Death Valley December 2016 Off-road Trip Report **Very pic heavy**

inv3ctiv3

Adventurer
First of all I took too many pics and will only be posting a handful so please check out the full album here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/39659820@N00/albums/72157676081303112/with/31649172325/

After many hours of driving and some 200 miles of offroad/washboard I'm back from my trip to DV and finally I've gone through all the photos and video and it's trip report time! I wasn't sure I was gonna be able to make it but I got the time off work approved and made a very last second decision to go meet my buddy out in Baker, CA where we were going to enter Death Valley via Harry Wade but checked out the Ibex Spring and surrounding mines first.

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My truck looks very small compared to Chandler's haha

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Ibex Spring:

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We tried to go in as many mines as possible but because it's a National Park they pretty much close off all of them, the Ibex mine is open however:

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So after exploring the mines and spring we took Harry Wade into the park and from there headed west up into the mountains to find camp. I don't have any photos or video but we did take an offshoot road that lead us down into a wash that ended up being the most difficult trail we went on the whole trip but really wall we wanted to do was find camp, and we did:

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Gotta have that typical RTT photo right?
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Spent the morning cooking and exploring the mine we camped at:

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After that we headed back down to the main road through the park and checked out Badwater Basin and the other sites along the way to Furnace Creek where we got gas.

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The best part of this trip was the fact we were there in the offseason and during the week so there was almost no one in the park, we ran into very few people the entire trip!

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Lowest elevation in the US:

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It's hard to show in pictures just how steep and big this mountain was, it was very cool driving up to it.

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Devil's Golf Course:

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I think gold canyon?

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inv3ctiv3

Adventurer
After getting gas we decided to go hit Titus Canyon before the sunset:

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Again no one around:

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I always think these signs are kinda funny because they're never really difficult or something a stock 4x4 truck couldn't do but they have to put them up in case there is a washout or something that would make it difficult haha

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37 vs 33

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Leadfield Ghost Town

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I think one of my favorite things about DV is how many different colors there are, the hills go from lavender to white, from green to red etc it's amazing

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By the time we got out of Titus Canyon it was getting dark and we still needed to find somewhere to camp, now I don't really ever camp in campgrounds and dispersed camping can be a bit of a challenge in National Parks so we set off towards Racetrack Playa via Scotty's Castle (which is closed till 2019). Now anyone who's gone to the racetrack this way knows that this road SUCKS, it's super rough washboard that even aired down and going fast is bone jarring but we made it to Teakettle Junction and headed east to find camp:

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Woke up, made coffee as always then headed back towards TKJ and then south to the racetrack

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Racetrack Playa - it was very sad to see that some idiots had not only driven out onto the lakebed but had done donuts :( From what I've read they have identified the people and will be filing criminal charges for the damage the caused which could take hundreds of years to repair! I did my best to avoid taking photos of the damage.

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inv3ctiv3

Adventurer
After checking that out for a while we took Lipincott Pass out and back to the 190 as I needed to get home. Now again, this trail could easily be done in a stock 4x4 so long as there have been no rock slides or washouts.

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The amount of Joshua Trees in this section as you exit the park is insane!

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Now time for the little IG video I made:

 

MagicMtnDan

2020 JT Rubicon Launch Edition & 2021 F350 6.7L
BEAUTIFUL photos! Thanks for sharing!

We love DVNP and go there as often as possible.

Some people see brown when they see the desert. They're missing all the beauty!
 

inv3ctiv3

Adventurer
Looks like it was great trip. Real nice work on the photos, looks like you have some quality glass.

Thanks man most the pics were taken with a 5DMK3 and a 50mm F1.2 and my iPhone 7+

BEAUTIFUL photos! Thanks for sharing!

We love DVNP and go there as often as possible.

Some people see brown when they see the desert. They're missing all the beauty!

It was my first time there actually but I'll be back many times I'm sure, the desert is my favorite place to go for sure!

Nice area I was just waiting for Mad Max to be in one of them pics...

Right!? Such a cool place.
 

Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
Wow, great trip and great photos! I'm a bit jealous of your photography skills.
.
And hey, here's a tip if you go back (I'm sure you will - once the Death Valley bug bites you, there's no getting rid of it! :sombrero:) : NEVER get gas at Furnace Creek unless you're on fumes (and if you are, just get enough gas to get you to Stovepipe Wells.) ;)
.
Every time I've been there, gas has been at least a dollar a gallon more expensive at Furnace Creek than at Stovepipe Wells, if not more. The bigger your gas tank is, the bigger hit you take.
 

MagicMtnDan

2020 JT Rubicon Launch Edition & 2021 F350 6.7L
It was my first time there actually but I'll be back many times I'm sure, the desert is my favorite place to go for sure!



Where do you usually go?

Have you been to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park yet? Another awesome place but very different than DVNP.
 

1leglance

2007 Expedition Trophy Champion, Overland Certifie
amazing pics and great story telling, thanks for taking us along with you....
How I have never made it to DV is beyond me, I really really need to go visit and see it all for myself.
Thanks again
 

EMrider

Explorer
Excellent trip report and pics. Thanks for preparing.

DVNP is probably my favorite place for relaxing and exploring.

R
 

inv3ctiv3

Adventurer
Thanks for the great write up, makes me want to go even more!

Epic trip and report man. I love the sunset pictures so much. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks!

Wow, great trip and great photos! I'm a bit jealous of your photography skills.
.
And hey, here's a tip if you go back (I'm sure you will - once the Death Valley bug bites you, there's no getting rid of it! :sombrero:) : NEVER get gas at Furnace Creek unless you're on fumes (and if you are, just get enough gas to get you to Stovepipe Wells.) ;)
.
Every time I've been there, gas has been at least a dollar a gallon more expensive at Furnace Creek than at Stovepipe Wells, if not more. The bigger your gas tank is, the bigger hit you take.

We actually didn't have to get that much we both were carrying over 10 gallons in our swingouts so it wasn't bad, we actually paid more before we got into the park haha.

Where do you usually go?

Have you been to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park yet? Another awesome place but very different than DVNP.

I spend a lot of time out off the 395 on the way to mammoth but also the pinto basin mountains/joshua tree, I think we've talked about Old Dale before and that area. I've got more trip reports in my build thread: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...nd-travel-log-pic-heavy.368397/#post-10054428

amazing pics and great story telling, thanks for taking us along with you....
How I have never made it to DV is beyond me, I really really need to go visit and see it all for myself.
Thanks again

You really gotta get out there, I was the same way I'd never been and live pretty close but now I'll be going back a lot I know that for sure!

Excellent trip report and pics. Thanks for preparing.

DVNP is probably my favorite place for relaxing and exploring.

R

It's amazing I don't know why I never went before!
 

RIDGE

Adventurer
Like everyone else said...your pictures are outstanding! I can't wait to go on one of your trips or vis versa - you're gonna make my van look so damn cool! LOL

Another place I'd really like to really learn is the Sierras. I've only been once, Lone Pine to Cougar something, and exited in Bishop. One of the trails (out of Lone Pine) was pretty gnarly for the van, and being alone.
 

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