maximumrob said:
Alvero, other than the one boulder field, is most travel in Death Valley on smooth dirt roads? ...or are there many places to play?
I wonder if it's a trip I should take with other Jeepers or a casual ride that the wife and kid might enjoy.
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Most of the roads of Death Valley are roads, not trails. There are a few, like the Defense mine trail shown here, and South Park Canyon, and a few others, where it's better to have at least 1 other truck. There are many other areas like Hidden Valley, where the travel is easy, but it's a 2 day walk for help if you have a problem.
Definitely best to go with another truck or two, but plenty of people go out alone. If you stay on the common routes, there will be someone passing almost every day, but there are still places in the area that get no traffic for weeks at a time. Shown in the pictures is us shoveling the snow off the "Swansea Grade" near Cerro Gordo, so no one had been through there this spring.
Last year we went up into Gold Field and Phinney Canyon which is said to be the most remote part of the park you can actually visit. It was really cold in Phinney Canyon and it snowed on us the night we were there.
If you're traveling with wife and kids, and you are by yourself, bring a lot of water and warm clothes/sleeping bags in case you had to bivouac for several days due to a breakdown or more than 1 flat.
BTW-This was the first year in 5, that no one on the trip had a flat. Other years we've had3-4 in the group, and one memorable year, the then current TLCA president had 4 flats on the trip, and both of his spares were flat! Anyway, be prepared with a good spare, and tools to repair tires, as that is the most likely mechanical issue you will have.
