As I was going for my sunrise walk this morning, I was pondering about how many remote, unexplored corners remain in the park.  I wondered how many of them are due to the difficulty of reaching them, versus some other reason. 

For starters, I would think this topic would need to be split between walking/hiking accessibility and driving.  Obviously, you can't drive to the summit of Corkscrew regardless of what kind of rock crawling vehicle you've got.  Yet, hiking up there is not generally considered too difficult overall.

So, I'm asking, of the places in the park that you've hiked or driven, what would you say was the most difficult to reach, in terms of effort, time, & skill?

I haven't been, but Wingate Wash and some of those other parts of the Southern Panamints really scream "remote" to me, as does the eastern slope of the Cottonwoods.

Most remote place I've been in the park would probably be Redlands Canyon down in the South, or White Top Mountain, just because of how removed it /feels/ rather than how physically remote it is. White Top is of course a hassle to get to if you aren't camping nearby, so that gives it remoteness points.

Definitely an interesting question, which I admittedly haven't thought about before...

As far as driving, Gold Valley, and also White Top Mountain (like Gower mentioned) are probably the most remote places in DV I've driven to.

For hiking, I'm thinking the Tucki Bridge Canyon area; we've always left Salt Creek before sunrise and returned considerably after dark, so it just feels remote to me, even though it's close to FC and SPW and isn't really all that remote. Or Grapevine Peak.

But in regards to places I haven't been, I'd think Round Valley (near Corridor Canyon) would be one of the most remote.

I have never been there and probably never will, but Steve Hall's account of Trellis Canyon makes it seem to be scary remote.

Ahhhh, interesting question. For driving I can't really come up with anything as I feel like I've visited most regions of the park by now in my 4Runner. It also helps when you sleep in your truck, so no need to get back to anywhere else before dark. Compared to BFE BLM Nevada, DVNP feels pretty well-trafficked to me no matter where you go.

The most remote spot I've ever hiked (backpacked overnight) to in DVNP is the rappelling spot at Upper Big Fall Canyon in the Cottonwoods. Starting out from Cottonwood Canyon. One of a handful of hikes in DVNP I made an ex-girlfriend cry during. Whoops.

I'd love to do an overnighter down through Dry Bone Canyon, starting at White Top and getting pick up on the valley floor.

Least amount of people I usually run into are in the Owlshead, though not a lot of traffic in Trail / Hanaupah / Johnson when I've gotten to the end and started walking for hours.

(2020-09-26, 12:03 PM)TacoLand Wrote: I'd love to do an overnighter down through Dry Bone Canyon, starting at White Top and getting pick up on the valley floor.

Me too, but so far I haven't been able to convince anybody I know to do it! That scramble down seems pretty hairy, almost like I'd rather do it from the bottom-up rather than top-down. That whole section of the park is REALLY remote. When the only access is White Top OR a 5-mile hike across the flats, that is real isolation.

(2020-09-26, 12:03 PM)TacoLand Wrote: One of a handful of hikes in DVNP I made an ex-girlfriend cry during. Whoops.

Is this why she became your X-girlfriend? Maybe we should rename Death Valley to Divorce Valley? LOL

I met a young couple once at Furnace Creek who were splitting their honeymoon.up between Las Vegas and Death Valley.

(2020-09-27, 02:05 PM)DeathValleyDazed Wrote:

(2020-09-26, 12:03 PM)TacoLand Wrote: One of a handful of hikes in DVNP I made an ex-girlfriend cry during. Whoops.

Is this why she became your X-girlfriend? Maybe we should rename Death Valley to Divorce Valley? LOL

I met a young couple once at Furnace Creek who were splitting their honeymoon.up between Las Vegas and Death Valley.

You mean one of them went to DV, and the other LV?  Or the trip time was split between the two locations?

(2020-09-26, 07:25 AM)trailhound Wrote: ... but Steve Hall's account of Trellis Canyon makes it seem to be scary remote.

Yup. Trellis Canyon is quite remote being about 6-7 miles southwest of Salt Creek across rocky drainage but well worth it. Steve Hall's page on the canyon is what prompted me to go visit and discover my first bighorn ram skull in one of the side canyons. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taNeTGegiJo

And again a few years later exploring a major side canyon near the mouth of Trellis Canyon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4QTduWGrxI&t=2s

On both hikes I saw human footprints which was both reassuring (I'm not the only one dumb enough to hike all of the way out here and back.) and disappointing ( I was hoping to be the only person to ever be brave enough to make this trek. LOL)

To me the southern Owls Head Mountains might be the most remote place in the park and maybe even further south with the recent park expansions?

(2020-09-27, 02:32 PM)DeathValleyDazed Wrote: On both hikes I saw human footprints which was both reassuring (I'm not the only one dumb enough to hike all of the way out here and back.) and disappointing ( I was hoping to be the only person to ever be brave enough to make this trek. LOL)

Its entirely possible that those foot prints were from Steve Hall's expedition out there, and no one other than you two have been out that way in a long time.