Organized Event: Death Valley March 2013

[KX6D]

I was asked by a friend if I had ever been to Titus Canyon; NOPE! So I did a little research on Google Earth and saw it was close to Saline Valley (not actually close, but in the same park). Eric and Russ have suggested Jackie and I check out the hot springs! So I jumped on here and read a couple trip reports. It looks to be a great time!

So I called Doug and asked if he would be interested in putting together a Death Valley trip. He suggested March 2013, dependent on freak weather. He mentioned that the is the "touristy" part and the "outlands". He also suggested a minimum of 4-days. We vote for an outland trip, which would include Titus Canyon...Jackie and I can always do the touristy trip on our own some other time.

Would this group be interested in going to Death Valley in March for a 4-day excursion? If so, do you have suggestions? We haven't seen any of it so no matter what the group decides, it will be new to us. What do you think?

Dino - KX6D

[DaK]

There is a lot to see and a lot of ground to cover out there. By that I mean, nothing is close to one another. My suggestion would be to pick one end of the park and check that section out fully.

Titus Canyon
Racetrack
Tea Kettle Junction
BathTub
Crankshaft Junction
Salt tram-if the snow is not around
Northern Dunes
and the list can go on... Scotty's castle and Scotty's cabin are a good day spent as a break from the trail.

The southern end has lots to see as well. My recommendation would be to pick up a Well's book of the area mention some trails or sites and see what the collective has to say about them.

Titus canyon is sometimes not open till Apr, call before you go. On your way to titus you might as well stop and see the ruins in Rhyolite, they are right there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhyolite,_Nevada

[explorer1]

I agree with DaK, there is so much to see and do that it is best to pick an area of the park and check it out for most of, if not the whole trip. You can easily see things on different ends of the park but you miss so many things to see by rushing. Once you see a piece of Death Valley you will not want to leave. It is not the most extreme wheeling but awesome to explore. Have fun.

Chris

[daniel_buck]

Titus canyon is beautiful! It's not at all a challenging trail though, any vehicle with mild clearance could go through.

I've heard of some more challenging trails to the west (Panamint I guess?) But so far most of the stuff I've found in DV is very mild, but beautiful. I usually go once a year, sometime around April (it just happens to be that I often have a few days off around then)

You'll find a LOT of washboard roads, so get used to that, haha! I air the tires down good, that seems to help.

These are from Titus Canyon (which you can only enter from the Nevada side, you aren't supposed to run it backwards)












and some photos of some other side trails that don't seem to be very popular (I didn't see a single person on these other trails) http://www.buckshotsblog.com/?p=748

[alittleoff]

Try and bring extra gas with you. Or budget to by gas at Stovepipe Wells, Furnace Creek is more $$.

Steve

[HB Jeeper]

i might be able to have my Jeep done by then. Could possibly do 3 days.

[Zoobi]

I would like to go. I've been all over Panamint but almost nothing in Death Valley. Are you going to have a single base camp or camp in different areas?

[BananaSlug]

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f58/d...alley-1444744/

Here is the trip I did with my girlfriend. TONS of driving, but we saw a lot too. I had been there, and my girlfriend hadnt, so I wanted to cram as many highlights in as possible.

[Rubiclone]

Would this group be interested in going to Death Valley in March for a 4-day excursion? If so, do you have suggestions? We haven't seen any of it so no matter what the group decides, it will be new to us. What do you think?
Dino - KX6D

Do you still plan on doing this trip. I have this big urge to head down there and do a south to north run. I have built a 3-4 day route on Mapsource for the entire trip. Maps made out etc. I built it to do Last Chance Canyon, Burnett mine, Pinnacles, Ballarat, Barker ranch, Mengel Pass, Chloride, Ryholite, Leadville, Emigrant, Defence mine, Lippencott, Lost Burro mine, Goler and Burgess mines. My last 2 days will be Champion Sparkplug and Casa Diable mines and finally Bodie to Masonic mines, on the way home. This route requires camping or hotels along the route, no base camp. Also, fuel is along the route at 130-190 miles. I have a GPX file and maps to give if this event occurs soon.

[bigbearwheeler]

You've definately got the right idea. That area is fantastic for 4 wheeling or dual sport bikes. My suggestion would be to start out in Lone Pine and do the Swanzee loop to Cerro Gordo first. From there you can head down into Saline Valley, Panamint Valley or what ever. It's all good out there. Don't forget that if you end up doing Titus Canyon you have to start at the top near Beatty and head down it. It's a one way road. I'd love to do this run with you guys if I can get the time. It's one of my favorite.
Ron

[Rubiclone]

I failed to mention the destinations are in order of south to north counter clockwise and not one inch of repeated road.

[bigbearwheeler]

Wow. That's a lot of miles to put together in one trip. Usually when we do anything around Bishop we stay up around there with our trailers parked somewhere. The run from the begining and back to Lone Pine is pretty long in itself. I can't really tell by your map but it looks like you've included the Hunter Mtn loop and the Swanzee road in it. Both are a must if your out there. Gas can sometimes be a bit of a problem because there isn't any at Scotty's. There is in Panamint Springs, but it's not cheep.

It's a great trip you've got charted out but it's a long one. My personal favorite is your green track from Panamint Springs to Lone Pine. Have a great time.
Ron

[Rubiclone]

I gotta knock out alot of DV as it's a thousand miles from here. Don't know when I'll make it back. I figure one day on each section.