HikeArizona.COM

I got my first taste of Death Valley this year http://hikearizona.com/photoset.php?ID=8733 and I'm planning to spend a week up in the area in January or February 2010. I've had some tips from HAZ trekkers to DV, but I'm looking for a definitive guide book (or two) to help with the planning process.

Any suggestions?

RANDAL

The Bible there is "Hiking Death Valley" by Michel Diconnet. I hear he has a new book out on the Saline Valley area too but I don't have it yet.
A good driving guide with some hikes and exploration is The Explorers Guide to Death Valley National Park by T Scott Bryan and Betty Tucker-Bryan
On the Net is Death Valley.com and Death Valley.net. I think the latter one has a little easier and more informative board. Oh and almost forgot about PanamintCharlie.com.

Some hiking trail chatter with a Death Valley veteran, Hank Luke, has got the trek planning juices going again...

Put in the order for the "bible" suggested by Letty - http://www.amazon.com/Hiking-Death-Vall ... 0965917800

Circling around a February 15th, 2010 trek date with at least 4 or 5 days in the valley and 2 distinct travel days - 1 to get there, 1 to get back.

Ghost towns and sand dunes are high on the list. Any suggestions out there?

The Racetrack Playa. Never been there, but the photos are pretty amazing.
http://www.artinnaturephotography.com/p ... ry=deserts

LOVE the new avatar Randy. A photo I'll always remember. And Wendy did the best to capture you at just the right distance and perspective.

Oh, the topic... sounds like an interesting adventure.

Death Valley has always called to me, I can't believe I haven't been there yet! I'm actually considering a road trip there for Thanksgiving, but that's dependent upon a certain travel trailer project that Mr. Wendy's working on. I'm also keen on suggestions.

And Randy, that is truly one kick-bootie avatar. Indy Jones and John Wayne look out!

In the park itself I would say the most amazing place is the Racetrack playa and nice short hike up to Uhebe peak with the nearby copper mines.
Next place is the Eureka Sand dunes.
Saline Valley is in the park but is a world all it's own and a very special one. If you have the right vehicle driving down Lippincott road into there is very memorable.

My short time at the Racetrack--
http://www.hikearizona.com/phoZOOM.php?ZIP=107342

Letty;

Are the Eureka Sands sometimes called "the Singing Dunes"??? I'm intrigued by this "singing" phenomenon and have it high on my MUST DO list...

Yes, they actually "sang" for us when Brian triggered a mini landslide---a low humming sound likened to airplanes flying low and slow. I am not sure if the pitch will change depending on angle, temp, size of flow, etc.
I will most likely be headed to DV over Thanksgiving and possibly early 2010 too.

Sorry I never e-mailed you Randy - kept meaning to, but in my defense, I've been home something like two days since the Chinle Wash hike.

Yeah, the "bible" that was the one I suggested was the one I used all the time - we simply refered to it as "Digonnet" since the title is so non-descript. Take his time descriptions with a grain of salt. He also is a crazy risky climber, so don't be surprised if you get someplace he says is climbable and discover you are not willing to chance it.

All the suggestions so far are great - I would also add Rhyolite and Titus Canyon if the road is open (though there's not a lot of hiking involved for them.) The Goldwell Open Air Museum at Rhyolite is ... special. So is the volunteer at the Bottle House if it's still the same guy.

Another hike I would suggest is Slit Canyon, though if you're not real good at getting up and down and/or are hiking alone this may be a bit beyond what you want to do - I only did it once and wouldn't have been able to without some very helpful friends in one spot. It's on page 151 in the book.

A couple of cool hikes that aren't in the book (or not well described there) are Willow Creek and Sidewinder, both of which are near the Mormon Point area. They are both easily doable from the same parking spot and in the same day. They actually have a handout for Sidewinder at the visitor center, but make sure you talk to someone too for a few extra details (like that the spot you are looking for is where the wash suddenly narrows into a canyon with a reddish wall to the left - the slot is there).

There are tons of the other hikes that are places I was shown, so I know how to get there, but can't really describe or anything, but there's tons out there to explore - pretty much any place that looks interesting is.

One of the things I still want to do when I visit is Corkscrew Peak - I might do that the next time I go visit, so maybe I'll think of more next time I stumble this way afterwards ...

My copy of Digonett's "Hiking Death Valley - A Guide to its Natural Wonders and Mining Past" arrived today. Thanks for the tips from Letty and Megan and others that seem to agree that this is the DV "bible"...

Shipment also included a copy of Shellye Poster's "Photographer's Guide to Death Valley". Interesting enough that the cover prominently features The Racetrack sliding rocks mentioned by Joel and Letty in this Forum thread...

Excellent - have some light reading for the plane as I do the great circle route next week - Phoenix to Vancouver to Denver to Phoenix.

Still waiting for Hank to weigh in with his recommendations!

Randal Schulhauser wrote:Still waiting for Hank to weigh in with his recommendations!

OK, since you now have the bible I had better get my 2 cents in--> will do for you manana and send to your cell phone email..

I had a chance to catch up on some reading flying to Vancouver and Denver this week.

Using Digonett's "Hiking Death Valley - A Guide to its Natural Wonders and Mining Past
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/096591 ... oh_product

and

Shellye Poster's "Photographer's Guide to Death Valley"
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/088150 ... oh_product

as reference guides plus the Forum thread and PM tips people have sent me, I've got a preliminary short list;

1. Mining relics and ghost towns - Trail Canyon

2. Dunes - Eureka Dunes (aka "singing dunes")

3. Photo Op - Racetrack Playa

Be sure to say hi to my old bulletin boards out at Eureka Dunes (and the junctions along the road) - I wonder if anyone puts new copies up anymore, or if they're just fading away in the Death Valley sunshine ...