November 2010 Death Valley Trip

[ski3pin]

This Trip Report can be found here:

Death Valley Nov 2010

 

[MarkBC]

Some really nice photos there, good descriptions, ski. Thanks.

Wish it wasn't so far away from where I live...

For one thing, it makes me lose my "dedication" to work and makes me want to be retired now...whether I can afford to or not.

 

[SunMan]

Great pics and report 3pins (as always!)...sounds like we were out lurking around DV at the same time. And boy, Tuesday night sure was a cold and windy bugger!

Funny, I ordered Digonnet's book before the trip but didn't recieve it until after my return. I am really enjoying perusing it, it sure gives a person lots of ideas! It is an exceptionally detailed book and will never travel to DV with out it.

 

[ski3pin]

Thanks Mr. Sun, can't wait to hear of your DV adventures! Digonnet has come out with another guide covering the Saline Valley and other outlining areas. The Lady highlights the places in the books as we visit them. I ask her if she wants to explore them all. She just smiles.

 

[SunMan]

The Lady highlights the places in the books as we visit them.

I do the same in all of my guidebooks

Now if only I could get my "1000 Places To See Before You Die" book completely highlighted

 

[simimike]

Great report and even better photos. Thanks for posting this trip report. I've read it twice already.

mike

 

[MarkBC]

Thanks Mr. Sun, can't wait to hear of your DV adventures! Digonnet has come out with another guide covering the Saline Valley and other outlining areas. The Lady highlights the places in the books as we visit them. I ask her if she wants to explore them all. She just smiles.


OK, based on your recommendations I just-now ordered the original (2004) Digonnet DV hiking guide and the 2009 Western DV guide. The newer one seems kinda rare -- Amazon doesn't sell it directly, but they have a link to one 3rd party seller, so I ordered it from that guy.

If I can't be in a cool place then buying guidebooks to that place is the next best thing!

 

[DLN]

ski,

Great pics and report, thanks for sharing.

 

[Lighthawk]

Great trip report, Ski. Love the photos of the Ibex dunes area. Will have to add that and Saratoga Spgs. to the 'bucket list'. We like photographing birds too.

I was amazed to see photos of you folks hiking in shorts! We went out on Wednesday, after losing power for four days (ultimately eight days no power), in arctic conditions. It was 10F at Benton, north of DV on Wednesday night. The temps must have dropped about forty degrees from monday to wednesday. Also Benton is 5,000' elevation, so that accounts for about 15 degrees of chill, compared to DV (assuming sea level).

 

[ski3pin]

Thanks Lighthawk. There is just something magical about the DVNP dunes, we do enjoy exploring them, especially the seldom visited ones.

Monday was the nicest day. As you can see from the petroglyph photos we were well dressed Sunday, even while hiking. When we arrived at Saratoga Springs mid morning on Monday in our wool pants it was in the low 60's. Boy did it feel warm! We went to long nylon pants for our visit there. As we were putting on boots for the hike to the Ibex Dunes, we decided on shorts. What a treat, but we were in fleece pants and down jackets for dinner that evening.

We drove through Benton around 9 am on Wednesday (CalTrans was reporting chain control on 395 from 20 miles north of Bishop to Walker and we needed to make time and get back home) and it was in the high 20's. From Montgomery Pass to Hawthorne the outside temp display averaged around 22. Figured with the clearing it was going to get cold overnight. I guess it did!..........but weren't you at the hot springs?

About 18 years we lost power for 7 or 8 days. We immediately changed over to a propane water heater and cooktop. Later we added a jotul propane heat stove. We get by pretty well - kind of like camping in luxury, but it gets old. Just four days without power this storm.....and we were in Death Valley.

 

[Dughlas Stiubhart]

Thanks for the photos and report, Ski! DV is one of my favorite places.

A great book about the Valley is William Manly's autobiography, Death Valley in '49. Harry Ward is mentioned a number of times in the book and Ward didn't like what Manly said.

 

[Lighthawk]

Guttenberg Project has this book available for download. I put a copy on my portable reader : my phone

 

[Dughlas Stiubhart]

Guttenberg Project has this book available for download. I put a copy on my portable reader : my phone


Lighthawk, after you finish Manly, see if you can track down Escape from Death Valley by LeRoy and Jean Johnson. Since it is long out of print, you'll need a library for that.

In the 1980s, Johnson walked Manly and Rodger's 1849 route from Death Valley, through Butte Valley, across the Panamints and on to California. Quite an adventure, eh?

 

[kcowyo]

Great photos & write-up, ski!

Love DV, my favorite national park along with Yellowstone. So many extremes out there... We had a little bit better weather in DV the following week, but like you, we came home to too much snow.

Glad you got a break from shoveling & snow-blowing -
.