Death Valley 2600 Mile Trip

[Bodge Garage]

Just finished a 2600 mile trip through Death Valley. We hit the Alvord Desert and Copper Mountain on the way down from Eastern Washington. Went to Ballarat, Furnace Creek, Mangle Pass and a few others. Hit up Tahoe and Bend OR on the way back. The stop a Deschutes brewery was a treat after so many miles. I was outnumbered by Tacos the entire trip.
I will try and get the action shots at some point.

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[Bodge Garage]

I have a video of Mengel Pass but it's too large to post. I will see if I can get a link up.

 

[Jawaburger]

Nice, I saw the pics of Cerro Gordo. I've been following the Ghost Town Living channel since the beginning!

 

[N0madK1ng]

This looks cool as hell and I can't wait to do some trips like this. Great rig btw!

Would you mind explaining best practices with the extra fuel storage? When do you cycle this out and into the gas tank? Does extreme heat have any negative impacts on using this routinely (obviously in an emergency you do what you gotta do).

Much appreciated for any response. I know nothing about overlanding...

 

[EasternSierra]

What a fantastic trip!

#9: Striped Butte in Butte Valley, on the way to Mengel Pass. One time I went there somebody had actually gotten an RV all the way to the cabin. I suspect damage along the way...
#13-14: Rainbow Canyon from Father Crowley Overlook off State Route 190
#18: Cerro Gordo (made me glad to have low range to deal with the steep downhill grade)
#20: Alvord Desert/Steens Mountain? Bucket list for me.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Bodge Garage]

What a fantastic trip!

#9: Striped Butte in Butte Valley, on the way to Mengel Pass. One time I went there somebody had actually gotten an RV all the way to the cabin. I suspect damage along the way...
#13-14: Rainbow Canyon from Father Crowley Overlook off State Route 190
#18: Cerro Gordo (made me glad to have low range to deal with the steep downhill grade)
#20: Alvord Desert/Steens Mountain? Bucket list for me.

Thanks for sharing.

That is a pretty good recap. We went so many places and it was a bit of a whirlwind. Already planing the return trip. The Alvord/Steens were worth the drive.

 

[dejones64]

What a great trip, thanks for sharing! Cool we got the same pic. Unfortunately we ran into a dust storm and had to turn back.

 

[Bodge Garage]

We missed the jets both times unfortunately.
We did hit some bad weather. The wind in Ballarat was horrible, 50-70mph the one night. Almost threw in the towel at that point.

 

[Hdscreens]

Definitely, a strange world in Death Valley.

 

[Bschurr]

Death Valley is a very interesting place to say the least & it’s got it ALL. My last visit was on 2 wheels in 2018 on a cross-country trip with some pals. You don’t want to get stranded out there for sure but looks like you were well prepared. Thanks for sharing!

 

[contented]

OP, great pics and trips. An amazing other worldly place. Glad you enjoyed it. We were there during April 2023. Like you, we visited the charcoal kilns, Ballarat, Barker Ranch, Mengel Pass, Badwater, Devils Golf Course, and a few others. We stayed at Stovepipe Wells. But due to the previous summer’s rains, Titus Canyon, Lippencott Rd, and Steel Pass were closed. I just checked and Titus Canyon and Scotty’s Castle road are still closed. For those that have never been there it is a HUGE place. Lippencott and Steel Pass almost require a night on the trail. if you’re going to really explore the park, camping is a must. Don’t go alone and make certain you’re fully prepared to spend several nights out in case of emergency. Trailmater can’t come and get you.
And I would also say make certain you have a high tolerange for spending hour after hour on rough and very rough dirt roads.

Pics are Mengel Pass, Badwater (lowest point in US), Barker Ranch where they arrested Charles Manson, Ballarat, and Charcoal Kilns.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

Just finished a 2600 mile trip through Death Valley. We hit the Alvord Desert and Copper Mountain on the way down from Eastern Washington. Went to Ballarat, Furnace Creek, Mangle Pass and a few others. Hit up Tahoe and Bend OR on the way back. The stop a Deschutes brewery was a treat after so many miles. I was outnumbered by Tacos the entire trip.
I will try and get the action shots at some point.

Looks like an amazing trip! Thanks for sharing this with us, Kris!

 

[EasternSierra]

OP, great pics and trips. An amazing other worldly place. Glad you enjoyed it. We were there during April 2023. Like you, we visited the charcoal kilns, Ballarat, Barker Ranch, Mengel Pass, Badwater, Devils Golf Course, and a few others. We stayed at Stovepipe Wells. But due to the previous summer’s rains, Titus Canyon, Lippencott Rd, and Steel Pass were closed. I just checked and Titus Canyon and Scotty’s Castle road are still closed. For those that have never been there it is a HUGE place. Lippencott and Steel Pass almost require a night on the trail. if you’re going to really explore the park, camping is a must. Don’t go alone and make certain you’re fully prepared to spend several nights out in case of emergency. Trailmater can’t come and get you.
And I would also say make certain you have a high tolerange for spending hour after hour on rough and very rough dirt roads.

It's a great place and I have no idea how many times I've been there over the decades. There's a huge variety of terrain and climate, and vehicle routes range from paved highways to extremely rough trails.

It wasn't just rains that closed those roads, it was torrential downpours that caused huge flash floods. Those are mainly a summertime risk. Best to avoid the backcountry trails that time of the year. That's mainly due to extreme heat heat risk but also flash flood risk. You don't want to have a breakdown out there and spend hours in the heat. Always carry gallons of extra water any time of the year.

Another thing to keep in mind are the camping rules. There are several campgrounds, some by paved roads and a few on dirt roads. Camping is not allowed within one mile of paved roads or major, graded dirt roads outside of designated campgrounds

Once you get off those routes onto the trails you can camp by the trail. I've done that various times. For example, you can't camp along Westside Road which is passable to cars, but you can camp anywhere along the adjacent Hanapaugh and Johnson Canyon jeep trails which I've done. The Park Service map will show you the limited areas off-limits to camping; most of the park is wide open.

The Johnson Canyon trail is the first place I took a vehicle on a trail way back in 1978, and it was a mini-compact sedan from Japan. That actually got me up to the base of the mountains.

 

[LostInArizona]

Awesome! I'd love to see the route you took!

 

[Sparkie]

Just finished a 2600 mile trip through Death Valley. We hit the Alvord Desert and Copper Mountain on the way down from Eastern Washington. Went to Ballarat, Furnace Creek, Mangle Pass and a few others. Hit up Tahoe and Bend OR on the way back. The stop a Deschutes brewery was a treat after so many miles. I was outnumbered by Tacos the entire trip.
I will try and get the action shots at some point.

That's an impressive road trip. Thanks for sharing.

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