US West Death Valley Adventure Route

[Jeep n Joe]

I'll be following the Overland Trail Guides Route through Death Valley and stopping at many of the waypoints along the way.

View Rally Point

 

[OTG_one]

@Jeep n Joe Ben here from OTG. Not sure on the exact route you're taking, but you might try Hidden Valley as an alternative to Homestake camp (if you were planning to camp over that way), which is part of the route. Not too many folks over that way, so you should probabbly be able to secure a nice camp site for the group! I've also got another pin right off of Saline Valley road that's between the South Pass and Lippincott pass that is another fantastic place to camp.

Keep in mind that Dedeckera Canyon (Steele Pass) is in pretty rough shape right now. I wouldn't put a stock rig through there-- sliders and lift highly recommended!

If you get a good turnout, happy to send over some Death Valley Adv Badges to share with the group :)

 

[Jeep n Joe]

Hey Ben,

Thanks for reaching out and letting me know about the campsites and Dedeckera. I like the idea of staying in Hidden Valley. And if that's the case with Dedeckera then it might be wise to take an alternate route.

I want others to be able to come with me and want to make sure they can make it without risking their rigs.

I was going to run the route you took starting in near Dumont and running west.

I downloaded your gpx files, both the alternate route and the main route. Does the alternate route hit all the good waypoints?

 

[OTG_one]

Hey one other thing I noticed you have this in the southwest region I would put it in the west region which is what California falls under.

Loadit up into guy or whatever app you're using and you'll see that the alternative route doesn't out and back to eureka dunes skipping to dedeckera canyon. But I would still recommend doing the loop around the racetrack and hidden Valley and through Lippincott pass. Stock 4x4 shouldn't have any issue going up or down lip and cot we're over to Cerro Gordo it's the sprinter vans that have issues in those sections

 

[OTG_one]

I'm walking the dog and doing text to type apologies for the typos hopefully it makes sense

 

[Jeep n Joe]

It makes sense. Thank you.

I will be updating the info section of this trip shortly as I gather more information and make better plans. Thanks!

 

[Curt_JK]

Howdy Joe
Not sure how flexible your schedule is, but Cal4Wheel is having a Death Valley event March 30 - April 2.
I'm doing an Arizona trip with my Jeep club April 6-11, otherwise I would go with you to Death Valley.

 

[Curt_JK]

If you want to read a great story about Death Valley, read "Death Valley in '49" by Willam Manley. It's in the public domain Death Valley in '49 by William Lewis Manly . In 2020 we traveled along some of Manley's route, and visited many of his stops.

 

[Jeep n Joe]

Thanks Curt, it would've been nice to see you again. I'll have to give it a read for sure. Unfortunately my schedule isn't too flexible. Our district is on spring break the week I'm going to DV. Summers are much more flexible as a teacher.

 

[Jeep'n It Simple]

Hi Joe, just RSVP'd for the trip looking forward to it. I have done two other Death Valley trips, last one going from Ballarat Ghost town up through Wildrose Canyon to the charcoal kilns. Camped at Mohagany Campground then took the northern route over to Eureka Dunes, then out to through Big Pine. Looks like parts of your route will go through areas I have been and some I have not such as Titus Canyon and other areas. Looking forward to it.

 

[Jeep n Joe]

I'm glad you'll be able to join us and that you have experience in DV.
I am working on finalizing the basic itinerary and additional plans, so keep an eye out for when I post it.

Hi Joe, just RSVP'd for the trip looking forward to it. I have done two other Death Valley trips, last one going from Ballarat Ghost town up through Wildrose Canyon to the charcoal kilns. Camped at Mohagany Campground then took the northern route over to Eureka Dunes, then out to through Big Pine. Looks like parts of your route will go through areas I have been and some I have not such as Titus Canyon and other areas. Looking forward to it.

 

[RAMf1]

I was just down in Death Valley the beginning of this year. There was quite a bit of snow at the higher elevations. I was one of the first vehicles to go down Titus Canyon after they just reopened it after closing it for a few weeks because of storm damage… The road was in terrific condition since they graded it the entire length. Take a look at this video I put together of the drive:

 

[OTG_one]

Snow should be a non-issue come April. :)

 

[anon_overland]

Hi there, long-time lurker here. Please consider limiting the trip's group size to 4 vehicles to follow Death Valley's backcountry camping regulations. I've seen some >4 vehicle groups sporting OB badges on my recent trips to DV and I'd hate to see additional regulations or scrutiny for overlanders/off-roaders.

 

[Jeep'n It Simple]

I think anon_overland make a valid point, as I recall from my last DV Back Country permit i needed to file, groups are limited to 12 people / 4 vehicles. We could split into two groups, spaced 30 minutes apart if that helps to conform to the permit requirements. Here is a link to the DV Back Country page.

https://www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/upload/Backcountry-Permit-Fillable-5-pdf-2022.pdf

 

[Bwana]

Joe, I would be happy to file and additional permit. We can determine schedule and groups when we meet up in Baker.

 

[Jeep'n It Simple]

Need to order a radio for this trip, and future ones. I read the Baofeng UV5R is a good choice for the occasional user? Looking for feedback, thank you.

 

[Jim SoG]

I have 2 Baofeng radios, love them, cheap and east.

Jim

 

[Wickedjeepadventures]

. I hope you have an amazing trip. My wife and I are heading to Death Valley doing the same things. We are just a couple of weeks earlier. We leave next Wednesday 3/23 and return to San Diego on the following Tuesday 3/29.

I'll be following the Overland Trail Guides Route through Death Valley and stopping at many of the waypoints along the way.

View Rally Point

 

[Jeep n Joe]

I have that radio and it works good.

Need to order a radio for this trip, and future ones. I read the Baofeng UV5R is a good choice for the occasional user? Looking for feedback, thank you.