BigJ
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- Aug 5, 2010
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Hey guys. I've been working on 3 day 2 night Raptor friendly run that hopefully will highlight some of the best that Death Valley has to offer. By Raptor friendly, I mean I'm trying to avoid the narrower and more boulder riddled parts, in favor of the wider smoother stuff. Without having done this yet myself, I would say this looks like a good trip for a beginner new to the 4x4 world and/or their Raptor (or any other high clearance 4x4 for that matter). The more experienced guys should expect a relaxed pace and nothing to technically challenging (either that or get ready to do a lot of waiting as we catch up to ya 
)
Here's the route: DV3DayRev3 - Google Maps
Please study it carefully! Please download it to your GPS and bring it. Please print out maps and bring them with you. Without getting into a huge legal ass-covering diatribe, the bottom line here is I'm going to try this route on these dates at these times. If you want to meet up and head out in the same direction at the same time, great! But if you do, you understand that you are 100% responsible for yourself and your truck. This is not an "official" SVTO event and I am no pro nor am I a guide. If you do this you are 100% liable for any/all damage or injury as a result. If you're looking for a professional guided tour, this IS NOT the trip for you. Instead, look up the Outlaw Raptor guys and one of their incredible Raptor Runs. If you reply to this thread and/or meet us out there, you are "signing" on the dotted line, agreeing to these terms and accepting full responsibility for yourself, those in your party and all your gear.
Ok with that out of the way (hooray gold digging lawyers!), here's the nitty gritty:
Who's going:
I'll keep the list updated here. If you want to join, please reply to this so I can know who to expect and how many in your party (also what vehicle you plan to drive). Also PM me your cell number, but I don't expect any coverage out there (which is why I'm saying bring an FRS or better). The Park service limits overnight group sizes to 15 people and no more than 6 vehicles. If we get larger than that, we'll technically need to split up and camp at least 1 mile apart (these restrictions only apply to the 2nd night at Homestake)
Head count: 5
Vehicle count: 3
1 - BigJ, Joyce and Betsy (our pup) in our Raptor for all three days
2 - bstoner59 in his Raptor for all three days
3 - xjrguy + 1 in their Jeep, meeting at Furnace Creek Campsite Friday night and joining thru Sunday
4 - ??
5 - ??
Day 1:
I'll head out from Denny's in Ridgecrest, CA 8am on Friday morning. I will be in the parking lot starting around 730am, after having had breakfast and filled up. Anyone who's coming should plan to meet there and be ready to hit the trail 8am sharp.
We'll enjoy a great 150mile (very rough est) drive of sightseeing that has us cross paths with the ghost town of Ballarat, what's left of Barker Ranch (the spot where Charles Manson was finally caught), Stella's Cabin in Butte Valley, the world "famous", "clothing optional" Warm Springs, Devil's Golf Course flats and tons more. We'll finish the day in the full service town of Furnace Creek where we can refuel and resupply. I am staying at the Furnace Creek Campground that night; this time of year you have to reserve your campsite, so if you want to stay there make sure you click this link and reserve your spot. If camping isn't your thing, Furnace Creek has a couple other lodging choices.
Day 2:
Furnace Creek is easily accessible and provides a great spot to join up if you can only make it out for Saturday and Sunday. I plan to roll out of the campground 8am sharp, so that's where to meet if you're coming in that morning, or staying elsewhere in town.
Today has us traveling roughly 130miles over which we'll see the ghost town of Rhyolite, travel thru Titus Canyon, hit Scotty's Castle, Ubehehe Crater and the Racetrack Playa. We'll finish the day and settle down for the night at Homestake Camp. This is a dry first come first served campsite (aka "primative camping"), so I'm hoping to get there a bit early to set up shop, and have daylight left enough to explore the Playa on foot. I've also heard rumor that someone might try Lippencott Road while we're there, but we'll have to see about that
Day 3:
We've got around 170miles to go before getting back to civilization today, so we should break camp and get on the trail by no later than 8am. We'll hit Hunter Mountain, Panamint Valley, Saline Valley and then back out HWY190 and HWY136 to HWY 395. I'll probably end up finishing off at Ridgecrest again, to fill up and resupply for my 7 hour drive back home. Once we hit pavement at Saline Valley Rd and HWY 190 (point 3.9 on my route), you're basically free to head whichever way best gets ya home. And that's it!
What I'm bringing:
I'll be carrying with me a first aid kit, extra fuel (20 gals), plenty of water (5 gals+), basic recovery gear (gloves, shovel, straps, winch/power puller & accessories) firewood for the Furnace Creek campsite, and various other camping related stuffs (shelter, sleeping bag, cooking stuffs, food, water etc). If you plan to join, in addition to all your standard camping gear water and food, make VERY sure you have extra fuel and water, and at the very least a full sized shovel. Also pack cold weather gear as well as your shorts and sunscreen. Temps can vary dramatically out there this time of year. I also suggest you bring with you at least an FRS radio with extra batteries. If you're a ham, even better. I'm not equipped to talk over CB unfortunately. And since campfires are limited to community pits, bring a cord of firewood for the first night to contribute to the group as we sit around and tell ghost stories. Sorry, no fires of any kind at Homestake (the second night) so make sure you have other means squared away to cook your food (propane stove, for example).
Oh and don't forget your camera. Bring binoculars too if you've got 'em. I'm expecting to see some spectacular scenery out there.
And as xjrguy points out, this is very important: "...make sure you have let someone know about this thread and the itinerary. Print it out and email a link and give to a loved one or best friend. If you get lost or there is an incident, they need to know where you are."
Etiquette:
I aint here to tell you how to behave or treat others out in the wild. But if we're going to do this together as a group, there's pretty much one rule that we all must agree to follow: you are responsible for the guy behind you. If we're "commuting" between points, and you lose track of him or her in your rearview, you screwed up. Don't let that happen. But if by some act of God you do, stop and wait for them. If everyone up the line follows this rule, no one will get left behind since the guy ahead of him will always be there.
There will be plenty of spots to let your Raptor fly if you want, and you'll notice I've scheduled this so that we should have tons of time each day to stop or play or whatever. If you want to go blasting ahead, cool! Just not during 'commute' times, at least not to the point where you loose sight of the guy behind you. If you want to let 'er rip, just say so. The rest of us will stop and wait for you to prerun it (hint hint hint), and go for it a time or two. Its your responsibility though that in those times, to come back to us or radio in telling us to come up and meet you. DO NOT just floor it and leave us in your dust. You do that and you're on your own; we aint gonna come looking for you.
What'd I Miss?
By all means feel free to reply here with anything I may have missed! Hopefully this turns out to be a cool trip!
)Here's the route: DV3DayRev3 - Google Maps
Please study it carefully! Please download it to your GPS and bring it. Please print out maps and bring them with you. Without getting into a huge legal ass-covering diatribe, the bottom line here is I'm going to try this route on these dates at these times. If you want to meet up and head out in the same direction at the same time, great! But if you do, you understand that you are 100% responsible for yourself and your truck. This is not an "official" SVTO event and I am no pro nor am I a guide. If you do this you are 100% liable for any/all damage or injury as a result. If you're looking for a professional guided tour, this IS NOT the trip for you. Instead, look up the Outlaw Raptor guys and one of their incredible Raptor Runs. If you reply to this thread and/or meet us out there, you are "signing" on the dotted line, agreeing to these terms and accepting full responsibility for yourself, those in your party and all your gear.
Ok with that out of the way (hooray gold digging lawyers!), here's the nitty gritty:
Who's going:
I'll keep the list updated here. If you want to join, please reply to this so I can know who to expect and how many in your party (also what vehicle you plan to drive). Also PM me your cell number, but I don't expect any coverage out there (which is why I'm saying bring an FRS or better). The Park service limits overnight group sizes to 15 people and no more than 6 vehicles. If we get larger than that, we'll technically need to split up and camp at least 1 mile apart (these restrictions only apply to the 2nd night at Homestake)
Head count: 5
Vehicle count: 3
1 - BigJ, Joyce and Betsy (our pup) in our Raptor for all three days
2 - bstoner59 in his Raptor for all three days
3 - xjrguy + 1 in their Jeep, meeting at Furnace Creek Campsite Friday night and joining thru Sunday
4 - ??
5 - ??
Day 1:
I'll head out from Denny's in Ridgecrest, CA 8am on Friday morning. I will be in the parking lot starting around 730am, after having had breakfast and filled up. Anyone who's coming should plan to meet there and be ready to hit the trail 8am sharp.
We'll enjoy a great 150mile (very rough est) drive of sightseeing that has us cross paths with the ghost town of Ballarat, what's left of Barker Ranch (the spot where Charles Manson was finally caught), Stella's Cabin in Butte Valley, the world "famous", "clothing optional" Warm Springs, Devil's Golf Course flats and tons more. We'll finish the day in the full service town of Furnace Creek where we can refuel and resupply. I am staying at the Furnace Creek Campground that night; this time of year you have to reserve your campsite, so if you want to stay there make sure you click this link and reserve your spot. If camping isn't your thing, Furnace Creek has a couple other lodging choices.
Day 2:
Furnace Creek is easily accessible and provides a great spot to join up if you can only make it out for Saturday and Sunday. I plan to roll out of the campground 8am sharp, so that's where to meet if you're coming in that morning, or staying elsewhere in town.
Today has us traveling roughly 130miles over which we'll see the ghost town of Rhyolite, travel thru Titus Canyon, hit Scotty's Castle, Ubehehe Crater and the Racetrack Playa. We'll finish the day and settle down for the night at Homestake Camp. This is a dry first come first served campsite (aka "primative camping"), so I'm hoping to get there a bit early to set up shop, and have daylight left enough to explore the Playa on foot. I've also heard rumor that someone might try Lippencott Road while we're there, but we'll have to see about that
Day 3:
We've got around 170miles to go before getting back to civilization today, so we should break camp and get on the trail by no later than 8am. We'll hit Hunter Mountain, Panamint Valley, Saline Valley and then back out HWY190 and HWY136 to HWY 395. I'll probably end up finishing off at Ridgecrest again, to fill up and resupply for my 7 hour drive back home. Once we hit pavement at Saline Valley Rd and HWY 190 (point 3.9 on my route), you're basically free to head whichever way best gets ya home. And that's it!
What I'm bringing:
I'll be carrying with me a first aid kit, extra fuel (20 gals), plenty of water (5 gals+), basic recovery gear (gloves, shovel, straps, winch/power puller & accessories) firewood for the Furnace Creek campsite, and various other camping related stuffs (shelter, sleeping bag, cooking stuffs, food, water etc). If you plan to join, in addition to all your standard camping gear water and food, make VERY sure you have extra fuel and water, and at the very least a full sized shovel. Also pack cold weather gear as well as your shorts and sunscreen. Temps can vary dramatically out there this time of year. I also suggest you bring with you at least an FRS radio with extra batteries. If you're a ham, even better. I'm not equipped to talk over CB unfortunately. And since campfires are limited to community pits, bring a cord of firewood for the first night to contribute to the group as we sit around and tell ghost stories. Sorry, no fires of any kind at Homestake (the second night) so make sure you have other means squared away to cook your food (propane stove, for example).
Oh and don't forget your camera. Bring binoculars too if you've got 'em. I'm expecting to see some spectacular scenery out there.
And as xjrguy points out, this is very important: "...make sure you have let someone know about this thread and the itinerary. Print it out and email a link and give to a loved one or best friend. If you get lost or there is an incident, they need to know where you are."
Etiquette:
I aint here to tell you how to behave or treat others out in the wild. But if we're going to do this together as a group, there's pretty much one rule that we all must agree to follow: you are responsible for the guy behind you. If we're "commuting" between points, and you lose track of him or her in your rearview, you screwed up. Don't let that happen. But if by some act of God you do, stop and wait for them. If everyone up the line follows this rule, no one will get left behind since the guy ahead of him will always be there.
There will be plenty of spots to let your Raptor fly if you want, and you'll notice I've scheduled this so that we should have tons of time each day to stop or play or whatever. If you want to go blasting ahead, cool! Just not during 'commute' times, at least not to the point where you loose sight of the guy behind you. If you want to let 'er rip, just say so. The rest of us will stop and wait for you to prerun it (hint hint hint), and go for it a time or two. Its your responsibility though that in those times, to come back to us or radio in telling us to come up and meet you. DO NOT just floor it and leave us in your dust. You do that and you're on your own; we aint gonna come looking for you.
What'd I Miss?
By all means feel free to reply here with anything I may have missed! Hopefully this turns out to be a cool trip!
