Check out the people up on top! Spring 2016
Spring 2022 is shaping up to be a very busy year in Death Valley, like many national parks in recent years, so we’re going to switch things up and lead a couple of “adventure” trips to spectacular landscapes outside of the crowded center of the Park. We’ve explored these areas since 2006, and we explored Death Valley National Park in particular detail from 2010-2015 for my “Photographing California South” guidebook. Based on the many unique and compelling locations we found, we have been leading multiple Death Valley photography workshops per year for about a decade, and we’ve taken small groups on itineraries like these in 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2020.
Our first “adventure” session is Feb 28 – March 5, six days, five nights. We planned timed this trip to coincide with dark nights for Milky Way photography. We’ll spend two nights camping in a campground (with campfire rings, tables, restroom), then one night in the center of the park (lodging or camping), then a couple more nights remote camping. Although our default plan is to spend two nights at each of the two camps, we have some flexibility in the schedule if we see interesting weather on the way somewhere else in this massive park, or if we simply feel we’re “done” with a particular area and we want to move on to something entirely new.
We’re going to keep each of our adventure groups small, but we have flexibility to add a second session for each itinerary if demand warrants. The first session in late February – early March involves an itinerary with less rough roads, and can be navigated by many vehicles with reasonable ground clearance (AWD or 4WD SUVs for example). We will be on some unpaved roads, so All Terrain rated tires would be a plus.
The later March-April itinerary is best for SUVs, Jeeps, pickup trucks, vehicles with decent clearance and preferably All Terrain tires. I’ve installed All Terrain tires on my Subaru Outback, and I may bring that (it’s my favorite vehicle that I’ve driven to the Racetrack, given tires with relatively low pressure and a softer suspension than our SUVs and pickup truck).
Jeep rentals are available for either session, and there are tempting side trips on either itinerary that would benefit from having Jeeps along (short wheelbase high clearance 4WD vehicles).
Below are photos of the places we can explore on the earlier itinerary:
We can optionally have a 3-course gourmet meal and/or a hot spring soak on the last night.
Contact us if you have any questions… I’ll post sample images from the second itinerary in late March as time permits!
Sand verbena in sand dunes, spring 2016.
Opposing winds shape this sand dune ridge over time
Spring 2017
One of our photography workshops in Death Valley, March 2021.
We’ll likely have a Subaru and possibly a pickup with pop-up camper along, but Jeeps and SUVs are welcome too.
Hopefully we’ll be able to reach these remote dunes during our Feb 28 – March 5 , 2022 “adventure” workshop (requires some remote camping) in Death Valley. These are best approached with Jeeps or high clearance 4WD SUVs, or a healthy hike.
Evening arrival photo.
Sand dunes for miles…
A Death Valley slot canyon we could visit.
What if Artist Palette had a slot canyon and hoodoos?
We probably won’t have wildflowers like this in 2022, but the site is still interesting.
This is not the March position of the Milky Way, but the subject is here whenever we choose to arrive. And trust me… you don’t want to hike in the sand at 93 degrees in mid-summer, even at night it’s oppressive, and sensor noise goes through the roof!
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