Death Valley Off-Road Adventures

Beginning of the End - Back for More #3

On our last trip, we stumbled on a location in the park that I - only after coming home and researching it - thought was super cool. Apparently, this is the original home of the first Park Superintendent, built by the CCC, in 1933.

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Also made my way up into Pleasant Canyon for the first time, and it was amazing. I'll have to go back and spend more time here - the few hours that we spent was not enough to explore any of the spur roads, or even the mine sites to my satisfaction!

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I was really looking forward to this from Mike @mk5's trip report from a few months back.

Story and pics: Beginning of the End - Back for More #3

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I've been watching his videos for a while. This one didn't pop up in my feed.

 

Great video. Only comment, arms work better for hand signals than fingers.

 

the Clair Camp has some interesting history, and it's what makes it so haunted. Makes it fun staying over night, especially when the dashlights on the excavator glows after dark...if it's still there

 

Saw this thread on the main page... Just wanted to pop in and share a couple pictures from taking my oldest son up to Chloride City in my Subie a few years ago. This was one of those trips I half regretted after the fact because it was super sketch going up there in the Outback... but we had a blast and made some memories. Hiked down to Big Bell Mine and camped for one night on a new moon phase so he got to *really* see the Milky Way for the first time.

Can't wait to go back in the Taco now that the Subie is out of commission!

 

Do they glow because they have radium or tritium painted on them?

 

we investigated that theory, and no does not..

 

Ran across this on IG today.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CYl7EZwrmyN/

Interesting read.

 

That's super cool. Makes the song that much better!

From the IG post:
talesalongelcaminosierra
For this post, we take the liberty of detouring several miles east of the Eastern Sierra region to the arid landscapes of Death Valley National Park. Though a hundred miles or so distant, Death Valley will forever be intricately linked to the area found in the shadows of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Afterall, you can see Mt. Whitney from Dantes View right? Plus…we just really like this particular tale.
Stan Jones was a ranger for the National Park Service in Death Valley in the 1940s. He was assigned to the somewhat remote Emigrant Ranger Station, where he spent a good deal of time by himself.
An amateur musician and would be song writer, Ranger Jones was inspired by a lightening show put on in the desert sky by an intense summer storm to write the classic western song, “Ghost Riders in the Sky.”
One of Jones’s duties in Death Valley was to act as the Park Service liaison to the movie studios when they came to Death Valley to film. In the evenings, Jones would often entertain the Hollywood crew with songs he wrote and sang, including Ghost Riders in the Sky.
Encouraged by actor Randolph Scott, Jones went to Los Angeles on his vacation in 1948 to try and sell some of the music he wrote. RCA picked up a few of Jones’s songs, including Ghost Riders in the Sky, and by April of 1949, Jones’s Death Valley inspired song had become one of the most popular in the entire country The popular song propelled Jones into a Hollywood career, where he wrote songs for Walt Disney, and appeared in a few movies as well. You can read more about “Stan Jones the Singing Ranger in Tales Along El Camino Sierra.

 

Ghost Riders has been covered by a lot of bands-dare I say it's almost a standard? My favorite is one is a live performance by the Highwaymen and reading the history of what influenced the song is pretty cool.

https://youtu.be/nOWjX4BpC24

 

Weather was perfect this past week in DV. If you guys ever get the chance Alabama hills in Lone Pine was a fun stop, the trails near the mountain had snow. The portal to Whitney was closed as well as some adjacent trails, but the trails that take you to camp spots were all open. Saw several other Tacos in the area I’ll admit, my Taco in the snow/Ice struggled on inclines/declines, I slid so easily. I definetly did not go as far as the Jeeps I saw in the area on 37” tires, but it still made it fun. I’ll carry chains with me I think from now on, sliding uncontrollably was not a good feeling Stay safe out there, DVNP is a must for you guys on the fence about going.

 

What tires do you have?

 

Discoverers At3, 265/75/16.

 

Hey @turbodb how was the road from Ubehebe to Racetrack? I've heard that the washboarding can get unbearable but they grade it every so often. Nice to hear that Lippincott isn't as scary as some make it out to be. I've been meaning to take a trip that links Lippincott through the backside of Cerro Gordo, maybe visit the tramway.

 

I know you didn't ask me, but I'll chime in. As of two months ago the road is not bad at all if you air down and drive fast. There were no boulders or steps that required slowing down. I did slow when meeting oncoming drivers though, and yes, at low speeds it is unbearably jarring.

If you're talking about going soon, I would try checking with CG regarding the road status on the back side--it's pretty shaded, so it harbors snow. It's not too steep though, so perhaps some amount of snow isn't a dealbreaker. Downhill would be the easier bet in the winter. On the other hand, although the tram road gets more sun, I wouldn't try it if there's much snow at all, because some spots are quite steep, and it begins with a very narrow, tippy shelf segment.

 

I had two rocks.... That made me bounce back on the lippincott but that's coming down from it. And the washboard part.... Wasn't that bad when I went during thanksgiving.

 

Its an open loop I've had planned in my head for a few years (Titus > Ubehebe > Racetrack > Cerro Gordo > > Tramway > home) but not sure when I'll get round to it. My sons are still too young to get out that remote, so my choices are to wait a few years or leave the family at home to sneak out on a boys' trip. That would require cashing in a lot of brownie points.

I typically visit(ed) DV/MNP in the fall, before it gets cold enough to snow. It did hail a ton one year on Thanksgiving weekend, covering the entire desert floor in glittering white. I'm looking through my pictures and I guess I didn't take any, as it really came down when we were gassing up and attaching my buddy's CJ to flat tow home. Saw a cool rainbow earlier though.

 

I recently drove to the Racetrack and down Lippincott in my stock 3rd gen DCSB OR with 90k mile old shocks. Washboard was nothing bad compared to other stuff in DV; conversely I found Lippincott a little slower and rockier than I expected, and scraped a few times. But not scary

 

Little off topic but do you guys know if 4wd is needed to get to the Trona Pinnacles? No serious off-roading planned, I just plan on camping there and taking pictures on my way to Death Valley in March.