OK met with Oleg (Holger) for lunch the other day. He was kind enough to bring a few of his books on DV trails.

A few more trails we should be considering are...
Pleasant Canyon (Rogers Pass & Ballarat Rd areas)
Mengel Pass (via Goler wash)
Cayote Canyon

Did I miss any Oleg? Any recommendations/suggestions of trails others would like to do and why?

That is Panamint Valley. you should make that mandatory visit. at least for the folks with decent rigs able to handle it.

Ray, my wife is still trying to clean my sleeves from that pineapple burger <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I do not know what you mean by "Coyote Canyon". I suggested the following trip variants:

A (high-elevation trip):

1st day: Pleasant Canyon/Roger Pass loop.
2nd day: Mengel Pass/Goler wash into the main valley.
3rd day: Ubehebe crater, Racetrack playa, Lippincot road.

B (low elevation trip):

1st day: Eureka dunes - Dedeckera canyon - Steep pass - Warm springs;
2nd day: Lippincot road - Racetrack Uebehebe crater;
3rd day: central valley exploration.

C (elevation mix):

1st day: Cerro Gordo trail.
2nd day: Lippincot road, Racetrack playa.
3rd day: either Eureka dunes/Steep pass/Warm springs, or central valley exploration.

I personally prefer variant A but I am not sure what the snow situation is going to be by Apr. 16th. The variant B I made with my friends two years ago and it is good but I'd rather try something else.



In my Roger Mitchell book, the Pleasant Canyon/Roger Pass loop is described as a relatively tame trail. Is it passable for good stock rigs ? We have several stock trucks in the group (Montero 2001, Land Cruiser 2001, etc). We can park stock rigs by the start of the loop and pick them up in the evening.

This is a good information page on current general conditions in Death Valley:

Unofficial tourist information

It is not formal and not complete, but it is getting updated more often the the official park page:

Official park page

First thank you to all who provided some additional insights into the many death valley trails.

Like many, I'm up for any of them.

I spoke with John this afternoon and his suggestion was to do plan B. He said one of the other plans (John sorry I can't remember which one <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> ) would probably be very iffy because of the greater potential for snow this year. He also mentioned that by doing the 2nd set of trails we could have a common base camp for all 3 days. Not sure if that's also possible with the 2 other trail group options.

I'd also like to mention something Oleg suggested and that's to maybe split the group into 2 groups (easy scenic trails and harder more challenging trails). I'd personally prefer a challenging scenic trail but I know some may not be comfortable with that and I'd like to make this trip pleasant for all to enjoy without any unnecessary terror. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Ray:

You would not have a base camp for all three days...

You wold have 2 nights in the same spot...

Once you go through Gollar Wash, you will be in Death Valley.

Ray and John, I am somewhat confused by your posts... which exactly plan you are suggesting ? Ray is talking about plan "B", John is talking about plan "A" (Goler wash).

My understanding is that nearly all trails in the DV are passable by good stock vehicles. One exception is the Echo Canyon pass in the eastern valley that is too tight for larger vehicles. If somebody is not comfortable with some trails, he/she may leave the vehicle in the "base camp" (if we are going to have one) and ride in somebody's else SUV.

Anyway, this place is so great that whatever route we will choose, we will have a good time.

Guys, if you are talking about the "low-elevation" plan "B", the I can suggest the following plan:

1) Friday morning or lunch time meet in Big Pine.

2) Using the quickest route (the northern Saline Valley gravel road) go to the Warm Springs area and set the base camp. This area is very unusual, and has good conveniences. I hope that in the middle of the Friday it is not going to be fully occupied. If there is no place there, then we can more further to the north toward the Steel Pass and set the camp(s) there.

3) Saturday morning, we go to the Racetrack playa through the Lippincot road. Then we are passing Ubehebe crater (fit young people can hike to the bottom). By the lunch time, we can get to the Scotty's castle and those who never been there can visit the "castle" on guided excursion.

4) Then we go to the east to the Eureka dune, and then through the Steep Pass we return to the "base camp" by the night.

5) Sunday we are going from Warm Spring through the Saline Valley to the west, toward Inyo mountains, to the Cerro Gordo trail. If it will be blocked by snow, then we can exit the Valley over the South Saline Valley road; if it is open, we cross the mountains. There are actually two roads through the mountains: good gravel direct road through Cerro Gordo ghost town, or more difficult trail that Ray posted the link. We can figure out which road is open and go through it.

6) Then, in Sunday night, we reach the Owens Valley, and some people can go home, others can stay for Monday and play, for example, in Alabama hills.

Higher elevation variant, if the snow allow:

1) Friday - Pleasant Canyon/Roger Pass loop.

2) Saturday - Mengel Pass / Goler wash to the main Valley. Then we can camp either in Stovepipe large camp or go toward Mesquite to North-East.

3) Sunday: Scotty's castle, Racetrack playa, etc, go home.

We can set both plans and choose one depending on the road conditions by the middle of April.

The low elevation "Plan B" is a good setup...

Oleg, my conversation with Ray was around a modification of the low elevation which would have included Pleasant Canyon (and an alternate) along with a trip up Golar Wash into Death Valley.

Your suggestion of meeting in Big Pine and looping around through Saline Valley to Cerro Gordo is a good trip.

Oleg,

Do you have an 'area' map where you can point out the locations and draw in the routes? Even if you take one of your paper maps, note the key locations (meeting spots, campgrounds, 'general' trail route) and put that info in with a pencil then post a picture of it would be great! This way, we can get our head's around the route's we're taking.

Also, thanks again for both your and John's feedback and insights on this! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />