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is large, and I've never been before. I'll have 4 days there over thanksgiving, and suggestions of where I must go?
(I would prefer to be hiking and camping outside of designated campsites while there, but I don't know this desert at all.)
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SF Bay Area
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Re: death valley
Mon, October 30, 2006 - 8:26 AMSaline Valley Hot Springs is a must!!
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Re: death valley
Mon, October 30, 2006 - 8:39 AMIf you have a 4x4, you can go just about anywhere unless the NPS close that area. Try Goler Wash/Butte Valley. Nice long drive in. Check out one of my pics of the cabin there. Its first come first serve, but many areas for primitive camping around. Definitely get topo maps. Even in Panamint area is surreal as well. -
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Re: death valley
Mon, October 30, 2006 - 9:35 AM
Haha, I was just going to go with a GPS -- of course topo maps, duh. No 4x4, just a highly durable & dependable corolla.
Saline Hot Springs sounds about perfect, actually, thanks for the recommend. About to look up Panamint & Goyler Wash/Butte Valley ^_^
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Re: death valley
Mon, October 30, 2006 - 10:50 AMDefinately Check out Scotty's Castle!
Also, be very careful out there in that Corolla. Bring plenty of water and food and know where you are and how to get out at all times.
Great site for Death Valley:
www.death.valley.national-park.com/sights.htm -
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Re: death valley
Mon, October 30, 2006 - 5:19 PMI like the short hike into mosaic canyon (Is it what it is called...I remember where it is but I forget the name)..titus canyon also is great
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Re: death valley
Mon, October 30, 2006 - 7:08 PMOh also, make sure you bring tools with you in case you truck breaks down i.e. flat tire, broken shocks- etc.. I think Goler Wash/Butte Valley you need 4x4. Yes, GPS would definitely come in handy. So if you a have a Corrolla, I do not recommend Goler Wash. There are so many 4x roads out there to explore. Panamint springs resort is a great place for lunch and dinner, camping there too. Hopefully its still opened. Its been about 5 years since I've been to DV. Miss it tons. Hopefully soon. -
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Re: death valley
Mon, October 30, 2006 - 10:33 PM
Yep, doubt I'll go that far off road in my car - the corolla's been to desert before and off-road, but I'm damned careful about it when I do. And of course will load up with food & water and fresh GPS batteries. What I'm looking for exactly is a place where we can park, maybe a little way off the beaten path but not too far, and hike in for a day or two with tent well off said path, then hike back out to the car. And there's so many beautiful places in DV, so I'm told, that a picking one spot will be difficult. The recommends are good ones, thank you, you're awesome - though haven't decided yet ^_^ ...Also, I notice there's a few ghost towns?
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Re: death valley
Wed, November 1, 2006 - 10:33 AMI've been there many times. It's one of the most awesome places on the planet. Be careful in your 2x4 Corolla; even graded dirt roads there can be surprisingly sandy at times. Don't even think about Goler in that thing! One place you can visit with no problem is Ballarat Ghost Town on the western side of the Panamint range. If you go, see Rocky at the "store" for some interesting first hand history of the area. Ask him about Charles Manson's truck, it's parked out front. No matter which parts of DV you end up visiting, you're going to have an unforgettable trip.
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Re: death valley
Wed, November 1, 2006 - 8:25 PMWatch the rocks...... you never know. -
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Re: death valley
Wed, November 1, 2006 - 9:30 PMhey girl, i have a book about so-cal desert travel that you can borrow, and i'll ask matt if you can borrow his cali desert parks hiking book, which has many DV hikes in it.
i love death valley but haven't done any overnight hikes there so i can't give you suggestions on that. as for ghost towns, rhyolite is awesome. it's in nevada on the eastern side of the park (not actually in the park but not that far from it). there is a ghost town with a lot of buildings in good shape, a bottle house with a miniature bottle town in its yard, and a modern sculpture garden (as in people put up random art in an area across from the old buildings). i think you would love it.
www.nps.gov/archive/deva/rhyolite.htm
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Re: death valley
Mon, November 27, 2006 - 10:22 AM
Psst! Here's how the weekend went:
The Plan was to drive to the fork of Marble and Cottonwood Canyons, then hike into one or both.
We did not adhere to this plan:
- Drove around like tourists Thursday because everything there is so pretty! Hiked into Panamint Dunes, hiked into a canyon near Artist's Palette, found Goldwell Open Air Museum on our way to Rhyolite, and so many incredible huge expansive views. Yay!
- Thursday night we started the drive down Cottonwood Canyon road. In my Corolla. Oof! Stopped about 2mi from the fork due to rough road for high-clearance vehicles in a sedan in the dark, set up a cozy temporary camp.
- Friday we hiked into Marble Canyon. So pretty! ('Pretty' is a theme in Death Valley.) Set up camp a ways past the second narrows, hiked around with a daypack :)
- Saturday we decided to hike out before nightfall. No reason beside it was cold and we wanted to snuggle (our bags don't zip together, boohiss!) We had a lovely afternoon hiking around.
- Sunday morning we were back in Oakland.
Thanks for the recommends!
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Re: death valley
Tue, November 28, 2006 - 4:28 AMdid you make it to rhyolite? i love that place! -
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Re: death valley
Tue, November 28, 2006 - 8:43 AM
Sort of. We spent a long time at Goldwell and got super-creeped about one of the abandoned buildings near it. When we finally made it to Rhyolite proper we were a little spent from Goldwell, believe it or not: we only walked around the bank and a few other buildings next to it then left just before sundown.
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Re: death valley
Tue, November 28, 2006 - 8:44 AMoh and the book I nabbed from you was great, thanks pyrokitten ^^ -
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Re: death valley
Sun, September 9, 2007 - 4:10 PMCongrats on the trip. DV is a beautiful and special place. Have been a few times, and it is even more interesting with 4wd and more time! Last trip there was with my 2wd Tacoma during the height wild flower craze a couple of years back. It was just reasonable enough to get a couple of us away from the screaming hordes that had descended that year.
Among my favorites:
- Saline
- Striped Butte (and if you are lucky enough to stay in the Geologist cabin)
- Titus Canyon
- Most any hiking up random alluvial fans
-jim
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Re: death valley
Sun, August 19, 2007 - 10:06 PMI just joined this tribe but I wanted to say that I was recently in D.V. and had a completely religious experience and no drugs were ingested either ..... just pure desert rapture or whatever...
it felt like home ...
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Re: death valley
Sun, September 16, 2007 - 2:17 PMThe desert can have that affect on you. At JTNP, I went out with an old guitar and played random music just off the main road between two canyons. I just wandered among the plants and scrub playing and felt like someone was watching me. They also encouraged me to keep playing until I felt full of spirit, so light I thought I fly off the ground.
Yeah, the desert is one heck of a place...
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