Yosemite and DV in 2012

[luckett]

I am also tempted by all this talk of 'deep desert backcountry' luckett is speaking of.

It's good stuff.

Moar from my old crappy camera with a lens scratch.

 

[jimboFosho]

Holy @$%# that's cool. I'm really impressed with all those pictures. I feel like snapping pics alone would have taken a good 2 or 3 days.

 

[Titus58]

Holy @$%# that's cool.

+1 Luckett on the photos and route info. I'd be interested in a DV Deep desert multi-day dirt/dual sport trip as well


Rod - sounds like we need a base-camp location at DV that would allow ~20-30min access to good paved twisties, easy dirt, and local town for our caffeine, craft-brews, and pizza fixes Don't know if such a place exists.

Depending on my schedule I "may" be up for driving and towing my ride, in which case I can bring camping gear and lighten the load for the riders.


T

 

[rodr]

It's good stuff.

Moar from my old crappy camera with a lens scratch.

Great pics!

Rod - sounds like we need a base-camp location at DV that would allow ~20-30min access to good paved twisties, easy dirt, and local town for our caffeine, craft-brews, and pizza fixes Don't know if such a place exists.

Furnace Creek? Choices within the park are limited and expensive. Otherwise there's Beatty and Big Pine. Hopefully someone with more DV experience will chime in on this.

Depending on my schedule I "may" be up for driving and towing my ride, in which case I can bring camping gear and lighten the load for the riders.

That would be very cool. And if Jenn calms down and forgives us, she might be your new best friend.

So you're OK with the 14th?

 

[rodr]

Rod - sounds like we need a base-camp location at DV that would allow ~20-30min access to good paved twisties, easy dirt, and local town for our caffeine, craft-brews, and pizza fixes Don't know if such a place exists.

Doing some more looking...

How about Beatty, NV? It's about 8 miles from the park and close to many of the popular attractions there. It has a decent selection of cheap hotels... I stayed at one of them the first night of my cross-country trip in June.

Some links:

http://www.bestdeathvalleyhotels.com/
http://www.atomic-inn.com/Local-Attractions/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatty,_Nevada

Regarding a return route... Hwy 50 through Sacramento seems reasonable, that's usually open right? And it could be easily done in a day from Beatty or Big Pine.

 

[rodr]

Here's a map that includes Luckett's suggested route through Carrizo followed by one or more nights in Beatty, followed by 1 or more nights camping in Saline. The trip home could be done straight through or with a stop somewhere.

[gmap]<iframe width="640" height="480" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=I-80+W&daddr=36.32661,-120.9345+to:35.91674,-120.44027+to:35.47615,-120.54278+to:35.36188,-120.39429+to:35.36835,-120.32422+to:Soda+Lake+Rd+to:35.153069,-119.80687+to:35.120149,-119.744892+to:35.077366,-119.666204+to:35.5485,-118.61541+to:Main+St+to:S+Warm+Springs+Rd+to:I-80+W&geocode=FdyoQQIdtNS1-A%3BFdJMKgIdnK_K-Cn7P18mp_-SgDHpixxgpZfj_w%3BFcQLJAIdMjrS-Cndrts47UuTgDF_hvmP2DqhsA%3BFbZSHQIdxKnQ-Ck1NMJp2ersgDE17suELqztcA%3BFViUGwIdzu3S-CmdFLRlVo7sgDFGl_ppkTxAZQ%3BFZ6tGwIdhP_T-CnFHyLfloXsgDE5ESAHPuegUQ%3BFfPDGAIdZWPb-A%3BFa1kGAIdauTb-CmJWgch7pXrgDGqvtl-upNsFg%3BFRXkFwIdhNbc-CmvF_iXpr_rgDH5VSNbfH7-pQ%3BFfY8FwId5Ane-Cn7tcy648brgDGOWIs217JZ1w%3BFVRtHgIdjhLu-CmrxzMO0NnBgDFc3a4zRPMv_g%3BFagjMwId5loK-Q%3BFX2rMAId4C_6-A%3BFTpOSAIdk-e5-A&sll=38.27188,-122.054501&sspn=0.106197,0.17664&vpsrc=6&hl=en&mra=dme&mrsp=13&sz=13&via=1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9,10&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=36.941111,-119.608154&spn=4.214401,7.03125&z=7&output=embed"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=embed&saddr=I-80+W&daddr=36.32661,-120.9345+to:35.91674,-120.44027+to:35.47615,-120.54278+to:35.36188,-120.39429+to:35.36835,-120.32422+to:Soda+Lake+Rd+to:35.153069,-119.80687+to:35.120149,-119.744892+to:35.077366,-119.666204+to:35.5485,-118.61541+to:Main+St+to:S+Warm+Springs+Rd+to:I-80+W&geocode=FdyoQQIdtNS1-A%3BFdJMKgIdnK_K-Cn7P18mp_-SgDHpixxgpZfj_w%3BFcQLJAIdMjrS-Cndrts47UuTgDF_hvmP2DqhsA%3BFbZSHQIdxKnQ-Ck1NMJp2ersgDE17suELqztcA%3BFViUGwIdzu3S-CmdFLRlVo7sgDFGl_ppkTxAZQ%3BFZ6tGwIdhP_T-CnFHyLfloXsgDE5ESAHPuegUQ%3BFfPDGAIdZWPb-A%3BFa1kGAIdauTb-CmJWgch7pXrgDGqvtl-upNsFg%3BFRXkFwIdhNbc-CmvF_iXpr_rgDH5VSNbfH7-pQ%3BFfY8FwId5Ane-Cn7tcy648brgDGOWIs217JZ1w%3BFVRtHgIdjhLu-CmrxzMO0NnBgDFc3a4zRPMv_g%3BFagjMwId5loK-Q%3BFX2rMAId4C_6-A%3BFTpOSAIdk-e5-A&sll=38.27188,-122.054501&sspn=0.106197,0.17664&vpsrc=6&hl=en&mra=dme&mrsp=13&sz=13&via=1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9,10&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=36.941111,-119.608154&spn=4.214401,7.03125&z=7" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</a></small>[/gmap]

 

[Titus58]

Beatty NV looks okay to me...prices seem reasonable. Like you said, if any DV veterans can recommend places to stay that would be great too.

Re dates, Apr 14 start date is as good for me as any other date; I will have to work some magic negotiating time off, but I'm just planning to go as far / stay as long as I can get the time for

yes US50 is kept open year round like US80, though 50 will close quicker if a nasty storm comes through as it's a 2 lane twisty highway in places versus the 6-10 lanes of 80.

Any idea the elevation on Hwy178 over the pass? Is it reasonably low?



T

 

[rodr]

Beatty NV looks okay to me...prices seem reasonable. Like you said, if any DV veterans can recommend places to stay that would be great too.

Looks to me like Beatty is very convenient to the major attractions. Like you, I'm eager to hear what the veterans have to say.

Re dates, Apr 14 start date is as good for me as any other date; I will have to work some magic negotiating time off, but I'm just planning to go as far / stay as long as I can get the time for

We'll have good options for any number of days -- that will be more clear when I get time to post the announcement.

yes US50 is kept open year round like US80, though 50 will close quicker if a nasty storm comes through as it's a 2 lane twisty highway in places versus the 6-10 lanes of 80.

Any idea the elevation on Hwy178 over the pass? Is it reasonably low?

Checking the topo lines in Google, looks like a max of around 4500 feet.

 

[luckett]

Rod - sounds like we need a base-camp location at DV that would allow ~20-30min access to good paved twisties, easy dirt, and local town for our caffeine, craft-brews, and pizza fixes Don't know if such a place exists.

There are a few stretches of decent paved twisties, but a whole lot of boring roads in between. You will end up riding over them to get to other places, so I wouldn't really focus on that.

Panamint has a restaurant with a decent brew selection. Stovepipe has a small food market. Furnace Creek has pretty much everything. Beatty has everything. Shoshone has a restaurant and market.

It's hard to say what location is best. It really depends on where you end up after the days riding, what amenities you want. Camping opens up more options. Panamint to Beatty is a pretty boring two hour ride that's best avoided is you can plan around it. I think you should give some though to what you want see and let that dictate where you stay. Maybe start on the west side and make your way over to Beatty and back.

There are cabins, camping and hot springs in Tecopa also.

If you camp, be prepared to endure 50+mph wind gusts.

Be sure to get reservations at the hotels. They can easily fill up.

Plan out your gas range very carefully and always top off your tank if you get a chance. There are not many fuel options (Beatty, Panamint, Furnace Creek, Shoshone, no longer at Scotty's).

Take a GPS and get a decent paper map if you plan to ride off pavement. It's very easy to get lost. Tom Harrison and Nat Geo are good ones.

Take more water than you think you will need.

178 can get chilly, but snow shouldn't be a problem.

 

[rodr]

I have posted the announcement in Group Rides here. Let's continue the discussion there.

Many thanks for all the excellent wisdom so far!