Death Valley Off-Road Adventures

We left DV yesterday around 11:30 AM after doing Titus Canyon. We had a little rain during the drive, and some of those clouds looked pretty nasty!

 

Anyone know what kind of snake this is? Baby Panamint rattlesnake maybe?

 

I don't think it is a baby.

 

Looks like a Desert Rattlesnake to me too. Doesn't make much difference to me if it is a baby or not.

 

He was only about a foot long.....looks bigger in the picture than in person. I wasn't about to put my foot next to him for perspective.

 

I heard the babies are more deadly o.o

 

I've heard the same with the reason being young snakes don't have the ability to regulate the qty of venom they inject.

 

Very true. I would much rather get bit by an adult rattler than a baby......if I had to choose between the two of course!

 

According to the back country wilderness first aid courses I take through work the difference between an adult rattle snake bite and a juvenile is that an adult 3 out of 4 times will do a “dry” bite on a human (no venom). While a juvenile will almost always inject venom into the bite (lack of control as someone said earlier).

I just don’t mess with them either way!

 

Amber Share designs NPS posters based on shitty reviews of the parks. I thought her take on them was pretty good.

You might enjoy them as well. If you do, they're for sale too.

 

That's pretty funny and true for people who don't leave the parking lot. But I'd rather they stay there anyway.

 

I just cannot believe the reviews. What the heck is wrong with these people? I do kinda agree about Tunnel View tho-the trees have grown a lot... :hide:

 

Yea probably a good policy

 

It was the employee trailer village at the 3000’ pass. It was full during the operational phase of the Billie mine in the 80’s it shut down sometime in the mid 80’s due to foreign source competition from Turkey. State line, Nev was also rocking in those days. We used to meet life flight helps there at the 3000’ pass for patient transfers.

 

Yes indeed, it doesn’t take long at all, just a couple flash floods. I remember replacing the exit gate at Titus Canyon twice in 3 yrs, first time I saw the gate it was barely a foot above grade, 2-3 months later summer of 84 we found it about halfway down the was between the canyon exit and the road. Second time it was about 1-1/2 miles on the other side of the Hwy. Fun times down in the valley...

 

Was watching something today that talked about winds in the Sierras and the effect DV has on them. Crazy to think about what happens. From the crash of Steve Fossett's aircraft to hundreds of others scattered throughout the Eastern Sierras, DV draws the winds produced (we've experienced those) on those slopes. Doesn't seem at all possible given the distance, but it's true!

For those who might not be familiar, the Sierra can have some of the fiercest winds and they come in layers-it can be calm at one altitude and very, very turbulent at others. Down drafts and rotors are not uncommon-and that makes it one of the greatest places to fly gliders.

 

Yep. I stopped in there a couple weeks ago and I have no doubt it was a trailer park. It makes sense as employee housing because there's not much housing in that area.

 

Mountain wave from the Sierra extending all the way over Saline Valley:

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And gliders is exactly what was used in the late 40s/early 50s when the jet stream was discovered in and around Owens Valley. The book "Exploring The Monster" documents the studies done during those years.

 

There have also been many an attempt at gliding records on the OW as well. Some great articles over the years; including a piece that showed up in Nat Geo.