Death Valley Off-Road Adventures

I believe the confusion is down to three kinds of camping:

• Developed campgrounds (e.g. Furnace Creek, Mesquite Flat, Wildrose, etc.)
• Backcountry/primitive campgrounds/sites (e.g. Homestake, Eureka, Warm Springs)
• Dispersed backcountry camping

As best I can tell they are allowing dispersed backcountry camping - meaning where a single family is camped along a backcountry road far from any other family. They are specifically telling people the primitive campgrounds in the backcountry where multiple families would be in closely spaced designated sites are closed just like the developed campgrounds. The NPS uses multiple terms to refer to the primitive backcountry campgrounds like Homestake which confuses things.

In any case during the earlier stay at home order there was an awful lot of stupid in the backcountry various places. Please be safe, sane and considerate of the wilderness.

 

Yup, @DVexile nailed it.

The developed backcountry sites are closed. Later in the FB thread DV chimed in again and clarified that if the campground has a toilet or picnic table, it is closed but disbursed camping is not closed at this time. That may change though.

The DV website was updated 12/7/20 and lists campgrounds closed through 5/15/21 but clarifies that non-group sites (8 people maximum) and primitive camping are still available.

www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/camping.htm

 

I just noticed that it also says "and permits are suspended.".

 

Permits for????

I thought backcountry permits are optional in DV.

 

Permits are required for things such as large groups traveling in the back country, filming, and Automobile Manufacturers test driving prototype vehicles in DV

 

Hmmm, wonder if the backcountry cabins qualify as dispersed , or are roads like iWarm Springs considered a day use road?

 

10.13.20 F2 20UD IR400@12 500C 60C EKTAR100

 

I know that exact Joshua tree. Hope you enjoyed the spot!

 

yes, I did

 

Such a nice spot. We were just reminiscing about it ourselves!

 

so windy...but great views & a story to tell!

 

So, I have a pro tip. OK, maybe a mid-level tip, given the company I'm in here.

If you have the books (you know the ones), cut off the binding and then take them to your local FedEx Office (or somewhere similar) and get them spiral bound. I've done this to all three of mine now, and after using them this way on the last several trips, I can't believe how much easier they are to use. You can open them to any page and just set them down. Fold them all around. So convenient.

A nice side effect is that, while they are in individual pages, you can scan them to a format that you can use on mobile devices, if you so choose.

​

 

perfect...thanks!
the bindings are already in poor shape after just a bit of use...

 

That's a great idea...spiral bound DV bibles.

 

Pretty rad!

 

I've got several books that are falling apart. Never thought of that. Thank You.

 

Spiral binding ftw!



Would you consider sharing your scans with those who can establish that we own the original text? I would love to have pdfs of some of these guides, but my bindings aren't worn out yet. Also I'm lazy.

 

Just FYI, scanning the book could be a copyright violation in and of itself. Giving the scans away may also be as well.

Not trying to be Debbie Downer-just let you know that there’s a chance you’re violating someone’s copyright and maybe even income.

 

I was wondering if anyone would ask that when I wrote it.

My view is that scanning for your own personal use isn't all that different from taking photos for when you're on a hike, so you don't have to carry the entire text. Or creating a copy of a CD/DVD for archive. However, I personally feel like that quickly becomes a slippery slope if you share it - because you then don't have control over the copies (as much as I might want to trust the people I shared it with). So, I'm not likely to share the text.

Yep.

 

I was wondering how you cut the binding off?