By Denis & Sandi Inman
October and November are some of the best months to visit Death Valley National Park. After our trip through some of the trails in the park and on the West side of the Panamint range last week, we decided it would be a good time to check out several of the trails on the East side of the Panamints. With the Sun coming up an hour earlier due to the time change, Jeremy and I met in the Zabriskie Point parking lot at 6 AM to air down.
Denis & Sandi Inman
Promptly at 8:00 AM, 4 Jeep Wranglers and a Toyota 4Runner headed for Eddy World to begin a Titus Canyon run. I was flying solo as was Patty. Bruce & Cathy, James & Helen and Ed & Mary Lou came with us from Pahrump, Clint & Cheryl met us on the trail in their Wrangler. After topping off our tanks in Beatty, we traveled West on Nevada Highway 374 to the trailhead to air down.
Denis & Sandi Inman
Our plan for Tuesday morning was to top off our tanks just a little before the donut bakery that also serves breakfast biscuits, muffins and croissants opened at 6:00 AM. Unfortunately, after rising early and getting that chore accomplished, we were all standing around in the cold, drinking coffee and waiting for our morning bite. The pastry shop eventually opened on time and we had a quick snack before hitting the road.
Denis & Sandi Inman
In the first part of the Summer, my buddy Jeremy mentioned that he would like to do the Lippencott Trail into Saline Valley on the West side of Death Valley. I had a desire to reconnoiter that area as well, with the addition of Teakettle Junction and the Racetrack in order to cross those locations off of my Bucket List, but we waited until the weather turned cooler in order to start the trip. Jeremy brought his wife Deanna and we also invited Jim and Brian. This group had the components to make an extraordinary trail run; capable rigs, competent drivers and compatible people.
Story & Photos by Denis & Sandi Inman
Our group consisted of 3 Jeep Wranglers and 4 adventurers; myself, Jeremy & Deanna and Jim acting as the Tail Gunner. We met at Eddie World in Beatty at 8:00 on Thursday morning, topped off our tanks and proceeded to the Rhyolite where we aired down at the end of the pavement in front of the Goldwell Open Air Museum office.
Story & Photos by Denis & Sandi Inman
Four of us met in the Smith’s parking lot at 7:00 AM, me, Jeremy, Brian and Ed. We would catch up to Jim at Eddie’s World in Beatty. After topping off our fuel tanks and turning in some rental coffee, we were back on the 95 North. About 5 miles past Scotty’s Junction, we turned West on Cat Trail and stopped to air down. Traveling West through Hell’s Gate, we paused at the microwave towers for the panoramic view and to take a breather.