2023-03-24, 12:38 PM
The biggest DV hike I successfully completed was what I call the Roadrunner Route. It's a loop, which I started from the Badwater parking lot, though I cached a campsite at Mahogany Flat and some water at Trail Canyon/West Side Road. (55 miles, 13400 ft gained and lost)
https://caltopo.com/m/00B2
The biggest DV hike I planned was designed to take me from Butte Valley to Harrisburg Flat, as part of an epic loop. I started on Pleasant Canyon Rd and hiked to Geologist Cabin. When I got to Panamint Pass, the forecast was quite ominous with snow and wind, even though it was mid-May, so I aborted it there and looped back down Surprise Canyon, to Ballarat, and back up to where my vehicle was parked, and just did other things with the rest of the time.
https://caltopo.com/m/07UJ
The red tracks are what I planned, including many alternates, and opportunities to bail. I wanted to hop the western canyons, but in case I just wasn't up for that, I also was prepared to do a very long road hike back down to Pleasant Canyon. The blue track is what I actually did (45 miles, 15000 ft gained and lost)
https://caltopo.com/m/00B2
The biggest DV hike I planned was designed to take me from Butte Valley to Harrisburg Flat, as part of an epic loop. I started on Pleasant Canyon Rd and hiked to Geologist Cabin. When I got to Panamint Pass, the forecast was quite ominous with snow and wind, even though it was mid-May, so I aborted it there and looped back down Surprise Canyon, to Ballarat, and back up to where my vehicle was parked, and just did other things with the rest of the time.
https://caltopo.com/m/07UJ
The red tracks are what I planned, including many alternates, and opportunities to bail. I wanted to hop the western canyons, but in case I just wasn't up for that, I also was prepared to do a very long road hike back down to Pleasant Canyon. The blue track is what I actually did (45 miles, 15000 ft gained and lost)