After some nice days in Yosemite, a couple of days along the coast we headed towards Death Valley National Park. The last time we were there I broke our Dodge Intrepid on an unpaved road that resulted in a several hours drive up to Reno, Nevada to get a new car. This time we thought that we were prepared better with a high clearance four wheel drive Jeep and using more caution while driving.
As there were several spots that we were not able to go to the last time after some flash floods resulting in road closures we started out getting to the the famous Racetrack which is pretty off any paved roads. The Teakettle junction is already 20 miles (32km) off the road and another 6 miles (9km) to go.
After approximately 2.5 hours of driving from Stovepipe Wells we arrived at the Racetrack where small and even large rocks move wondrously along a dried out lake. Very impressive.
Then I decided to take another route back to the park that leads us up high in the mountains and way off any civilization. Nonetheless, we met another couple that drove with their Jeep Wrangler and a better detailed GPS system the same route. Later we met another couple that returned due to the fact that a larger snow field and not the right equipment had them return the same way they came. The couple with the Wrangler made their try and after several minutes we decided to follow them. It was a long and well rewarding drive. We have seen tracks of a mountain lion and some really nice views into the valley.
After an hour or so we got into an area with more and more snow and even with brand new M+S tires and four wheel drive we finally got stock at a steep uphill section pretty close where the road winds back into the park.
This photo was taken at the beginning of the snow field and does not reflect the real amount of snow we were facing.
Eva got stuck several times and though I was able to get a little higher we had to make the decision returning all the way we came. It was too risky to get really stuck and then call for help. Eva did a great job of driving that day and later I took over and maybe went a little to fast over the gravel roads. I pinched a large hole into our rear tire, added additional 40 minutes changing the tire, hurt my shoulder and we returned to Furnance Creek after sunset. The tire was repaired the next day and now is our spare tire. Death Valley pays it toll to us again but again we were rewarded with spectacular views.
This one was taken from Dante’s View at a sunny afternoon with some nice forming clouds. The visibility is incredible.
Finally, on our way towards Oregon our Garmin Nüvi GPS finally broke down. What a disappointment but it is no longer working and using a search through Google points this as a known issue and we have to get it fixed after our return home.
More pictures from our trip could be found as always in our gallery: GP-Photography Gallery
Leave a Reply