Backpacked to Panamint city last week, got to see a Bighorn on the way down to Ballerrat.

Just got baack from Saline Valley today, went down the north pass and camped at willow creek, just past where the road had washed out. made our way to the salt lake and saw the old salt tramway that went over the mountain 100 years ago, cant imagine how hard it was to build that:


Headed back up to the south pass and stopped off at the lower warm springs for a dip (yes this guy was nude, waited for him to leave)



Made it down the steps to the Dunes and camped there last night. amazing place!

 

What was Panamint City like. Any pictures.

 

Awesome! Backpacking is the best! I once planned on backpacking to Manly peak but ran out of daylight.

 

The trail up to Panamint is a difficult one, 7 miles and 3k elevation gain up a river bed, lots of bushwacking waterfall climbing and loose rocks. but the ghost town is one of the best. The last time the road washed out everything was just abandoned.

this is a pic from last year:


this is from this year, the trail up:


the cabin we stayed in:

there are more pics in this thread:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/of...0991-weird-cool-stuff-you-found-woods-17.html

 

Thanks, I wondered what it look like today.