Seeking advice on Death Valley

[John Brady]

I am participating in a large format workshop in Death Valley next week 3-27 to 3-30. I am staying for 3 extra days to continue exploring and photographing the area. I have never been to the desert so I would appreciate any suggestions on must see locations.

I will be staying at Furnace Creek Ranch.

Have any of you been to DV this spring, and if so what are the conditions?

I will have my gps so if you can share any coordinates for good spots at the racetrack etc. it would be appreciated. It's a long ways from my home in Florida so I am hoping to get it right.

Anyone else going to be there later next week?

Thanks in advance, jb
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[Michael Gordon]

Furnace Creek hit 102f on March 16. Enjoy the heat.

The DVNP site can supply you with plenty of ideas: http://www.nps.gov/deva/

[Steve Feldman]

Rhyolite Ghost Town. Not in DV but close.

Rhyolite is 35 miles from the Furnace Creek Visitor Center on the way to Beatty, Nevada. A paved road heading north (left) from Hwy. 374 will take you to the heart of the the town.

[Eric Woodbury]

I was there in Feb and the weather was dynamic. 90F one day, then it rained and snowed at higher elevations. It was fabulous. I may be there next week, too, but maybe not. Today the weather in SoCal is in flux. Rainy and windy here in Santa Barbara and DV is about the same. Looks like it is warming, though. I've been in DV every year since '77 and end of March beginning of April can bring rain or not. I wouldn't think this year there will be much. I'd expect the days to be near 90F and cool at night. Higher elevations cooler, of course. The wind can come up, but not for long.

I wear shorts and a light weight long sleeve white shirt, lots of sunscreen, and a desert hat. Drink all the water you can take because the humidity is so low.

If you're looking for flowers, I don't think they are having much of a year. Rainfall has been too low.

DV is a huge place and there is much to see and photograph everywhere. I always go to the dunes, more for the experience than to photo any more. Zabriskie point is nice, and in the heat of the day, the canyons are cooler. I also like some of the neighboring towns and ghost towns in Nevada and California. Remember that going to the racetrack takes all day and the road really wears on you. If you are lucky you will get one good pic. Weigh that against what else you can do with your time. You won't have any problem filling up 3 days. I don't.

[Adam Kavalunas]

I was just in DV last week. Unfortunately they arent having any wildflowers this season, no spring rain. But dont let that discourage you. There are so many interesting locations. Badwater is great at sunrise, same with the mesquite dunes. The racetrack is great for sunset, just go on a week day, its starting to get busy believe it or not. Zabriskie point is a classic at sunrise. You might want to try the red cathedral at the end of the golden canyon for sunset. There are atleast 3 other sets of dunes that are pretty much "un-shot"-Eureka, Ibex, and Panamint dunes. If you want to get away from the footprints, head to those instead.

[Kermit Burroughs]

I was just in DV last week. Unfortunately they arent having any wildflowers this season, no spring rain. But dont let that discourage you. There are so many interesting locations. Badwater is great at sunrise, same with the mesquite dunes. The racetrack is great for sunset, just go on a week day, its starting to get busy believe it or not. Zabriskie point is a classic at sunrise. You might want to try the red cathedral at the end of the golden canyon for sunset. There are atleast 3 other sets of dunes that are pretty much "un-shot"-Eureka, Ibex, and Panamint dunes. If you want to get away from the footprints, head to those instead.

My folks were there last week. You weren't by chance part of a group thing were you?

[Adam Kavalunas]

Nope, I was just part of my own little group of 4 friends.

[Hiro]

I highly recommend "Death Valley and the Northern Mojave: A Visitor's Guide" (http://tinyurl.com/2hevv5) to plan the first-time visit to DV, although you may not have the time to read it through. It was written by a photographer with lots of photos.

Racetrack--There is a small parking spot with an exhibit panel a mile or two further (south) from the Grand Stand. If you walk across towards the dark wall/hill, you'll see a lot of moving rocks. As noted, you need to budget a plenty of time if you go there. It's about 30 miles of washboard once you leave the paved road at the Crater. I think it took me at least 2 hours one way with a pickup.

There are a couple of places not often mentioned but I liked:
Titus Canyon road--The entrance is a bit west from Rhyolite. The one-way road is quite tricky and fit only for high clearance vehicles, and there is little space to park and shoot until you get to the Leadfield Mine. But the view from Red Pass is breathtaking, and it's one of the most memorable DV experience for me.

Aguereberry Point--West side on the Panamint. It's reachable by car and gives you a great vista of the whole valley.

[John Brady]

Thank you all!!!
This is exactly the kind of information I am looking for. I love being part of this comunity...
jb

[Eric Leppanen]

Here is another information source:

http://www.photographamerica.com/issue01.htm

[gary892]

I was there at the end of February. The temp was 80 during the day and cool at night so drink plenty of water. We had some wind but not enough to cause a problem. The dunes at Stovepipewells were covered with foot prints and to get anything one needed to hike about a mile in. That is what I was told by the ranger. Zibriski (sp) point was interesting at sunrise but there were about 15 other photographers so space was hard to come by if you had a tripod. Be sure to check sunrise and sunset times. Did I mention drink plenty of water? Use chap stick and lotion to keep your skin from drying out.
The Valley is very large and there is a lot of driving involved and depending on the vehicle gas consumption should be planned for. There is a gas station at the Visitors Center not too far from Furnace Creek.



That's my two cents.
Have a great time.

Gary

[Hiro]

The Valley is very large and there is a lot of driving involved and depending on the vehicle gas consumption should be planned for. There is a gas station at the Visitors Center not too far from Furnace Creek.

Very true. And food, too. The general store near the gas station opens at 7am (I think). I picked up sandwich and stuff there after sunrise shots or the night before.

Please do take care particularly if you move around alone in remote places. You may not sweat as much, but your body loses as much (or more) water as you do in FL summer. Cell phones don't work. If something goes wrong and nobody's around (like when I managed to get the truck stuck on a side road), you could get into serious trouble.

Enjoy the trip.

[Ralph Barker]

Has anyone mentioned drinking plenty of water, and having more in the car? :D

In addition to the other excellent tips, consider Mosaic Canyon for a mid-day target. That's about the only time you'll get much sunlight into the narrows.

http://www.rbarkerphoto.com/Misc/Travel/DV2003/DV0203-A4-550bwMosaicNarrows.jpg

Also, consider the drive up through Emigrant Pass to the Bee Hives - the kilns used to make charcoal for mining operations, and the reason there are virtually no trees in that area.

http://www.rbarkerphoto.com/Misc/Travel/DV2003/DV0203-0305-550Kilnsbw.jpg

In addition to drinking plenty of water, watch the weather. If it is raining in the distance, be cautious about going into the canyons, as flash floods can be dangerous. One might even say, "killer". :eek:

[QT Luong]

In addition to what was said, I'll add Dante's Views and Aguereberry point (on the way to Emigrant) if you are interested in wide scenic views. Being higher, those also provide a nice relief from the heat in the Valley.

[John Brady]

Please do take care particularly if you move around alone in remote places. You may not sweat as much, but your body loses as much (or more) water as you do in FL summer. Cell phones don't work. If something goes wrong and nobody's around (like when I managed to get the truck stuck on a side road), you could get into serious trouble.

.
Hiro, I am a serious off shore fisherman, so I own an EPIRB (personal location beacon) so I figured I would bring it in case of emergency.

Gary, water and food it is.

Ralph, great canyoun shot! I appreciate the heads up on a mid day area to work.
Thanks again for all the replies, keep em coming if you got them...
jb

[Brian Ellis]

The best thing about Death Valley for me was the fact that it's only a few hours from there to Alabama Hills. If you have three extra days I'd definitely spend one of them in Alabama Hills. Maybe drive up from Death Valley in the late evening after sunset photography, spend the night in Lone Pine, get up early and catch the morning light in Alabama Hills, spend as much additional time there as you like, then drive back to Death Valley in time for late evening photography. When we made the drive from Death Valley to Alabama Hills the cloud formations along the way were fantastic and we did a lot of roadside photography on the drive itself so if you go to Alabama Hills try to make either the drive up or the drive back in daylight.

Aguereberry Point was beautiful and well worth seeing, especially if you like photographing grand vistas, but if you're at all squeamish about driving on narrow twisting roads with no space between you and a sheer drop-off thousands of feet straight down you won't like parts of the drive up. I was very glad someone else was driving so I could close my eyes in some places.

[JW Dewdney]

Okay - here's MY report. Unfortunately - my Rollei 6000 died on me (i was planning about 60 percent of my shots on that...!!!) while there so I cut it short thinking I might return tomorrow (??? - really? will i?)

ANYWAY - lucky me! The light was UN-EFFING-BELIEVABLE!!! I've never seen such a landscape photo mecca. Eat your heart out ANSEL!!! Should be INCREDIBLE tomorrow as well (cloudy days - big huge cumulus clouds everywhere - creating a crazy patchwork chiaroscuro everywhere). Don't know about next week though.

I didn't visit any canyons in detail. But I HIGHLY recommend the Vegas end of the park, near Shoshone. Especially at the beginning and end of the day. Really amazing. See weston's photos of the 'panamint mountains' for a reference. QUITE alien landscape. I thought it would have been incredible through a green filter (to make the tufty planst whitish and the red rock blackish...).

Shoshone or Trona (other end of the park - see google maps) are the place to stay. Cheaper than in the park. Both places, incidentally, offer INCREDIBLE landscapes! Stovepipe Wells (in the park) is cheaper than furnace creek and is about $100 for a night. Shoshone is $70, and Trona - well, I don't know. If you want inexpensive (okay - I'm a cheapie sometimes - Vegas is much less at $45 to $55 - but it might not be worth the extra hour for you).

You'll probably want to do the well-trodden Dunes at Stovepipe Wells (a bit too well-trodden for me). BADWATER ROAD is phenomenal. That's the Shoshone end of the park. 73 miles or so of phenomenal landscape and no gas stations or amenities.

As for weather - you should expect 80-84 next week, from the look of it.

BUT - if anyone is in the area - TOMORROW is going to be the killer day to shoot. How many cloudy days do we get there...? Actually - I'd like to find out.

Okay - good luck. If you have any more questions... lemme know.

[Curt Palm]

it is ~ 70 miles from Trona to stovepipe wells, another 1/2 hour to park headquarters, Furance creek area, So you'd need to consider driving time and gas money before staying there. Death Vally is a big place and I wouldn't want to add an extra 1.5 - 3.0 hours driving a day.