Talk to me about a Death Valley trip...

[BIGdaddy]

Coming from San diego

LIkely Vehicles:
2001 Trooper 5 occupants
2007 FJcruiser 2 occupants (might split up kids in vehicles just for variety)
2004 LR disco series II

All rigs mostly stock or with very slight overland upgrades like tires/springs/shocks/armor



What is the best time of year for cool weather, chilly nights, low traffic?

What is the route we'd want to take if we had 4ish days?

What is your must have gear having gone to Death valley? (we have fuel cans, water cans - about 15 gallons currently, camping lab awning, very good camping gear, etc available)

What are the must see sights for first-timers?


All rigs have solid recovery points front and rear, and we'll have comms and basic recovery gear. I'm also going to pick up a set of maxtrax for my rig, and all rigs will have solid maintenance done prior. All are running good tires with full size spares.

Both my wife and I are good drivers, and the cruiser will be driven by a crazy, ex-navy engineer who only has a bit of seat-time offroad, but is a good solid traveller/adventurer. (Kayaker/Hiker/dual sport moto driver). The disco driver has some quality seat time offroad, too, so not too worried about most terrain that I'm thinking we'd encounter.

 

[MikeCG]

Good spare. First aid kit (with snake bite kit), Tire plug kit, air compresser or tank, lots and lots of water, emergency radio.

I haven't done Death Valley, but I have done a good bit of desert offroading around Las Vegas, during the 3 years I lived there. Your greatest enemy driving will be rocks and Cactus. The cactus needles and go through even the toughest tires and give you a slow leak and I had about 8 tires rupture the sidewall because a rock with a sharp corner would flip over and puncture the side of the tire. Aways use your spotter and make sure they know to watch for the sharp edges. Also, be very aware of the weather in the area. The cool season is also the rainy season. Flash floods move fast and give you very little time to move out of the way. On that note, make sure that when you camp that your camp is well above the washes and not in them. It may be sunny where you are, but a small rain cloud 3 miles away could send a wall of water your way. I have heard that more people drown in the desert than die of deydration.

Not trying to scare you off. I just want you to be safe. Read this so that you are ready: http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/survival/wilderness/desert-survival7.htm

 

[MikeCG]

And recently, Nevada has been having some crazy storms. A large part of I-15 norht of Las Vegas has been washed away by flash floods.

A roof top tent would be preferable to a standard tent as well. I read a story from another member on here about one of his experiences. He was ground camping in the desert. In the middle of the night he felt the floor of his tent moving. His family moved into the vehicle. The next morning they got up to pack up. He rolled the tent over to see what was under it and found 5 rattlesnakes camped out under the tent. They were seeking the warmth held in by the tent.

 

[luk4mud]

We usually take one DV trip annually.

Weather- Nov is a great month to go, into early Dec is usually good. The it gets cold until mid/ late Feb, and the passes get a fair amount of snow. So go late this month into Nov, or wait.

Sights- DV is big. Pick an area and concentrate on it rather than try to see the "top 5" of the park. A typical off road oriented agenda for first timers/ stock vehicles would be to enter from Big Pine, see everything in Saline Valley, then go over Hunter Mtn to Teakettle, then Racetrack, then north on RT road to Ubehebe, then DV road back toward Big Pine stopping at Eureka Dunes along the way.

Another agenda is to come in from the south at Ridgecrest, see everything in Panamint Valley then over the pass to Butte Valley and down to West Side road, heading out through Shoshone.

Yet another possibility is to enter from Beatty, see Rhyolite, then Reds Canyon through the spectacular Titus Canyon, then Scotts castle and the northern attractions.


It is an other wordly type place. My wife does not like the desert, but has a strong attraction to DV.


What to take: Gas and water. I often drive for 150+ miles and more between fills in DV. For what its worth, I RTT could be a very bad idea in DV because of the winds. We often have to create wind breaks with our vehicles there for out tents. I cannot imagine riding out an all too typical windstorm in DV in a RTT.

HTH

 

[BIGdaddy]

Thanks for the replies all.

• 
  Water and gas are a no brainer, but thanks for mentioning it. I'm planning a gallon of water per day, per person. I'll probably install an upright 13gal Frontrunner tank, and have 1-2 wedco cans.

• Also, we've done the RTT thing. We do better in a ground tent.

• And yeah thanks for mentioning the compressor and tire plug kit. We've got both.

Thanks for the route options, Luk4mud, much appreciated.

How about goggles for wind/sand storms? I'm thinking about getting a set of 5 for us, and recommending them for everyone else.

 

[peneumbra]

Goggles never hurt, and bring good flashlights, because it gets REALLY dark out there.

The real danger of exploring Death Valley is, once you get to know it, you'll want to come back again and again. Then you'll find yourself wanting to relocate to Lone Pine, or even Darwin...

 

[v_man]

a plug for this DV area trail guide book .... it's informative and also a really interesting read .



http://www.ebay.com/itm/Death-Valle...611?pt=US_Nonfiction_Book&hash=item58aa40a243

 

[digitaldelay]

a plug for this DV area trail guide book .... it's informative and also a really interesting read .

View attachment 250716

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Death-Valle...611?pt=US_Nonfiction_Book&hash=item58aa40a243

Also available at the Beatty Museum. $20

Jason

 

[luk4mud]

• Also, we've done the RTT thing. We do better in a ground tent.

The RTT has never held any appeal for me, because:
-Its windy most places we go
-I am old and have to pee too much
-I am afraid of heights
-There are no lions threatening to eat me roaming around
-They are really expensive

They do look really cool, and the convenience factor is certainly there.

-Back to DV topic-

There is really nothing (maybe besides Lippincott) open in DV that is all that hard, frankly. Your newbies in stock rigs will be fine. If they are all equipped veteran campers, they will love it.

A few more pointers:
-The on pavement tourist places are great stops, if you have never seen them- Badwater, Dante's, Artist, Mosaic, Scotty's etc are all worth a look, maybe just not on a single trip.
-Saline is probably my personal favorite area. Why? I have very fond memories of taking my kids there (hours spent on sleds on Eureka Dunes one trip), the history of that valley is really cool, the wild mules still running around, interesting characters at the springs, mildly challenging trail up Steele pass, views from Hunter Mtn and the drive into RT valley is georgeous.
-Read alot before you go. Knowing the rich history enhances the journey considerably.


ok, now i want to go again. Let me know when you decide to go, I may join you if you'll have me.