Death Valley Off-Road Adventures

I politely informed a group of 3 UTVs that they weren't supposed to be in the park (way up Plesnt Can), and they were trying to drive to Pan A Mint city (good luck with that). They had great trail etiquette and seemed to have made an honest mistake. Either way, reaching out nicely is necessary. Although I almost got my dog killed by a NorCal Misfit by asking him to stay on trail over by Carson tubz, rawr

 

In my fortunately rare encounters with folks doing the wrong thing I take the tack of acting like their friend. “Hey, you might not know it but X isn’t allowed here and they’ve been patrolling and ticketing people for it recently something fierce.”

 

I try and do the same. Although this is always floating around in the back of my head. Seems fitting given the day.


"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity" -- Martin Luther King Jr.

 

That is a rather timely quote!

 

...After gawking for several minutes at the brilliant green of patinaed copper in the early morning sun, we retreated from the summit - back to the Tacoma waiting below. Once there, we didn't have far to go - as retraced our path down Echo Canyon - before we reached the narrow dry fall that we'd encountered the evening before.

No longer trying to find camp before dark, we had a few more moments to savor this interesting couple hundred feet of road, and I took full advantage....

Keep reading the rest here
Into the Narrows - Loose Ends #2

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Keep reading the rest here
Into the Narrows - Loose Ends #2​

 

One more point on this issue, and maybe I'm just being naïve here, but NPS could really improve their signage--I bet it would help reduce some of the land abuse. Not everyone in a UTV is a jerk, they are popular and affordable vehicles, and I bet some folks are just ignorant to the law but would heed some signs if they were posted. Here's the park entrance at the top of Pleasant Valley:



Of course, everyone should know you can't drive OHVs into national parks, but if they don't, then this sign post is a lost opportunity to turn them away. There should be a "no atvs" sign here!

I don't think there was even a park boundary sign on South Park either, although I might have missed it as I was leaving the park. But I like taking pictures of my car next to national park signs, so I was at least looking. And assuming I'm right about the missing sign, you could drive a UTV all the way up to the top of Middle Park without any indication that you were in a national park.

Sure, signs will eventually get vandalized, but I don't think that's a reason not to put them up. Put a few spares in the ranger trucks.

And on a related note: sign placement. On through routes, the best place for a sign would be at the start of the trail, not the actual point of closure! People are a lot more willing to turn back at the trailhead and choose a different adventure, rather than double back after fighting through dozens of miles of rough terrain.

 

Photo dump from my trip! More on the ol' build thread.

 

As the sun broke the horizon, we were already cleaning up after breakfast and stowing the tent for the day - one I'd been anticipating for some time: my first exploration of Hidden Valley.

Can you tell that I'm excited?!

Our First Time to Hunter Mountain and Hidden Valley - Loose Ends #3​

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Keep reading the rest here
Our First Time to Hunter Mountain and Hidden Valley - Loose Ends #3​

 

For everyone that uses Google Earth to plan their trips, the world lost one of the co-founders of the company that eventually became Google Earth. Michael T. Jones passed away just a couple of days ago. He worked at Silicon Graphics around the time I did and I'd talked with him now and again over beers (we even had engineering presentations about beer) at engineering presentations. He won an award from the Royal Geographic Society for his development work on GIS last year.

I mention it only because it seems like yesterday a paper map was as good as it got. Today, using Google Earth, you can pre-plan your entire route and even fly through it with satellite views.

 

Google Earth is essential for planning a route! Look how far technology has come

 

It’s a great tool. But so is paper.

 

Paper map is classic lol. When Google Earth fails, only a map will save you.

 

Both are great tools to have, along with some great information in books.

 

I haven't relied on google earth as the primary source for route planning in a long time. I prefer using paper for route planning then filling in holes with google earth if needed.

 

You learn a lot from the paper maps. I feel like you’re freer to “wander” that way. Much the same as jumping around in an encyclopedia. There are some things you might not find otherwise.

 

Definitely more adventurous on a paper map

 

I wouldn't want to be out in the boonies without paper!

 

Who wants to bet he was David Carradineing himself.

Nice place to do it asshole!


https://www.sfgate.com/california-p...death-valley-saline-warm-springs-15886069.php

 

Wonder if the No Pool Service (NPS) emptying of the pools 1) prevented any deaths, and 2) aided in his death
Recreate respectably and hopefully the NPS will keep our lands open

 

He aided his own death by being a self-absorbed, dumb-ass, fuck-wit who didn't give a flying fuck about anything but himself by deciding his shit-worthy, good for nothing body should sit in the fucking source spring. And you can quote me on that. Fucking unforgivable thing to do. The world is a better place whenever it loses ass-hats like him that haven't the basic decency to think about anything other than their own damn selves.

EDIT: And yes, I may have strong opinions on the whole "this is why we can't have nice things" theme