Death Valley Off-Road Adventures

...Usually, when I visit Death Valley, my objective is to check out the more remote parts of the region. Forgotten dusty roads, steep narrow valleys that require as much climbing as hiking, and days without human contact - such are the places I prefer to visit. So, exploration of Death Valley itself - especially near Furnace Creek - has been somewhat infrequent. Of course I had seen a majority of the popular sight-seeing destinations, yet somehow amidst this barren landscape, even major thoroughfares harbor unique hikes to seldom-visited places. Seemingly hidden, despite being so close to the highway.

With a delusional plan to stumble around the park until darkness, drive back to LA, pick up my wife, then race straight back to Vegas for a 6AM flight, it was time to find out. What I'd discover - that we totally made the flight with like 10 breathless minutes to spare - would get me thinking: what else could I have still explored that night while texting my wife that I was "definitely finally heading home" from Death Valley?...

Keep reading the rest here
An Impressively Planned Meetup | Roadside Hikes #1​

​

​

​

Keep reading the rest here
An Impressively Planned Meetup | Roadside Hikes #1


​

 

Wait. Which of you is the ghost writer here?

JK - these are the stories I come here for

​

 

OK, this is hilarious, I read Mike's post and thought that it was great, not even realizing his brilliance. Now I notice the photos as well. This is why I need to pay Mike to "write" all my stuff.

 

·
Press release from regarding body recovery operation

DEATH VALLEY, Calif. – On December 3, 2022, a 54-year-old man was found dead after falling while canyoneering alone in Death Valley National Park.

Canyoneering is a sport that involves descending canyons by a combination of hiking, downclimbing, and rappelling. It is typically done as a group activity, due to the inherent risks.

“We recommend that anyone going into the backcountry lets someone know their plans. The park doesn’t track the 1.7 million people that visit each year,” said Abby Wines, park spokesperson and avid canyoneer. “This man was not reported overdue, and the search did not start in time to save his life. A satellite communication device also could have been a lifesaver.”

Several clues led to a search for the man. A campground host reported a campsite with a tent still in it (but no people) after the dates the site was paid for. Park rangers left a note on the site. The rangers returned the following day to pack up the abandoned property and found climbing gear and a package with a name and address in the tent.

The rangers recalled having seen a vehicle at Mosaic Canyon Trailhead late in the day when they finished carrying out a person with an injury a couple days earlier. The vehicle was still there, so they ran the plates. It was registered to the person addressed on the package in the tent.

The search and subsequent body recovery were conducted by National Park Service, , Inyo County Sheriff’s Office, VX-31 rescue helicopter, and H-82 helicopter. The official cause of death will be determined by Inyo County Coroner’s Office.

Park rangers and SAR team members observed that the man’s rope was not long enough to reach the ground on a long rappel. He tied a piece of webbing to the end of the rope but appears to have made a mistake when disconnecting his rappel device to pass the knot joining the rope and webbing. Rangers estimate he fell about 30 feet.

The man died in the West Fork route in Mosaic Canyon. The first known canyoneering descent of this route was in 2012. There are over 100 known canyoneering routes in the park. This is not a route that is commonly descended.

 

...It was shortly after 2:00pm when I arrived at the trailhead for my next destination. Literally parked along the shoulder of CA-190, anyone driving by might surely wonder, "why is a person parked here?" I know I certainly thought as much when I'd noticed a particular white Tacoma about this time last year...

​

​

Keep reading the rest here
Big Mines and Squeeze Slots | Highway Hikes #2





.​

 

The fake winch line coming out of the tailgate makes me laugh much more than it should.

 

25 Years Visiting Death Valley

This week marks an anniversary for me, 25 years since my first visit to Death Valley. I ended up visiting because the cover of Digonnet's first edition, which had just come out, intrigued me in the book section at the Sport Chalet in La Canada, CA a few months earlier. Based on that I gathered what other information I could and planned a trip for the start of winter break.

I turned in a final project for a class a few hours before leaving and picking up a friend who flew in for the trip. We took a Honda Civic and got stuck on ice going up Wildrose Rd that first afternoon trying to enter the park. Got the car pushed off the ice and ended up going around the long way to make it to Wildrose campground in the dark for a very cold night. We spent a few days hitting many of the standard tourist spots as well as some excellent off the beaten path hikes out of Digonnet. I was back just a few weeks later solo as I knew I was hooked.

I actually didn't take a camera on that first trip. A year later I did take a photo under similar conditions that reminds me of my first full day in the park:

​

 

My first visit to DV will have its 41st anniversary in a few weeks. I also drove a Honda Civic, a brand new 1982 3 door hatch which did great in deep snow at the Grand Canyon and Bryce and Tahoe which were all part of an epic 4 day road trip. My GF and I slept in the back of the Civic two nights, one night somewhere in the Mojave and the last night at Texas Springs, and motelled it one night in AZ. No pictures

 

@DVexile Your first visit sounds bit like one of mine. We arrived near the end of the day, found a spot at Wildrose and realized how damn cold it is--if that's the price for perfect days? I'm good.

I have a Civic but there is no way I would drive it to DV

 

You guys are making me feel young, so thank you

 

I’ve driven a few street cars through DV. And by through I mean on the pavement, through the touristy spots, headed to the other side lol

 

Pavement, sure. But dirt roads and stuck were mentioned. My Civic is a Type R. So no way I’d drive it any where off a paved highway.

 

That poor Civic got taken on plenty of roads it probably shouldn’t have (and I can thank Digonnet for the encouragement to do so, as he makes a point to note some horrible roads he’s gotten standard clearance vehicles down). The cosmetic chrome tailpipe cover is somewhere in the wash between the near and far groups of pinnacles at Trona (Civic exit angle not so great). The alignment got thrown out of whack in Capitol Reef. Managed to get it all the way to Dance Hall Rock in Grand Staircase. It was fortunate to only have about three years of abuse before I got a used 92 4WD 22RE long bed.

 

My Civic, as well as the original version Ford Fiesta and VW Scirocco that preceded it, saw plenty of dirt road action on the Western slope and in the Eastern Sierra. They seemed great on forest roads compared to the Chevy Vega I had earlier. Even my briefly-owned 1981 TransAm saw action on the roads to hot springs east of Mammoth.

 

Never took my '89 hatch off pavement, but damn was that thing good for roadtrips. Great gas mileage, too. The gas gauge was broken, and I'd always refill about 10 gallons around 330 on the trip odo.

 

This discussion is cracking me up. I love reading all your memories. Thank you for sharing. My first trip to DVNP (New Years 1997-98) was in a '93 Chevy Beretta. I was a seriously broke college student from UNM meeting a buddy who lived in CA at the time. The Beretta was a real POS but was paid for and cheap to run - it took me down so many backroads all over NM, especially the 4 Corners area and into SE Utah. The DVNP trip was incredible - I was in my 5th year of a geology BS so I was in 7th heaven. My buddy had a dual sport, or what passed for them back then, and we rode all over the place to hike and explore out of a base camp up Warm Spring Canyon and then again up near Ubehebe Crater. I thought I was going to rattle to death going to the Racetrack on back of the motorcycle. I wish I had been able to afford a camera. I have my field book (of course!) and notes. On the way out, I drove out past Scotty's Castle - that was super cool. I pulled over to camp off Hwy 95 - it was so cold my gallon water jug froze solid. I was sleeping on the ground wrapped up in a tarp, and these fighter jets came overhead - fast and low. I woke up to their afterburners as they did pass over pass over me... It was incredible. One of many reasons I'm lucky to live in Southern Nevada now - I get to explore all these places again (and thankfully in my much more capable and comfortable to sleep in, Tacoma!).

I plan on returning to DVNP for new year's this year - 24 year anniversary!

 

Recent pic (not mine) from North Pass

 

Yeah, I saw this on FB just before heading to DV and wimped out on North Pass, didn’t have time for South Pass after driving 100+ miles on 50 and 395 in R2 chain controls at 25-35 mph. Just tent camped behind Stovepipe Wells and hiked the Dunes, drove out with a quick detour to Lee Flat the next morning, and got an amazing 15 minute show from a couple of F35’s.

 

Encountered this on the social media, and realized it actually pertains to a hike I'm planning this winter, to see some remains of the monorail:



I would assume they're discussing this patch of privately held land surrounding the Crystal Hills site:


(pink = DOD [China Lake], purple = NPS [DEVA], blue = state land, except the blue line which is a BLM administrative boundary. The road at lower right is the one going up to the old microwave site in the Owlsheads)

Hopefully we will still be allowed to hike there, the only other options to see remnants of the monorail line involve trespassing on Navy land, which sounds stupid even by my book.

 

What's the status of the trail from Cerro Gordo to the Salt Tram?