Death Valley here we come…

It is time… to travel… to go off into the desert… to celebrate the emptiness that is East of the Sierra…

Steph (aka “The Daughter”) needs to find out how to camp… so, it is a camping trip… To Death Valley and the Panamints… 

Klinger the Jeep is going too… and for the first time we will explore hard core Jeep trails…

We are leaving mid day Saturday… after a morning at work for new docent training… then over the high Sierra, then south on 395 headed for Bridge Port, Mono Lake, Owens Valley, The Panamints, then Death Valley…  We will find a place to stay on the way on Saturday night… then camp three days at Panamint Springs Resort… We will camp in the desert… but there are showers… and wifi… and a bar…

It will be warm during the day, maybe 80 degrees… but cool at night… high 40’s or so… a fire will be a good idea…  A fire is a defining feature for camping…

We will visit 23 Skidoo… we will visit Death Valley Jct… (there might be a railroad locomotive undiscovered in Death Valley Jct).  We will try to visit Ryan, but likely will find ourselves locked out… We will likely tour Scotty’s Castle… we may visit Ryolite…  

Now, I find myself thinking of lists… Big things… a tent, a couple of cots… sleeping bags… fire wood… a stove… but also the little stuff… shock cord (to tie the tent down) stove fuel, and lamp mantels…   At least the Jeep is ready…

I am considering routes… Death Valley is on the other side of the Sierras, and the Sierra’s are clad in their winter coat of deep snow, so the direct route over Tioga Pass is not an option… we have to go north or south…  To the north is Hwy 88, and Carson Pass to Gardnerville and Minden, then south on 395, to the Owens Valley, then east into the Panamints… To the south is down the valley (this would be the San Joaquin) to Bakersfield or the vicinity, then over Walker Pass or the Tehachapis, and north, again to the Owens Valley, again east…  It looks like we will go north, but return south…  But nothing is certain.

Well one thing is certain... carry on luggage is unlikely to be an issue...