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Trail Report – Thanksgiving in Death Valley
DAY ONE – Thanksgiving Day
In the wee hours of Thanksgiving Day, Rat Patrol (Kurt), Dirtman13 (Chuck, Alyshia, Cody), and Malachi (that's me and Sharon), headed north toward Death Valley. We were planning a trip that would tour through Panamint Valley, the Racetrack Playa, Lost Burro Mine, Ubehebe Crater, down through the main area of Death Valley, back over Mengel Pass to Barker Ranch, and then see what we could squeeze in for further adventure.
In the first day, we planned to see the South Park Canyon / Pleasant Canyon loop then meet up with Dr.Dirty (Scott and Cloe) and Mywifesjeep (Mike, Shirley, and family) in Ballarat.
Since it rained HARD in the desert on the day before, we expected clouds and a chance of rain as we headed into the area. We didn't see much rain on the way and as that sun rose, we had some great views of the Searles Valley:
Looking to the north from Trona Road, we could see a layer of fog in the Salt Wells Valley:
Crossing over the ridge into Panamint Valley, we also found the Ballarat ghost town shrouded in fog:
For those that are unfamiliar with the area, there is a dry lake bed that has to be crossed to get to the ghost town. The road is dirt and slightly elevated, but as Dirtman13 found out, when it rains the sides of the road are VERY soft! Chuck was quick and good enough to keep his top-heavy Jeep from flopping in the muck, but it led to a very 'sticky' situation:
Obviously, the 'dry' lake wasn't so dry! A little further on, the lake had a very real wet quality:
We toured Ballarat in the fog, which had a surreal effect. Then we headed south of the ghost town to the entrance to the South Park Cyn trail. We climbed a long way over a very washed out trail before breaking out of the fog and being able to overlook the Panamint Valley again:
Then we entered the high elevation gap to South Park Cyn:
The canyon is a stunning rock-walled climb:
Exiting the canyon has a spooky bridge and a scary part on a steep shelf drop-off. This pic is just before the scary part:
This is a link to a vid of Chuck getting his top-heavy Jeep through the off-camber spot:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYKleveFZ5M
Just past the narrow canyon, you will see some unique rock formations on the north side:
The trail leads to South Park. South Park is one of several high elevation valleys in the Panamint Range. Of course, Kenny made an appearance in South Park!:
Looking back at South Park:
Crossing over into Middle Park:
Looking from Roger's Pass toward Panamint Valley:
Clair's Camp in Pleasant Canyon:
It was hard to believe that we were still in the desert in some parts of Pleasant Canyon:
Once we exited Pleasant Cyn, the views of the Panamint Valley were impressive:
We met up with Dr.Dirty and Mywifesjeep in Ballarat and then headed towards Jail Canyon to camp. Along the way, we found some wild burros grazing along the valley floor:
On the climb up to Jail Canyon, we had some great views of the valley at sunset:
We camped at the Corona Mine at the upper end of Jail Canyon. We deep-fried a couple of turkeys and had an excellent Thanksgiving Day feast in the heart of the American Desert.
TO BE CONTINUED.......
DAY ONE – Thanksgiving Day
In the wee hours of Thanksgiving Day, Rat Patrol (Kurt), Dirtman13 (Chuck, Alyshia, Cody), and Malachi (that's me and Sharon), headed north toward Death Valley. We were planning a trip that would tour through Panamint Valley, the Racetrack Playa, Lost Burro Mine, Ubehebe Crater, down through the main area of Death Valley, back over Mengel Pass to Barker Ranch, and then see what we could squeeze in for further adventure.
In the first day, we planned to see the South Park Canyon / Pleasant Canyon loop then meet up with Dr.Dirty (Scott and Cloe) and Mywifesjeep (Mike, Shirley, and family) in Ballarat.
Since it rained HARD in the desert on the day before, we expected clouds and a chance of rain as we headed into the area. We didn't see much rain on the way and as that sun rose, we had some great views of the Searles Valley:
Looking to the north from Trona Road, we could see a layer of fog in the Salt Wells Valley:
Crossing over the ridge into Panamint Valley, we also found the Ballarat ghost town shrouded in fog:
For those that are unfamiliar with the area, there is a dry lake bed that has to be crossed to get to the ghost town. The road is dirt and slightly elevated, but as Dirtman13 found out, when it rains the sides of the road are VERY soft! Chuck was quick and good enough to keep his top-heavy Jeep from flopping in the muck, but it led to a very 'sticky' situation:
Obviously, the 'dry' lake wasn't so dry! A little further on, the lake had a very real wet quality:
We toured Ballarat in the fog, which had a surreal effect. Then we headed south of the ghost town to the entrance to the South Park Cyn trail. We climbed a long way over a very washed out trail before breaking out of the fog and being able to overlook the Panamint Valley again:
Then we entered the high elevation gap to South Park Cyn:
The canyon is a stunning rock-walled climb:
Exiting the canyon has a spooky bridge and a scary part on a steep shelf drop-off. This pic is just before the scary part:
This is a link to a vid of Chuck getting his top-heavy Jeep through the off-camber spot:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYKleveFZ5M
Just past the narrow canyon, you will see some unique rock formations on the north side:
The trail leads to South Park. South Park is one of several high elevation valleys in the Panamint Range. Of course, Kenny made an appearance in South Park!:
Looking back at South Park:
Crossing over into Middle Park:
Looking from Roger's Pass toward Panamint Valley:
Clair's Camp in Pleasant Canyon:
It was hard to believe that we were still in the desert in some parts of Pleasant Canyon:
Once we exited Pleasant Cyn, the views of the Panamint Valley were impressive:
We met up with Dr.Dirty and Mywifesjeep in Ballarat and then headed towards Jail Canyon to camp. Along the way, we found some wild burros grazing along the valley floor:
On the climb up to Jail Canyon, we had some great views of the valley at sunset:
We camped at the Corona Mine at the upper end of Jail Canyon. We deep-fried a couple of turkeys and had an excellent Thanksgiving Day feast in the heart of the American Desert.
TO BE CONTINUED.......
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