New Years in Death Valley

“Let me know if you'd like to come out to Death Valley the weekend before New Years :)”

“Hmmmmm. Intriguing. I usually end up signing up for Winterfest as a maybe, then not going. I think I'll sign up as a low probability maybe for this - I think it would be cool! How cold does it get there? If not terribly cold, I might even be able to convince BowlderGal to come along....”

“OK, the NPS web site sez: Avg. high of 65 and low of 39 in December and January.”

“Spent Thanksgiving in the Panamints and Death Valley. Pretty chilly at night, nice in day.
Hiked upper Marble Canyon and drove the Hunter Mtn, Racetrack, Lippincott loop. Bagged Uhebe Peak and spent some time on the Playa. Backpacked a canyon in the Panamints that will remain nameless. Just spectacular.
FYI--Gasoline at Panamint Springs was $4.30 for reg unleaded.”

“HMMMM, sounds like an interesting alternative to Winterfest! :) Consider me a high probability for now, I can also drive if we hook up w some other Sacto area folks!”

“Not sure of my exact dates yet but I am going to be knocking around over there sometime that week.”

“I take a year off from the annual Big Bend trip and TT'ers gotta bring it up and rub it in that they're gonna go...

nice!

You;ll enjoy it. its amazing and you'll want to go back each year. See ya next year.

oh yeah...snowed on me and Ice last year as we were doing the Outer Mtn Loop as we were going up back to the Chisos range. Sweet!!!”

“I added some more info to the trip page...”

“I'm interested in the Eureka Dunes portion of the trip.”

“this sounds like a neat idea, even my husband is interested.”

“What's this maybe crap!
Y'all waiting to see if you get any better offers or what??? LOL!

Come on it's gonna be fun!”

“How ya doin, WW, I'm only a "maybe" because I need to see how my wife is doing at the time before I 100% commit... she's battling Cancer & every day is a new challenge, so as much as I'd like to commit to going BPing I need to be a support person at times so need to be flexible!

Hope we all (and that "we" includes ME!) have a good time, I'd love to get down there for the New Years!
last edited: 12/05/07 4:40:01 PM”

“Hey Wanderer, sorry to hear that...man I totally understand. I was just bumping the thread to the top and prodding the maybes at the same time ;)

I'm looking to do some serious photography while out there...and would love to meet up with y'all in the evenings for some laughs.

Kathy- I'm very interested in the dunes as well.”

“WW - I need to wait until just the right moment to spring the idea on BowlderGal. I don't think she'd have a problem if I went, but I'd like her to come along, too, so I'm working on my domestic strategy; moo ha ha ha ha.....


I'm looking to do some serious photography while out there...

Whoa, now that I've gotta see! You know, compared to all that crappy stuff you usually do! Hah!”

“it's not that we don't want to do it, we REALLY DO.
it's a money thing for us. that's a LOT of gas. and it's a week of food/campfuel/firewood etc.



is this a kid friendly trip? BrianSean is 14 1/2 years old.”

“Darn, Looks like my health keeps me home this year. You all have a great time. Hope to catch up with you soon.”

“Kids are welcome!

Definitely fuel up on gas as much as you can before you get to Death Valley as the gas prices near there are terrible. We can carpool while we're in the park to help save money. And, hey, you'd be eating whether or not you're there so the food cost shouldn't be too much. We can even do a potluck one or two nights if y'all want - everyone make something to share :)”

“WW - I'll see you at the dunes catching those morning light photos - there's nothing like sand dunes in the morning light.

I'm thinking camping at the Dunes on December 31st, but if the group is going to be up there a different day then I'll modify my day so I can meet everyone up there.

I'll probably be in DV from Dec. 29th to Jan. 1 working my way from Shoshone to the Eureka Dunes slowly, and then I'd like to spend a day in the Sierra Snow on January 2nd (maybe xcountry skiing at Mammoth) or snowshoeing at Rock Creek before heading home.”

“true on the food, but somehow we always seem to spend much more on food when we camp. i haven't figured out how that happens yet.”

“Seems like there was another weirdo who did Death Valley every New Years.....  that Beep2go guy from the parallel universe over there.”

“As far as temperatures in Death Valley - it just depends on where you are - the elevation ranges from about 200 feet below sea level to a little over 11,000 feet above sea level. It can be nice and warm at Furnace Creek and really cold in the mountains.”

“So anybody ever camp at Emigrant or Wildrose? I haven't been to either campground... Emigrant is lower in elevation (warmer) and tents only but doesn't allow fires. Wildrose is higher (colder) but does allow fires. I'm thinking about camping at least one or two nights there then moving north towards the Racetrack and then Eureka Dunes? So a tentative plan might be:

27 - Drive to DV, hike to Darwin Falls, camp at Emigrant or Wildrose
28 - Hike up Wildrose Peak (if conditions permit), camp at Emigrant or Wildrose
29 - Hike up Mosaic Canyon, explore Death Valley Dunes, shower at Stovepipe Wells, Amargosa Opera House for the evening, camp in Greenwater Valley or at Texas Spring Campground
30 - Drive to Racetrack, visit Ubehebe Crater, camp in Hidden Valley
31 - Visit Eureka Dunes, camp at Eureka Dunes
1 - Drive home

What say y'all?
last edited: 12/06/07 3:17:14 PM”

“Well, forgot how to post a pic in the thread so will just say you will greatly enjoy the Eureka sand dunes, and if you are lucky they will "sing" for you
last edited: 12/06/07 7:46:36 PM”

“
here you go”

“Thanks!!”

“You just needed to close the tag with /
I changed it from url to img though :)

That's the kind of stuff I'm looking for this trip!”

“i'm all for wildrose where we can have a campfire.

that's a lot of campsite moves.

Brian wants to know how many bikes, and if there are any other kids, especially kids his age.
last edited: 12/06/07 8:10:50 PM”

“Wildrose at 4100 will be colder than down in the Valley. Emigrant is at 2100 feet and a bit warmer, but it only has 10 spots. I pulled in there on a Friday night a couple of months ago and was lucky to get the last spot, but that was the weekend of a bike race through the park.

There's free camping at the "Trailer Park" on 190 west of Death Valley Junction and just west of the Park boundary near Pyramid Peak. You can camp 8 miles down the road toward Cottowood/Marble Canyon for free too (take 2WD dirt road next to Stovepipe Wells) and camp just before the road drops into the wash.

You can also camp for free down near the Racetrack - down the Hidden Valley Road (turn left at Tea kettle junction) and drive down the Hidden Valley Road a few miles until you see a nice spot just off the road - it looks like this spot is on the list for one of the nights. There's also a camping down past the Racetrack at Homestake, but I've never been down to that campsite.

I hope to see everyone at Eureka Dunes - free camping there too.
last edited: 12/07/07 6:32:31 AM”

“I'm certainly open to other camping ideas. I just know that Death Valley is a huge place (largest National Park in the Lower 48) and we could stay all the nights in one spot but then we'd have a long ways to drive back each night and probably use a up a lot of gas doing so.

For Saturday night, if you're not planning on going to the Amargosa Opera House then you can stay at Wildrose that night as well and then we'll meet up again on Sunday. So that would narrow it down to 3 camps. Sound good?”

“Itinerary #2:

27 - Drive to DV, hike to Darwin Falls, camp at Wildrose
28 - Hike up Wildrose Peak (if conditions permit), camp at Wildrose
29 - Hike up Mosaic Canyon, explore Death Valley Dunes, shower at Stovepipe Wells, Amargosa Opera House for the evening, camp at Death Valley Junction or in Greenwater Valley (or, if you're not going to the Opera House, you can camp again at Wildrose)
30 - Drive to Racetrack, visit Ubehebe Crater, camp in Hidden Valley
31 - Visit Eureka Dunes, camp at Eureka Dunes
1 - Drive home”

“do you know what i realized this morning, i committed to a Boy Scout Fundraiser where my truck is neccessary during that time, so i have to bow out. also i realize that the kind of car camping we need to for my husband's sake requires an air mattress, (the kind you actually buy a pump for), and a new larger sleeping bag. he was so uncomfortable the last two times that he said he would swear off going and i am committed to making him comfortable enough to go because he had fun otherwise. so i'll spend the money on these things and wait for another time.”

“FYI, you will need a high-clearance vehicle for the second part of the trip to drive to the Racetrack and Eureka Dunes. I hear 4wd doesn't hurt either.

http://www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/upload/Backcountry%20Roads.pdf”

“Just to let y'all know, I'm hopefully still going to be able to go on this trip, but the rock I ran into last week with my car didn't really help. My car should be all fixed by then, if not then maybe we'll come in the truck. But that'll take more money for gas so I'll let ya know!”

“you guys have a great time, i'll be thinking of you and toasting to your health and happiness in the coming new year.”

“This sound like a great trip!!! I wish to see this trip earlier. I've committed to an After-Christmas-bike ride event for 6 days. So couldn't make to this trip! However, I am thinking about group some people go Death Valley for Winter-Retreat on early next year. Maybe M.L. King Jr. that weekend. Perhaps I could get some informations from you guys? Could you be kindly to tell me how your trip goes? Thank you bunch! Wish you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Happy Holidays! Lili :)
last edited: 12/21/07 1:54:03 AM”

“Well, I got my car back from the transmission shop, but I need to go get the alignment and steering checked and so I'm not sure I'll have enough time to do it before the trip was scheduled. So I switched my status to maybe and there's a strong probability I won't be able to go. So I encourage the folks that are interested in the trip to coordinate together to do all that you want to do w/o me and I'll join if possible.”

“A few of us are doing a "Winterfest" New Year eve trip to Loon Lake up here in the Northern Sierra near Desolation Wilderness.

Anyone who wants to join in is more than welcome!”

“And GOOD LUCK with your car!”

“The Trip page won't let me change my status.
I'm going to take this as a bad omen and go camping in the snow.

Want to change your plans Wind Walker?”

“Thanks Navi...but I am pretty set on getting out to Death Valley. You guys be safe and have fun!”

“Hey Navi, wanna head up toward Desolation & camp in the snow with us @ Loon Lake?”

“Thanks Wanderer, I was watching that trip and thinking it was too far to drive. Then Ladyhiker phones and says, "Let's meet in Lassen!"
Want to join us and JVZ?”

“That's a real possibility! The reason we were going to do Loon Lake area was because MtnSteve wasn't able to put together the annual Lassen WinterFest & HikerDuane wanted to do SOMETHING since he had the time off already... initially we were going to do Lassen anyway!

I was just wondering why we hadn't heard from JVZ in awhile... he was at Loon Lake with a couple of us a couple years ago & I hadn't seen him on the trail since! Let's GO - tell him I'll even bring him the 6-pack! :) (he & I stopped for some beers after the last trip :)
last edited: 12/24/07 3:12:36 PM”