DTX2023Tremor
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Yes, this is 18 months out. Same reasoning as the Utah thread: Stovepipe Wells has small inventory and books roughly six months ahead, and it's the only realistic base for the Death Valley half. If this is going to happen with a group, it starts now.
The shape of it: six days, Vegas to LA. Three days in Death Valley, then the Mojave Road as a two-day point-to-point. The two halves are genuinely different trips — one is hotel-based with day runs, the other is a remote crossing with dispersed camping — so you can join for either half or the whole thing.
Death Valley half — Monday through Wednesday
Be clear-eyed about the second half. The Mojave Road is 138 miles with no services, no cell coverage, and two nights of dispersed camping — no hotel option, no bail-out except the pavement crossings at Kelbaker and Cima. Sand, sharp rock, a dry lakebed, and water crossings in Afton Canyon. Nothing technical, but it's remote and you need to be self-sufficient. Trailers won't work on it.
The Death Valley half is the opposite — hotel every night, air down once, and Titus Canyon is famously doable in a Subaru.
On Wednesday's route: Goler to Warm Springs comes from @TMartinLVNV , who's done multi-day trips in the park three times and has been generous with route knowledge. It's a real trail day with big views and the Barker Ranch site, where Manson was arrested in '69. I'm still confirming whether Goler Wash is comfortable for full-size trucks — it's a narrow canyon with ledge sections. If it doesn't go, the fallback is the Badwater Road day: Harmony Borax Works, Artists Palette, Badwater Basin, Dantes View. Same geography, less trail. Either way Wednesday works.
Why late March: Death Valley's floor is already in the low 90s by April, and the Mojave half is low-elevation sand with no shade and two nights of camping. Late March keeps that pleasant while getting us past the peak spring break competition for Stovepipe Wells rooms.
Credit where it's due: this itinerary looks nothing like my first draft, and that's entirely thanks to @TMartinLVNV. He talked me out of skipping the Racetrack, corrected my timing, flagged which trails to avoid in a Super Duty, gave me a real time budget from his own tracks, and pointed me at the southern route I'd never have found. If you're joining the Death Valley half, you're benefiting from his experience.
Vote in the poll up top. If you're in, I'll follow up with a form to collect lodging preference, which half you're joining, and vehicle and camping setup — I need that before I can talk to Stovepipe Wells about rooms.
Ask questions and poke holes. This itinerary has already been reworked twice based on input from people who know the park better than I do.
The shape of it: six days, Vegas to LA. Three days in Death Valley, then the Mojave Road as a two-day point-to-point. The two halves are genuinely different trips — one is hotel-based with day runs, the other is a remote crossing with dispersed camping — so you can join for either half or the whole thing.
Death Valley half — Monday through Wednesday
- Mon 3/27 — Vegas out to Beatty, Rhyolite ghost town, then Titus Canyon westbound into the park. Overnight Stovepipe Wells. Pavement plus Titus, no airing down needed.
- Tue 3/28 — Pavement to Ubehebe Crater, air down, Racetrack Valley Road, out on Saline Valley Road. Overnight Stovepipe Wells.
- Wed 3/29 — South to Panamint Valley, then Goler Wash up through Butte Valley and down Warm Springs Canyon, exiting on Badwater Road. Overnight Baker. This is the route I'm still validating — more below.
- Thu 3/30 — Baker to the Colorado River trailhead, then Mojave Road day one. Camp in the Preserve.
- Fri 3/31 — Mojave Road day two, finishing at Afton Canyon. Overnight Barstow.
- Sat 4/1 — Barstow to LA. Group disperses.
Be clear-eyed about the second half. The Mojave Road is 138 miles with no services, no cell coverage, and two nights of dispersed camping — no hotel option, no bail-out except the pavement crossings at Kelbaker and Cima. Sand, sharp rock, a dry lakebed, and water crossings in Afton Canyon. Nothing technical, but it's remote and you need to be self-sufficient. Trailers won't work on it.
The Death Valley half is the opposite — hotel every night, air down once, and Titus Canyon is famously doable in a Subaru.
On Wednesday's route: Goler to Warm Springs comes from @TMartinLVNV , who's done multi-day trips in the park three times and has been generous with route knowledge. It's a real trail day with big views and the Barker Ranch site, where Manson was arrested in '69. I'm still confirming whether Goler Wash is comfortable for full-size trucks — it's a narrow canyon with ledge sections. If it doesn't go, the fallback is the Badwater Road day: Harmony Borax Works, Artists Palette, Badwater Basin, Dantes View. Same geography, less trail. Either way Wednesday works.
Why late March: Death Valley's floor is already in the low 90s by April, and the Mojave half is low-elevation sand with no shade and two nights of camping. Late March keeps that pleasant while getting us past the peak spring break competition for Stovepipe Wells rooms.
Credit where it's due: this itinerary looks nothing like my first draft, and that's entirely thanks to @TMartinLVNV. He talked me out of skipping the Racetrack, corrected my timing, flagged which trails to avoid in a Super Duty, gave me a real time budget from his own tracks, and pointed me at the southern route I'd never have found. If you're joining the Death Valley half, you're benefiting from his experience.
Vote in the poll up top. If you're in, I'll follow up with a form to collect lodging preference, which half you're joining, and vehicle and camping setup — I need that before I can talk to Stovepipe Wells about rooms.
Ask questions and poke holes. This itinerary has already been reworked twice based on input from people who know the park better than I do.
![What did you do to your Tremor today? [2026 edition]](https://www.fordtremor.com/data/files/featured_images/featuredimages_thumb_5.webp?1788324875)
