It's on!!! D.V. April 2-4 2010

Original_MudButt said:
My wife hates, hates, HATES narrow trails with drop offs.... So much so that she will get out and walk, no matter how far it is.
Click to expand...

My wife and I will be in the DV area from April 1-5, along with friends with TJs, searching the backcountry for the best spring wildflowers.
This is going to be a good year for flowers and we all are going at the near peak time. Take your camera and plenty of digital film!

Keep your plans flexible; the recent storms have made a mess out of the roads.
Titus will probably be closed.
Hunter Mt. will probably still have snow and/or mud.
Lippencott isn't maintained very often and conditions probably have worsened due to the runoff. When it is in good shape, wide 4X4 vehicles can make, when it's bad, well, no one makes it. The south end of the Saline Valley road can get very icy; so keep that in mind if you take the Lippencott route.
BTW, my wife hates narrow roads too, especially when she is on the drop-off side. Her cure is to close her eyes until I tell her to open them.
Out of sight, out of mind.
Anyway, she is a little romantic saying if we go off the edge and die, we go together. I plan on jumping out.
The beautiful thing about off-roading in the DV area is having hundreds of miles of trails to pick from in case your planned trip isn't workable.
After dozens of trip there, we still keep finding new things to see and explore.

Two DV forums. Both are good places to find out about the actual conditions and so much more. There is a lot of history to explore in DV.
http://www.deathvalley.com/dvtalk/dvtalk.shtml
http://panamintvalley.com/ (may require becoming a member)
http://panamintvalley.com/forum/index.php

If you see my silver-gray 01 XJ, proudly displaying the NAXJA sticker in the back window, stop and say hi.
I promise the TJ guys will not hurt you.
 
Sounds like a great trip. There is a SUPER road going out of Ballarat up Pleasant Canyon all the way to Rogers Peak overlook, then out to South Park and down. It is a full day trip, loaded with old mines, mills, old cabins and buildings, and lots of history. There will be snow at the top, but aside from Chicken Rock, it is an easy drive, totally scenic. PM me if you want the GPS points. You will have some great views on this trip, and the best scenery you can ask for. Just one Important thing. It is a full day trip and should not be finished at night. Going down South Park at night is suicide, regardless of how many lights you run. You can lunch or stay overnight at any cabin that is empty. Just put back what you take.

If you go over Mengel Pass, stop at Asa's cabin, near the Geologist's cabin.
Another great trip is to the Echo mine.
 
So, I know some people have referenced good books for this trip. My son loves to read so anyone recommend a book for him to read before we go? It would be cool for him to read about some stuff then see it in real life.
 
The best book to start with is "The Explorer's Guide to death valley National Park second edition by T. Scott Bryan and Betty Tucker-Bryan. It has a picture of the mysterious moving rock on the racetrack dry lake on the cover. This book not only covers every road in Death valley but also covers the geologic history, early cultural history, as well as a history of all the boom towns, ghost towns, mining camps and railroads. It also covers the animale life and plant life. You should be able to pick it up at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center or online like Amazon.com. Make sure you get the updated second edition. Good luck. randy
 
Okay..... It's getting down to the wire... Just 2 weeks away!!!!


I'd like to get a head count....

So far:

Me/wife/kids in my XJ
Andy (silverslk) In his Bronco
My brother in a GMC Sierra




If you are planning on joining us, please add your name and vehicle to the list.

Thanks.
 
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All went well. Aside from 1 flat tire on the Sierra, the trip was a total success... The Heep ran flawless!!!

The 2 high points of the trip were Titus Canyon and Scotty's Castle. If you have never been, put it on your bucket list... Here are just a few of the 600+ pics we took in no particular order.....







 
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