We have a deep fascination with Death Valley and all that it has to offer. The park is so vast that it's not possible to see everything in one trip. Especially if you travel in the back country like we do. That is why we make it a goal each year to head out at least twice to see new areas and explore.
On this particular trip to DV we wanted to visit Eureka Dunes in the North West corner of the park. Eureka is said to be the highest set of dunes in California and may be the most remote in the USA. Apparently second to the "Great Sand Dunes" in Colorado. They also lend themselves to surrounding barren landscape in the Eureka Valley and the jaw dropping stripped Last Chance mountain range.
Arriving at camp for the night. We chose a location close to the dune access and the kiosk area. The sites have rock boundaries to keep you from damaging the land with unnecessary movement.
The view from camp. There's a small fence lining the outskirt of the dune area. Otherwise people would be camping inches from the dunes.
There's no driving allowed on the dunes and dogs aren't allowed on the sand either. This is a National Park and they're trying to keep the dunes preserved as best they can. One of the Rangers mentioned that they do not allow "sledding" on the dunes either. Apparently that is a problem they run into quite often.
One of the goals for the trip for me at least was to hike to the peak of the highest dune set. It's not a terribly hard hike, but you need to be in a bit of shape and have proper footwear and fluids. You can see camp the entire way up to the top, but as i've read many times, most hiking tragedies occur when you expect to make a quick hike near your vehicle. So go prepared. I was alone on the hike, so i brought snacks, SPOT satellite and a ham radio to talk to base camp. I also brought up 70 ounces of water where in case i had to spend the night i was good to go. Sure it was probably over kill and heavy.. but i like to prepare for the worst and walk away alive.
Heading out and up. I chose diagonal lines to the dunes and hiked on the edges of bowls as to not exert more energy than need be. I wanted to save my energy for the last portion where i had to climb up the steepest portion. In the below photo you can see the scale of the dunes as compared to me. You don't realize the magnitude of these beasts until you start getting closer.
Heading up one of the steepest sections. I was pleasantly surprised that most of the dune was somewhat hard packed as compared to other dunes i've hiked. One being Kelso Dunes in the Mojave Preserve. That set felt very loose and you had to work really hard to make distance. On Eureka it seemed hard pack enough in sections that if you chose your feet placement properly you wouldn't dig in too badly.
Nearing the top and taking a break. Not the worst place to relax for a breather. Nice views everywhere you look and a soft place to sit if you choose.
You may see a small figure at the top of this photo. That's me making the summit. Only took about an hour to the top. Not a bad hike at all. For distance reference the photo was taken with a 300mm lens from camp.
Enjoying the view of the backside of the dunes from the top razor back looking southwest. Great reward for a small amount of work.
In this shot you can see our basecamp in the lower center portion of the photo under my arm. That gives you an idea of the distance traveled.
Upon my return it seemed that Dixie found a new friend. This was Louie. He's a brindle French Bulldog. Basically a larger, stouter version of Dixie. They got along great and i think Louie spent more time at our camp than his own. We joked that they were boyfriend and girlfriend because they wouldn't separate from each other. We wanted to bring Louie home.
A shot of Louie's camp. You never know what you might find in the middle of no where. I can't quite remember the specs on this old "canned ham" trailer, but it was all original minus the fresh axle. Apparently this wasn't it's first trip to Death Valley because we spoke with the owners and it lost a wheel/hub on the Race Track road. Pretty daring but i have to hand it to them, at least they're out there doing it instead of sitting on a couch. And in retro style to-boot. They were a very nice couple.
In the desert the weather can change on a dime. While relaxing at camp we noticed the dark ominous clouds starting to move in on us. This was the calm before the storm.
Made for some spectacular images.
Yosh used the opportunity to make some Jiffy Pop. Her All-Time favorite. Compliments of a dear friend of ours that had to stay home sick on this outing.
After a bit of some serious skill on the fire, the popcorn came out perfect. If you have read any of our other trips reports, this is far from normal.
As the storm drew closer, the winds and rain started to increase intensity. I put some of the gear away and Yosh took cover in the teardrop with Dixie. The rest of us stayed out in elements, kept the fire going and Verny's 80 Series Landcruiser worked perfectly to protect his OzTent.
Fellow 4-wheelers and adventurers making their way out of the valley before the storm dumped. Smart move.
After an uneventful night we woke up the next morning to blue skies and terrific temperatures. Dixie was ready to head to Saline.
Because we were headed over Steel Pass to Saline and it was rocky and sandy i took this chance to air down further. The pass would be the hardest section of the entire trip.
The view of the striped Last Chance Canyon range was breath-taking.
The view of the Eureka Dunes in the background as we head south out of the valley. In some parts you can see the dunes from 8-10 miles away. They take precedence over the anything nearby that's for sure.
At this point we were running solo, as our friend that joined us headed home early. Crossing the sandy back country was nothing to be weary of, but i paid well attention to every obstacle as i don't particularly like to travel alone in Death Valley. That being said, we were well equipped, had food supply for weeks and had a friend staying in Saline where we were headed.
Pulling into the toughest section of Steel Pass (or some spell it Steele). Dedekera Canyon. One of the remotest parts of the park. From here, most people park their vehicles (see in the right side background)and walk the rest, but we weren't about that. Locked up front and rear and having plenty of rock crawling experience i kept on trucking.
The only thing we had to worry about is fitting through with the trailer. The Krawler 459 will make it through anything as long as there's room. It's the same width of the truck so you just have to pre-select your turns ahead of time and anticipate what's ahead.
We came extremely close to hitting the side of the trailer here. A bit tight, but nothing we couldn't manage. Yosh spotted the trailer and i inched the truck forward in low range. My personal opinion is, if you're not prepared to get a scratch or a ding in your equipment, you shouldn't be out using it.
It was funny, we had run into a couple adventure moto riders earlier in the day and they expressed a caution for us heading this way. But i had a trick up sleeve. I had knowledge that another trailer like ours had made its way up this route with a less-prepared setup about a year earlier. I was confident with my skills and all worked out just fine.
On the last and final small ledge. We had made it through the tightest sections and were on schedule to roll into Saline by the end of the day. The Cooper tires did an amazing job gripping the obstacles. The chains were with us due to the possible expected snow on North Pass.
Once up the canyon and on top of the pass the scenery changed and we spotted Joshua Trees. We passed a few hikers, said hello, waived the hand and watched their jaws drop as they saw us pulling a Teardrop trailer past them. They were probably trying to figure out how we got up the canyon.
Around each corner was amazing scenery that isn't viewed by many. In this area you don't run into too many other people. We were in our element and happy as could be.
The highest point of the pass and a road smooth as silk. Just spectacular. I'd like to camp up in this area sometime. In the high points you could even see patches of snow.
Yosh and Dixie out to stretch their legs at over 5,091 feet. Eureka valley was at about 1700 feet. Saline sits at approximately 1,135 feet. Again, not a soul around.
Dropping down into the Saline Valley area the trail became a little tight, switching back and forth through a wash area. We took our time and negotiated slowly and precisely. Nothing we couldn't handle that we hadn't done earlier in the day.
Arriving at the springs we found a ton of people out celebrating their annual get together. Everyone was really friendly and hospitable as always. Saline has it's own set of rules and lifestyle. Some get it, and some don't. Most are out to relax, have a good time and not out to bother anyone. We dig saline and have always had great experiences here. Everyone looks out for each other, shares food, supplies and the place is kept up really well. I still think it has one of the nicest bathrooms i've ever seen in the middle of a National Park. If you ever get a chance to visit, do it with an open mind and you'll be fine.
One of the veterans out for the weekend.
After a 4-5 hour drive over from Eureka we found our friend and settled in for an impromptu camp for the night. We actually surprised our friend by showing up unannounced. Notice the snow still on the Inyos in the background. Dixie was happy to be out of the truck and see her cattle dog friend "Buddy".
Many people don't know that Saline has a run way strip called the "CHICKEN STRIP". What's interesting about it, is that the strip is the same length as it's elevation - 1400 feet. Apparently that's something that isn't really common.
This was the first time i had ever seen a plane actually land it. Supposedly it's quite the hair raising experience.
Here's a photo taken of the actual strip by another website. Looks pretty rough to me. The author of this website actually hit his prop when he was turning his plane around. Wild.
http://flyingadventures.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/chicken-strip-large.jpg
Heading out the Valley for North Pass. Of course no trip is complete without a stop at the bat sign.
Heading up North Pass, trailer in tow headed for some. Little less washboard than South Pass, but a bit longer mileage.
Various structures in Marble Canyon from the old mining era.
Making our way past Cowhorn. Epic terrain at every turn. The desert is a thing of the past as we climb up towards Death Valley Rd.
Roads and trails everywhere you look. Some open, some closed. Some National Park and some BLM land.
A bit of snow in the Pinyon Pine Forest areas of North Pass.
Snapping a quick photo at the Saline Valley road sign before ending our off highway adventure and airing up to head home on pavement. Saline Valley Road is the longest stretch of dirt road in the park, 95 miles long to be exact. Just a note, there's no services at all. Come prepared.
Hitting the pavement (Death Valley Rd. 168) for home we had a nice view of the Eastern Sierras covered in snow.
Stopping off for some lunch and fuel on Highway 395, we made our way home happy to have had the chance to explore Death Valley again. It's always a treat. Thanks for reading everyone.
Stay tuned in the coming weeks, where we'll post a report of an exploration run on adventure moto's in Death Valley, Panamint Valley and Beatty Nevada.