Bicycle camping (bikepacking) in and around Death Valley National Park 2007
This was a two-week bicycle-camping (bikepacking) trip in and around Death Valley National Park in late April, 2007. Baker, California served as the start and end points of the trip. I took Amtrak from home in downtown San José to Baker. I rode about 440 miles during the two weeks and elevations ranged from about 200 feet below sea level to about 6400 feet. Daytime temperatures during the trip ranged from the mid 70s to 105.
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Date: May 04, 2007, 20h00
Size: 16 items
(389 items total)
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Map of Death Valley area showing bicycle routes travelled
Date: December 12, 2007, 21h29
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Album: Day 0: 1.3 bicycling miles. Amtrak train and bus ride to Baker, California from San José to start the trip
I ride from home in downtown San José to the train station, from where I take Amtrak train and buses to Baker, California. Oddly enough, someone on the bus remembers me from my trip to this area at about the same time last year.
Date: April 17, 2007, 07h00
Size: 20 items
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Album: Day 1: 55.5 paved highway bicycling miles from Baker to Tecopa Hot Springs, California, mostly on Highway 127
I ride from Baker to Tecopa Hot Springs on Highway 127, then along the Old Spanish Trail Highway via the town of Tecopa.
Date: April 18, 2007, 09h00
Size: 57 items
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Album: Day 2: 34.3 bicycle miles from Tecopa Hot Springs to Greenwater Valley (upper Gold Valley Rd). Last 18 miles, dirt/gravel road
After leaving Tecopa Hot Springs, I ride up Highway 127 through Shoshone and enter Death Valley National Park on Highway 178. Destination: Gold Valley.
Date: April 19, 2007, 10h00
Size: 48 items
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Album: Day 3: 47.5 miles from Gold Valley Road camp site to Furnace Creek Campground, Death Valley National Park
From my camp site on Gold Valley Road at about 4700 feet, I descend to 280 feet below sea level at Furnace Creek Campground, Death Valley National Park, via Greenwater Valley
Date: April 20, 2007, 10h00
Size: 11 items
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Album: Day 4: 27.4 mostly level bicycle miles from Furnace Creek Campground to West Side Road, with a stop for a hike in Golden Canyon
I leave my tent set up at Furnace Creek Campground and ride over to Golden Canyon for a hike in 90-degree heat, followed by a short ride out to the salt flats near Devils's Golf Course.
Date: April 21, 2007, 13h00
Size: 19 items
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Album: Day 5: 31.7 mostly uphill paved miles from Furnace Creek Campground to Monarch Canyon up in the Funeral Mountains
Carrying two gallons more water than usual, I ride from Furnace Creek campground at 200 feet below sea level up to about 3700 feet near Daylight Pass. A rain storm beats down on my tent for two hours later that evening.
Date: April 22, 2007, 11h00
Size: 30 items
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Album: Day 6, morning: A walk down upper Monarch Canyon, Death Valley in search of Monarch Spring for drinking water
Dramatic views down into Death Valley from above the drop-off at the end of Monarch Canyon reward those who persist in pushing their way through the head-high grasses around the spring on the way there.
Date: April 23, 2007, 10h00
Size: 19 items
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Album: Day 6, afternoon: 10 round-trip bike miles (walked up the steeper sections) up Chloride Cliff Road from Monarch Canyon
Leaving my Monarch Canyon camp site at around 3300 feet elevation intact, I go for a ride up Chloride Cliff Rd to about 4600 feet. It's nice to ride without the weight of all my gear! I don't pass any other vehicles during this ride.
Date: April 23, 2007, 13h00
Size: 13 items
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Album: Day 7: Ride from Monarch Canyon to Emigrant Campground, 30 bicycling miles down and up, crossing Death Valley along the way
I return to pavement and civilization today by riding from Monarch Canyon (3700 feet) back down to Death Valley (100 feet below sea level at Stovepipe Wells), then up to the Emigrant campground on the other side of the valley at 2000 feet.
Date: April 24, 2007, 09h30
Size: 19 items
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Album: Day 8: 36.2 bicycling miles, without my camping gear (yay!), from Emigrant Campground up to Aguereberry Point and back
I leave my tent set up at Emigrant Campground and ride up Wildrose Road to Aguereberry Point and back, from 2000 feet to 6400 feet.
Date: April 25, 2007, 10h00
Size: 23 items
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Album: Day 9: no bicycling! Instead, a drive to The Racetrack and Goldbelt Spring with Phil and Renée from Emigrant Campground
Phil and Renée, fellow campers at Emigrant Campground, invite me on a day drive with them through the western side of Death Valley (e.g. The Racetrack, Goldbelt Spring).
Date: April 26, 2007, 12h00
Size: 24 items
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Album: Day 10: Emigrant Campground to Furnace Creek Campground, 31 bicycle miles in 100-degree temperatures
I ride from Emigrant Campground to Furnace Creek Campground so that I will be at the start of tomorrow's climb out of Death Valley National Park over the Funeral Mountains.
Date: April 27, 2007, 10h15
Size: 13 items
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Album: Day 11: 66 bicycle miles from Furnace Creek to Tecopa Hot Springs via Funeral Mountains at 3300 feet elevation in 100 degrees
To avoid the forecasted 110 degrees in Death Valley today, I climb out of Death Valley slowly over the Funeral Mountains, starting at 280 feet below sea level and peaking at about 3300 feet.
Date: April 28, 2007, 11h00
Size: 44 items
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Album: Day 12: 16-mile round-trip ride from Tecopa Hot Springs to China Ranch date farm and bakery, plus a few miles of hiking
A pleasant, hot day, with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees again. The short descent into the Amargosa River canyon is dramatic.
Date: April 29, 2007, 12h00
Size: 23 items
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Album: Day 13: 55 bicycle miles from Tecopa Hot Springs back to Baker, where I'll catch Amtrak tomorrow to San José
There are moments on the ride from Tecopa Hot Springs to Baker on Highway 127 when nothing seems to move, no matter how much one pedals. But I love the climb over Ibex Pass and the descent into and across the valley of Dumont Dunes.
Date: April 30, 2007, 10h00
Size: 10 items
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