Death Valley Off-Road Adventures

Airing down helps a lot, if you are able to. I also found going a little faster will help out. Be sure to only drive within in safety and personal limits. Also be careful to not overheat your suspension. A lot of times you can find the right speed where it kind of smooths out.

 

Yes it can.

 

That's boring

 

Washboards are boring. But they're better then pavement. I just like to give @tetten shit whenever possible.

 

Agreed!

 

It's nice to see someone still has a tent....that actually goes on the ground

 

agreed! just bought a new one for me. Dan Durston xMID 1P, available on DROP formerly MASS DROP, check it out - also has a 2p. Also available on Amazon.

 

It’s really easy to set up and it’s so light. With the fly up I had good insulation from the wind/cold temps. It’s also great in the summer because the roof of the tent is just screens so you can see the stars as you fall asleep without getting destroyed by bugs. RTT’s are appealing but for now I like the old fashioned way.

 

Nothing wrong with that.

 

Honestly in the summer I usually sleep in a hammock when I camp if there are trees around. Simpler is oftentimes better.

 

I shared this in a couple other threads and thought it would be suitable to share here. All credit goes to @HBMurphy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-Jku2U3-8E&t=15s

 

That’s pretty cool. Our 2 person (probably marketed as 3P) Eureka tent that’s about 25 years old is on its last legs. A couple of years ago we bought a huge 4 person Big Agnes, which is great but takes a lot of space and is overkill for solo camping and obviously not for backpacking so I’ve been thinking about a new light 2P tent. I’ve always had freestanding so I can set it up first, maybe adjust the location, then deal with staking on hard ground. This one looks like you really need to stake it first (I watched their video) before inserting the (trekking) poles. Is that a problem with hard desert soils or not really an issue?

 

Haha, I wish it was only hard soil when I stake my tent . I usually find it to be lots of rocks hidden under thin layer of sand. It takes a couple tries to find a spot where a stake will drive in and I then stack a couple large rocks over the top to keep the stake from pulling out when the winds eventually picks up.

 

You need to have stakes appropriate for the soil you're going be camping on as it will vary quite a bit. There is also 2P version available. Check out the reviews on: Drop Dan Durston 1P or 2P Xmid Tent Reviews. They're a lot of reviews to look at; many have responses from Dan.

 

This style of stakes work really well for me, and are cheap. I can sink them into SoCal desert terrain with perhaps 80%-90% success rate, and those that bind can usually be driven successfully just a few inches to either side. They won't break through bedrock or huge boulders, but such substrates rarely make attractive sites to lay out a tent in the first place.



Having the proper hammer also makes a world of difference. The one photographed is designed for rocky terrain, and is much better for driving stakes than a reversed hatchet or a gigantic sledge; plus, it can quickly excavate the small boulder or two spoiling an otherwise great tent plot. It's one of those tools I hesitated to buy, but now wouldn't go camping without.

Edit in response to @dman100 below: definitely I'm talking about truck camping here, not backpacking. This stuff is stupid heavy. Sorry if I misread the context.

 

Hah, I have some of those big steel stakes that I’ve found lying around campsites and tossed in my truck, but never used. But not sure I’d want to carry them backpacking. Ditto with that rock hammer, though in fact I also have one that my Mom got about 60 years ago when she wanted to do some rockhounding. But I will at least throw it in my truck bag. Thanks.

 

Love this guy's delivery... Haha

 

heading out to rainbow canyon (star wars canyon) to take my son to see some military jet training (hopefully). in the next 3/4 weeks sometime. would be midweek. where do you recommend we truck camp? kinda wanna get to low elevation so it's warmer at night, but we have a mr buddy we can run before snoozing time. dont might a 40min drive from camp to rainbow canyon either. probably a full 1 night, 2dayer. thanks guys!

 

Panamint Spring Resort is not to far away from there and not bad for a one nighter with a hot shower to take the morning chill off. Unfortunately their restaurant is closed due to Covid. Darwin falls is a good side trip located between Panamint Springs and Rainbow Canyon if you’re looking for other things to do

 

hey i like that idea. didn't realize they had campsites either. just checked it out. might see if there are spots a little further down at emigrant camp too.