Death Valley early November anyone? (new okay)

[steverino]

Anyone interested in doing a few trails in Death Valley Early November (should be cool by then)
Thursday - Sat or come home early Sun morning.
Mengle Pass
Echo Canyon
Maybe Lippencott and or Hunter Mountain.

Disbursed camping.

PM me

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[Russ Chung]

Hey Steve, I sent you a PM per your request, but for the rest of the group, I'm leading the Cal4Wheel Escape from Death Valley run Nov 10-12 as part of the annual Panamint Valley Days event. Here's more info:
https://cal4wheel.com/escape-from-death-valley
The run is almost full (the Park Service limits us to 12 vehicles) so if you want to join us, sign up as soon as possible.

 

[R3TRO]

Anyone interested in doing a few trails in Death Valley Early November (should be cool by then)
Thursday - Sat or come home early Sun morning.
Mengle Pass
Echo Canyon
Maybe Lippencott and or Hunter Mountain.

Disbursed camping.

PM me

What would you say are the minimum requirements? Would Willys w/34" & rubicon suspension be ok?

 

[steverino]

What would you say are the minimum requirements? Would Willys w/34" & rubicon suspension be ok?

Yep. No problem.

 

[steverino]

Yep. No problem.

BTW The trip Russ referenced above would be great for anyone who wants to go to DV.
I have been to Death Valley a couple times with Russ and that group. Russ is a great guy and knows all the trails in Death Valley... Check it out!

 

[JimLee]

Hey Steve, I sent you a PM per your request, but for the rest of the group, I'm leading the Cal4Wheel Escape from Death Valley run Nov 10-12 as part of the annual Panamint Valley Days event. Here's more info:
https://cal4wheel.com/escape-from-death-valley
The run is almost full (the Park Service limits us to 12 vehicles) so if you want to join us, sign up as soon as possible.

Hey Russ, you know that there's another DV escape marker up on Rogers pass at the top of South Park/Pleasant canyon right? I know it's late for your planned event but the loop up South Park canyon ->Middle Park Canyon-> Rogers pass and then back down Pleasant Canyon to Ballarat is an excellent trip (Moderate 4 wheeling) with tons of scenic views and old mining ruins, it's about a 48 mile loop. You have to cross "Chicken Rock" in South Park, but it's not that bad, just gets people nervous. Coming from the DV side you still have to cross Mengle pass and exit Goler, A few miles before you get to Ballarat is the entrance to South Park canyon. You probably know most of this already, but in case you didn't...

 

[JimLee]

Anyone interested in doing a few trails in Death Valley Early November (should be cool by then)
Thursday - Sat or come home early Sun morning.
Mengle Pass
Echo Canyon
Maybe Lippencott and or Hunter Mountain.

Disbursed camping.

PM me

I might be inclined to meet you out there (too close to home for camping for me). I'm doing an axle swap this fall and that could possibly cause me to not be able to make it, but if it's done DV (and surrounding areas) is my go-to for a lot of wheeling trips.

 

[Bandana]

Hey Russ, you know that there's another DV escape marker up on Rogers pass at the top of South Park/Pleasant canyon right? I know it's late for your planned event but the loop up South Park canyon ->Middle Park Canyon-> Rogers pass and then back down Pleasant Canyon to Ballarat is an excellent trip (Moderate 4 wheeling) with tons of scenic views and old mining ruins, it's about a 48 mile loop. You have to cross "Chicken Rock" in South Park, but it's not that bad, just gets people nervous. Coming from the DV side you still have to cross Mengle pass and exit Goler, A few miles before you get to Ballarat is the entrance to South Park canyon. You probably know most of this already, but in case you didn't...

Jim, how's the camping on this loop?

 

[Russ Chung]

Hey Russ, you know that there's another DV escape marker up on Rogers pass at the top of South Park/Pleasant canyon right? I know it's late for your planned event but the loop up South Park canyon ->Middle Park Canyon-> Rogers pass and then back down Pleasant Canyon to Ballarat is an excellent trip (Moderate 4 wheeling) with tons of scenic views and old mining ruins, it's about a 48 mile loop. You have to cross "Chicken Rock" in South Park, but it's not that bad, just gets people nervous. Coming from the DV side you still have to cross Mengle pass and exit Goler, A few miles before you get to Ballarat is the entrance to South Park canyon. You probably know most of this already, but in case you didn't...

Yes, Jim. In fact, that exact run is one of the scheduled runs that are part of the Cal4Wheel Panamint Valley Days event November 12-14. I'm not in charge of the schedule, but I'm pretty sure that we will be running the Pleasant Canyon - South Park Canyon Loop (clockwise) AND the South Park Canyon - Pleasant Canyon Loop (counter clockwise) on Friday and Saturday of the event. Because the runs are within Death Valley National Park, our Special Use Permit limits each run to 12 vehicles.
Here's a link to the run descriptions from last year's PVD event. I expect we will be running the same trails at this year's event:
https://cal4wheel.com/panamint-valley-days-run-descriptions
Here's a link to the online registration page:
https://cal4wheel.org/Shared_Content/Events/Event_Display.aspx?EventKey=PVD21
The Escape from Death Valley run requires advance registration; the sign ups for all other runs are at check-in. I hope to see all of the SoCal JLWrangler forum members at the event!

 

[JimLee]

Jim, how's the camping on this loop?

I don't usually camp in Death Valley as it is basically our backyard wheeling grounds. I have seen remains of many dispersed camping sights on the loop though and there's a few "adopt a cabin" places that are pretty nice, but they are "first come" usage. The upper end of the two canyons and over Rogers pass get snow in the winter usually starting in the 6,000 ft range, I have seen enough snow on the ground that we couldn't get over the pass from Pleasant Canyon to Middle/South park canyons, but I don't expect to see snow up there until late November or later. The upper ends of both canyons have pinon pine trees and junipers so there are shady areas to camp when it's hot. You also have to be careful and know where you are at, the upper ends of both canyons are actually in DVNP while the lower ends are not, so know the dispersed camping rules of DV if you want to camp at the upper ends. If I had to camp there I would pick my camping area based on weather. We were up on Rogers pass two weekends ago and the daytime high at 7000 feet was in the 90's, that will change quickly though at this time of year. The scenery is pretty much stunning throughout the whole loop so I don't really think there are many bad places to camp if you can tolerate the weather where you are at. A few things to be aware of : 1)There are tons of wild Burros in these canyons, you can easily tell where they frequent and some of them can be fairly aggressive, I would avoid camping where they water and places where you see alot of sign of them. 2) The wind can get pretty brutal through these canyons at times as with the entirety of DV and are pretty unpredictable. 3) Rattlesnakes. As the weather starts to cool they start coming out more to warm up, there's tons of mining history on this loop, use caution as there's a lot of debris on the ground for snakes to hide in or under.
Here's some pics from the loop and of one of the "adopt a cabin" places at Briggs Camp in South Park canyon (actually two different cabins), there's another adopt a cabin in Pleasant canyon just a ways up the canyon from Clair Camp at the World Beater mine, but it's not nearly as nice as the ones at Briggs camp (it does have a wood stove inside though).

Briggs camp (this is just one of the two cabins and has enough beds in it to sleep probably about 5 people. It also has 12v lighting you can hook up to a battery. And a shooting range):

Striped Butte from South/Middle park canyon. No direct way from here to there, you have to go around through Goler canyon and over mengle pass:

Abandoned mining cabin in upper Pleasant canyon (dilapidated, unusable), light snow here in Jan 2020, too deep to travel through a little further up the trail.

Old mine at Middle park canyon:

Clair camp stamp mill in Pleasant canyon:

Death Valley Jack: My bestest little buddy who passed a couple of weeks ago, last weekend was the first time I've ever been in DV (or anywhere offroad) without him in 14.5 years. His ashes will be buried somewhere on this loop most likely. It just wouldn't do his memory justice for me to talk about DV and not mention him, he loved it out there.

For anyone looking for a more "refined" stay check out Homewood rental cabins in Homewood Canyon, It's much closer to the Panamint range side of DV than any of the towns around here and offers quick access to the trails in the Ballarat area (Pleasant canyon, South Park canyon, Goler canyon).

http://homewoodcabin.com/

I have tons more pics spread out across multiple devices, there is far more to see than what I've posted, get out there and do it!

 

[JimLee]

I don't usually camp in Death Valley as it is basically our backyard wheeling grounds. I have seen remains of many dispersed camping sights on the loop though and there's a few "adopt a cabin" places that are pretty nice, but they are "first come" usage. The upper end of the two canyons and over Rogers pass get snow in the winter usually starting in the 6,000 ft range, I have seen enough snow on the ground that we couldn't get over the pass from Pleasant Canyon to Middle/South park canyons, but I don't expect to see snow up there until late November or later. The upper ends of both canyons have pinon pine trees and junipers so there are shady areas to camp when it's hot. You also have to be careful and know where you are at, the upper ends of both canyons are actually in DVNP while the lower ends are not, so know the dispersed camping rules of DV if you want to camp at the upper ends. If I had to camp there I would pick my camping area based on weather. We were up on Rogers pass two weekends ago and the daytime high at 7000 feet was in the 90's, that will change quickly though at this time of year. The scenery is pretty much stunning throughout the whole loop so I don't really think there are many bad places to camp if you can tolerate the weather where you are at. A few things to be aware of : 1)There are tons of wild Burros in these canyons, you can easily tell where they frequent and some of them can be fairly aggressive, I would avoid camping where they water and places where you see alot of sign of them. 2) The wind can get pretty brutal through these canyons at times as with the entirety of DV and are pretty unpredictable. 3) Rattlesnakes. As the weather starts to cool they start coming out more to warm up, there's tons of mining history on this loop, use caution as there's a lot of debris on the ground for snakes to hide in or under.
Here's some pics from the loop and of one of the "adopt a cabin" places at Briggs Camp in South Park canyon (actually two different cabins), there's another adopt a cabin in Pleasant canyon just a ways up the canyon from Clair Camp at the World Beater mine, but it's not nearly as nice as the ones at Briggs camp (it does have a wood stove inside though).

Briggs camp (this is just one of the two cabins and has enough beds in it to sleep probably about 5 people. It also has 12v lighting you can hook up to a battery. And a shooting range):

Striped Butte from South/Middle park canyon. No direct way from here to there, you have to go around through Goler canyon and over mengle pass:

Abandoned mining cabin in upper Pleasant canyon (dilapidated, unusable), light snow here in Jan 2020, too deep to travel through a little further up the trail.

Old mine at Middle park canyon:

Clair camp stamp mill in Pleasant canyon:

Death Valley Jack: My bestest little buddy who passed a couple of weeks ago, last weekend was the first time I've ever been in DV (or anywhere offroad) without him in 14.5 years. His ashes will be buried somewhere on this loop most likely. It just wouldn't do his memory justice for me to talk about DV and not mention him, he loved it out there.

For anyone looking for a more "refined" stay check out Homewood rental cabins in Homewood Canyon, It's much closer to the Panamint range side of DV than any of the towns around here and offers quick access to the trails in the Ballarat area (Pleasant canyon, South Park canyon, Goler canyon).

http://homewoodcabin.com/

I have tons more pics spread out across multiple devices, there is far more to see than what I've posted, get out there and do it!

Almost forgot. Keep your eyes up in these canyons, there's a herd of mountain goats that few people know about or have ever seen, yup in DV. I've seen this herd in Goler and Pleasant canyons

Way cool!

 

[Bandana]

@JimLee I can't thank you enough for this detailed info! I was originally planning on a quick day trip to check out this loop, but now I will def make it an overnighter or tack it onto longer trips. All noted on the items of concern, not my first trip to the DV rodeo

 

[JimLee]

Pleasant canyon at the lower end where the water flows is overgrown, the worst I've ever seen it as of two weekends ago. If you are worried about scratches bring some pruning shears (large), a hand saw, or even a small chain saw. You will 100% incur scratches on this section of trail if you do not do some clearing. I just plowed through it, but my yellow jeep doesn't show scratches, my buddy is still whining about the scratches he put on his new Bronco

 

[GroovyGorilla]

If my 4xE Rubi is here in time, I'm down to do some Death Valley trails. I'm on week 5, dealer says it should hit production by the end of the month.

 

[engineXI]

I would be down to do this.

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