Saline Valley Trip

RC Pilot Jim

RC Pilot Jim

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
Messages
1,546
Location
San Diego Calif
Friend Terry and I just returned from our annual 9 day trip to the beautiful Saline Valley hot Springs. Weather for the first 6.5 days was beautiful. Temps 45* Low - 85* high and no wind. Well no wind till Saturday the 10th at 3 pm. Than it started blowing 40 mph gusting to 50 for the next 26 hours. Very glad I was in the "Eagle".

Terry , not so happy, since he sold his Hawk. He now sleeps in a Honda Pilot. Unfortunately with 25 hours of wind there is no place he can get out of it and the Eagle with the bed deployed is too small for two adult males.

Sorry Terry, you need to buy another camper !!

No pictures. Google "Saline Valley hot springs" in Death Valley. Tons of pictures non line.
 
Hi Jim

Glad you had a good visit despite the weather.

Have you ever approached Saline Hot Springs from the north ?

What was the time of year and nature of the road ?

Many thanks

David Graves

PS Could you expound on "bolted on?"
 
Mr Graves

Wife and I came out from the north last year. I think it was early April. I likes that route much better. Less track across the desert floor and the route thru the mountain was nice there was still snow, but not on the road.
Russ
 
Thanks Russ

I had heard it described as deeply rutted and best traveled southward for being pretty steep downhill....make any sense to you?

David
 
North Pass is easy going right now. I came in and out last month with no issues. I prefer it to South Pass due to less off-road miles and it just seems easier to coast downhill most of the way to Bat Rock Road. Both ways are no issue right now since the county has been grading fairly regularly. If you go in one way and come out the other you get to see quite a variance of terrain, geology, and flora.
 
Hi David

This was last year. A lot can change, if your info is current I’d go with that. ETAV8R says it’s good.
 
Jim:
I plan to drive from Big Pine, along Death Valley Road, to Whippoorwill Canyon, going south and looking for trilobite fossils in Waucoba canyon, then driving southeast to Saline Hotsppring. I am afraid of driving on washboard road because of camper bumping. Are you familiar with this route and how is the road condition?
 
The latest word I’ve heard from folks who traveled to the Saline Valley for Presidents Day was that there was some snow and ice on North Pass but with 4WD and care it was fine. It’s been recently graded so I don’t think the wash boards are a big issue at this time.
My wife is into fossil hunting for trilobites, are you willing to share info on where to look in Waucoba Canyon for the little ancient critters? I was thinking about heading over that way soon myself to check out something I saw on Google Earth and would like an excuse to scout that area as well.
 
pollux said:
looking for trilobite fossils in Waucoba canyon
Click to expand...
Fossils are cool finds. We've seen crinoids in Perdido Canyon, off the Race Track Rd.
I think DVNP doesn't allow collecting, just photos and memories.
 
I know other places beyond Death Valley NP boundary where you can take home the fossils legally. I dont need to take fossils from DV.
 
slash2 said:
The latest word I’ve heard from folks who traveled to the Saline Valley for Presidents Day was that there was some snow and ice on North Pass but with 4WD and care it was fine. It’s been recently graded so I don’t think the wash boards are a big issue at this time.
My wife is into fossil hunting for trilobites, are you willing to share info on where to look in Waucoba Canyon for the little ancient critters? I was thinking about heading over that way soon myself to check out something I saw on Google Earth and would like an excuse to scout that area as well.
Click to expand...
i can share the info with you, please send me a message
 
No worries, I know you can’t collect in the park and wouldn’t consider it, it’s more about having a focal point to the journey, something new, something different to go check out.
 
Kinda along the lines of something interesting to go check out, does anyone know what this is?
37.0788530, -118.0095740
Forgive me if I screwed this up, I’m not sure how to post map coordinates, these are the coordinates of something I spotted on Google Maps and I was thinking about seeing if I could find it to see what it is.
 
Must have just missed Jim. I was there on February 6 & 7. Did North Pass both in and out. Going in and out via North Pass was not the original plan, but that’s another story. Easy going even with a small stretch of ice just as you go over the pass and start heading down to Saline Valley. Weather was great at the hot springs but we hit the wind big time in the Joshua Tree Forest and then in Golar Canyon a few days later. I’m cleaning up my photos and I’ll be doing a trip report including the other story.

Ron
 
slash2 said:
Kinda along the lines of something interesting to go check out, does anyone know what this is?
37.0788530, -118.0095740
Forgive me if I screwed this up, I’m not sure how to post map coordinates, these are the coordinates of something I spotted on Google Maps and I was thinking about seeing if I could find it to see what it is.
Click to expand...
Format your latitude and longitude coordinates including degrees and north latitude and west longitude and it looks like this -

37.0788530°N 118.0095740°W

This can be copied and now pasted directly into Google Earth and everyone can spot three alien spacecraft saucers hidden behind a pinyon pine. :)

My initial response is three old watering tanks for cattle grazing but the concentric rings are too even in size. The roads show no recent use either for placement or trips in to monitor whatever is there.

So what is it?

Looks like you'll be making a trip in to document the site for all of us. :)

Good find.
 
Not too soon as there is most likely some snow up in the higher elevations. There are lots of surprises all over the maps. My guess is guzzlers for wildlife. Don't get beamed up!
 
Thanks RONR and Ski

There is a water source near it...a pond or man made "tank"

My vote is for water tanks....clearly a road leads to the site.

Let us know !
 
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