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SteveNormal
Jayhawker
Joined: 10 Feb 2012
Posts: 5
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 Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2012 4:36 pm
Post subject: Weather - President's Day weekend
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Wondering if anyone has a weather update on conditions in DV. Saw that forecast is calling for rain in the Panamint mountains today and Thursday. Anybody can confirm this?
I was wondering how this would effect camping in DV. I'm planning on hitting Titus road, the racetrack and maybe Butte Valley. Open to other suggestions. |
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robbiemize
Grubstaker
Joined: 08 Dec 2010
Posts: 301
Location: Long Beach, CA and Corvallis, OR
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Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2012 5:06 pm
Post subject: Re: Weather - President's Day weekend
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| SteveNormal wrote: | Saw that forecast is calling for rain in the Panamint mountains today and Thursday. Anybody can confirm this?
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you want us to confirm your weather forecast?
I guess I would have to wait until Thursday to confirm if there will be rain on that day...
that being said, if there is a storm coming i would recommend going to DV twice as much as if there werent one coming.
If youre into photos at all then you should see what DVNP transforms into when a storm moves through. Rather than the typical bluebird shots with no contrast whatsoever you can get some INCREDIBLE shots of sunsets/clouds/rainstorms/floodplains filling up/amargosa river flowing/dust storms/high contrast/etc etc etc. IMO highly worth dealing with the rain for the amazing photo ops it brings.
ive never experienced enough rain in the park to make camping a hassle... but i suppose if you don't have the right gear then a storm coming through could be annoying. are you prepared to deal with a rainstorm? if so then go for it and get some awesome photos!
*** if it rains hard enough or for long enough you may want to consider stopping by and talking with the rangers about road conditions before driving all the way to Titus or racetrack road. rain could bring washouts to any of the dirt roads in the park. If it rains hard and the roads are an issue you could always just drive up to the turnaround of titus road (from the bottom) and hike into Fall, Palmer, or Titus canyon.
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MojaveGeek
Death Valley Resident
Joined: 09 Feb 2008
Posts: 1091
Location: Boston
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Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2012 6:17 pm
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Titus is very nice when the road is closed. Doesn't take a whole lot of wet to close it, as some of the high areas get pretty muddy and slippery. Do pay attention to what roads get closed, and be flexible in your plans.
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SteveNormal
Jayhawker
Joined: 10 Feb 2012
Posts: 5
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Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2012 5:22 pm
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It sounds incredible. The weather disturbances.
I'm not coming out for photography. I plan on doing some backcountry roads. My main concern is getting stuck in inclement weather or rather the effects of such weather i.e.: flashfloods, muddy roads, etc...
This is gonna be my 2nd time to DV the first was 4 yrs ago. Spent the entire 1st time around the Stovepipe Wells area. Camped at Cottonwood canyon. This was on President's day weekend also.
This time I want to hit a different area. I was planning on coming up a southern route, gassing up around shoshone airport then taking the 178 to West Side Rd to Warm Springs Rd into Butte Valley and spend the night in the Butte and return by way Warm Spring Rd the following morning. I know the usual the route involves coming from the east and crossing over Mengal Pass but I would rather not do this. I figure in and out via Warm Springs RD being that I will be going this alone in a jeep and am pretty inexperienced to 4x4 offroading. So I guess what I'm really asking is what can I expect? I've read bad things about the washboarding on Racetrack Valley RD that make it a very unpleasant trip and was wondering if the conditions are similar along Warm Springs Rd. I have one full size spare for my wrangler.
Last edited by SteveNormal on Wed Feb 15, 2012 7:58 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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MojaveGeek
Death Valley Resident
Joined: 09 Feb 2008
Posts: 1091
Location: Boston
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Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2012 6:45 pm
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Things have been very dry out there this season. I've been watching the morning report and there's been very little road closing. At this time of year, you don't get flash floods - you get long rains that slowly make things bad, so you should have time to get out. Use common sense of course - don't cross water unless you know how deep it is (I often wade in first), don't drive into snow unless you know you can get out (this is a common mistake) and probably avoid the Hunter Mtn road at this time of year, though its been so dry.. Also sounds like Saline South Pass is a mess, just reading other posts.
Do take some survival gear with you of course in case you do get stuck.
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SteveNormal
Jayhawker
Joined: 10 Feb 2012
Posts: 5
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Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 12:49 am
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| And the temperature? What's the Racetrack and the Butte looking like at night this week? Is it colder then normal? I imagine it's fairly chilly in the Butte. |
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SteveNormal
Jayhawker
Joined: 10 Feb 2012
Posts: 5
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Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 4:55 pm
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Thanx for help. I called the Ranger Station and they informed they recently had snow in the elevation as low as 4000-5000ft. Also last week around furnace creek night temps ave in the 40's. This week they've benn riding low 40's dipping into the 30's.
I also apologize I think I posted my original request in the wrong forum...
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