Death Valley Off-Road Adventures

You need to be very careful in the candy store. You'll gain 10 pounds before you get out the door...

 

Gaining 10 lbs before entering DV could be the difference between life and death if you break down and have to walk out. lol

 

Then a side trip to China Ranch Date Farm in Tonapah. One date shake will add another 10 lbs.

 

Must visit ?

 

Never heard of it. I have spent a fair amount of time in/around Tonopah but this is news.

 

When I wheel with you I ain't worried about gettin' stuck. I'm worried about gettin' broke!
Should prolly load up on snacks either way...

 

We left the park a day early. Pretty disappointed in it, I feel like we have a lot of similar trails (ghost towns, old mining roads) that are way less crowded in NV. We camped in homestake and it felt like a parking lot.. people were literally moving boulders to create new camp spots. Was planning on taking lettin? (Sp) road out but some dude told us an Altima got stuck and is blocking the road.

On the positive side Titus canyon was pretty cool.

 

Been a while since I was last last but per their website they are still in business.

http://www.chinaranch.com/

 

Ahhh... they're in Tecopa. I'll check it out when I'm down that way.

 

I can't blame ya'. That camping doesn't look fun at all. You could have set up anywhere with that Go-Fast.
Unfortunately, the winter holidays are not (in my opinion) a good time to visit the park if you don't like people. I suspect that the crowds may be a bit thicker in these COVID times.

If you are looking for solitude, it's very difficult to beat rural Nevada.

 

If you're down that way, sure.

It's a cool stop after exploring Sperry wash.

 

Man, that experience at Homestake is a bummer - definitely doesn't look fun. I've never stayed there given that campgrounds in general aren't really my thing - and with the ability to dispersed camp just about anywhere in DV, we've always opted for other (much more remote) places.

Also, remember that these are crazy times in the outdoors. I've seen more people this year than in the previous three years combined. I find myself hoping - on a regular basis - that as we start to get the virus situation under control, that things go back "to normal." As much as I love to see people experiencing the wonders that keep me coming back for more, it's extremely hard on nature to have so many inexperienced folks "out there" at the same time.

So yeah, bummer that you had the experience you did, but my recommendation is not to write off Death Valley based on the single visit. Keep in mind that the best places aren't the "main road" sites. Same is true in NV, so you know what I mean. The best trips in DV require a bit more planning than a single post to TW saying "where should I go?" On the one hand, you're going to get main line places with a question like that, and of course, the veterans aren't going to share the best places with you until you've built up a reputation for keeping them special.

 

Anything else to share about your first trip to DV?

 

Homestake looks miserable.

There are plenty of areas in the park with few or no people. Even more so if you explore on foot beyond the roads. Major Holidays in the parks are always amateur hour, this year more so.

 

I thought the pic with all the vehicles was the parking lot at the end of Titus. Wow. Way too many vehicles for that tiny spot

 

Any of you hams have a list of active repeaters you can hit from within the park? Don’t think I’ll get APRS or DPRS working before our trip, but can still get some channels pre-programmed.

 

Day 1- Made base up in mahogany flats to hike telescope peak! Day 2- 14miles round trip freezing cold. The wind was probably around 15mph-20 ice cold!! Couldn’t even feel my fingers. End up hiking in the dark. I think I saw Las Vegas or some type of town glowing east of the trail about 1mile away from the start. My legs were in so much pain couldn’t even sleep. Probably the worst night I spent in DV hahaha!!

 

Day 3- packed up and stop by charcoal kiln. Cleanest bathroom in DV. ( nice and cool) hahaha!! Then headed to the mesquite sand dunes. After playing in the sand for a bit off to Beatty to fuel up! ( I didn’t visit the candy store the first time) stop by Rhyolite ghost town. By the time we got done we had about 2hrs to get through Titus canyon! Before sunset. The first 20min of the drive was peaceful. After driving through Titus we got a campsite at mesquite springs. Host was pretty cool on his moped

 

Yeah, for sure. I bet there are some better spots. We were in the area on the NV side and said why not pop in to check it out then come back to reno on 395. I think I’m just spoiled being in northern NV.

Surprisingly when we got into camp it was pretty empty. We had all of our stuff unpacked then the swarms of people arrived. girlfriend did not want to move. We were unsure of the rules about camping since usually NPs are kinda strict. We definitely like our space where we can shoot, hot spring and not worry about others bothering us.

 

Mahogany Flats Camp Ground was beyond capacity lastnight, cars were on the side of the road making their own camp spot well before the actual campground. Total gridlock trying to get past the Telescope Peak Trail Head. I have never seen anything like that up there ever. The only place that wasn't crowded this whole week was Saline