Good Times
03-07-2007, 12:50 PM
Death Valley, CA - March 25-28, 2006
http://www.chaosedition.com/photogallery/images/death%20valley/2006-03-25/Death-Valley-054.jpg
If you've never experienced Death Valley, this is one place that is a must for all adventure seekers. Although it is known for it's lowest point (300 feet below sea level), it does have a vast variety of scenery not found anywhere else in the world. You can venture down the badlands or even attempt to hit one of their highest peak at over 11,000 feet!
Since this was my second time back to Death Valley, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to check out. You can literally visit Death Valley many times and not see the same thing twice. This is what makes this location great as you can go back so many times and just enjoy what nature has to offer.
http://www.chaosedition.com/photogallery/images/death%20valley/2006-03-25/dsc_1483.jpg
My trip began from Los Angeles fighting the Friday evening traffic on the 15 North. As miserable as it may sound, having a great company along side on a rough drive like this can make it a more memorable experience. Between chatting and listening to the local truckers talk nonsense made for some good times. Once on the 395 North the drive was smooth sailing aside from the long drive. After the grueling 4 hour drive, we promptly arrived at Panamint Springs Resort RV Camp Site at around 12:45am. Most of the fellow members had gone to sleep aside a few others that had just returned from their night run.
Bright and early on Saturday morning, Bob, Patty, Glenn and Daniela were generous enough to make us a great breakfast burrito which was awesome! Soon after everyone was ready to depart, we gathered around and did a quick head count to confirm who actually made the trip and who did not. After a quick introduction and going over the basic offroading rules, we headed out to the racetrack. We headed West on 190 for 12.7 miles until we hit Saline Valley Road. Once on Saline Valley Road, we continued North for 8.2 miles towards Hunter Mountain.
At the Y junction of Saline Valley Road and San Lucas Canyon, the group decided to air down as the roads were getting very rough. The image at the top shows everyone posing after the quick air down. The image to the right shows one of the cows checking us out as we were airing down.
http://www.chaosedition.com/photogallery/images/death%20valley/2006-03-25/Death-Valley-048.jpg
One would think that there would be no livestock out in the desert but I'll be damn I'm wrong! Right after this, we continued on Saline Valley Road for another 7.3 miles until we reached South Pass (elevation 5997 feet). We made a left turn onto Saline Valley Road through Grapevine Canyon for another 10.3 miles until we reached Lippincott Grade.
http://www.chaosedition.com/photogallery/images/death%20valley/2006-03-25/DSC_1520.jpg
Lippincott Grade turned out to be a more challenging trail than we anticipated. Apparently the recent rain made the trail more rutted and therefore the trail became a 4wd only trail. Luckily everyone was 4wd ready so this was no biggie but we did anticipate a few 2wd members though. 7.0 miles of off-camber uneven trail with steep ledges definitely did add a pucker factor for those novice drivers as well as some of the passengers. With a steady hand and foot everyone successfully made it through the trail without any damages. After we cleared the Lippincott Grade, we made a left onto Racetrack Valley and headed towards the racetrack.
http://www.chaosedition.com/photogallery/images/death%20valley/2006-03-25/DSC_1525.jpg
The image above was our first destination - The Racetrack. Rumors say that these heavy rocks (some which can weight a few hundred pouds) glide across the valley during heavy rainstorm by the sheer forces of the winds but nobody has witnessed this event. Apparently the valley floor gets very slick when water is introduced causing the rocks to become very mobile with the help of the winds. It's very interesting and it does sound logical but until I see this with my own two eyes, I'm not going to believe it!
http://www.chaosedition.com/photogallery/images/death%20valley/2006-03-25/DSC_1544.jpg
After relaxing here for approximately 1.5 hrs (which included a nice lunch break), we headed out North toward Teakettle Junction (approximately 9 miles north of the racetrack). Sadly I did not take any photos of the Teakettle Junction but was definitely a sad sight to see. Apparently looters has taken many of the teakettle that it does not look at amazing as I saw it the first time around. Hopefully visitors in the future will contribute to this landmark and make it a worth while destination for others. At this junction we made a right heading Southeast on Hidden Valley towards Hunter Mountain. Because of the recent rain, we experienced a lot of mud and snow!!
Videos of everyone going through the mud!
Expat (Mark) (http://www.chaosedition.com/expeditions/Death%20Valley/2006-03/Death_Valley_001.avi)
Bob_98sr5 (Bob) (http://www.chaosedition.com/expeditions/Death%20Valley/2006-03/Death_Valley_002.avi)
Gregg (http://www.chaosedition.com/expeditions/Death%20Valley/2006-03/Death_Valley_003.avi)
04sport4x4 (John) (http://www.chaosedition.com/expeditions/Death%20Valley/2006-03/Death_Valley_004.avi)
Tanto (Ryan) (http://www.chaosedition.com/expeditions/Death%20Valley/2006-03/Death_Valley_005.avi)
rizzoss669 (Ross) (http://www.chaosedition.com/expeditions/Death%20Valley/2006-03/Death_Valley_006.avi)
Calrockx (Charles) (http://www.chaosedition.com/expeditions/Death%20Valley/2006-03/Death_Valley_007.avi)
Chiefiji (Henry) (http://www.chaosedition.com/expeditions/Death%20Valley/2006-03/Death_Valley_008.avi)
PaddlenBike (Ken) (http://www.chaosedition.com/expeditions/Death%20Valley/2006-03/Death_Valley_009.avi)
Scottiac (Scott) (http://www.chaosedition.com/expeditions/Death%20Valley/2006-03/Death_Valley_010.avi)
BruceTS (Bruce) (http://www.chaosedition.com/expeditions/Death%20Valley/2006-03/Death_Valley_011.avi)
After mudding in Hunter Mountain we looped back to South Pass (23 miles from Teakettle Junction) and then headed back to camp at PSR. The total mileage for this expedition was approximately 107 miles.
We ended the evening with a group dinner which was a potluck. Everyone brought a little of something which ended up being a lot of everything. We had some shrimp cocktails, steak, grilled chicken, fried chicken, various salads, rice, mash potatoes, meat loaf patties. You name it, we had it. Not only this we had a full array of deserts as well some of which I never got to even touch as we definitely out did outselves. It was a blast relaxing by the fire eating dinner with everyone while we all enjoyed eachother's company. After a full meal, I quickly exited myself and took a quick shower and headed to sleep in my 4runner.
http://www.chaosedition.com/photogallery/images/death%20valley/2006-03-25/Death-Valley-054.jpg
If you've never experienced Death Valley, this is one place that is a must for all adventure seekers. Although it is known for it's lowest point (300 feet below sea level), it does have a vast variety of scenery not found anywhere else in the world. You can venture down the badlands or even attempt to hit one of their highest peak at over 11,000 feet!
Since this was my second time back to Death Valley, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to check out. You can literally visit Death Valley many times and not see the same thing twice. This is what makes this location great as you can go back so many times and just enjoy what nature has to offer.
http://www.chaosedition.com/photogallery/images/death%20valley/2006-03-25/dsc_1483.jpg
My trip began from Los Angeles fighting the Friday evening traffic on the 15 North. As miserable as it may sound, having a great company along side on a rough drive like this can make it a more memorable experience. Between chatting and listening to the local truckers talk nonsense made for some good times. Once on the 395 North the drive was smooth sailing aside from the long drive. After the grueling 4 hour drive, we promptly arrived at Panamint Springs Resort RV Camp Site at around 12:45am. Most of the fellow members had gone to sleep aside a few others that had just returned from their night run.
Bright and early on Saturday morning, Bob, Patty, Glenn and Daniela were generous enough to make us a great breakfast burrito which was awesome! Soon after everyone was ready to depart, we gathered around and did a quick head count to confirm who actually made the trip and who did not. After a quick introduction and going over the basic offroading rules, we headed out to the racetrack. We headed West on 190 for 12.7 miles until we hit Saline Valley Road. Once on Saline Valley Road, we continued North for 8.2 miles towards Hunter Mountain.
At the Y junction of Saline Valley Road and San Lucas Canyon, the group decided to air down as the roads were getting very rough. The image at the top shows everyone posing after the quick air down. The image to the right shows one of the cows checking us out as we were airing down.
http://www.chaosedition.com/photogallery/images/death%20valley/2006-03-25/Death-Valley-048.jpg
One would think that there would be no livestock out in the desert but I'll be damn I'm wrong! Right after this, we continued on Saline Valley Road for another 7.3 miles until we reached South Pass (elevation 5997 feet). We made a left turn onto Saline Valley Road through Grapevine Canyon for another 10.3 miles until we reached Lippincott Grade.
http://www.chaosedition.com/photogallery/images/death%20valley/2006-03-25/DSC_1520.jpg
Lippincott Grade turned out to be a more challenging trail than we anticipated. Apparently the recent rain made the trail more rutted and therefore the trail became a 4wd only trail. Luckily everyone was 4wd ready so this was no biggie but we did anticipate a few 2wd members though. 7.0 miles of off-camber uneven trail with steep ledges definitely did add a pucker factor for those novice drivers as well as some of the passengers. With a steady hand and foot everyone successfully made it through the trail without any damages. After we cleared the Lippincott Grade, we made a left onto Racetrack Valley and headed towards the racetrack.
http://www.chaosedition.com/photogallery/images/death%20valley/2006-03-25/DSC_1525.jpg
The image above was our first destination - The Racetrack. Rumors say that these heavy rocks (some which can weight a few hundred pouds) glide across the valley during heavy rainstorm by the sheer forces of the winds but nobody has witnessed this event. Apparently the valley floor gets very slick when water is introduced causing the rocks to become very mobile with the help of the winds. It's very interesting and it does sound logical but until I see this with my own two eyes, I'm not going to believe it!
http://www.chaosedition.com/photogallery/images/death%20valley/2006-03-25/DSC_1544.jpg
After relaxing here for approximately 1.5 hrs (which included a nice lunch break), we headed out North toward Teakettle Junction (approximately 9 miles north of the racetrack). Sadly I did not take any photos of the Teakettle Junction but was definitely a sad sight to see. Apparently looters has taken many of the teakettle that it does not look at amazing as I saw it the first time around. Hopefully visitors in the future will contribute to this landmark and make it a worth while destination for others. At this junction we made a right heading Southeast on Hidden Valley towards Hunter Mountain. Because of the recent rain, we experienced a lot of mud and snow!!
Videos of everyone going through the mud!
Expat (Mark) (http://www.chaosedition.com/expeditions/Death%20Valley/2006-03/Death_Valley_001.avi)
Bob_98sr5 (Bob) (http://www.chaosedition.com/expeditions/Death%20Valley/2006-03/Death_Valley_002.avi)
Gregg (http://www.chaosedition.com/expeditions/Death%20Valley/2006-03/Death_Valley_003.avi)
04sport4x4 (John) (http://www.chaosedition.com/expeditions/Death%20Valley/2006-03/Death_Valley_004.avi)
Tanto (Ryan) (http://www.chaosedition.com/expeditions/Death%20Valley/2006-03/Death_Valley_005.avi)
rizzoss669 (Ross) (http://www.chaosedition.com/expeditions/Death%20Valley/2006-03/Death_Valley_006.avi)
Calrockx (Charles) (http://www.chaosedition.com/expeditions/Death%20Valley/2006-03/Death_Valley_007.avi)
Chiefiji (Henry) (http://www.chaosedition.com/expeditions/Death%20Valley/2006-03/Death_Valley_008.avi)
PaddlenBike (Ken) (http://www.chaosedition.com/expeditions/Death%20Valley/2006-03/Death_Valley_009.avi)
Scottiac (Scott) (http://www.chaosedition.com/expeditions/Death%20Valley/2006-03/Death_Valley_010.avi)
BruceTS (Bruce) (http://www.chaosedition.com/expeditions/Death%20Valley/2006-03/Death_Valley_011.avi)
After mudding in Hunter Mountain we looped back to South Pass (23 miles from Teakettle Junction) and then headed back to camp at PSR. The total mileage for this expedition was approximately 107 miles.
We ended the evening with a group dinner which was a potluck. Everyone brought a little of something which ended up being a lot of everything. We had some shrimp cocktails, steak, grilled chicken, fried chicken, various salads, rice, mash potatoes, meat loaf patties. You name it, we had it. Not only this we had a full array of deserts as well some of which I never got to even touch as we definitely out did outselves. It was a blast relaxing by the fire eating dinner with everyone while we all enjoyed eachother's company. After a full meal, I quickly exited myself and took a quick shower and headed to sleep in my 4runner.