First trip to Death Valley ever and all I can say is it was life changing. I recently got into overlanding after purchase of my first 4x4 2018 4runner LMTD slightly modded to handle more than soccer mom duties as many refer to when you say you have a Limited. Anyhow I got a pass from the wife for my bday and I wasn't going to give it up even if it meant going SOLO.
Wanted to do the East to West route so I headed out from LA to Beatty, NV. Started in via Titus Canyon. This was pretty much a scenic route and pretty chill.
After, headed to Ubehebe Crater.
After Ubehebe Crater it was onto Racetrack Playa. This is where the rugged trails starts. Some of the roughest washboard roads I've been on the kind that's trying to shake your car apart.
Teakettle Jct was the first waypoint along the way.
One word of advise for this stretch of road is AIR DOWN I was at 18 psi and it was still rough. The next stop will be Grandstand and its a crop of rocks in the middle of Racetrack.
Up to this point was only harsh washboard roads. Now is where the life changing experience starts. Lippincott Road the sign read "NO TOW 4X4 HIGH CLEARANCE ONLY" right under it. May I remind you that I am new to this and this was my first 4x4 vehicle and I'm SOLO.
Once I enter this trail I already know this was not a good idea and I had made a terrible mistake but there was no turning back and I mean litterally you can't turn back. The whole trail is a steep downgrade of rocky rugged shelf road with sheer drop offs. The whole 1.5 hrs was white knuckle and prayers just thinking to myself wtf am I doing I have a wife and kid at home with another on the way, but the 4runner made it through it all and I don't think I bottomed out once. My biggest fear was ripping my tires on the jagged rocks. The sense of joy making it out without destroying my vehicle or worse getting disabled was absolutely exhilarating. I got down to Saline Valley and I was headed to my campsite Warm Springs. Arrived at Warm Springs a little before sunset and scouted out a campsite near the hot springs and bathroom and setup camp.
I have to say that this place is an oasis in the middle of the desert. Almost a mirage with sand dunes on one side and dried lake beds on the other, from a distance you can see the lone crop of palm trees just magically there in the middle of it. Inside those palm trees are hotubs and you could tell it was built by hand and everything was hauled in by trucks just like mine. There were cute signs with little messages explaining the rules of the establishment. I want to warn you that clothing is optional here so please don't get caught with wandering eyes. But anyhow I didn't end up taking a dip until morning as I needed some food in my stomach and some rest from the days excitement. Next morning i took a loooong soak and met some really cool people. Ended up leaving that afternoon with the new friends I met in a convoy of 6 vehicles. It was a great trip and I highly reccomend visiting this place at least once in your life.
Wanted to do the East to West route so I headed out from LA to Beatty, NV. Started in via Titus Canyon. This was pretty much a scenic route and pretty chill.
After, headed to Ubehebe Crater.
Teakettle Jct was the first waypoint along the way.
One word of advise for this stretch of road is AIR DOWN I was at 18 psi and it was still rough. The next stop will be Grandstand and its a crop of rocks in the middle of Racetrack.
Up to this point was only harsh washboard roads. Now is where the life changing experience starts. Lippincott Road the sign read "NO TOW 4X4 HIGH CLEARANCE ONLY" right under it. May I remind you that I am new to this and this was my first 4x4 vehicle and I'm SOLO.
Once I enter this trail I already know this was not a good idea and I had made a terrible mistake but there was no turning back and I mean litterally you can't turn back. The whole trail is a steep downgrade of rocky rugged shelf road with sheer drop offs. The whole 1.5 hrs was white knuckle and prayers just thinking to myself wtf am I doing I have a wife and kid at home with another on the way, but the 4runner made it through it all and I don't think I bottomed out once. My biggest fear was ripping my tires on the jagged rocks. The sense of joy making it out without destroying my vehicle or worse getting disabled was absolutely exhilarating. I got down to Saline Valley and I was headed to my campsite Warm Springs. Arrived at Warm Springs a little before sunset and scouted out a campsite near the hot springs and bathroom and setup camp.
