Death Valley 2022/23

[Beardilocks]

Well!  That’s a lot to respond to all of a sudden!  Luckily I have internet, a beer, and nothing but time.  Lol. 

I'd be interested in hearing what your daily routine is like – food, camping, ins & outs of the Park for supplies, showers, etc. Maybe something you can touch on after your adventures conclude?

The adventure is never over!  Kidding.  Everything ends eventually, just as life.  I’m not sure I mentioned it in this particular thread but I’m a full time traveler at this point in my life.  I hit a wall about 6-7yrs ago where everything went sideways and I decided to rent my house and take a trip.  The trip never stopped and I sold the house after two years hating to be a landlord to shite tenants.  So…. Here I am.  I recently built the Land Cruiser after 4 years traveling in my original 1st Gen Tacoma.  

Daily routine at this time in DV is… always different!   Lol.  If it’s cold & windy and I’m not due anywhere I’ll hang out in my truck until lunch.  Some days I’m up before the sun and off to start a hike in the twilight.  For food, I’m a bit of a foodie and struggle more out here with motivation to feed a single person than with equipment or ingredients.  It’s hard as hell to cook for one.  Unless you like eating the same thing for 3 days straight.  But I do what I can.  I do have a small fridge and that helps immensely. I resupply in Parhump when necessary. Cheaper diesel and decent food prices.  I have 38gal of diesel on board and that tends to last about 2wks or so unless I’m being very lazy.  Fresh food tends to last about the same but I figure I’d be good for about 6-8wks on dried goods if it came to it.  I refuse to buy any foodstuffs at Furnace Ranch unless I’m desperate (6packs are pushing $30 these days) but will indulge in SPW occasionally.  Partly due to their kindness when I was broken down there for 3wks a few years ago.  

I camp generally dispersed.  My favorite haunts are Hanaupah (terrible 3G there fir me on Verizon), southern Greenwater (good cell), Harry Wade (great cell), all for multiple night visits to catch up & post.  Also great cell anywhere in the southern end of the park (Harry Wade and south).  The rest of the park hasn’t been explored much this year due to continued road closures and snow at elevation.  Camping is restricted a bit due to the new permit situations at some of my old haunts.  

I have an outdoor shower on my truck which I use when I can.  This winter in DV had been mostly too cold but definitely way too damn windy.   I shower occasionally in Pahrump (options suck there), Stovepipe when I’m nearby ($4), and I’m not in the least bit ashamed to say that I’ll walk right into the pool in FC and grab a shower when I can.  $14 is completely stupid for a shower.  

I also get my mail in FC general delivery for whatever I need.  

I think you touched on it early in this thread, but I’d also be interested in finding out about your cameras. As well as the logistics of how you’re uploading your large and clear images with whatever data sources you’re using.

98% of what you see on this thread is from my iPhone.  I’m a retired professional photographer and you just can’t beat the quality to weight ratio on these hikes.  Any night photography is on my Nikon D810.  I process in Photoshop or Lightroom mostly.  In Lightroom I can export a smaller size image (~1000px long side) which makes uploading easier on data (and poor cell reception) and also on my storage capacity.  I host images on my Wordpress account and paste links in on the forum.  I also have a WeBoost cell booster on my truck.  It helps… a bit.  It’s not magic like they try to advertise.  It’s useless on the 3G in the main valley.  But gets me an extra 1-2bars 4G when I can scrape a single bar.  

More in another post before this one fails and I have to retype everything.  Lol.

[Beardilocks]

As far as my recent post I wasn’t trying to obfuscate for once.  😂. I LOVE the desire by everyone to suss out where something is.  Next time I’m trying to sort out a location based just on photos I know which ones of you I’ll be bugging like crazy on PM.  Lol.  

The last shots we’re on the bench/bluff over McLean Spring (just to the east of it).  I was there looking for a phantom geoglyph. Next time I go I’m looking for 2 ancient campsites, 2 ancient quarries, and a few other things.  The area was a Mecca for ancient ppls but the info on where exactly is extremely thin.  My kingdom for a circa 1950 topo of the area.  Argh!   

As far as the Trails:   You can see quite a few of them on satellite imaging.  Cutting across the benches and in both directions (towards Salt Creek Rd and towards SPW). I saw zero evidence of burro on the bluffs.  None.  I didn’t get really down into the spring but it looked unmolested from above.  Unlike some springs like Blackwater that have been destroyed.  The path I showed on the bluff was definitely human because it essentially went to view point on the bluff way above the creek. But I can’t speak to its age.  However The trail you can see on satellite that cuts across the incredibly steep southern flank of the bench….  If burros or sheep are using it they abandon it halfway.  I was stupid enough to try to traverse it and almost got myself in trouble.  Lol.  You can see on Sat where it continues on the benches beyond to the east, but the trail is gone 2/3s of the way around the flank.  I had to try a loose, idiotic climb straight up when I saw s gap to get through in the cliff above.  

Another trip out there is definitely in the cards.  As well as many other adventures.  Tomorrow promises to be interesting in the Confidence Wash area…

[DAW89446]

98% of what you see on this thread is from my iPhone.  I’m a retired professional photographer and you just can’t beat the quality to weight ratio on these hikes.  Any night photography is on my Nikon D810.  I process in Photoshop or Lightroom mostly.  In Lightroom I can export a smaller size image (~1000px long side) which makes uploading easier on data (and poor cell reception) and also on my storage capacity.  I host images on my Wordpress account and paste links in on the forum.

I remember your using your iPhone. Phone cameras have improved dramatically and, as you state, always with us. I use my cell phone camera far more than my digital camera. And though an inexpensive phone, it takes better video than my dedicated video cameras I’ve had over the years.

I also use an old version of Photoshop. My late father was a professional photographer and always had the latest version. He’d give me his old versions until my computer started choking on them due to limited memory, etcetera. I still use an old Toshiba laptop running Windows Vista and enhance all my photos with that, storing all my stuff on a couple of 1TB portable hard drives.

For images I have shared over the years, I use a freeware called Irfanview. Years ago, when I had my website, I was told by a now deceased colleague that Irfanview created the smallest file sizes without negatively effecting resolution. When I had my website, I was still living in a dialup world, thus making it easier to upload images. My habit has been to make images 750 pixels on the long side.

I have greatly enjoyed your images and it amazes me that one can do all that you’ve shared in the backcountry with a cell phone to create and to share. In 2002, camping in the sites of Furnace and Greenwater, I was impressed at being able to talk with my wife and even my insurance carrier using a flip phone. I had Verizon in those days. Nowadays I suppose one could run a large corporation with a small device in the palm of one’s hand where there is no visible sign of human habitation.

[MojaveGeek]

Oh, if your Wordpress account is public, send a link, I'm sure its a good read.

I am envious of your nomadic life style atm, but I can't complain. I was actually thinking about this a few days ago. When I was 19 I flew a cheap charter to London and spend the next five years wandering around Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Almost never flew, mostly by land (freighter from Kenya to Bombay), a lot of hitching. Very quickly it is not a "vacation" any longer, and after six months or so it's not a "trip" - I simply identified myself as a "traveler" and went with that for years. Now, at the other end of my life, I'm retired and my Western forays are more like 3 weeks than the "week plus two weekends" I had for years when I was working, and things are, again, so different when you're not counting days on one hand. Enjoy your time out there!

You mention food at SPW but I presume you mean eat in, or have they gone back to selling food at the gas station? It seemed over the last years it went more and more into a souvenir stand and less into a place where you could buy a few essentials. And.. $14 for a shower?? Wow. Have you tried the "solar showers"? I've used them for years both backpacking and car camping and they are great! Get one if you don't have it, you'll be happy.

Cold, huh? Well it is 18 here atm, and we are due for -20 wind chill Saturday night, so, my heart is bleeding for you But I know the cold gets to ya when you are living it 24/7.

As people point out, cell reception is great in the southern end. I think we pick up Baker down there, as there's usually decent coverage along interstates. There was one time when I was out crossing the flats trying to figure out which of canyon mouths in the Owlsheads I was headed to, and I really want a sat image (because that is how Steve Hall used to document his stuff) but my GPS app can't cache them... suddenly, bars, and the image appeared. If I put my phone into airplane mode, run my GPS app (US Topo), and then turn airplane mode off, it gets the cell signal first, and shows you a very big uncertainty location circle centered on the cell tower, then the GPS kicks in and it gives you a real location. But I use that technique to try to figure out what tower I'm connected to. Either that, or refresh the "local weather" icon, as it gives a named location too, and that's where the tower is.

Well this thread has probably set a record number of postings pages and pages ago, loving it!

[DAW89446]

Well this thread has probably set a record number of postings pages and pages ago, loving it!

A record for this site. I’m a member of the Toyota 4Runner forum, Toyota-4runner.org. There’s a thread for posting what you did with your 5th generation rig (2010 to current) that’s popular.



That thread is currently at 3,297 pages. Of course, the site and the thread are far older than this site. And there’s 721,314 members.

[netllama]

Well this thread has probably set a record number of postings pages and pages ago, loving it!

A record for this site. I’m a member of the Toyota 4Runner forum, Toyota-4runner.org. There’s a thread for posting what you did with your 5th generation rig (2010 to current) that’s popular.



Of course, the site and the thread is far older than this site.

Also the total membership of this site is much smaller. But yes, this is definitely the largest thread that this site has had since it was created.

[TacoLand]

Thanks for the breakdown on your routine. Sounds like you've got it dialed in pretty well and run into some of the same issues I do but nothing major. My new setup has a pop-up topper with solar and a fridge so that really helps stretch things out, but my gas mileage is atrocious and I'd rather not carry my jerrycans in the pickup bed (used to use my roof rack on the 4Runner). Oh yeah and I went the opposite life route in the last year and am up to 2.5 jobs now, so camping tis but a dream.

[MojaveGeek]

Oh yeah and I went the opposite life route in the last year and am up to 2.5 jobs now, so camping tis but a dream.

Your time will come again, for sure. (and I think one of those jobs, from our private conversations, may be a labor of love? Maybe not?) Just make sure you keep the clarity to recognize the time. I am SO glad I retired (end of 2018) but it took a really nasty boss to push me out the door. (He got fired 6 months later, what a joke, but I'd never go back)

And yes, netlama, I mean most posts specifically here. We are not a really big audience, though a lot of lurking I think.

[Beardilocks]

Oh, if your Wordpress account is public, send a link, I'm sure its a good read.

You mention food at SPW but I presume you mean eat in, or have they gone back to selling food at the gas station?  It seemed over the last years it went more and more into a souvenir stand and less into a place where you could buy a few essentials.  And..  $14 for a shower??  Wow.  Have you tried the "solar showers"?  I've used them for years both backpacking and car camping and they are great!  Get one if you don't have it, you'll be happy.

Cold, huh?  Well it is 18 here atm, and we are due for -20 wind chill Saturday night, so, my heart is bleeding for you   But I know the cold gets to ya when you are living it 24/7.

Well this thread has probably set a record number of postings pages and pages ago, loving it!

My old photo blog.  Not much for clever repartee but a brief history of my travels.  Have updated it in … almost 3yrs now.  Ouch.  
https://matthewvenn-pockets-full-of-dust...th-valley/ 

My references to “cold” and “windy” winter in DV were specifically aimed at outdoor showering.  So unless you’re showering outside up there in -20…. 🤨  Hahaha.  I don’t miss that level of cold, but I do occasional miss heat and shelter.  

SPW general store has a reasonable assortment of food stuffs.  Nothing particularly fresh (some pre-packaged sandwiches/lunch meat/cheese/etc and maybe an apple) but more than you might expect.  Not cheap but nowhere near as blatantly criminal as the Ranch.  I’ve never eaten at the restaurant there.  

I have a pretty nice shower set up on my truck.  I was rocking a heater exchanger running off my trucks coolant system but it started leaking a few months back and I had to disconnect it.  Eventually I’ll fix that…

Do I win anything for having the longest winded thread yet on the site?   Lol.  I’d love a copy of Hunts book.  Haha.

[Daymoth]

Dang full time traveller. Husband and I consider doing something like that at some point. Its a bit scary though but I think we would love it once we get used to the lack of income and living on savings only. (The cats would not love it though....)

40+ hours of work when we cant even afford a house or to retire just feels like such a scam and waste of our short time.