Death Valley

Friday, April 11th @ 9am to Sunday, April 13th @ 5pm

Description

This is an easy two night long range dry camping trip.  Bring an extra 5 gallons of gas.  Campsites (2) will be on the trail.

We'll meet at Kramer Junction (Highways 395 & 58) for breakfast at 9 AM Friday morning.  Olancha on highway 395 is our next stop .  After dropping tow vehicles and getting last gas we’ll take Highway 190 east 31.5 miles to the trail head at Saline Valley Road and turn left towards South pass in Death Valley.

We’ll make short stops at the box car cabin and the salt tram towers on our way to the hot springs in Saline Valley where we will spend the night.  The hot springs are clothing optional.  There are vault toilets there.  No campfire can be made here since we are in the National Park. 

Saturday we’ll make our way over Steel Pass, stopping at Blue Marble Bath. (Blue marbles can be purchased on Amazon in 5 Lb bags). Steel Pass has a very narrow rocky spot.  No one should be driving a full size pickup truck.  Lunch will be at Eureka Sand Dunes (Vault toilets).  The next stops will Crankshaft Crossing, Ubahebe Crater, Teakettle Junction, and the Racetrack.  Bring an old teakettle and/or an old crankshaft to leave at the crossroads if you have one you can spare. We’ll camp South of the racetrack at Lippincott primitive camp.

Sunday expect some pucker factor going down Lippincott grade back into Saline Valley (no one has in our club has died there yet).  From the Valley it’s back out to Olancha the way we came in Friday.

The photos show on this calendar posting are from the 2016 trip of the same itinerary.

Run Checklist

Always Required

  • HAM Radio on 146.550 MHz
  • Full-Sized Spare Tire
  • Seat Belts
  • First Aid Kit
  • Fire Extinguisher
  • Battery Tiedown
  • Working Brakes
  • Tow Straps
  • Tow Points

Run Requirements

  • 33+ Sized Tire
  • 2+ Suspension Lift
  • 4LO Transfer Case
  • Gas Cans
  • Camping Supplies

Run Recommendations

  • Roll Cage

Additional Notes

No full size pickup trucks should make this run.

Trail Rating

Trail Rating 2

Difficulty Level: 2

Trail Rating 1 Graded road; Any 4x4 vehicle or higher clearance 2x4 vehicle with no other modifications
Trail Rating 2 Road rarely maintained; 4x4 with no low bumpers. Anti-sway bar disconnects recommended. Minimum 30" tires and some off-road experience is helpful
Trail Rating 3 Difficult terrain and road rarely maintained; 33" tires, Suspension lift, Off-road driving experience, body armor and Rear locker recommended. Stock vehicles will likely take damage
Trail Rating 4 Very difficult terrain, road never maintained; 33" tires, sway-bar disconnects, Rear locker, and Rock sliders required. 35" tires, front locker, Full cage, and 4:1 transfer-case recommended. Chance of mechanical failure and body damage
Trail Rating 5 Extremely difficult terrain with large obstacles and roll over potential; Full cage required, 37" tires strongly recommended. Good chance of mechanical failure and strong chance of body damage

Location

Rendezvous @ Kramer Junction Roadhouse

Meet at Kramer Junction (Highways 395 & 58) for breakfast at 9 AM Friday morning.

Participants

There are currently 3 of 10 slots filled.

Join the Event!

Ensure that your driving abilities and rig meets the Run Requirements.

  • TRAIL BOSS
  • HAM: WE4BY

WE4BY

Meeting @ Rendezvous

0 passengers, 0 extra seats

Not available to Guests...

  • HAM: kk6dcz

DesertGuy

Meeting @ Rendezvous

0 passengers, 0 extra seats

Not available to Guests...

  • HAM: N/A

Dusty

Meeting @ Rendezvous

0 passengers, 0 extra seats

Not available to Guests...