Death Valley Deep Dive 2024

[Beardilocks]

For the second year in a row in Death Valley it will be challenging to navigate the flood-induced road closures and new permits needed for camping in various regions of the park.  The later is a larger concern this year with a new permit-required section (Greenwater Valley Rd) and with West Side Rd closed probably for the foreseeable future.  This essentially eliminates free/no-permit camping in the center of the park and anywhere within about 60-70mi of Furnace Creek and anywhere near Stovepipe Wells (since Lemoigne Canyon Rd is also closed).    Logistically this is a bit of a challenge for us dirtbags.  (For the uninitiated: in 2022 the park initiated a permit system in certain popular camping areas of the park.  These permits are free, however they must be picked up in person on the same day at the Visitor's Center in Furnace Creek and are very limited in number.  You are also only allowed 7 permits in the year.)

I started off the brand New Year by heading into one of the most remote places in Death Valley: the Owlshead Mountains.  The Owlsheads were named such in the late 1800's long before we had satellite view or even planes to fly overhead.  They were named for a rock outcropping that looked like the profile of an owl's head.  Coincidentally, many years later it was discovered that the range looks like a straight-on view of an owl's head from above, with two dry lakes where the eyes would be. 

WARNING:  Do not attempt to drive out into these areas without a HC 4WD & enough supplies in case you run into any issues.  Or without doing your research.  The dirt roads like these in the park are unimproved and especially bad this year after two summers of flooding.  Also confirm with NPS the road conditions AND that it is open.  I encountered no Road Closed signs or gates on the way out, but it is always best to check with NPS first. 

I headed in with my fellow dirtbag Brice (piloting his nicely built 5th Gen T4R) because I was unsure if anyone had tried to get back in there since Hurricane Hilary decimated Death Valley last summer.  It's about 42mi of rough off-road in one-way to the dead-end at the old Radar Array from Highway 127, so self-rescue is pretty much your only option.  Being prepared is the best defense.  Bring a friend. 

As expected we were the first to traverse this route other than one set of tracks that only went as far as the military gate to China Lake Naval Weapons Station.  First we had to navigate the ~10mi of massively large wash mostly by instruments (GPS on USGS maps) in order to stay on the former “road” and not stray into Wilderness.  The surface itself was quite easy to drive on (for our lifted rigs with aired-down tires) with no cross cuts or major damage.


I expected the drive to be easier than it was, however.  In years past, the road was heavily used by the military (I have seen tractor trailers coming up the wash) and the berms on the side of the road left by the graders and bulldozers were 4-5ft high for the whole 10mi to Owl Hole Spring.  To the point where we had marked places in our maps from previous trips in the few spots you could get through the berms to camp off of the road.  Those huge berms are almost completely erased the whole way. 


The rest of the drive in was slow but uneventful.  It seems this storm (or at least the part of the storm that hit this area) was long & slow instead of fast & hard.  Huge areas have been rearranged or filled with gravel, but not the deep cuts and damage you get from flash-flood type rains.  To the point that some old cross cuts were actually more filled in rather than cut deeper. 

Once we passed through the pass into the drainage to Owl Lake however, the cross-cuts got deeper and a couple would be hard to navigate with anything less than pretty high clearance or any kind of overhang or trailer without some road-building.  One of these days I'll actually start filming these more interesting sections.  My brain is always in drive-to-survive mode instead of document mode for these. 

There are two hills/passes between the military gate and the old radar facility at the end of the road where the road is slowly eroding away on one side and these provide some off-camber thrills that could be a bit much for larger vehicles like Sprinter vans and the like.  Proceed with caution if you choose to come out here in anything other than a solid 4WD rig. 

A storm system moved in overnight and battered the Mighty 80 with 30-40mph gusts.  The clouds and very light rain moved out right on time at 8am to start hiking.  The winds however stayed and would batter me throughout the day. 





Most of the hike out to the … my mind was so focused on the road report that I forgot to introduce the hike.  Lol.  I was planning on hitting a minor peak in the Crystal Hills with my dirtbag compadre before he peeled off to hit some larger peaks and I did some exploring in the Crystal Hills to include the old Epsom Salt mines and the monorail that an overly ambitious chap attempted use to haul the ore out. 

The old road out to Crystal Hills crosses into the military base ~1.5mi in.  From there you follow the fence around to the North and around the corner of the base. 

Or you go into the base!


Kidding!  Joke photo.  Don't go on the base kids.  You would only save something like a couple hundred yards of hiking by cutting the corner. 

Some gorgeous color in the Crystal Hills.  The geologic make-up of this small group of hills is very diverse. 


View back into the Owlsheads.


Looking over the Crystal Hills.


Very odd and very large rock-cairn on the slope.


Heading into a colorful canyon searching for a ULPB (Ultra Low Probability Bridge).  Finding previously unpublished natural bridges is quickly becoming a hobby out here. 


Lovely little canyon that I doubt few have ever ventured into. 


The colors were amazing. 





Amazing purple colors. 


Alas, no bridge here.  But it is a very colorful (if short) narrows.


Looking back through.


Another narrow section approaching a dryfall.


This one is only about 8-9ft tall and easily climbed or bypassed.  Very pretty though.


The mix of colors and rock types here is at times reminiscent of Kaleidoscope Canyon and at other times Artist's Drive. 





Approaching the namesake Crystal Hills from the West. 


Namesake crystals.  I believe they're Gypsum?  I should educate myself on the difference between gypsum and epsom….


I came across this odd assortment of junk.  At first I obviously assumed it was your standard mine-camp junk: old stove shot full of holes and assorted smashed car parts.  But on closer inspection...


I've seen a lot of car fenders and old fridges that get battered coming down washed in flash floods but that is a pretty intense, uniform crush pattern...


Uh… that's not a car part.





Upon further inspection, this pile of scrap seems to contain 5 or 6 crashed rockets.  Finding a bit of military junk out here is quite common.  But I can only explain this pile of so many in one place as someone's collection of crashed rockets or targets.  I doubt the military crashed 6 rockets in one cluster here.  And the ages seem to vary.  Very strange to find so many in one place. 


This frame is in better shape than a lot of them at this age. 





Old dugout cabin.





Modern archeology.(I found them like this, please don’t move & make piles of anything old you find; it ruins the context of the artifact).


I'm guessing this long wall was to keep flash flood water away from the front of the cabin.


Another collapsed cabin.


View of camp from above. 


Section of the old monorail track/trestle.





I was surprised to find this.  According to every map that I have, this is NPS land and the corner of the base is at least a quarter mile NW of here.  I thought maybe it was an older relic, but the lock is new. 


Right near by was a nice section of old monorail track however.  There is a much longer section a 1/2mi north of here before you get back onto the base (according to my maps anyway), but this satisfied my thirst for monorail-related trestle. 








On the hike back I stopped at this old earthwork structure.  USGS calls it a “levee” but it would seem to be a rail track from a small mine.  Is an earthwork-trestle just called a levee? 


The road headed back into the base before I turned off over the pass for home.


Overall an absolutely lovely back into Death Valley hike:  About 12mi of windy open desert, colorful canyons, and old trash, geologic history and modern history.  It's great to be back!