Death Valley - Panamint Valley Run March 27th-29th

I'm headed out to Panamint Valley for 3 days the last weekend of March with a few friends and wanted to put out an open invite to the Raptor community. Were going to head out there on Thursday night to secure the campsite for the weekend. These runs will be a mix of different terrain; everything from high speed to slight crawling.

We will base camp at an abandoned mining camp with an old cabin. For those that need running water, Panamint Springs Resort is located a nearby with an RV / tent lot, and if you are lucky, might have some rooms available.

Camp Site:


The schedule so far is:

Friday - Darwin Loop - 16 mi off pavement
Stops at:
Darwin Falls
China Garden
Abandoned Mine
City of Darwin

Maybe one more run after depending on time.



Saturday - Death Valley / Saline Valley - 80 mi off pavement
Stops at:
Ubehebe Crater
Teakettle Junction
Racetrack
Lippincott Mine
Lost Burro Mine
Hunter Mountains



Sunday we usually just pack up and shoot. The camp is on BLM land so shooting is allowed.

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We will do a quick run on Friday morning either to Jail Canyon or up to Lookout City to allow time for people to show up. Probably head to Darwin around 1pm. Cell coverage is non existent in Panamint so HAM will be the only form of communication.

Attendees:
1. AlpineM3
2. bstoner59 (maybe)
3.
4.
5.

Berky, this looks awesome! My only concern would be the recent weather we've been having with tons of snow and rain in some of these areas and closures due to this

The only area that I can think of that would have snow is Hunter Mountain. I have been up there with patches of snow, but nothing too bad. Ill check with the BLM, but this late into the season I cant imagine it being a problem.

I was thinking about Cerro Gordo, but that would probably be closed from thee snow.

You can find road updates here,

https://www.facebook.com/DeathValleyRoadConditions

Current conditions...

Road Conditions from yesterday's weather:
North Pass (Saline Valley) .... CLOSED due to deep snow.
Big Pine & Eureka Dunes Roads .... not recommended due to snow at higher elevations.
CA - Highway 168 ..... Chains required from the Nevada Junction to Big Pine, CA.
US I-395 ...... Chains required from Independence, CA North.
(TS)

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We were there over Valentines weekend. The road to The Racetrack is bad washboard. We planned on Hunter Mountain Road (no snow wide open) but did Lippincott Road instead (I've wanted to do this road for a long time).

Lippincott is doable in a Raptor. We had another party in a Jeep Grand Cherokee and there was only one "scary" part where the driver side rear wheel is pretty close to the side. Of course this was before any bad weather over the past few days.

I don't see Titus Canyon on your list... if you have not driven this I would do so before heading up to Ubehebe Crater. We left Panamint Springs Resort at 6AM and went to Rhyolite then Titus Canyon... it was an awesome drive. From there we went on to Ubehebe... Teakettle, Racetrack then Lippincott road over to Saline Valley Road. The last 20 miles of Saline Valley Road was in darkness back to the 190.

Just drove South through the 395 before this last patch of weather we had and was already having some flurries near Mammoth and Independence. This trip sounds awesome and subscribing. Keep me posted Berky!

I'm going to try and make this. I love DV and haven't been for a couple of years.

I just camped in Death Valley Feb. 19-22. The weather was great, but we got out just before the rains and snow hit.

The road to Racetrack was really washboarded. I'd done it before, and it wasn't nearly as bad as it was for this trip. Teakettle Junction and South, was the worst of it. Run it at night and traffic is non-existent and you can run higher speeds. During the day, Civics will slow you down to 10-15 mph.

Titus Canyon is an excellent trip if you've never done it. It's a one-way road starting in Nevada just west of Beatty, near the Rhyolite ghost town. It's an easily traveled road, so you'll hit traffic on this one. But the views are incredible, especially near the end when the canyon narrows and you begin to wonder if the truck is going to fit. Don't worry, it will.

Just came back from Death Valley this past weekend. Titus Canyon was a fantastic trail and easy run. I had wondered if our beasts will fit, too. No problems there.

Traffic was very light Sunday morning. I only saw a Tacoma and a sedan. They were kind enough to let me pass once they see me on their tails before we get to the narrows.

-alex

puddle hunter said:

I just camped in Death Valley Feb. 19-22. The weather was great, but we got out just before the rains and snow hit.

The road to Racetrack was really washboarded. I'd done it before, and it wasn't nearly as bad as it was for this trip. Teakettle Junction and South, was the worst of it. Run it at night and traffic is non-existent and you can run higher speeds. During the day, Civics will slow you down to 10-15 mph.

Titus Canyon is an excellent trip if you've never done it. It's a one-way road starting in Nevada just west of Beatty, near the Rhyolite ghost town. It's an easily traveled road, so you'll hit traffic on this one. But the views are incredible, especially near the end when the canyon narrows and you begin to wonder if the truck is going to fit. Don't worry, it will.

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Looks like an awesome trip!!

rent said:

Just came back from Death Valley this past weekend. Titus Canyon was a fantastic trail and easy run. I had wondered if our beasts will fit, too. No problems there.

Traffic was very light Sunday morning. I only saw a Tacoma and a sedan. They were kind enough to let me pass once they see me on their tails before we get to the narrows.

-alex

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Click to expand...

I'd say we came across a dozen or so vehicles, but it was on Saturday, so we expected it to be busy. No worries though as we had some newbies in the group, and I was leading members from my old car club, Element Owners Club. So the pace was slower and we stopped a lot for pics.

We always stop in what we call "the Slot" for lunch. Plenty of space to park and explore, and it's only about 3/4 mile from the exit.