9. Planning the Trek

The Park, Route and Seasons

I realize now that I knew very little about Death Valley or the national park it resides in before planning this trek. Initial research revealed that it is a land of extremes. Death Valley is situated in the Mojave Desert and is consistently the hottest place on Earth. It contains the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere and receives less than two inches of rain per year. The valley’s evaporating power is so intense it could annihilate a lake, 12ft deep and 30 miles long, in only one year’s time. Death Valley National Park contains 3.4 million acres of untamed land and is the largest national park in the contiguous United States.

The Panamint Mountains tower over 11,000ft. above Death Valley.

Due to the extreme size, elevation changes and volatile weather of the Park, there are two small windows of time when this trek is possible each year. The first window is in early spring after most of the snow has melted and before the lower elevations become deadly. The second is in the fall before too much snow has accumulated at high elevations and the valley becomes tolerable.

I chose March because I didn’t want to wait a year to complete the trek. This would eventually prove to be a less than ideal time, which is why I would suggest that anyone else attempting this trek do so in the fall.

The spring brings the risk of dangerously heavy snow in the Last Chance Range that could leave you stranded, allowing the park to live up to it’s name. That stated, there are only times of greater or lesser danger for a trek like this, and no time can be considered predictably safe.

As I prepared for the walk, I came upon information on the Desert Trail and Death Valley Desert Trail, a 175-mile cross-country route that covers nearly the entire national park, not just Death Valley itself. My research soon uncovered the phone number for a man named Grubstake, who had plotted the route and written a guidebook. I quickly gave him a call.
Our first conversation was brief. I was hovering over a park map in a coffee shop and I assume Grubstake was pretty caught off guard at my mention of thru-hiking his route. He asked me more than once if I really planned to do it all in one trip. “That would be quite a feat”, he said after a pause of silence.

HWY 190 runs through the populated areas of the park and heads here to Badwater.

Just as I was finally building his confidence I shook things up again when I saw that his starting point was pretty close (50 miles is pretty close in this park) to the southern park boundary. I couldn’t help but ask him if he knew a good route from which to join the DVDT from the southern border of the park. The phone once again grew silent

I later found out that Grubstake’s real name was George Huxtable and he is the president of the Death Valley Hiker Association. He’ll always be Grubstake to me and without his help this trek would have never happened. He graciously answered all of my questions and gave me countless tips during the months leading up to my trek. Further, his guidebook, “Hiking the Desert Trail”, was right on, every step of the way.

Plotting the route from Grubstake’s book to my maps was a labor-intensive process because there is no visible trail, footprints, blazes, cairns or any other way to distinguish the DVDT from the rest of the massive desert. Many sleepless nights passed with me at my desk with compass and pencil in hand, making sure that I had interpreted Grubstake’s words properly. I knew a mistake here could have fatal consequences.

Quiet and serine, Hidden Valley enjoys a bath of afternoon light.

My fiancé showed great patience with me as I was late to numerous dates and other obligations due to the planning of this trip. She eventually refused to accompany me while I looked for new gear. So, I would sneak away without telling her because I knew she would not understand my ‘need’ to visit outfitters with the frequency of a part time employee. After a few months of her kindly answering countless questions, she finally asked if I would promise not to talk about Death Valley until I was done with the trip. I’m not sure I followed up on my end of the deal.

I finally settled on an unscouted and somewhat questionable route from the southern park border to the beginning of the DVDT in February. I had also finished plotting my route along the DVDT to the northern park boundary on thirty-four 7.5′ topographical maps. These routes would combine to complete the first known DVDT through-hike, along with the Park’s first known solo, cross-country/cross-range traverse.

Overview map of the 225-mile trek. Direction of travel was south to north.

A detailed version of the route can be found on Backpacker Magazine’s website.  It is referred to there as the Death Valley Traverse (DVT):

http://bp2.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip.aspx?tripId=275467

Clothing & Gear

The next order of business was to finalize my gear list. The challenge came from finding the right combination that could handle nearly a 100 degree swing in temperature, 50mph winds, unforgiving terrain and, of course, the need for carrying large amounts of water. My goal was to have a starting ‘skin out’ weight of under 18lbs and a starting pack weight well under 15lbs, both minus food, fuel and water.  Adding the total weight of the following items doesn’t fairly represent my actual weight at any given time since some gear was switched out at Stovepipe Wells.

I can honestly say after living in the desert with only the following items, I felt as if I lacked nothing and carried nothing that wasn’t utilized.  Though a few items were heavier than I would have liked and my gear was a little light for the coldest of times, with proper planning and the necessary skills, I remained quite comfortable nearly the entire trek.

The complete list of gear utilized during the trek is as follows:

ULA Catalyst Backpack (48oz) — Superb design. Rides like a dream. 
REI Peak UL Trekking Poles (13oz) — Strong.  Never failed. 
Kaenon Beacon Sunglasses (1.1oz) — Supreme optical quality.  
Timex Expedition Watch (1.2oz) — It’s from Wal-Mart.  
Garmin Etrex Legend HCx (5.2oz) — Way too heavy.
Olympus Voice recorder (2oz) — Allows one to Walk and ‘write’.
Petzl Zipka Headlamp (2.3oz) — Very nice.
Brunton Classic Compass (1.1oz) — Light/small/declination adj. 
Sun Co. Thermometer (.3oz) — Very light and small.
Pencil (.2oz) — Lightweight navigational tool.

Montrail Hardrock Shoes w/ Superfeet (32oz) — Stocking up on these.
Smartwool Adrenaline Socks (4oz/pair) — Good socks, but wear fast.
Patagonia Lightweight Gloves (1.3oz) — Very light. OK in cold weather.
Ambler Mountain Works Fleece Hat (1.3 oz) — Great & comfortable.
Patagonia Houdini Windshirt (3.8oz) — Indispensable.  
Patagonia Cap 1 Long Sleeve Top (6.5oz) — Great in heat, until it stinks.
Patagonia Wool 2 bottom (5oz) — Great for sleeping or very cold days.
Patagonia Wool 2 Top (6.5oz) — Great in temps from 40s to 80s.
Patagonia Wool 3 Top (9oz) — Great over wool 2 below 40s.
Prana Stretch Zion Pant (13.5oz) — Breathe, stretch & fit well.  
Patagonia Down Sweater (12.7oz) — Heavier than others, but bomb proof. 
Patagonia Bucket Hat (1.2oz) — 1/3 the weight of a Tilley, but not as cool.
Ex Officio Boxer Briefs (3.4 oz) — Amazing. It’s now all I’ll wear.

Integral Designs Poncho/Tarp (9.2oz) — Great multi-use item. 
Western Mountaineering Megalite Bag (25oz) — Fantastic quality.
REI Minimalist Bivy (15.1oz) — Much too heavy.  Breathes poorly, but cheap. 
ThermaRest Prolight 3 Short Pad (14oz) — Great down to around freezing.  
18”x18” Foam Mat (2oz) — My best friend, Blue.

Coleman Exponent UL Stove (3oz) — A great little flame thrower. 
Evernew Ti Mug (3.4oz) — A worthy luxury item.
4 - 1L Aquafina H2O Bottles (6.8oz [1.7oz each]) — Free! 
Platypus 2L Hoser Hydro Bladder (2.7 oz) — Worked as expected.
Evernew .9L Ti Pot (4.7oz) — Very nice.  But we’re still talking about a pot here.
Victorinox SAK (.7oz) — All one needs, really. But, Bark River has my attention.
Spoon (.3oz) — I can’t think of anything to say about this one.
Bic Lighter (.4oz) — light and efficient.
MSR Micro Towel (.8oz) — Like a bandana on steroids.
Cinefoil Windscreen (1.3 oz) — Made from overpriced aluminum foil.
Watchful Eye Designs 12”x20” O.P. Sak (1.2oz) — Get the clip.

(3) Platypus 2+L Bottles (3.9oz [1.3oz each]) — More durable than you think.

50ft Kelty Triptease Rope (1oz) — Light & strong.  Possibly saved my life.
(2) sea to summit drysacks (2oz [1oz each]) — Great for clothes & bag. 
First Aide/Hygene Kit (16oz) — Too heavy.  Must get lasik.

Total: 288.1oz (18 lbs)

Food & Water

I eventually felt good enough about my gear that it was time to focus on food and water. I budgeted around 2-2.5 pounds of food and 6+ liters of water per day. I sparingly utilized a small stove to boil water when necessary and cooked everything in gusseted zip-top bags (as opposed to in the pot) to eliminate cleaning. This method saved water, but did not always soften noodles completely. Daily meals were placed into plastic storage containers and buried for protection along the route in advance of my arrival.

A sample day’s meals might look like the following:

Breakfast: Cereal and powdered milk or oatmeal.

Lunch: Multiple granola and energy bars, crackers, jerky, trail mix, etc. throughout the day.

Dinner: Thin pasta and powdered sauce, soup or freeze dried dinner.

Drinks: Gatorade powder, Coffee/Tea

Desert: Peanut M&Ms

Each day's food was seperated into freezer bags for convenience.