Death Valley 2014

[Desertcrawler]

April 18th to 26th is our kids school break this year -- which I know is different from the San Jose School District (which is the week before).

 

So that's the timeframe that we'll be heading down to Death Valley again for those who want to mark their calendars. Hopefully both Tyler and I will have rigs ready to go by that time.

 

Weather permitting, this is the year I want to explore Cerro Gordo and the Salt Trams for the first time. Am also thinking of a return back to Defense Mine, as well as Pleasant Canyon. There are also some interesting areas in the southern end of the park that have been impacted quite heavily by the recent rainstorms that I would like to explore.

 

Park rules have gotten stricter on group sizes, and I've gotten feedback from some of last years participants that the size of last years expedition made the trip sub-optimal for some and that we had issues on the trail that could be better managed if we kept ourselves broken up into smaller groups. The new park regulations limit group sizes to 6 vehicles and 15 people, with groups needing to camp 1/4 mile apart. It seems to be OK to travel together, but I wouldn't be surprised if they are cracking down on that as well. There are also new rules related to cabins in the Park -- I've heard rumblings there may even be a reservation system coming.

 

There also appear to be new insurance regulations from an NCLR perspective prohibiting anyone under the age of 18 from driving, which would end up being a bit of a deal killer for me from signing up for or leading a NCLR trip myself (since Tyler is only 16). And I'm not sure of what would need to be done from an insurance perspective to apply for a special use permit (if we increased our group sizes). Of course, the rules are different if you stay on BLM land.....so there are always options.

 

What I might suggest is that this year we consider two different trips (coinciding with the appropriate spring breaks for kids) and think about a rally point someplace where the trip that was ending could meet up with the trip that is beginning over the 18th, 19th, 20th. Probably the best place to hook up would be Dumont Dunes -- since there is guaranteed camping, facilities, and no limits on group size -- and it would allow a bit of fun "night runs" on the Dunes -- which are pretty incredible compared to Pismo (no offense Lutzi).

 

Anyway, since I was approached at the Annual by a number of people asking what the dates for the trip would be -- here is where we are at from a trip planning perspective. Perhaps some of those who have been on the past trips that might be interested in leading this year (eg Colin, Dan, Beaver, Ted, Kevin.....) might weigh in with their thoughts. I've got four years of route planning an waypoints that could be leveraged by a new trip leader looking to set up their own itinerary...it actually might be fun to split up into smaller groups and offer different experiences/routes to be explored. But given some of the drama from last years trip -- I certainly don't want to be responsible for ensuring everyones safety across all the groups or commit to any sort of defined schedule for meetup times. It is the desert after all -- and what draws me to it is the unpredictability and lack of civilization -- and the freedom to explore.

[ROVRMAN2]

Ron,

Consider adding Baja trip to beginning or end of the DV trip.

(killing 2 birds etc....)

[Teds]

Thanks for posting Chuck. The past year's trips have been great from my perspective and we have seen much of DV. My kids' spring break is from April 14th through the 21st but would consider taking them out of school for another trip. The dates for the Baja trip also seems to be up in the air as both trips would be very fun and are very close together if not overlapping.

 

For DV, I like the idea of exploring some new areas and Defense Mine is very cool and worth another visit. We can spend a few nights at one of the cabins in the area and do day trips. It is nice to not have to break camp everyday for us 'ground tenters'.

 

I will secure some vacation time now in anticipation of one of the trips.

[Phil.]

our spring break is the same time and i've got my older one's attention this year as her class will be going to DV next year. subscribed.

[AA Journey]

Count me in.

 

Since this time the trip is mid month and not around Easter.

[Michal C]

Count me in

[PaulD]

I'd like to get in on this...

 

--Paul

[ROVRMAN2]

"What I might suggest is that this year we consider two different trips (coinciding with the appropriate spring breaks for kids) and think about a rally point someplace where the trip that was ending could meet up with the trip that is beginning over the 18th, 19th, 20th. Probably the best place to hook up would be Dumont Dunes -- since there is guaranteed camping, facilities, and no limits on group size -- and it would allow a bit of fun "night runs" on the Dunes -- which are pretty incredible compared to Pismo (no offense Lutzi)."

 

Trip 1A and trip 1B, sounds do-able. What would be the number of days for each segment?

[Desertcrawler]

Ok - here is the status of where things would be at for the trips:

 

Trip 1a (we need a trip leader - I am not going to be there). They would need to figure out detailed times and schedules, ideally their trip would culiminate in camping at Dumont dunes on Thursday, April 18th.

 

Trip 1b (would start most likely at Dumont dunes as a starting point - the "drive down" day would be Thursday, April 18th and we would start hitting the dunes on Friday, April 19th. Rest of trip heading into Death valley proper would begin on Saturday, April 20th. Need to figure out where the Easter Buffet would be. We would return back to the bay area (driving back home on the Highway) on Saturday, April 26th.

 

It's still a long way off -- but if you are interested please post up which of the two segments (1a or 1b or both) you are interested in. Also, if you are interested in being a trip leader for either trip 1a or trip 1b post up....

[TigerDan]

I will plan to make it this year.

[Desertcrawler]

I'm hoping to do a recce over Christmas break. Gotta get at least one of my two Rovers roadworthy. Interestingly, I found out it is now illegal to drive the highway between Ballarat and Trona -- it's been closed due to washouts. Not sure how long it is going to take for the county to re-open - but could have a nice beneficial impact of limiting the number of rigs in the back-country. I believe Nadeau "Shotgun" road is still technically open -- but that's a lot slower than the highway...

[AA Journey]

Yes, i found that out on my trip there over the Thanksgiving weekend. You still can drive from Trona to Ballarat and take the backroads to go over the other side of the valley. It worked fine for us as we were planning to go over the Mengel pass anyway and end up at the Furnace creek. . We got to camp at one of the cabins along these route. There was lots to see on around this area. It was my first time been there and really liked it. We ended up going there when they just had some big storms and lots of snow on the lower mountains. We were planning to head out the park using the Saline Valley RD and head towards Lone Pine but found out the the hard way that the trail was impassible due to snow. So we had to turn around and headed north and exit near Big Pine. That was a long day as we had to make our way back to the bay area the same day.

 

Anyway, hope to make in on this trip next year but if not, at least i got to go this year only.

 

Here are some pictures of of my trip.

http://antonioanguiano.smugmug.com/2013-DV-Trip/n-S5wK2

[LATEAPEX]

Hey Chuck, Count Bill and I in again! totaling Two rigs and at most 5 people

[PaulD]

Hi All,

 

And a question for Antonio: with our RRC's, any problem with fuel availability? Aside from lugging cans, is there a logical fueling scenario for getting in and out of DV?

 

Thanks,

 

Paul

Templeton

[Disco2Guy]

Hi Paul,

 

Chuck spends a great amount of time planning the gas stops and distances covered between them. He's asked people before what kind of mileage they get, for both Hi and Lo range.

[GriffSC]

Just looked at your pics, Antonio. Great stuff! Pedram has a nice head.

[TigerDan]

I've just been looking at the calendar and it would seem I have potential conflict. Easter is late in the month again this year, and the weekend of the 26th (the end of the DV trip) is the 20th anniversary pf the Mendo trip, so there are big plans in the works for that one...might be tough to spend a week in DV and then blast all the way up to Mendo for the weekend without room for a break in between. And as an additional conflict, I have a potential gig with my band in Healdsburg that weekend. My plan was to go up to Mendo on Weds. this year (a lot of folks will be coming that early) and leave for my gig Sat. morning (though I just got word last night that the gig is not confirmed yet, but it's almost a given.) I just hadn't looked at the calendar or paid attention to the dates for the DV trip and didn't realize the two were so close together. Now I've got some decisions to make...

[Desertcrawler]

Paul - fuel is usually a bit of an issue. There is a mix of on and offroad driving, so your mileage varies based on that. Also good to have a little extra -- in case we get turned around or need to go an alternate route. When I plan things, I usually go for no more than 200 miles of travel between gas stops. If you bring one 5 gallon container of gas, that is usually enough to cover. Of course, with multiple vehicles we have greater combined safety stock.

[ROVRMAN2]

Any volunteer leader for trip 1a yet?

I need to plan vacation time

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Michal C]

Ok - here is the status of where things would be at for the trips:

 

Trip 1a (we need a trip leader - I am not going to be there). They would need to figure out detailed times and schedules, ideally their trip would culiminate in camping at Dumont dunes on Thursday, April 18th.

 

Trip 1b (would start most likely at Dumont dunes as a starting point - the "drive down" day would be Thursday, April 18th and we would start hitting the dunes on Friday, April 19th. Rest of trip heading into Death valley proper would begin on Saturday, April 20th. Need to figure out where the Easter Buffet would be. We would return back to the bay area (driving back home on the Highway) on Saturday, April 26th.

 

It's still a long way off -- but if you are interested please post up which of the two segments (1a or 1b or both) you are interested in. Also, if you are interested in being a trip leader for either trip 1a or trip 1b post up....

 

 

Hi - pls count me in for trip no 1b. Can't wait!!!!

[Desertcrawler]

Ok - here is what I show in terms of people interested in this years trip so far:

 

Trip 1(a) - -The week before Easter -- (April 12 - 19) we do not yet have someone who has volunteered as trip leader

 

1. Antonio

2. Dan Harris (possible)

3. Rupert

4. Ted (possible)

 

Trip 1( -- The week after Easter (April 18 - 25)

 

1. Chuck Mobraten

2. Tyler Mobraten

3. Ted (possible)

4. Phil

5. Michal C

6. Paul D.

7. Dan Harris (possible)

8. Bill

9. Sean

 

I'll start the official planning and sign-up in February, but will start with this list of possibles. If you are also interested, please add your name. For Trip 1( we are limiting the group size to 12 vehicles this year (may split into two group of 6 each and camp 1/4 mile apart while in NPS land to comply with Park Service Regulations). We need someone to step up (or recruit someone) to be trip leader for 1(a) -- they'll need to set the maximum number of rigs for their section -- but I would suspect it will something similar to 1(. There is also an opportunity for those of you who want to come only for Easter Weekend to meet up with us at Dumont Dunes for a little bit of fun in the sand.

 

Wasn't able to do my recce yet this year, but it sounds like the park got hit pretty hard with some flooding so should be interesting trail conditions.

[Desertcrawler]

Also -- remember that Mendo is April 26 and 27 -- so if you are planning on going to both Death Valley and Mendo, trip 1(a) might be the choice for you!

[PFreeman]

We have been discussing and I do not think Colin, Jamie, and I are going to make it this year. Jamie has fairly limited vacation time and we are probably going to go camping somewhere else in the wilderness and relax. (may become an unofficial trip in the future)

 

Have fun all! This really is a fantastic trip and an amazing place to visit.

[Desertcrawler]

Sorry to hear that Paul. You guys really helped out last year, especially when we ended up splitting into the "fast" and the "slow" groups.

 

Here is another link on road conditions in the area.... for those of you like me who like to monitor this sort of stuff...

 

http://forum.salinepreservation.org/?forum=162656

 

 

I'm also thinking about trying to add Swansea Road into the itinerary this year. Has anyone done it yet from the club? It's usually snowed over most of the year -- but with the low moisture this time around maybe we have a chance of taking it...What do you guys think about this:

 

http://www.cerrogordo.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=16&Itemid=5

[ROVRMAN2]

I'd like to add the Salt Tram Rd. We drove it about 10 yrs ago up to the hotel and turned around. It was steep but doable. I wonder if pulling a trailer would affect ascent/descent?