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#171036 - 10/29/12 12:24 AM Has anyone hiked death valley to the singing doons
NightWolf Offline
newbie

Registered: 10/29/12
Posts: 1
I am planning to go to death valley and can only find this item on a personal hikers time there.
http://nfl.ca/article-on-hiking-death-valley.html

So I wondered if others had done it to?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

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#171112 - 10/30/12 01:17 PM Re: Has anyone hiked death valley to the singing doons [Re: NightWolf]
skcreidc Offline
member

Registered: 08/16/10
Posts: 1590
Loc: San Diego CA
I have not done the exact trip you are contemplating in Death Valley NP. But I have done a couple of backpack trips in that region. Probably the closest was a trip along the spine of the Panamint Range where we dropped down to Eureka Dunes at the end. My partner had found a Paleozoic age shark tooth and after measuring a stratigraphic section, we decided to go back and traverse the spine to check out the rest of the geology. This was in around 1981 to 1983.

Tips? Well,

1). Most dunes will sing, but they have to be dry enough with windy conditions to do so. The windy part is usually not a problem.

2). You will have to stash water, unless you want to carry it all with you. Better to make at least 1 stash...more for sure if you are not use to desert travel. Even in winter you will use up lots of water as it is dry here.

3). Look for sheltered camp sites. It will probably be windy.

4). Be sure you are comfortable with navigating off trail.

Don't expect much more feedback about this trip from this site. It is just not high on the to do list for the people who frequent this site.

Good luck, sK

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#171113 - 10/30/12 01:23 PM Re: Has anyone hiked death valley to the singing doons [Re: skcreidc]
skcreidc Offline
member

Registered: 08/16/10
Posts: 1590
Loc: San Diego CA
A quick search on backpacking Death Valley led to this;

Death Valley

Hope that helps.

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#171120 - 10/30/12 03:51 PM Re: Has anyone hiked death valley to the singing doons [Re: skcreidc]
jbylake Offline
member

Registered: 09/15/12
Posts: 202
Loc: Northern KY USA
We did parts of it many times, when I was in the military. We crossed over into NV to the Nellis AFB Bomb Range. We didn't carry weapons, because it's mostly public land and didn't want to frighten people, just tan BDU bottoms, and white or tan long sleved T-shirts.

There is a large pool of drinkable water in DV, but you have to know where it is, and dig a small but deep hole to get to it, so like previously mentioned, carry water, and stash water ahead at different waypoints in your trips. Plastic jugs of water are cheap, so stash more than you'll need. If nothing else, you can use the leftover to "bathe" with. If you use a GPS, make sure you can use a map and compass, at some places, you can get very confused if your GPS goes blitz on you.

In the summer, we traveled mostly at night and holed up during the day, which BTW we did that a lot during desert training. On a moon lit night, you can see almost as well as you can in the day.

I suggest this, others may differ. Eat little or very lightly during the day, If you eat a big breakfast, or lunch, it will cause your body to use much more water in the digestive process. Eat your big meal an hour or two after sunset or later. If it were my first time I would do it during Winter/Early spring.

Wear proper clothing, a proper hat, and I'm assuming you'll be wearing suitable quality sunglasses. If you take them off as the sun starts setting, put them back on at least 30 -40 minutes before dark. This will allow your eyes to adjust to the dark, and keep you from suffering night blindness. It makes the transition from light to dark better and quicker.

Although some parts are fairly easy, some are really tough, so plan your trip accordingly, as to your physical conditioning, age, etc.

Also, make sure you have a Topo map. Dry creek beds, and other landmarks can change over time due to flash floods.

We had to do it in the summer, sometimes, and if you do, plan for accordingly. It can really take the wind out of your sails.

Although some people don't use them, It's a good idea to get a package or two of the powdered or tablet like electrolytes to add to your water. If you're going to stay on marked roads or trails, it's a little easier, but (especially in the summer) it can be a really hard go. I would suggest, unless you're very well versed in desert backpacking/hiking, that you do as much research as possible. It can be extremely rough at times, and people do die out there.

But with careful planning, it's very dooable, and has multiple types of desert terrain, so depending on your trip, it can be really enjoyable.
Here is a good Link to Hiking Death Valley

J.


Edited by jbylake (10/30/12 05:18 PM)

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