Give us your DEVA backcountry plans or dreams!

[Beardilocks]

EDIT:  Oh and to answer your original question, I'd really like to thru-hike Ubehebe to Eureka this year.  But I don't think I'll make it this winter...

Wow. I've been thinking of doing that sometime too. I've always wanted to see Eureka Valley but always afraid of getting stuck on Big Pine Rd. I haven't looked closely at the topography, so this is just a guess...

Capture2

I've been meaning to hike the old mining road there for years.  I'd love to cross that part of the valley up there and follow the old trail.  I've also loved staring across the plain west of Ubehebe and would love to walk that as well.  I had a track at one time of someone who had done it as part of a 21 day hike across the park.  Which I of course can't find right now.  

If I had the energy/reserve water I would hike around the west side of the dunes to finish.  I've seen them from every side but that side.

I'd also really like to hike up to the dry lakes west of the Racetrack Road.  I think they're called Lost Lakes?  Virginia Dry Lakes.  No one ever seems to go there.  Maybe they're very boring?  Lol.  



EDIT:  They are the VIRGINIA DRY LAKES not Lost lakes.

[John Morrow]

EDIT:  Oh and to answer your original question, I'd really like to thru-hike Ubehebe to Eureka this year.  But I don't think I'll make it this winter...

Wow. I've been thinking of doing that sometime too. I've always wanted to see Eureka Valley but always afraid of getting stuck on Big Pine Rd. I haven't looked closely at the topography, so this is just a guess...

Capture2

I've been meaning to hike the old mining road there for years.  I'd love to cross that part of the valley up there and follow the old trail.  I've also loved staring across the plain west of Ubehebe and would love to walk that as well.  I had a track at one time of someone who had done it as part of a 21 day hike across the park.  Which I of course can't find right now.  

If I had the energy/reserve water I would hike around the west side of the dunes to finish.  I've seen them from every side but that side.

I'd also really like to hike up to the dry lakes west of the Racetrack Road.  I think they're called Lost Lakes?  No one ever seems to go there.  Maybe they're very boring?  Lol.  

Of note:  it'd be easy to stitch a one way south-north traverse of southern Last Chance Range while stayong far enough from Racetrack Road to be interesting.  Caches:  dayhike into Round Valley w/a gallon water for cache.  dayhike to the highest dry lake (I love dry lakes by the way...not boring, even when vegetated) and leave a gallon.  Then start at Rcetrack, drop to Saline Valley-->up Corridor to H2O one, continue up the fault line (guess on actual orogeny) long straight canyon to H2O 2 for second or third night-->climb Dry and exit Digonnet's big fall canyon to Road.  Hitch a ride back????

[John Morrow]

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EDIT:  Oh and to answer your original question, I'd really like to thru-hike Ubehebe to Eureka this year.  But I don't think I'll make it this winter...

Wow. I've been thinking of doing that sometime too. I've always wanted to see Eureka Valley but always afraid of getting stuck on Big Pine Rd. I haven't looked closely at the topography, so this is just a guess...


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Beg for H2O from bystanders at Eureka Dry Camp?????

[MojaveGeek]

I don't want to quote anyone, these posts are getting rather nested But there was a comment above about the Big Pine Rd. Under normal conditions, it is fine for a sedan at maybe 30 mph. Sometimes it gets really washboarded though and can be rather tedious. Other than that it's similar to, say, the Greenwater Valley Rd.

Once I stopped in, with my 10(?) year old daughter, to the SPW ranger station to inquire as to the current condition of the road - I had read about a short washout some time earlier. Boy I got an ear full about how it would be irresponsible of me to take my daughter up there, and I should instead go around on 190 to drive on pavement. Talk about useless info. But then my daughter chimed in "But I want to see the crankshafts again!" and sort of stopped that.

[bbbb]

Beg for H2O from bystanders at Eureka Dry Camp?????

It looks to be about 15 miles or so to the dunes. Assuming a winter hike, my plan would be to carry 3.5 to 4 gallons of water, cache a gallon at or near the ridge line for the hike back - and, yes, possibly beg or busk for water in Eureka Valley too.

If Big Pine Rd. near the crater isn't that bad, I'd also possibly try and drive north on it for 7 or 8 miles to get to the blue line near the other backcountry road and use that for the hike in. The key for crossing the mountains looks to be finding a spot below the 6000 ft. line

Capture3 by urbandispute, on Flickr

[Beardilocks]

For anyone who hasn't seen Roger Homerich's DV transverse, here it is.  There is about a dozen day/overnight/through hikes included that I would love to do on their own (Sheep Canyon, Marble Canyon to the Racetrack, his awesome route from the Racetrack to Ubehebe, etc etc). 

But it has his track crossing from Death Valley to Eureka this way.

https://www.backpacker.com/trips/death-v...-traverse/

https://my.viewranger.com/route/details/...n=embedmap

If anyone has a map version of this in anything other than ViewRanger I would love to see it.

[TacoLand]

Looks like a fun backpacking trip ... especially if you’re into kicking a million rocks and two weeks of constant sun exposure. Yeehaw! ☠️

Here's that map in GPX and KML format.

> t47706900_death valley national.gpx

> t47706900_death valley national.kml

[bbbb]

Looks like a fun backpacking trip ... especially if you’re into kicking a million rocks and two weeks of constant sun exposure. Yeehaw! ☠️

Here's that map in GPX and KML format.

> t47706900_death valley national.gpx

> t47706900_death valley national.kml

Thanks. His approximate route from Ubehebe Crater to Deckdara Canyon is in yellow, and it probably makes the most sense of the three routes.

[bbbb]

Also, his route (in yellow) from Marble Canyon to Racetrack Playa looks neat. He leaves the canyon and heads north to Sand Flat before going west to Hidden Valley. When I hiked this area a couple of years ago (in blue), I pretty much did a straight line through Ulida Flat...

[TacoLand]

Thanks. His approximate route from Ubehebe Crater to Deckdara Canyon is in yellow, and it probably makes the most sense of the three routes.

Playing around in Google Earth the yellow route would be a lot easier on the knees. Adds maybe 5 miles versus the red route, but you avoid that ridge / Marble Benchmark zone. Which would be especially nice when starting at Ubehebe and going to Eureka ...