Death Valley Trails in March

Death Valley and surrounding desert is a beautiful place in the spring. Last weekend starting on Friday March 23rd I was invited to join a group of guys to run some of the trails in and arround Death Valley. The group leader was John Marnell a member of Baja Nomad and an expert in desert travel.

Most of us met up just outside Barstow and the rest at Baker. 10 men, 2 dogs, 5 Jeeps and 3 Tacomas. We topped off the gas tanks at Baker and headed up hwy 127 to the Dumont Dunes area.

Day 1:

Our first run would be up Sperry Wash and past several mining operations before swinging west toward Death Valley.

The start



A Hawk watches us from above



Danger rocks ready to fall



Where are we



One of our protectors



Our first night camp site, a cabin in the middle of no where



A group picture

Day 2:

Saturday we head out to the hwy and up to Furnace Creek stopping at Badwater



Furnace Creek an old ore hauler on display



After gassing in Nevada we start the Echo Canyon run from the Nevada side



Approching the first dry waterfall, careful is the word



A little road building and expert spotting



Easy does it



Baja Nomad XRPhlang is up next in a Tacoma



Harley our other guard dog waits for XRPhil to come thru



After the water falls we make camp for the night near the jct Inyo mine

What a fun gathering!

Day 3

Sunday we continue down Echo Canyon. Looks like straw in the rock



The Eye of the Needle



Trouble in River City. The drag link breaks. Time to call for help.



There is cell service in Furnace Creek and we were close enough to get it. We were about a mile from the hwy when the steering drag link broke. Several of the guys started calling around and John went into Furnace Creek and found a welder at Furnace Creek area but he wouldn't weld it due to liability. Also found a flat bed tow truck to get the jeep to Funace Creek but the driver wouldn't go off highway to get it. Finally got a AAA flatbed tow truck from Independence on hwy 395 to come down and get the jeep and haul it about 5 miles to the camp ground. One of their friends was coming back from Escondido heading to Riverside and he stopped and picked up a new drag link at an auto parts store. Brought it to the camp ground but it had a wrong bend at the end and wouldn't work.

While all this was going on Half the group went on to Beatty for gas and ice then did Titus Canyon.

Titus Canyon has some of the most beautiful rock formations



Back to Furnace Creek and the camp ground for the night

Day 4

After much discussion it was decided that a couple of the guys would go to Las Vegas to get the correct drag link. Two guys had left Sunday for a bingo tourament in Nevada. Since this was our last day anyway Phil and I decided to head down south and do the Butte Valley, Mengel Pass and Goler Wash stopping by Barker Ranch where Charlie Manson was caught.

OLd mining equipment along the way



The wide valley



Striped Butte



Geologist"s cabin, we left food and supplies



Mengel Pass and grave marker



Barker Ranch house, Manson hideout, cabin was burnt down in 2009



What it looked like before being burnt



Manson was hiding in a cabinet. It's said some of his hair was showing and that's how they caught him. Phil re-in-acts the location



WE leave Death Valley Park and make our way thru Goler Wash and out by Balarat

Thanks for all the pic's ... you guys get out there...

Do you ever sit still ???

Thanks for the ride

Nice to see some trails...

Thanks TW for the report.

we have been to all the areas you visited over the last few years. It's a real shame that somebody set the Barker ranch on fire.
Good show, leaving food supplies at the cabin!

Are you bringing those menu choices with you to Aqua Verde?

Karl

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[Edited on 3-30-2012 by Fernweh]

[Edited on 3-31-2012 by BajaNomad]

Echo Cyn - Fernweh

We went south on Highway 373 from Lathrop Wells, NV for 4 miles.




Then turned west on a dirt road, Frontier Ave, for a little over 11 miles.

At that point, a rocky road leads northwest and from there we began the adventure. I'd like to say that the proper route to follow is pretty intuitive but there are a number of options where it's easier if you know the correct route.

We surprised two good sized bighorn sheep along echo canyon, hopefully photos to follow.

All the vehicles did very well David K - the Cherokee broke 12 miles west of the waterfall on a good gravel road and looking at the pieces you saw that there likely had been previous issues as there was a bit of rust at the damaged site.

Echo Canyon again


Site of Greenwater - Death Valley copper mining camp circa 1907



I had made the decision to travel this route from east to west due to other trip considerations as trip leader.

John M



[Edited on 3-30-2012 by John M]

[Edited on 3-30-2012 by John M]

John led you guys on an excellence see-all trip in Death Valley and he is a very nice guy, too.
Too bad he did not take you the other way over Echo Canyon so you could go UP the waterfall like my Septuagenarian Wife did in our Tacoma/camper did last year!

Wimp, Wimp, Wimp! Guess he was worried about the Jeeps, huh, DK? UP

Quote:

Originally posted by Neal Johns John led you guys on an excellence see-all trip in Death Valley and he is a very nice guy, too. Too bad he did not take you the other way over Echo Canyon so you could go UP the waterfall like my Septuagenarian Wife did in our Tacoma/camper did last year! Wimp, Wimp, Wimp! Guess he was worried about the Jeeps, huh, DK? UP

First time I came upon the waterfall - it sure looks different when approaching from the South.

Charlie's Kitchen, where he was hiding in a cabinet when he was caught by the Inyo-County Sheriff.

While all this was going on Half the group went on to Beatty for gas and ice then did Titus Canyon.

back in my days at China Lake I too used to go over to Vicky Star Ranch in Beatty for a differnt kind of ice which sometimes gave me gas before I did the tities