Hey Ant! I’m envious because DV is one if my favorite places in earth and my wife and I have backpacked in there quite a lot. We always do the vegas rental car method too.
You should be conservative as to where you drive the car, always but even more so with the shutdown. When the road signs say 4x4 only, you should really take heed, or carefuy drive only a a mile or two in if that gets you where you wanna be. You wont get a cell signal in there and flats are common. The rangers, if any are working, will have the latest on road conditions. Sign in at the visitor center if you plan to go into the back country and tell a friend at home your plans... sorry if you already know this. With the shutdown services are limited. Check social media and call the visitor center at furnace creek—I think that is being kept open by funding from a private foundation. A good resource is Steve Hall’s website www.panamintcity.com ... check his pages on death valley basics and read up on safety and park regulations (no fires, etc)... very important to do your research for route planning too if youre going deep into the back country. Steve uses an interesting technique using a mix of google earth and gps, and has hiked hundreds of canyons, many of which are seldom visited. He posts detailed trip reports with photos and maps that are great reference if you decide to mimic a route. He’ll also tell you to get Michael Diginnet’s book, Hiking Death Valley, which I can confirm is worth every penny. Its one of those epic labors of love. DV is a beautiful place. So huge and expansive, otherworldly, truly wild. Be safe and I hope you have a great time!! Carry lots of water! I hope you post pics when you’re back. And feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions. Bob B. Brooklyn NY -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
