Death Valley Off-Road Adventures

Yikes, thank you. I probably need to check the length of my brake lines. This was the first trip with the new suspension.

 

Taken from 190 this morning.

 

Well, to conclude my non Death Valley related posts I'm quite certain that the problem was diff oil burping out of the diff breather.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/leaking-front-diff-breather-causes.523253/

 

Are people back country camping or getting the boot? Was reading it’s closed off but wanted to go for a few days!

 

Back country camping is open. If you are in the Valley, there will be a lot of fellow dispersed campers. When I drove by Echo Canyon it appeared to have a closed gate (If I was looking at the correct road), maybe too many people were camping there. Cottonwood Canyon by Stovepipe Wells had a lot of people, but most could not venture very far on the road and I had a nice night of solitude up the canyon. Plenty of solitary camping in Panamint Valley too.

 

34 Kilometers from pavement. Outside the park; but close by. Population of one. Everything seems right in nature. Lots of grass in places where it wasn't before--but used to be.

 

Just back from our NYE trip to DV. Hit a lot out of the Panamint side this time around... up Pleasant Canyon, explored the forests, and down South Canyon. Stayed down in the lowland for warmth, and then up Gohler to Striped Butte and Red Rock Canyon the next day. Wrapped it up with a hike to Panamint City and it was a blast...so different from the other parts of the park. After 100 harsh miles in DV this trip, 2020 said goodbye with 2 flats while in Trona Pins, how fitting!

 

I thought that route was one way?

 

Not at all.

 

Pretty sure it had a one way sign saying its one way.. but double checking my old photos it appears to be "no turn around" either way would not want to be stuck backing up that trail with another group heading up. I've always read it was a directional loop.

 

One-way would be tough if there was more snow on the pass between the valleys up top. But yeah, I wouldn't want to back up through Chicken Rock, bahaha

 

I've driven both ways across the bridge and chicken rock and have seen vehicles passing both directions on many occasions. My guess for the "one way" is only for the bridge and Chicken Rock. Otherwise it is a free for all.

 

Just got back... WHAT AN AMAZING PLACE!!! Will post some photos and a short writeup soon, but wanted to say thanks to y'all for all the great info, it made for a totally smooth trip. We ended up avoiding stuff accessible by pavement as the park was really busy! We entered at Trona then Goler, two nights at Mengal, Warm Springs Rd, Badwater, Panamint (gas), S. Pass (SNOW), Hunter Mtn, camped in Ulida, Teakettle, Racetrack, Lippencott, Saline, camped at Steel Pass for two nights, Dedeckera, Eureka, out through Bishop.

Goler/Mengal, Lippencott, Steel/Dedeckera were all pretty well remodeled so easy sailing. We saw a stock suburban go up Mengal! Alone! And a huge Dodge come up through Dedeckera...

I think we saw you, @kylehorvath going down Mengal towards the striped butte Wednesday? (we were camped up just above the pass) Also saw two LARGE groups of taco's at Steel Pass. One going to warm springs and the other going the other way. I think the S. bound group had been planning on camping where we were... if that was anyone on this thread, thanks for leaving us in solitude - sorry for busting your plans!

 

Found a couple cool videos about the geology of DV. Kinda long but still good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxQGsoe7HaI&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Emw2wqd1Iw&feature=youtu.be

 

The bridge no longer exists before chicken rock (going up from Briggs). It has been removed with the section rebuilt and filled in during a renovation project a few years ago by BLM

 

It wasn't too long after this All Pro sponsored run that the bridge was deemed unsafe and a road closure happened. The road closure was a big deal for a while with rumors that the closure would be permanent, because BLM did not have a budget for repairs.

 

Not quite DV, but I went out to the Trona Pinnacles Saturday afternoon, camped, and explored the Argus range on Sunday via the old Nadeau trail off of Trona Rd. Short trip, but I had to get out, cabin fever. I stayed self sufficient and only stop for gas without going inside to pay. Solitude.

The Nadeau trail has quite a few dips that will challenge the departure angle of your rig. On the bright side I've gained some clearance. I explored some mill ruins, old mine operations, and the Panamint Valley crater.

 

If it was just a lonely Accss Cab Tacoma, that was us! We decided hiking the Butte and exploring a few other canyons was worth the drive back in the dark (it was so much fun).

The fixed "bridge" is new-ish to my knowledge, and while they reopened South Canyon... there are no intentions to reopen the road to Panamint (hahaha)... Has anyone seen what that road used to look like, holy cow.

Also, your route selection was stellar... That's a ton of ground covered for a short trip. You really packed it in, cheers!

 

For any stone monkeys, Wagon Wheel (the BLM OHV area) is a must-do if you head home via Mo-Jave or ToHatchAPee