Death Valley No. 17 (Meet the In-Laws)

[Brice]

Thanks for the confirmation that Marble & Echo are solid options. Fingers crossed the DVNP campsites aren't as weird as the Hole in the Wall ones with the big gravel berm and whatnot. From the pictures I've seen they look okay as long as you cross-reference them with topo maps to make sure you're not in a dumb spot right on top of the road in a canyon with no room to stretch out.

The campsites in Marble are the same as Echo and HITW.  They're basically just wide shoulders that have been scraped out beside the road.  At least, that was before the flooding in 2023 which washed away all of them except the one I occupied closest to the trailhead.

[DAW89446]

Okay, think I've got this reconfigured a bit to make more sense:

Night 1: Panamint Valley (Panamint Valley > Echo Canyon ... 1.5hrs)
Night 2: Echo Canyon (Echo Canyon > Striped Butte via Greenwater Valley ... 4hrs)
Night 3: Striped Butte (Striped Butte > Marble Canyon ... 3.75hrs)
Nights 4&5: Marble Canyon

At least, I hope I've got this sorted out. I've got like 15 emails from recreation.gov and death by a thousand $10 charges on my card now for booking & editing the itinerary. So it goes ...

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[Daymoth]

Thanks for the confirmation that Marble & Echo are solid options. Fingers crossed the DVNP campsites aren't as weird as the Hole in the Wall ones with the big gravel berm and whatnot. From the pictures I've seen they look okay as long as you cross-reference them with topo maps to make sure you're not in a dumb spot right on top of the road in a canyon with no room to stretch out.

The campsites in Marble are the same as Echo and HITW.  They're basically just wide shoulders that have been scraped out beside the road.  At least, that was before the flooding in 2023 which washed away all of them except the one I occupied closest to the trailhead.

Can confirm, was there on friday. I would say Echo and Marble are less ackward than HITW though, they are wider and the road itself is also wider. 

I still think those should all be FCFS though, its all a bit mind boggling what they have set up.

[TacoLand]

Yeah, I used to be Team FCFS ... then I rolled into Cottonwood a few years back (March 2018) and it was such a shit show that I sadly vowed never to go back. To me it seemed like these more easily accessible spots had become so overburdened that something had to be done, or they'd be forced to just throw in the towel and close it to camping altogether. Going to give Cottonwood/Marble another shot to see what the new system is like. If it doesn't pan out I'm sticking to the (way)backcountry from here on out. Anywho, fun times!

[DVexile]

Having the designated spots in HITW, Echo, Cottonwood, Marble is pretty much the only way it can work these days and I'm glad they implemented the "designated dispersed" sites. It was getting too crowded and inevitably some moron would pull up 100 yards from you at 9pm and setup camp. Now if you have a site you know the next party is at least a 1/4 mile away.

As to FCFS vs reserved for those designated spots, it cuts both ways. For Echo and HITW it wasn't that bad to go to the VC, but it was annoying for some to be constrained to the hours the VC was open. It was, unfortunately, plain stupid for Cottonwood/Marble where folks entering from the west would have to drive all the way to Furnace Creek and then double back.

The other issue, which has occurred in other National Parks, is that when something is FCFS and then proves to be all full, people start doing stupid things after a long drive at the end of the day. That's one reason Tuweep went reservation only.

I'm just glad there is still plenty of truly dispersed back country camping throughout much of the park. As a bonus, there is the "designated dispersed" which is quite frankly amazingly close to the tourist spots and a somewhat unique resource for a National Park.

[Daymoth]

Having the designated spots in HITW, Echo, Cottonwood, Marble is pretty much the only way it can work these days and I'm glad they implemented the "designated dispersed" sites.  It was getting too crowded and inevitably some moron would pull up 100 yards from you at 9pm and setup camp.  Now if you have a site you know the next party is at least a 1/4 mile away.

As to FCFS vs reserved for those designated spots, it cuts both ways.  For Echo and HITW it wasn't that bad to go to the VC, but it was annoying for some to be constrained to the hours the VC was open.  It was, unfortunately, plain stupid for Cottonwood/Marble where folks entering from the west would have to drive all the way to Furnace Creek and then double back.

The other issue, which has occurred in other National Parks, is that when something is FCFS and then proves to be all full, people start doing stupid things after a long drive at the end of the day.  That's one reason Tuweep went reservation only.

I'm just glad there is still plenty of truly dispersed back country camping throughout much of the park. As a bonus, there is the "designated dispersed" which is quite frankly amazingly close to the tourist spots and a somewhat unique resource for a National Park.

I would not mind so much the reserved spots if they were only reservable from sunset to sunrise. The system completely ignores its impact on day use.

[jesportland]

I trailer camp at FC and mostly Texas Springs so I don't do what many of you do. But we have just slept in the bed of the truck a couple of times. These two spots you might already know. Off Greenwater Road the first right that takes you up to Furnace Site, somewhere up there is a great site that overlooks the valley. I always seems to get mixed up there.

The other is at the top of the road that goes up to the Ashford Mine. Great views there too. Of course I'm sure you know all about these. With HITW this past late October when we hiked some of Silt Canyon we just parked at one end of the newly graded drive through camping site. Figured someone could set up okay while we were parked there.

[jkpaulsen]

I would not mind so much the reserved spots if they were only reservable from sunset to sunrise. The system completely ignores its impact on day use.

Last week, we camped at site 6, right at HITW. Just before the campsite, on the left hand side, there was a break in the berm and a flat area that looked like it would accommodate two to three vehicles for day use. Hope this helps next time you attempt Slit Canyon!

[MojaveGeek]

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Thanks for that. I am looking to go back to the Slit after 20 years so that info is helpful and appreciated.

[Beardilocks]

Bit late to the party here but I was going to suggest West Side Rd to Johnson as a possible option. Or Galena/Queen of Sheba. The views from WS Rd are classic DV. And it’s generally very lonely on the south end. I just did 8 days out there and saw literally only 1 coyote and 1 very angry burro. Bloody amazing.

Which reminds me I should get around to starting a new trip report thread, even if it’s only snack-size this year….