Death Valley 2/5-2/9

[ktom3001]

Hope this isn't the wrong forum, I didn't see a trip report forum.

We did the following route: South Saline Valley, Lippencott, Racetrack/Ubehebe, Scotty's Castle, Un-named road SE off 267 to Rhyolite, Beatty, Leadfield/Titus Canyon, Furnace Creek, West Side road south (Badwater), Warm Springs Canyon, Mengel Pass, Golar Wash, Ballarat Ghost Town, Panamint Springs, Darwin Falls Trail to Darwin, back out to 190 and home.
All the roads were passable, active grating on Saline Valley south. Amazing weather and epic scenery.

 

[sportscarfan]

Looks like a great time to go! Those drifting rocks are a trip!!

 

[wheese88]

who walked all that way dragging the rock? ALIENS? :rapture: Looks like fun.

 

[ktom3001]

Homestake Dry Camp, Scotty's to Rhyolite, Leadfield/Titus Canyon

 

[ktom3001]

Furnace Creek, Badwater, Warm Springs Canyon , Striped Butte

 

[natehack5]

Looks incredible, thanks for sharing!

 

[AZ4runner08]

Great pictures thanks for sharing. California has so much to offer, deserts, mountains, big cities and best of all great beaches. Going to Carlsbad here this summer and going to make a day trip out to Catalina Island, so looking forward to it. Death Valley is a pretty cool looking place, like to check it out myself but will make sure its not summer time when I do. Phoenix gets pretty hot but Death Valley pushes those temps up even more...

 

[Martinjmpr]

Very nice! DVNP is my favorite National Park. In fact, I'm planning a couple of trips through that area this year.

I saw you were at Striped Butte. Did you go over Mengel Pass? If so, how did your 4th gen do on that? I took my 3rd gen over Mengel but I remember it was pretty gnarly. This was in 2011.

 

[SolRayz]

So jealous! That looked like an awesome excursion!

 

[jwyshrek]

Miss it...been there three times when I lived in Cali.


Oh, I assumed you guys noticed all those stars at night...you can get crossed eyed trying to look at all of them...and then the center of the Milky Way...awesome...

 

[ktom3001]

Mengel Pass below, not too bad. Would've been through without a scratch or scrape if my son had been watching the right side like I asked.
We were dealing with a pretty bright moon so not as many stars as I would've liked. It was crazy quiet at Homestake, like locked in a vault quiet.

 

[ktom3001]

Warm Springs, Striped Butte, Barker Ranch

 

[Matt fe2o3]

Very nice trip report - thanks for sharing. Heading that way in April. How was Lippencott? From South Saline you are then going up Lippencott correct?

 

[ktom3001]

Very nice trip report - thanks for sharing. Heading that way in April. How was Lippencott? From South Saline you are then going up Lippencott correct?

We did head up Lippencott. It wasn't bad, just a few very short sections that were not as bad as they looked.
I did notice a lot of heat coming off the 4runner, though none of the needles moved I still put on the heater.
It's mostly just slow going all the way up and over.

 

[28.]

Man I have to do DV at least once.. Not sure if the wife will go with me so might have to fly solo..

 

[ktom3001]

Man I have to do DV at least once.. Not sure if the wife will go with me so might have to fly solo..

My wife wanted no part of it so I took my son. I wouldn't go without at least one other vehicle, just in case.