DEATH VALLEY....

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Death Valley is an amazing place, not only for its landscapes, but for its rich history as well.  It is hard to imagine crossing some of those areas in a wagon train years ago, and it is no wonder that so many people lost their lives there trying to make it to the coast.  My friend Berry and I made this trip in January 2001.  I've been back a few times since and even though it has National Park status now, it is still a great place to visit with a 4wd.  Many of the trails in the Panamint mountains are now closed, so if you are looking for hard-core terrain this probably isn't the place to find it.

2001:

RUSS'S CAMP 2005:

This past May four HUMMER's headed from San Diego and into the Panamint Mountains on the west side of Death Valley.  We camped out at Russ's Camp and spent five days exploring local mines and old cabins left from days past.  The scenery was beautiful and the weather was perfect, we even caught the last bit of Desert wildflowers.  We had problems with two trucks on this trip, one was retired for another day and the other (a power steering pump) was fixed on the trail.  The trip started rather ominously as the red Open-top broke down right outside of Barker Ranch (Manson's Ranch) and we had to spend the night there in order to make a run into town for parts the next day.  All in all it was a beautiful trip up Goler wash and into the Panamints.