Death Valley Short Roll

Camp above Dedeckara Canyon

March 2024

Ultimately, I just couldn't wrap my head around riding Racetrack road. Don't get me wrong, had I been riding as originally planned back in January with Kurstin, I certainly would have gone over the top, down to the springs, back up Lippincott and out racetrack road. Thence back to the starting point in Fish Lake Valley via Death Valley Road into Eureka Valley and back up N. Eureka Valley road.

The original plan was squashed for me due to an incoming "atmospheric river." God I hate that term. Seems even the weather has to be sensationalized now days. So extreme yo! So for me having an open schedule I bailed a few days ahead of our planned departure. Kurstin, being on fixed timeline went anyway. You can read his report here.

I rolled out of Cottonwood Creek where I'd parked at 5pm and rode to a beautiful spot to camp in Horse Thief canyon. It was getting dark as I set up camp but it was a short riding day having only pedaled about 11 miles. I explored the canyon by foot a bit as I munched down the Philly Cheesesteak sandwich I'd brought from home. It was a beautiful night and I attempted to do some night photography but the bright moon made the results a bit disappointing. 

Night shot of camp in Horse Thief Canyon

A bit windy overnight, the morning dawned beautiful and relatively calm. I packed up but kept my puffy on because it was still pretty cold. Riding down canyon I 'ooh-ed and ahh-ed' pretty consistently while in the canyon, and then abruptly I was out and on the alluvial fan down to Eureka Valley. I discovered my morning packing mistake several miles later when my tent poles rattled out of position where they were strapped to my front roll and hit the ground. I stopped immediately. But, where actually was my front dry bag containing all my clothes? I groaned. I knew the answer. When I packed in morning I had packed the bag loosely intending to leave room for stuffing my puffy later. Unfortunately this had made it possible for things to shift in my harness and I hadn't noticed where and when the dry bag had been ejected. And so began the walk of shame back up the hill in search of the dry bag. Trudging up all I could think was "I hope it's not far, I hope it's not far." The "you dumbass!" was spat out loud. I found it about a half mile up. You don't have to be good if you're lucky. 

Dropping into Eureka Valley

The rest of the day was uneventful. I rode the long washboard out to Eureka Dunes campground and took a break in the shade the outhouse provided. It really wasn't all that hot so before long I was half sun, half shade. I took a picture thinking it was kind of funny and put it on my Facebook page with the caption "Living large at Eureka Dunes." Yeah my sense of humor is a bit obscure, maybe even broken. I don't think anyone 'got it.' Continuing on I passed the dunes and just before entering Dedeckara Canyon I met this dude with a unique, at least in my experience, backcountry setup. He was hiking but pulling a Burley bicycle trailer modified with a harness that went around his waist, his load strapped into the trailer and nice big beefy tires. It looked like a great and very logical setup for the terrain. We chatted a bit, but as is usual for me I can't remember his name. Sorry, awesome Burley backcountry trailer pulling guy, you were rocking it! (Pun intended) 

Eventually I continued on up toward the pass. The road is pretty washed out but remains completely rideable at least as far as Steel Pass with the exception of the 'steps' in the lower end of the canyon. The road is supposed to be closed to motorized vehicles and I didn't encounter any this time as I had several weeks earlier. Yes, this was my 3rd trip up Dedeckara this year. In late February, Joannie, Wyatt (our dog) and I had made an aborted attempt to do an overnighter from the Dunes and a couple days later I round tripped to the pass and back from the Dunes. By now I was pretty familiar with the route. I made a camp above the canyon for the night and this is where I let the 'old man' creep in through the cracks. I knew that by dropping into Saline Valley the following day I would be absolutely committed to the route, the only other option being to climb back out North Pass, a trip I had already done in 2021. I lay in my tent that night with 'RACETRACK ROAD' drumming through my skull and mentally calculating how much water I had remaining. I wanted to climb Lippincott but by morning old man had won. I got up early, took a bit of water with me and rode my unloaded bike to the top of Steel Pass. On my ride in February I had taken a ducky with Joannie and I's 1st dog's name to place in the Marble Bath. (We did the duck races at our local park for years before it became over organized and would race one for each of our pets, past and present.) But the bath is in rather bad shape compared to when I had visited in 2021, being full of sand and gravel and relatively few marbles. Being the sentimental old fool that I am I was determined to retrieve the ducky and bring her home. 

Sitka and her marble throne.

Nah, you're coming home with me.

Marble Bath 2021.

Steel Pass and Inyo Mtns.

Joannie and Wyatt in February

Returning to camp I packed up and started the long back track. I realized I now had to conserve water. I ate a Dinty Moore pre-packaged stew to both lighten my load and get some liquid in me. By the time I had exited the dune area back out to Death Valley road I was becoming mildly concerned about water. My plan was to exit back up to Fish Lake Valley and my truck via N. Eureka Valley rd. But it was much hotter than it was just yesterday and I was sweating all my water out. I ended up camping early a short distance up the N. Eureka Valley rd and hiding in the shade of a mesquite. It wasn't horrible. Really, it wasn't bad.

My plan was to ride much of the remaining miles in the dark. But by 2am I was awake. It was TOO early. I had 20+ miles and about 2500 ft to get back to the truck. I had one almost full water bottle or a little less than .75 liter. I started riding at 3:30am under a bright moon negating the need to use my headlamp. Amusingly, I often carry a handlebar mounted bike light for possibly riding in the dark. But I never ride in the dark so didn't bring it. I rode under the near full moon until it set around 4:30-5am then switched on my headlamp. The riding was gloriously cool and pleasant. It was FUN! The downside being that I couldn't see what the terrain looked like. I was barely using any water. Eureka! (Get it?) As I climbed higher and higher the temperature dropped until at the top I was back in my puffy. Dawn was breaking as I started the downhill. The temperature dropped to 28. I had to stop to thaw out my fingers and toes but the sun wasn't on me yet so it was a longish process. This continued several more times, each ride interval getting shorter. By the time I was back to the windmill the sun was finally shining just ahead. I gratefully pedaled into the sun and took a final warming break before finishing up back at the truck. I still had almost a quarter bottle of water left. I ended up driving back down N Eureka Valley road so I could see what I had missed in the dark. Very glad I did.

About the top. White Mountain Peak in the distance.

Apologies if the tone of this post seems to be kind of a downer. It was really a nice route and a fun ride. My mental game just wasn't on point but I think I ended up making good decisions. Part of the problem was in knowing what lies ahead. I have driven Racetrack Road a number of times and it hasn't inspired me to ride it. For one, when I have driven it, it has been very washboarded which is tough on your body riding a rigid bike. Two. It is heavily used by the tourist crowd going out to (and back from) the Racetrack stirring up much dust. It is an integral and necessary part of this route though and I still want to climb Lippincott. So with that said I think for me it might be more fun with a partner to share some of the pain. But for now having ridden most of what Death Valley has to offer, exceptions being Lippincott and Hunter Mountain, I'll likely be looking to other areas for a couple of seasons. High on my list is Mojave National Preserve and Gold Butte National Monument.

Stats: 92 miles. 6476' climbing

Bike setup: Binary Gordita fat bike fully rigid. Surly Edna 26x4.3 tires. Custom rack and bikepacking bags.

Logistics: The windmill a few miles from the start has water in the trough. Saline Valley Warm Springs, Mesquite ranger station and or campground for water. 

Map and GPS: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/156718007