Winter Break in Death Valley!

[Dughlas Stiubhart]

3pin, has the house at Meyer's Ranch been rebuilt? It was there in the early 80s and then not when I went back about 1990. The house had been burnt to the ground, the pool was filled with sand, and the surrounding trees had all been scorched. I'm surprised! The Meyer's Place must be a legal in-holding on DVNP. When we first visited Barker's it was still a legal mining claim with all the papers posted on the front gate. I can't remember what was at Meyer's other than the nice, big house.

 

[ski3pin]

Doug, here's a highly cropped photo of Meyers Ranch from the sign on the road just up from Barker Ranch. Visible is the garage building. The current photo on Google Earth (8/30/14) shows that the ranch house is gone, only a foundation remains. It's my understanding Meyers Ranch is a private inholding in the Park and I believe there's a sign on the road that says "private property".

 

[Vintage62]

Great images of winter in Death Valley! Interesting adventure re locating historic springs, which were of course critical to desert travel 'back in the day'. Paper copies of historic USGS topo maps hard to come by, but the Survey has done a good job of archiving them to their (awful to navigate) website. Tried to paste the link, but didn't work. If interested you might have to search their site.

Another I would suggest is the USGS Water-Supply Paper 224, "Some Desert Watering Places in SE California and SW Nevada" by Walter C. Mendenhall, 1909. Regional map, not detailed, but good descriptions of springs and other water sources needed for travel. Great historical snapshot of the transitional period when wagons were still the norm, and motorcars just coming into use.

That link wouldn't paste either, but worth chasing down if you're interested. Thanks!

 

[ski3pin]

Vintage62, thanks so much for thinking to add this information. I have already downloaded the 15' quads from USGS. I easily found them just by a google search of the quad name with 15' and choosing the USGS site - sciencebase.gov. On the usgs site for the requested quad, it is a bit difficult figuring what link to choose for the proper download of a .pdf file

USGS Water Supply Paper 224

Marble Canyon 15' 1951

Panamint Butte 15' 1951

for the maps, go to Related External Resources and click Web Link. This will bring up the map and you can then save as .pdf

 

[Dughlas Stiubhart]

Doug, here's a highly cropped photo of Meyers Ranch from the sign on the road just up from Barker Ranch. Visible is the garage building. The current photo on Google Earth (8/30/14) shows that the ranch house is gone, only a foundation remains. It's my understanding Meyers Ranch is a private inholding in the Park and I believe there's a sign on the road that says "private property".

3pin, I think some of the structures at Meyer's are new since the fire and since I last looked in there. Back in the day, we walked right up the road from Barker's to the Meyer's front gate and wondered around the property. It is interesting that the NP expanded to take in private property. I wonder if the NP has a side deal with the Meyers about taking over the property in the future.

 

[GroovyDad]

I finally got the time to read about your latest DV adventure and I thoroughly enjoyed it. What a great place to spend New Year's eve/day. I'll have to check out the Digonnets "Hiking Death Valley" book you mentioned and find some of those interesting hikes that are off the beaten path.

I found this little book at a used store the other day and for only $5 I thought I couldn't go wrong. It looked interesting...



This is the summary of it:

Death Valley is a place of record-breaking heat and unexplained natural oddities, a place where salt beds descend a thousand feet below the surface; where inch-long fish swim in a 112-degree creek; where huge boulders slide mysteriously across a dry lakebed. There are gas stations, convenience stores, a visitor’s center, and a five-star hotel. And despite the modern conveniences, it’s still quite easy to die in Death Valley. John Soennichsen has spent nearly two decades hiking and exploring and observing as much of this forbidding yet fascinating area as possible. Based on journals kept during his travels, the book relates Soennichsen’s experiences in Death Valley and examines the history, geology, and philosophical implications surrounding the area. A compelling look at a region that has long served as a backdrop for movies, television shows, commercials, UFO sightings, rumored ancient civilizations, political aspirations, doomsday prophesiers, and spiritual reawakenings. Live! From Death Valley offers an intriguing glimpse into a monumental landscape that is simply too big to be completely understood in one visit.

 

[ski3pin]

GroovyDad (and others) thanks for the nice comments. Death Valley National Park is such an intriguing place on so many levels it is hard to stay away. Thanks or the tip on the book.

 

[Foy]

I've dug out the old Benchmark and DeLorme map books in order to better place TRs with the lay of the land. What strikes me is the sheer size of DVNP and the large amount of topographic relief. Can't do a DV trip this year, but might have to take the Long Drive in '17 or '18.

Foy

 

[ski3pin]

..................................................... and the large amount of topographic relief.

Called

one of the greatest challenges in American mountaineering

We have two friends who have done the over 11,000 vertical feet to the summit of Telescope Peak in a day (after summiting there is still the 7.5 miles back down to Mahogany Flats). One of the guys had just turned 70.

Foy, please let us know when you head west.

 

[Foy]

Mama always told us: Be careful what you wish for--you might just get it.

Seriously, I'd be thrilled to have an opportunity for a guided tour to some of the "rock stops" you and The Lady have explored. I would absolutely be in touch early in the process.

We're homing in on a weeklong stay in the Big Bend area in late October/early November this year, with a second week devoted to getting out there and back, so that will have to be all we attempt in the category of long road trips this year. I'd want at least a 3 week interval, preferably more like 4, to get out to DV, explore some, and get back. I think I'd HAVE to do some exploring in Nevada along the way there and back, too, plus see a friend in Park City, UT, hence the perceived need for so much time involved.

Foy

Foy, please let us know when you head west.

 

[smlobx]

So many places...so little time....