Death Valley trip in early march

That is good information to know - I'm basically the same lift height. Do you think a Prerunner Off-Road (locking diff) with a 2.5 inch lift and 275 tires would be able to handle Lippincott? My buddy was wondering if he could come with but I don't know if I'd need to tow strap him out of a tough spot or two.

 

by multiple accounts, road conditions are highly variable based on recent weather... there's a good possibility of 'staircase' steps in some of the gnarlier stretches, which might be tough without the front wheels pulling.

 

OK. And just to clarify (as I have never been), is downhill going from Saline Valley Rd to Racetrack Valley Rd. or did I reverse it?

 

wow, just checked on the map and you're right. here I was thinking racetrack->saline was /up/ hill, had to look closer to see

 

^^ This.
Downhill should be doable for your buddy providing the recent rains have not significantly eroded the trail.
You probably won't be alone on the trail from Scotty's Castle area to the Racetrack and Saline Valley as there should be more traffic than usual do to the chances of good wildflower displays. Good rain years always bring more tourists to DV. So, while you're on the trail to the Racetrack you'll likely be able to ask someone who has just climbed the Lippencott trail up from Saline Valley about the trail conditions ahead of you.

You can always check with the fine folks at Panamint Springs Resort for current road conditions in Saline Valley; there are usually a few expedition type vehicles camping at PSR campground and chances are someone can share some trail news. You can also check for info at the ranger stations in Stovepipe Wells or Furnace Creek. From my experience the rangers tend to overstate the rough trail conditions as they do not want inexperienced travelers getting themselves in trouble. The Stovepipe Wells market/gas station/ campground is another place to gather trail info, lots of back-country explorers camp there.

What dates are you planing on going?

 

I'm going to be there March 3-10 (ok, getting to Panamint Springs on the 3rd, leaving on the 10th, so really -there- on the 4-9th. not sure which day we'll do Racetrack and potentially Lippincott

 

running KO2 LT's in the stock TRD size... how soft do you guys run those for washboard/gravel and rocky roads when you're just 2 up and empty? I've got a viaair compressor so I can air back up when I get to the highway...

 

Can always Check out the Manson Hideout at the Barker Ranch that's just off of Goler before Mengel Pass

 

200 miles of gnarly dirt roads later, we had a blast! wife's low tolerance for rough stuff kept us out of the more interesting places where we could have gotten into trouble, so no lippincott, no goler wash, no upper echo canyon. but we did traverse Saline Valley from south pass to a very snowed in north pass...

https://goo.gl/photos/8mg7qPZGryggniK76

 

south pass.

https://goo.gl/photos/RXjwgzESarXe9nmz8

we headed up Hunter Mountain, but wife insisted we turn around when we ran into deep snow on a downhill section, she was afraid we'd get stuck. so instead we went down grapevine canyon to saline valley, and ended up climbing up and over north pass with even heavier snow, hah! tacoma trd or with ko2's just churned up and over, no fuss, no muss.