Death Valley
Death Valley CLOSED: Fall/Winter 23/24 Trip Planning - Printable Version

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RE: Death Valley CLOSED: Fall/Winter 23/24 Trip Planning - MojaveGeek - 2023-10-16

(2023-10-15, 01:44 PM)jesportland Wrote: Late March 2023 we hiked up the west end until we met a huge boulder jam. We could hike around it. That was about two miles up. It wasn't a pleasent hike as it was all very loose gravel and boulders from the flood of 2022. Different from other closures due to snow and ice up higher.

Are you referring to walking the road toward the mouth of the canyon when you say "the west end" or being inside Titus itself - or are you referring to Fall? A boulder jam on the road seems unlikely so I'm thinking you mean one of those canyons?

RE: Death Valley CLOSED: Fall/Winter 23/24 Trip Planning - jesportland - 2023-10-16

(2023-10-16, 08:11 AM)MojaveGeek Wrote:
(2023-10-15, 01:44 PM)jesportland Wrote: Late March 2023 we hiked up the west end until we met a huge boulder jam. We could hike around it. That was about two miles up. It wasn't a pleasant hike as it was all very loose gravel and boulders from the flood of 2022. Different from other closures due to snow and ice up higher.

Are you referring to walking the road toward the mouth of the canyon when you say "the west end" or being inside Titus itself - or are you referring to Fall?  A boulder jam on the road seems unlikely so I'm thinking you mean one of those canyons?

Yes west end of Titus, not Fall. Let's say not necessarily a boulder jam but a destruction of the road on the south side where the road used to go up and then down. It is now destroyed and blocked with debris of boulders, gravel and dirt etc. You can walk around on the left(north) through a tight narrows that is too narrow for a vehicle.

RE: Death Valley CLOSED: Fall/Winter 23/24 Trip Planning - jesportland - 2023-10-16

(2023-10-16, 08:11 AM)MojaveGeek Wrote:
(2023-10-15, 01:44 PM)jesportland Wrote: Late March 2023 we hiked up the west end until we met a huge boulder jam. We could hike around it. That was about two miles up. It wasn't a pleasent hike as it was all very loose gravel and boulders from the flood of 2022. Different from other closures due to snow and ice up higher.

Are you referring to walking the road toward the mouth of the canyon when you say "the west end" or being inside Titus itself - or are you referring to Fall?  A boulder jam on the road seems unlikely so I'm thinking you mean one of those canyons?


RE: Death Valley CLOSED: Fall/Winter 23/24 Trip Planning - jesportland - 2023-10-16

(2023-10-16, 08:11 AM)MojaveGeek Wrote:
(2023-10-15, 01:44 PM)jesportland Wrote: Late March 2023 we hiked up the west end until we met a huge boulder jam. We could hike around it. That was about two miles up. It wasn't a pleasent hike as it was all very loose gravel and boulders from the flood of 2022. Different from other closures due to snow and ice up higher.

Are you referring to walking the road toward the mouth of the canyon when you say "the west end" or being inside Titus itself - or are you referring to Fall?  A boulder jam on the road seems unlikely so I'm thinking you mean one of those canyons?


RE: Death Valley CLOSED: Fall/Winter 23/24 Trip Planning - netllama - 2023-10-16

Wow, that explains why Titus is not going to be open to vehicles until 2025. They'd have to rebuild a lot of that road from scratch.

RE: Death Valley CLOSED: Fall/Winter 23/24 Trip Planning - MojaveGeek - 2023-10-16

Thanks a lot for the pix and follow up, Jes. Yup, opening that up is going to be a bit of work. I wonder if they will have any motivation to grade to the canyon mouth for foot access. Fall has become a pretty popular hike now and there is a vault toilet up there, IIRC.

RE: Death Valley CLOSED: Fall/Winter 23/24 Trip Planning - Beardilocks - 2023-10-16

Awesome pics Jes. Thanks!

RE: Death Valley CLOSED: Fall/Winter 23/24 Trip Planning - Beardilocks - 2023-10-19

Updates on Racetrack, Ubehebe, and Saline Valley.  

Of interest is that they are going to repair/upgrade Lippencott.  Never though I would hear that.  

They are pushing HARD to enforce back-country road closures.  But they are also pushing hard to get them opened back up.  Big fines are being handed out.  

   

RE: Death Valley CLOSED: Fall/Winter 23/24 Trip Planning - TacoLand - 2023-10-19

Thanks for the intel. I guess ... so far, so good with regards to working on backcountry roads. Right?

RE: Death Valley CLOSED: Fall/Winter 23/24 Trip Planning - MojaveGeek - 2023-10-19

This is obviously Saline-centric info, but if the park is working there, it is working elsewhere I would imagine Repairing the Lippencott road? Never would have expected that. In that report when it says the road the the Racetrack, and then Teakettle, I'm guess is meant the Hunter Mtn route to the Racetrack Valley, and then down the valley past Teakettle and Ubehebe, maybe? With all this fresh grading, things could be really good on back country roads - some of these have probably not been maintained in years. I don't know how often the Racetrack Valley road gets graded, but conditions vary so much I would guess only from time to time.

Thanks for the update!