DEATH VALLEY RUN - President day weekend

off-roader

Expedition Leader
Ray, your always welcome at station 6 in Tracy. Anybody really, just drop by for a cup of coffee! I work 2/4 so its hit and miss. But everybody here is cool, and they ALL know, and make fun of, my love of Monteros.

Thanks. May well do that if i ever get a day off. BTW, did I ever mention my next door neighbor is a French Camp Fire Fighter? He's probably a station chief since he gets his own truck from the FD.
 

off-roader

Expedition Leader
A few more details for the trip.
1) There is a $20 park entrance fee for each vehicle. This gives you park access for 7 days. Otherwise there are no additional park fees.
2) You cannot have an open camp fire unless you use the provided fire-rings on the established camp grounds.
3) The park keeps up to date road condition information on the following facebook page... https://www.facebook.com/DeathValleyRoadConditions
 

calledtocreation

Adventurer
Carlos, I am not at all familiar with the routes in DV, that's why I decided to join this adventure. I noticed there are two areas that mention experienced 4x4 vehicles / drivers required, or something like that. Could you give me an idea of what trail rating that would be (scale of 1-5)?? I have a friend that may be joining us with a Jeep Cherokee on 33's with open diffs. I don't want to put him down as a maybe cause he won't even know until the Friday prior if he can join us. Thanks for putting this together :D
 

cap510

Adventurer
Pleasant canyon/South Park is rated easy to moderate however the trail is susceptible to water damage and rock movement which can make it difficult on steep and narrow sections.

Please note that Death Valley over all changes every year and season and sometimes trails that were easily done before become impossible due to snow or road conditions.

As a rule I would say any small SUV with 33" should be able to go thru, a mild lift and body armor will make it even better.

Friday might end up been the most difficult day out of the 3 days, as the rest of the trip appears to be easy going.

We'll be around furnace creek area on sat and Sunday we will work our way to camp at Eureka Dunes.

Hope this helps!

I think for those that are confirmed on going, it will be a good idea to list their vehicles specs or modifications as well.

I'll start with mine:
# - name - screen name - vehicle - occupants - MODS
1 - Carlos - cap510 - Montero Gen2 - 2 - ROCKCRAWLER ready (if needed) :)
2 - Ray - off-roader - Montero Gen2 - 2
3 - Tyson - tyty13 - Montero Gen2 - 2
4 - Naomi - Pathfinder - 2
5 - Juan - jjxsanchez - Land Cruiser - 3
6 - Louie - Land Cruiser - 2
7 - Dmitriy - eurosonic - Montero Gen2.5 - 2-3?
8 - Kevin - rajin_Cajun - Montero Gen2 - 1-2?
9 - Bryan- Jeep - 1
10 - Greg - Jeep - 2
11 - Nick - Jeep - 2
12 - Sean - SoCalMonty - Montero Gen 2 - 2
13 - Scott - calledtocreation - Jeep - 2
14 - Jason - EmptyOly - Montero Gen 2.5 - 1
15 - Jason T. - Torquey - Land Cruiser 100 or 80 - 2or3
16 - Nick - Nikosan - landcruiser - 2
17 - Richard A - rascott (4x4wire) - Suzuki Sidekick 1
18 - Spence - 4D55 - 1983 Mitsubishi Pickup or GWagon 2-3ish
19 - Nathan - Montero - (maybe) - 4?
20 - Bruno - Chief - Montero Gen 2 - (maybe) - 1-2?
21 - Jason A - Monte (4x4wire) - 1989 Montero - 2 (maybe)
22 - Mark L - Jeep - 1 (maybe)
23 - Quinn T - Jeep - 1 (maybe)
 
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calledtocreation

Adventurer
Carlos, That is a brilliant plan :D I say that not really knowing what it all means, but I like your leadership!!! If I have a vote, I would like to bed down in an area that allows :REOutCampFire03::campfire: but if that can't happen I'm still looking forward to it all :wings: :smiley_drive: :safari-rig:
 

cap510

Adventurer
Carlos, That is a brilliant plan :D I say that not really knowing what it all means, but I like your leadership!!! If I have a vote, I would like to bed down in an area that allows :REOutCampFire03::campfire: but if that can't happen I'm still looking forward to it all :wings: :smiley_drive: :safari-rig:

:D that's was funny... Specially after reading what I wrote again! LOL

Yes, The travel still in planning stages but yes, I like to be able to have a fire every night, so will def do my best to pick spots that allows it.
 

cap510

Adventurer
A few more things I would like mentioned:

1. Does anyone in the group have some sort of emergency equipment or knowledge on first response or CPR and such?
2. How about a GPS locator or satellite phone in case of an emergency?
3. Please make sure you come prepare with any thing you might need personally or any spare parts you think your truck could use in case of break down.

I'll have the following with me just to give you an idea:
10 Gal of gas
10 Gal of water
Basic car emergency kit
Known spare parts I might need in case of a break down
Mechanic tool set to tear my truck apart :)
Recovery gear
Extra car fluids, etc.

Anyway, just be aware that death valley is big and services in between can be a day drive depending on what part of the park you are "stuck" in. :)

And now to cover or butts:
DISCLAIMER:
This is not a paid or official organized run, we are just a bunch of friends getting together to explore death valley and we all understand that we are participating at our own risk. We understand that ******** happens and we can't blame or hold anyone accountable for any thing that could happen during or while driving to or from this trip. This includes any vehicle damage or personal injury. anyone coming to this trip acknowledge this.

Sorry for posting that but I am sure you guys can understand where we are coming from :) with such a large group I want to make sure anyone attending can have peace of mind and a great time without worrying about any legal crap for any unforeseen incidents.

Sooo, with that out of the way I can tell you that in all these years of 4wheeling and camping, I never seen anyone walk away from an emergency or from someone in need... whenever someone was in need in our group or outside our group, there was always a helping hand willing to help.

:Mechanic: :victory:
 
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kmaclean

New member
My wife and I are in for sure. We already took the time off.
Hoping we can stay in a hotel most nights.
Name: Kirk
screen name: kmaclean
occupants: 2
Rig: '96 Montero SR, body lift, 33's maybe 35's for the trip

Haven't been out in a while and looking forward to it.
-Kirk
 

nwoods

Expedition Leader
I have a SPOT, a current CPR cert, an expired Wilderness First Aid cert, a medium sized first aid kit, and a 2M ham radio. I still can't quite commit, but I really want to go. I've only done a portion of the first leg of the trip, and want to run that part for sure this time around.
 

SoCalMonty

Explorer
Can't type too much right now...but...

Route looks good, 8-9 hours is a good estimate. I and many others here know that leg well.

Open Cherokee on 33's is passable...hoping he has a mild lift with the 33's?

Full size rigs are a no-go on the first half of that route. A crew cab or H1//H2 would never make it down the chicken rock section (except for maybe going over the side), and the log bridge there has a posted 6000 lb max limit.

Not sure on current Mangel Pass conditions, but that may be the most difficult stretch of this leg depending on current conditions. I'll check on it asap.

I reccommend we coordinate on trail spares, since many of us have trucks with compatible parts. In other words, there's no reason for 10 of us to carry tie rod ends, or 8 different sets of half inch sockets. We would all be able to pack lighter if we coordinate.

I still have a gen 2 parts truck in my driveway. If anyone can come over and help me pull some things off we can use some parts for spares for the trip. Just has to stay looking mostly complete (going to pick your part soon.)

This trip is gonna rock!!!

Carlos...any idea of where we will end up on each day, or at the end of the trip? I'm trying to budget for fuel so I need total mileage estimates door to door.

Also...I may end up coming late and playing catch up, due to Valentine's. If anyone needs to join the late crowd, we can meet at Ballarat and I can take us in.

So excited for this trip!
 

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