Hiking in Death Valley

We spent 12 days in Death Valley on this leg of Roadtrip 4.2. We spent no nights in campgrounds. All of camping was "backcountry," which means off to the side of roads that for the most part ordinary vehicles can’t travel on unless they are 4-wheel drive. Trailers couldn’t make it even if towed by 4-wheel drive vehicle because the roads are too narrow.

 

Death Valley is similar to many National Parks in that it is designed to give visitors who come here for two or three days some interesting and beautiful things to see. In Death Valley that includes the Sand Dunes, Scotty’s Castle, Ubehebe Crater, and Zabriskie Point, among other places. You can get out of your car, walk a few feet, and take some photos, and be very happy.

 

The other side of National Parks is designed for people who want to get out and experience them first-hand—touch them, smell them, etc. These people are fewer in number—a fraction, in fact, of the folks who visit National Parks. I forget the exact figure, but it was something like the average person spends 8 minutes at the Grand Canyon. Walk to a lookout, take a few photos, and then walk back to the car. A much smaller number actually hike to the bottom or take trips on the river through the Canyon.

 

Vicky and I enjoy the beautiful sights that National Parks offer, but we also like to explore. We want to get to places where there are few, if any people, and see things that others may not have seen in dozens or even hundreds of years. We like to find old abandoned mining roads and try to follow them to find out why they were built. Sometimes we find an old mine, sometimes we find nothing more than a filled in hole that was someone’s small mine, and sometimes we find nothing—the road just runs out and we are left to wonder about who went to all of the trouble to build it and why. All of these mines were someone’s dream of good fortune. Very few of those dreams were realized. The work was hard, hot, and dangerous.

 

The other kind of hike we enjoy in the desert areas of Death Valley is exploring canyons, of which there must be thousands here. We will walk along the edge of a mountain range until we see an opening and then see how far up that canyon we can hike. Or we will see what looks to be an opening in the mountains across the desert, and decide to walk over to it and explore.

 

We never know what we will find, or how far up the canyon we can go. In general, the farther one goes, the more steep the canyons become, until we reach a point where we are no longer hiking but instead are scrambling. We will reach a "fall," (a rock that looks like a waterfall) and at that point turn back.

 

For this trip to Death Valley we went took some incredible hikes. Not once did we see another person hiking. We were all alone, in the desert.

 

Hikes to canyons:

 

This photo shows a canyon we have identified in the far distance. It is just over Vicky's shoulder.

 

Our hikes to abandoned mines:

Another in our collection of outhouse photos. Someday we'll make a coffee table book of all of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Backcountry camping in Death Valley National Park

Even with our 4-wheel drive dually, there are many roads in Death Valley that are off limits to us.  Our wheelbase is too long, and with the dual rear wheels we are too wide.  And the roads are rocky.

What this means is that it is too easy to tear up a sidewall.  Immovable rocks stick out into many of the roads, and if you run into one, the tire is what will be moved--not the rock.

We discovered this fact last year in Death Valley, much to our chagrin.  We had assumed we could get anywhere, but found we had our limits.

Oh well.  This year we tried some roads we thought we could navigate, and found some terrific back country camping spots.  All alone, quiet, with only a rare vehicle or two coming close to us all day. 

We discovered that front struts are a necessity.  Despite the rough roads, we no longer have to worry about the "big bounce" a camper can take if a bump is hit.  Although they were pricey, they should protect the camper and the camper components.

One afternoon, while sitting at one of our sites, we saw a herd of California Mountain Sheep.  They were right across the road from us.  What a sight!

Take the back roads…..to Death Valley

From Whidbey Island one can take the easy route to Death Valley.  Go down I-5 to Bakersfield, and then head over to this wonderful, if unappreciated, National Park.

Or, one can take the back roads.

Wanna guesss which one we did?

This is what it was like when we left our home:

 

 

For most of the trip we went down US 395.  And then, from Big Pine, we took another back road into Death Valley.

Along the way are some of the most beautiful sights one can see in the US. 

 Photos of the drive…. 

 

 

 

 

 

Soon after crossing into Oregon, we saw what looked like an interesting spot off the road, so we turned around and headed into it.  Are we ever glad we did.

Shaniko, Oregon is a real western town.  Not a fake one like Twisp, WA, but a real one.  The buildings are actually original, and old.  The hotel is one of the most amazing structures we have ever seen.  It looks just like the hotel in the original film 3:10 to Yuma.  (not the new one with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, but the 1956 version with Van Heflin and Glenn Ford).  We have decided that when we win the lottery we will buy the whole town.  John Wayne could ride down these streets, and be right at home.

 

 

Taking a back road to another back road, we came across Antelope, OR.  Off to the side of the road was an abandoned school house—one that completely reminded me of the school house where I attended 6^th grade.  It was Eugene Field, in Stillwater OK. 

 

This one even had the original playground equipment.  You know the kind—before when attorneys got ahold of everything and made playground equipment it into totally safe crap.  Look at the merry go round.  How many hours we spent as children sitting on one of these or spinning one.  And the jungle jim?  How long has it been since you’ve seen one of these?

  

Maybe, instead of No Child Left Behind, or Common Core, or Charter Schools, or any of that stuff that wasn’t around when Vicky and I were children, what is needed for schools is real playground equipment.  The kind where kids could fall and hurt themselves, but also the kind where children could use up their excess energy and perhaps be able to sit for long periods of time memorizing things to make adults happy. 

If we win the lottery, after we purchase Shinsoke (the entire town), we will buy this school house and make sure it is preserved forever, along with the playground equipment.  And the only kids who can play on the equipment will be our grandchildren.  Their parents won’t sue us if someone breaks an arm or something. 

From Big Pine, CA, we headed onto an often gravel road that went over an unnamed pass and into Death Valley the back way.  The road to Death Valley begins on this road at a place called Crankshaft Junction.  Guess where it gets its name.

 The road into Death Valley:

Deep in this valley, with hills and mountains on either side, we found a place that we could stop.  Along this road. 

Tonight the wind is howling, as it often is here.  Yet, in our camper/home we are warm and snug.  Tomorrow we will hike to the adjacent hills and explore places where it is possible human beings have not been for hundreds of years. 

Is there a better life when one is retired than see such beautiful places in our country?  

Here we are, see us?

 

 See us now?

 

Off on Road Trip 4.2

We are heading out this morning to the southwest desert.  We'll spend some time in Death Valley, and then head to Big Bend National Park for five weeks.  After that, it's back to the California deserts.

We had originally planned on a seven month trip and would have left in late August, but my shoulder surgery messed that up.  Instead, we took two smaller road trips, one to Lake Tahoe for Candice's race (4.0) , and another to the Okanagan and Colville National Forests in eastern Washington  (4.1). 

And we got to spend more time with family.

But this leg of our fourth road trip is the biggie.  We have the camper all ready, having spent a lot of time and thought on what we needed from it.  We have the house all ready--complete with seriously upgraded security systems.

This week we did our final shopping and packing.  A major issue for us is vegetables, since we eat so much of them.  We won't be in a place with a good grocery store for about three weeks, so we have to prepare for that.  Here are the vegetables that we have packed.  Look yummy don't they?

We also have packed almost 100 cans of food, 30 pounds of frozen meat, 40 gallons of water, 15 pounds of coffee, and enough wine and Diet Coke to last me for a long time.  And my weakness--plenty of low fat chips (low fat so I can eat more of them--I can't pretend that I get the low fat ones for any sensible reason).

It has been raining all week, and the prediction is for more rain and more rain.  We wonder what we would do with our time if we stayed around here in the winter.  Eat?  Go to a gym every day for 30 minutes and walk on the treadmills?  Not even birds to look out the window and enjoy (although to be fair, a couple of weeks ago we saw these two owls right outside our window).

But the beautiful tropical birds that congregate at our bird feeders by the dozens have left their Whidbey Island paradise and have flown south.

And it's time for us to also. 

The new backyard

We have just returned from Atlanta, visiting Sean, Emily, Soren, and Sebastian.  We had a great visit.

They have just purchased a new house..............and a new backyard.

The house is great, a 50s design in a terrific neighborhood.   It's in good shape, but there will be a lot of improvements that Sean and Emily will make when they have the time.  That seems to be a family tradition--buying a house and then over the years improving it.  I've always liked doing it this way because every couple of years you have something new to enjoy.

It has three or four bedrooms, three baths, a dining room, an eating area, and a large kitchen.

The best, though, is the sun porch:

The backyard is a child's paradise, especially for Soren and Sebastian.  There is room to play, room for a basketball court, room for croquet, or about anything else.

And, for Soren, a place to climb.

The boy is a tree climber.  In trees he reminds me of videos we have seen of Black bears, how they can bounce from limb to limb, letting go with one arm before having another one or a foot really secure on another branch.  Frankly, sometimes I can't even watch, but once you just adapt to the fact that this is a boy who is going to have some broken bones in his childhood, then you just let him go.

Can you see him in this photo?  Standing far out on a branch that is swaying back and forth.

 

On this particular tree he swings from branch to branch.  He's going to be a circus acrobat someday.  He's fearless, and good.

Camper upgrades

This summer we made several upgrades to our camper.

These upgrades have a common theme: to make us more independent and able to get to even more remote places to camp and hike.  They also make it so we can get away from generators and dogs, the Saruman and Sauron of camping. 

Front shock absorbers (officially called struts)

The first upgrade was front shock absorbers.  These used to be standard equipment for pickup campers.  But now only one company makes them (so you can imagine what they cost).  They aren't needed as much as they once were because the tie-downs that hold the camper on the pickup bed are much improved--these days they are a shock absorber themselves instead of just being a chain.

Another reason they are not seen very often is that the construction of pickup campers has improved.  Ours has an aluminum, not wood, frame, so the part of the camper that hangs over the pickup cab is sturdier than it used to be.

Finally, pickup campers have become a smaller part of the RV world.  Most people (by a huge margin) prefer the larger campers, fifth-wheels and mobile homes.  We, in contrast, purposefully purchased the smallest unit made for an 8-foot camper bed.  We wanted to be nimble and to be able to go to places other RVs couldn't go.

It's worked (see our previous post for some of the hidden places we went on our last trip).

These front shock absorbers work well.  They make it so that when you go over big bumps the camper doesn't jolt.  We can travel on rougher roads now without damaging the camper.

And we look so tough!

Interior latches

The latches on our cabinets were not heavy duty.  Sometimes on rough roads the drawers and doors would come open, spilling contents.  They were made for sitting in an RV park.  So we installed our own, heavy duty latches.  Now our cabinets can't come open regardless of the terrain.  Here I am installing them.  The new type of latch is at 11:00 above my head. 

New refrigerator

A better refrigerator.  The one we had stopped working, and despite many contacts with NorCold, it could not be fixed.  The repair shop replaced every part the NorCold company said to replace, and the problem wasn't a bit better. 

So, do we pour more money into it or go with the old saying of "Don't throw good money after bad?"  There is a reason old sayings have such staying power, so went with this one and purchased a Dometic refrigerator.  One advantage of the swap is that the new refrigerator is 20% larger, which gives us more time between grocery stops.  That makes a difference for us because sometimes we can go over a month without being close to any kinds of stores.  Saves on gasoline because we can sit longer in camping spots instead of driving. 

Refrigerator fan

This is an interesting upgrade.  RV refrigerators generate a lot of heat.  It is imperative that the heat rises up and out of the camper for the refrigerators to cool well.  We had a solar powered fan installed that draws the heat from behind the refrigerator and out the top vent.  It really seems to work (we also purchased wireless thermometers for the refrigerator and freezer so we can easily monitor the temperatures).   In a way this purchase uses the sun to help cool the refrigerator, saving a bit on propane costs.

When the fan is starting up we say the chain saw is working.  When there isn't much sunlight, it runs very slowly, so the slight imbalance in our camper causes this.  Then it gets going and is pretty quiet.  

Removal of TV antenna

It may be confusing to think of removing something as being an improvement.  But we found that we never used the TV hookup in our camper, and the antenna made us about 6 inches taller than we needed to be.  There were times when that made a difference.  Plus, it was only a matter of time before a branch knocked it off, and then we'd have to try to do a repair on our own.  Now the antenna is sitting in the garage, where it belongs.

The antenna that was removed can be seen behind Vicky in this photo.  It's also obvious from this photo why it needed to go.   We travel in tight spots at times. 

 New and better batteries

The batteries that were installed in our Lance camper lasted only two years.  You read that correctly.  We were having trouble holding a charge in them, so had them tested, and they were bad.  That shouldn't happen.  Over and over we hear a similar complaint from people in the know--batteries made in America are more expensive and better. 

We purchased two new ones, top of the line.  Five year warranty.

Another solar panel

If one solar panel works, two should work even better, right?  Actually, most of the time two panels aren't needed, as when we are in good sunlight one panel keeps the batteries charged (and there is a limit as to how much the batteries can be charged so past a certain point there is no gain).  But, now, when we are in mottled sunlight or on cloudy days, we should be able to keep our batteries in full charge.


 (You can see the two large solar panels, and then on the right, a very small one that runs the refrigerator fan. )

 

What we found with two years of using our first solar panel is that we quickly recouped its cost because we never had to go to RV parks to charge the batteries.  Instead of spending $25-50 a night on camping fees, we often spend nothing.  That adds up quickly.  So all of our improvements will not only make the trips more enjoyable, but will save us money in the not-so-very long run.  Best of all worlds!