Death Valley Deep Dive 2024

[GowerGulch42]

Sublime - can't wait to see more!

[DAW89446]

Now these are an odd duck.  We found literally dozens & dozens of these in one general area of the wash.  Way more than one usually finds of one style of container.  The odd tap on it wouldn't suggest gasoline or motor oil.  Lamp fuel?  Cooking oil?  Guessing the size was about 2.5-3gal.

Could have contained gasoline. Back in the early 1900s, gas was mainly purchased in this style of can at general merchandise stores. But these cans also contained other commodities as well.

[MojaveGeek]

Sorry I missed this for a few days. These are great photos. A year or two ago I was thinking of trying to get in around the Black Magic Mine, when I had a HC rental (but not with great tires). Thirty years ago I was able to drive a sedan to the comm array (isn't that the site that shows up in some of our banners?) Do you think one could drive a sedan as far as Owl Hole Springs? Great to have some idea of conditions down in that pleasantly obscure corner of the park!

[TacoLand]

Yes, the comm array is what shows up in one of the banners here.

The road is closed per DVNP that splits off from Harry Wade and heads out to the comm arrays / Owl Hole Springs / etc.

Isn't that the same road that someone tried to drive a sedan out on years back and got stuck / died? Thought it was a woman and her kid. All the Darwin Awards kind of blend together after a while ...

[MojaveGeek]

Yes, the same road. I believe she went past the spring. Blew out one tire, put on the spare, but did not turn back. Blew out another tire, game over. IIRC the kid died and the woman lived but I might be wrong.

[DAW89446]

11-Year-Old Boy Dies After Mom Says GPS Left Them Stranded in Death Valley (foxnews.com)

[MojaveGeek]

Ah, I see that I got it backwards. Still a sad story. How sad to screw up and have your child die.

[trailhound]

I recall that the rangers freed her car by putting the floor mats under the drive wheels and just driving out. A simple fix worth keeping in mind.

[Beardilocks]

Owl Hole Spring Rd is currently red on the NPS map but shows no sign of closure on the ground. No signs of any kind.

I wouldn’t take anything other than HC 4wd out there right now. There is no road. Just an open wash to the spring. I was surprised the military hadn’t graded it yet. It’s not terrible just needs a pass or two with a blade. There are new ribbons on the creosote marking where the road should be so I imagine they will soon.

30yrs ago most of that path might have still been paved. Sections of pavement still exist out there, however they’re getting undercut and dangerous.

[Beardilocks]

Just a couple of photos of the dust-storm at sunset last Saturday from my campsite in the Avawatz just off Denning Spring Rd, overlooking the Amargosa, Saratoga Spring, and Dumont Dunes.