Planned 4x4 Routes

4-Wheeling is the planned activity for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of Syncro Safari.

Monday: On Monday, we plan a route on the western edge of the park, a loop encompassing the Lippencott Road, The Racetrack, Teakettle Junction, Hidden Valley, and Hunter Mountain.

Wednesday:
Wednesday’s trip will be in the Northeast area of the park and include Chloride City and spectacular Titus Canyon.

Friday:
On Friday, we’ll be in the southern portion of the park taking a trip up Warm Springs Canyon, hopefully over Mengel Pass and visiting Barker Ranch.

Death Valley roads can change from day to day and this preliminary plan may need to change to suit the condition we find there. Death Valley road information can be found at:
http://www.nps.gov/deva/FrameSet_roads.htm
Choose “Morning Report” for updated, daily information including open and closed routes.

See a more detailed description of each route:

The route descriptions provided on the linked pages are largely excerpted from the book Death Valley SUV Trails – A Guide to 46 Interesting Four-Wheeling Excursions in the Death Valley Country by Roger Mitchell. I’ve found this book to be quite helpful and if you plan to visit Death Valley for 4-wheeling in the future, I suggest you purchase a copy. It describes not only 46 trails, but history, geology, and more. There are plentiful black & white pictures as well. I’m sorry to say the maps included are not worth much, sort of “thumbnail” maps. The book contains 314 pages, retails for $19.95, and is ISBN: 0-9707115-0-6. The publisher is Track & Trail Publications from Oakhurst, California.

Photos in the route descriptions on this site are NOT from this book, but rather from other sources.

About Route Difficulty:

In order to properly assess route difficulty, here is an excerpt from the book which describes what the author means by “Class I” through “Class VI” roads. It’s what the author calls “The Mitchell Scale.” By my assessment, a Syncro with a rear locker and controlled by an experienced driver should be able to tackle all but the toughest Class III trails.

The Mitchell Scale

Everything seems to have its standard of measurement. Earthquakes have their Richter Scale. Temperature has its degrees. Sound has its decibels. Thus it is that I have attempted to quantify the degree of difficulty to the various SUV trails that I describe. This scale, which I modestly call The Mitchell Scale, was blatantly stolen from rock climbers and mountaineers who have their own peculiar brand of madness. It goes from Class I, the easiest, to Class VI, the impossible.

CLASS I: This is of only slightly worse condition than a graded road. It includes just about any kind of semi-improved and unmaintained dirt road over which you can safely maneuver a standard automobile. A Class I route should cause no one problems. The road into Chris Wicht’s Camp in lower Pleasant Canyon is a good example.

CLASS II: This road is a bit more rough than Class I, and may have a high center or deep potholes requiring vehicles with greater clearance. Four-wheel drive may not be absolutely necessary, but extreme care should be taken if you don’t have a vehicle with high clearance. A good example of this is the road into the Tucki Mine.

CLASS III: Here high clearance and four-wheel drive are a necessity, and perhaps low
range gears and limited slip differentials, too. But the route is not so difficult that your
SUV should be damaged if reasonable care is taken. The trail going up the Amargosa
Canyon from the Dumont Dunes is a typical Class III route.  

CLASS IV: The going gets rougher still. If you are not a skillful and experienced off-road driver, the body of your vehicle may suffer a little. You may wish to have a passenger outside the vehicle to act as a spotter, guiding you through the tight places. Taking the trail through Goler Wash or the Lippencott Grade will give you an appreciation for Class IV.

CLASS V: Most people will turn back before attempting a road of this severity. It is highly questionable whether the abuse your vehicle is taking is really worth the effort. Skid plates under everything are a must. The upper part of Echo Wash has two short Class V pitches, as does the last half mile of the Big Four Mine road. The western ascent of Echo Pass, and Goler Wash, have a few challenging, but short sections of Class V.

CLASS VI: This is for the foolhardy only. The route is so extreme that the use of a winch or two is often required. “Road building” and other creative feats of engineering are a likely necessity. You certainly don’t want to try this trail without a second vehicle along, one equipped with a master mechanic, a welding torch, a complete set of spare parts, and a world-wide satellite communications system. Originally I had no Class VI in my system. That changed when I saw the magnitude of the washouts in Surprise Canyon below Panamint City. Getting a vehicle up those rock barriers is technically possible, but a challenge without equal.